Deuteronomy 26–27

Giving the Firstfruits

26“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, ^land you take possession of it and live in it, ²you must take some of the first of all the land’s produce that you harvest from the land Yahweh your God is giving you and put it in a container. Then go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to have His name dwell. ^m3When you come before the priest who is serving at that time, you must say to him, ‘Today I acknowledge to the Lord your ⁿGod that I have entered the land the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’

⁴“Then the priest will take the container from your hand and place it before the altar of the Lord your God. ⁵You are to respond by saying in the presence of the Lord your God:

My father was a wandering Aramean. ^oHe went down to Egypt with a few people and lived there. ^pThere he became a great, powerful, and populous nation. ⁶But the Egyptians mistreated and afflicted us, and forced us to do hard labor. ⁷So we called out to Yahweh, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our cry and saw our misery, hardship, and oppression. ^q8Then the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, with terrifying power, and with signs and wonders. ⁹He led us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. ^r10I have now brought the first of the land’s produce that You, Lord, have given me.

You will then place the container before the Lord your God and bow down to Him. ¹¹You, the Levite, and the foreign resident among you will rejoice ^sin all the good things the Lord your God has given you and your household.

The Tenth in the Third Year

¹²“When you have finished paying all the tenth of your produce in the third year, ^tthe year of the tenth, you are to give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. ¹³Then you will say in the presence of the Lord your God:

I have taken the consecrated portion out of my house; I have also given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all the commands You gave me. I have not violated or forgotten Your commands. ¹⁴I have not eaten any of it while in mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead. ^uI have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done all You commanded me. ¹⁵Look down from Your holy dwelling, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land You have given us as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Covenant Summary

¹⁶“The Lord your God is commanding you this day to follow these statutes and ordinances. You must be careful to follow them with all your heart and all your soul. ¹⁷Today you have affirmed that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes, commands, and ordinances, and obey Him. ¹⁸And today the Lord has affirmed that you are His special people as He promised you, that you are to keep all His commands, ¹⁹that He will elevate you to praise, fame, and glory above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people ^vto the Lord your God as He promised.”

The Law Written on Stones

27Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, “Keep every command I am giving you today. ²At the time you cross the Jordan into the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must set up large stones and cover them with plaster. ^w3Write all the words of this law on the stones after you cross to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, ^xas Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you. ⁴When you have crossed the Jordan, you are to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you are to cover them with plaster. ⁵Build an altar of stones there to the Lord your God—you must not use any iron tool on them. ^y6Use uncut stones to build the altar of the Lord your God and offer burnt offerings to the Lord your God on it. ⁷There you are to sacrifice fellowship offerings, eat, and rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God. ⁸Write clearly all the words of this law on the plastered stones.”

The Covenant Curses

⁹Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, “Be silent, Israel, and listen! This day you have become the people of the Lord your God. ¹⁰Obey the Lord your God and follow His commands and statutes I am giving you today.”

¹¹On that day Moses commanded the people, ¹²“When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes will stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. ¹³And these tribes will stand on Mount Ebal to deliver the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. ^z14The Levites will proclaim in a loud voice to every Israelite:

¹⁵‘The person who makes a carved idol or cast image, which is detestable to the Lord, the work of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret is cursed.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen!’

¹⁶‘The one who dishonors his father or mother is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

¹⁷‘The one who moves his neighbor’s boundary marker is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

¹⁸‘The one who leads a blind person astray on the road is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

¹⁹‘The one who denies justice to a foreigner, a fatherless child, or a widow is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

²⁰‘The one who sleeps with his father’s wife is cursed, for he has violated his father’s marriage bed.’ ^a

And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

²¹‘The one who has sexual intercourse with any animal is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

²²‘The one who sleeps with his sister, whether his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

²³‘The one who sleeps with his mother-in-law is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

²⁴‘The one who secretly kills his neighbor is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

²⁵‘The one who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

²⁶‘Anyone who does not put the words of this law into practice is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’