The Altar at Mount Ebal
9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Be silent and listen, O Israel! This day you have become a people for the Lord your God. 10 So you shall obey the voice of the Lord your God, and do His commandments and statutes which I am commanding you today.”
The Curses of Mount Ebal
11 Moses also commanded the people that day, saying, 12 “These [tribes] shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people when you have crossed the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, [b]Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 These [tribes] shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce the curse [for disobedience]: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 The Levites shall answer with a loud voice to all the men of Israel:
15 ‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved or cast image (idol), a repulsive thing to the Lord, the work of the hands of the artisan, and sets it up in secret.’ All the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’
16 ‘Cursed is he who dishonors (treats with contempt) his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
17 ‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary mark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
18 ‘Cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
19 ‘Cursed is he who distorts (perverts) the justice due to a stranger, an orphan, and a widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
20 ‘Cursed is he who is intimate with his father’s [former] wife, because he has [c]violated what belongs to his father.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
21 ‘Cursed is he who is intimate with any animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
22 ‘Cursed is he who is intimate with his [half] sister, whether his father’s or his mother’s daughter.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
23 ‘Cursed is he who is intimate with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
24 ‘Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
25 ‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
26 ‘Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them [keeping them, taking them to heart as the rule of his life].’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 27:3 See note 26:9.
- Deuteronomy 27:12 The tribes of the descendants of Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, stood together as the tribe of Joseph.
- Deuteronomy 27:20 Lit uncovered his father’s skirt.