Deuteronomy 27

Moses and the leaders of Israel gave the people this command: "Keep every command I am giving you today.

1And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day.

Note"Elders" were the senior heads of families and clans who settled disputes and spoke for the community; the word marks an office, not simply old age.

2On the day you cross the Jordan River into the land the LORD your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster.

2And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister:

NoteCoating stones with plaster and writing on the smooth surface was a known method for public inscriptions in the ancient Near East; plastered wall inscriptions from this period have been found east of the Jordan. It is not clear whether the same stones are meant as the altar stones of verse 5.

3Once you have crossed over, write on those stones all the words of this law. Then you may enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, a land rich with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

3And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee.

Note"A land flowing with milk and honey" is a stock phrase for a country good enough to support both herds (milk) and orchards and wild bees (honey), abundance, not two particular products.

4So when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and coat them with plaster.

4Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them with plaister.

NoteMount Ebal and Mount Gerizim stand on either side of the pass at Shechem, in the central hill country. The Samaritan Pentateuch, and some ancient manuscript evidence, reads "Mount Gerizim" here instead of Ebal; the two communities disagreed over which mountain the altar belonged on.

5There you must also build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar made of stones. Do not use any iron tool on them.

5And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them.

NoteUncut stone was required for altars elsewhere in the law as well (Exodus 20:25). The stated reason there is that using a tool on the stone profanes it; the ban is on shaping the stone, not on the tool itself.

6Build the altar of the LORD your God with whole, uncut stones, and offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God.

6Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD thy God:

NoteA burnt offering was wholly burned on the altar, with no part eaten by the worshiper.

7Offer peace offerings there too. Eat them there, and be glad in the presence of the LORD your God.

7And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the LORD thy God.

NoteA peace offering (also translated fellowship offering) was the one sacrifice largely eaten by the people who brought it, a shared meal at the sanctuary, which is why eating and rejoicing are mentioned together.

8And write all the words of this law on the stones, very clearly."

8And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.

9Then Moses and the priests, who are Levites, spoke to all Israel: "Be quiet and listen, Israel. Today you have become the people of the LORD your God.

9And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the LORD thy God.

Note"Take heed" translates a rare Hebrew word meaning to be silent or hold still; the sense is closer to "be quiet and pay attention" than "be careful." "The priests the Levites" is not two groups: priests were drawn from the tribe of Levi.

10So obey the voice of the LORD your God, and follow his commands and his rules, which I am giving you today."

10Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the LORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day.

11That same day Moses gave the people this order:

11And Moses charged the people the same day, saying,

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.

12These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin:

NoteThe two mountains face each other across a narrow valley at Shechem, so shouts from the slopes carry across it. The six tribes on Gerizim are all descended from Jacob's wives Leah and Rachel; the Ebal group contains the four tribes descended from the two servant wives, plus Reuben (the firstborn, who had forfeited his standing) and Zebulun.

13And these tribes will stand on Mount Ebal to speak the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

13And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

14Then the Levites will call out in a loud voice to every man of Israel:

14And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice,

NoteLevi is listed among the tribes on Gerizim in verse 12, yet the Levites here do the speaking; the text does not explain the overlap, and readers have long taken it either as a smaller group of officiating Levites standing in the valley or as a loose way of speaking.

15'Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or a metal idol, a thing the LORD hates, made by a craftsman's hands, and who sets it up in secret.' And all the people will answer, 'Amen!'

15Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.

NoteA "graven" image is carved from wood or stone; a "molten" one is cast from melted metal. "Amen" means roughly "truly" or "let it stand", by saying it the assembly accepted each curse as binding on itself. The point of "in secret" runs through the whole list: these are offenses a human court would rarely catch.

16'Cursed is anyone who treats his father or his mother with contempt.' And all the people will say, 'Amen!'

16Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Note"Setteth light by" is old English for treating someone as of no weight, dishonoring or holding in contempt. The Hebrew verb is the opposite of the one behind "honor" in the commandment about parents.

17'Cursed is anyone who moves the stone that marks his neighbor's property line.' And all the people will say, 'Amen!'

17Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.

NoteFields were marked by boundary stones, not fences or deeds. Quietly shifting one stole a strip of a neighbor's land, and in a society with no land registry the theft was almost impossible to prove.

18'Cursed is anyone who sends a blind man off the right road.' And all the people will say, 'Amen!'

18Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen.

NoteThe Hebrew covers both misdirecting a blind person and leaving one to stray, deliberately exploiting someone who cannot check what he is told. A related law forbids putting an obstacle in a blind person's path (Leviticus 19:14).

19'Cursed is anyone who denies fair judgment to the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow.' And all the people will say, 'Amen!'

19Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Note"Perverteth the judgment" means bending a legal case in court. These three groups are named together throughout the law because each lacked what normally protected a person there: the resident foreigner had no clan, the fatherless and the widow no male household head to argue for them.

20'Cursed is anyone who has sex with his father's wife, because he has dishonored what belongs to his father alone.' And all the people will say, 'Amen!'

20Cursed be he that lieth with his father’s wife; because he uncovereth his father’s skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Note"His father's wife" ordinarily means a stepmother rather than the man's own mother. "Uncovereth his father's skirt" is an idiom: the skirt is the corner or hem of a garment, and spreading it over a woman signaled a claim to her in marriage (see Ruth 3:9), so lifting the father's skirt means seizing what was exclusively his.

21'Cursed is anyone who has sex with any animal.' And all the people will say, 'Amen!'

21Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.

22'Cursed is anyone who has sex with his sister, whether she is his father's daughter or his mother's daughter.' And all the people will say, 'Amen!'

22Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.

NoteThe wording deliberately covers half-sisters (a sister by the same father only, or the same mother only) as well as full sisters.

23'Cursed is anyone who has sex with his wife's mother.' And all the people will say, 'Amen!'

23Cursed be he that lieth with his mother in law. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Note"Mother in law" here means the wife's mother.

24'Cursed is anyone who kills his neighbor in secret.' And all the people will say, 'Amen!'

24Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Note"Smiteth ... secretly" means a killing done where there is no witness, so no one could bring the killer before the elders or before the dead man's avenging kinsman.

25'Cursed is anyone who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.' And all the people will say, 'Amen!'

25Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Note"Taketh reward" means accepting a bribe. The wording covers both a hired killing and taking money to secure a death sentence in court against someone innocent.

26'Cursed is anyone who does not uphold all the words of this law by doing them.' And all the people will say, 'Amen!'"

26Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Note"Confirmeth not" translates a verb meaning to uphold or make stand, to keep the law in force by acting on it, not merely to agree with it. Paul quotes this verse in Galatians 3:10 from the Greek version, which adds "everyone" and "all" for emphasis.