Deuteronomy 27–28

Chapter 27

The Altar on Mount Ebal

Then Moses and the leaders of Israel gave this charge to the people: “Obey all these commands that I am giving you today. ²When you cross the Jordan River and enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. ³Write this whole body of instruction on them when you cross the river to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you—a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. ⁴When you cross the Jordan, set up these stones at Mount Ebal and coat them with plaster, as I am commanding you today.

⁵“Then build an altar there to the Lord your God, using natural, uncut stones. You must not shape the stones with an iron tool. ⁶Build the altar of uncut stones, and use it to offer burnt offerings to the Lord your God. ⁷Also sacrifice peace offerings on it, and celebrate by feasting there before the Lord your God. ⁸You must clearly write all these instructions on the stones coated with plaster.”

⁹Then Moses and the Levitical priests addressed all Israel as follows: “O Israel, be quiet and listen! Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. ¹⁰So you must obey the Lord your God by keeping all these commands and decrees that I am giving you today.”

Curses from Mount Ebal

¹¹That same day Moses also gave this charge to the people: ¹²“When you cross the Jordan River, the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin must stand on Mount Gerizim to proclaim a blessing over the people. ¹³And the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali must stand on Mount Ebal to proclaim a curse.

¹⁴“Then the Levites will shout to all the people of Israel:

¹⁵‘Cursed is anyone who carves or casts an idol and secretly sets it up. These idols, the work of craftsmen, are detestable to the Lord.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

¹⁶‘Cursed is anyone who dishonors father or mother.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

¹⁷‘Cursed is anyone who steals property from a neighbor by moving a boundary marker.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

¹⁸‘Cursed is anyone who leads a blind person astray on the road.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

¹⁹‘Cursed is anyone who denies justice to foreigners, orphans, or widows.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

²⁰‘Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with one of his father’s wives, for he has violated his father.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

²¹‘Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with an animal.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

²²‘Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with his sister, whether she is the daughter of his father or his mother.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

²³‘Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with his mother-in-law.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

²⁴‘Cursed is anyone who attacks a neighbor in secret.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

²⁵‘Cursed is anyone who accepts payment to kill an innocent person.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

²⁶‘Cursed is anyone who does not affirm and obey the terms of these instructions.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

Chapter 28

Blessings for Obedience

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. ²You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:

³Your towns and your fields

will be blessed.

⁴Your children and your crops

will be blessed.

The offspring of your herds and flocks

will be blessed.

⁵Your fruit baskets and breadboards

will be blessed.

⁶Wherever you go and whatever you do,

you will be blessed.

⁷“The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!

⁸“The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

⁹“If you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways, the Lord will establish you as his holy people as he swore he would do. ¹⁰Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the Lord, and they will stand in awe of you.

¹¹“The Lord will give you prosperity in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. ¹²The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. ¹³If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom. ¹⁴You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them.

Curses for Disobedience

¹⁵“But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you:

¹⁶Your towns and your fields

will be cursed.

¹⁷Your fruit baskets and breadboards

will be cursed.

¹⁸Your children and your crops

will be cursed.

The offspring of your herds and flocks

will be cursed.

¹⁹Wherever you go and whatever you do,

you will be cursed.

²⁰“The Lord himself will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in everything you do, until at last you are completely destroyed for doing evil and abandoning me. ²¹The Lord will afflict you with diseases until none of you are left in the land you are about to enter and occupy. ²²The Lord will strike you with wasting diseases, fever, and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew. These disasters will pursue you until you die. ²³The skies above will be as unyielding as bronze, and the earth beneath will be as hard as iron. ²⁴The Lord will change the rain that falls on your land into powder, and dust will pour down from the sky until you are destroyed.

²⁵“The Lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but you will scatter from them in seven! You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. ²⁶Your corpses will be food for all the scavenging birds and wild animals, and no one will be there to chase them away.

²⁷“The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, scurvy, and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. ²⁸The Lord will strike you with madness, blindness, and panic. ²⁹You will grope around in broad daylight like a blind person groping in the darkness, but you will not find your way. You will be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will come to save you.

³⁰“You will be engaged to a woman, but another man will sleep with her. You will build a house, but someone else will live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will never enjoy its fruit. ³¹Your ox will be butchered before your eyes, but you will not eat a single bite of the meat. Your donkey will be taken from you, never to be returned. Your sheep and goats will be given to your enemies, and no one will be there to help you. ³²You will watch as your sons and daughters are taken away as slaves. Your heart will break for them, but you won’t be able to help them. ³³A foreign nation you have never heard about will eat the crops you worked so hard to grow. You will suffer under constant oppression and harsh treatment. ³⁴You will go mad because of all the tragedy you see around you. ³⁵The Lord will cover your knees and legs with incurable boils. In fact, you will be covered from head to foot.

³⁶“The Lord will exile you and your king to a nation unknown to you and your ancestors. There in exile you will worship gods of wood and stone! ³⁷You will become an object of horror, ridicule, and mockery among all the nations to which the Lord sends you.

³⁸“You will plant much but harvest little, for locusts will eat your crops. ³⁹You will plant vineyards and care for them, but you will not drink the wine or eat the grapes, for worms will destroy the vines. ⁴⁰You will grow olive trees throughout your land, but you will never use the olive oil, for the fruit will drop before it ripens. ⁴¹You will have sons and daughters, but you will lose them, for they will be led away into captivity. ⁴²Swarms of insects will destroy your trees and crops.

⁴³“The foreigners living among you will become stronger and stronger, while you become weaker and weaker. ⁴⁴They will lend money to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, and you will be the tail!

⁴⁵“If you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and to obey the commands and decrees he has given you, all these curses will pursue and overtake you until you are destroyed. ⁴⁶These horrors will serve as a sign and warning among you and your descendants forever. ⁴⁷If you do not serve the Lord your God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits you have received, ⁴⁸you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you. You will be left hungry, thirsty, naked, and lacking in everything. The Lord will put an iron yoke on your neck, oppressing you harshly until he has destroyed you.

⁴⁹“The Lord will bring a distant nation against you from the end of the earth, and it will swoop down on you like a vulture. It is a nation whose language you do not understand, ⁵⁰a fierce and heartless nation that shows no respect for the old and no pity for the young. ⁵¹Its armies will devour your livestock and crops, and you will be destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine, olive oil, calves, or lambs, and you will starve to death. ⁵²They will attack your cities until all the fortified walls in your land—the walls you trusted to protect you—are knocked down. They will attack…