Deuteronomy 26:1-19
Give the Lord His Share
You will enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own. You will take it over. You will make your homes in the land. When you do, get some of the first share of everything your soil produces. Put it in a basket. It’s from the land the Lord your God is giving you. Take your gifts and go to the special place he will choose. He will put his Name there. Speak to the priest in office at that time. Tell him, “I announce today to the Lord your God that I have come to this land. It’s the land he promised to give us. He promised it to our people of long ago.” The priest will receive the basket from you. He’ll set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. Then you will speak while the Lord is listening. You will say, “My father Jacob was a wanderer from the land of Aram. He went down into Egypt with a few people. He lived there and became the father of a great nation. It had huge numbers of people. But the people of Egypt treated us badly. They made us suffer. They made us work very hard. Then we cried out to the Lord. He is the God of our people who lived long ago. He heard our voice. He saw how much we were suffering. The Egyptians were treating us badly. They were making us work very hard. So the Lord used his mighty hand and powerful arm to bring us out of Egypt. He did great and terrifying things. He did signs and amazing things. He brought us to this place. He gave us this land. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey. Now, Lord, I’m bringing you the first share of crops from the soil. After all, you have given them to me.” Place the basket in front of the Lord your God. Bow down to him. Then you and the Levites and the outsiders among you will be full of joy. You will enjoy all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your family.
You will set apart a tenth of everything you produce in the third year. That’s the year for giving the tenth to people who have greater needs. You will give it to the Levites, outsiders and widows. You will also give it to children whose fathers have died. Then all of them will have plenty to eat in your towns. Speak to the Lord your God. Say to him, “I have taken your sacred share from my house. I have given it to the Levites, outsiders and widows. I have also given it to children whose fathers have died. I’ve done everything you commanded me to do. I haven’t stopped obeying your commands. I haven’t forgotten any of them. I haven’t eaten any part of your sacred share while I mourned over someone who had died. I haven’t taken any of it from my house while I was ‘unclean.’ And I haven’t offered any of it to the dead. Lord my God, I’ve obeyed you. I’ve done everything you commanded me to do. Look down from the holy place where you live in heaven. Bless your people Israel. Bless the land you have given us. It’s the land you promised to give to our people of long ago. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey.”
Obey the Lord’s Commands
This day the Lord your God commands you to obey all these rules and laws. Be careful to obey them with all your heart and with all your soul. Today you have announced that the Lord is your God. You have said you would live exactly as he wants you to live. You have agreed to keep his rules, commands and laws. And you have said you would listen to him. Today the Lord has announced that you are his people. He has said that you are his special treasure. He promised that you would be. He has told you to keep all his commands. He has announced that he will make you famous. He’ll give you more praise and honor than all the other nations he has made. And he has said that you will be a holy nation. The Lord your God has set you apart for himself. That’s exactly what he promised to do.
Deuteronomy 27:1-26
The Altar on Mount Ebal
Moses and the elders of Israel gave commands to the people. They said, “Obey all the commands we’re giving you today. You will go across the Jordan River. You will enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you do, set up some large stones. Put a coat of plaster on them. Write all the words of this law on them. Do it when you have crossed over into the land the Lord your God is giving you. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey. The Lord is the God of your people of long ago. He promised you that you would enter the land. After you have gone across the Jordan, set up those stones on Mount Ebal. Put a coat of plaster on them. We’re commanding you today to do that. Build an altar there to honor the Lord your God. Make it out of stones. Don’t use any iron tool on them. Use stones you find in the fields to build his altar. Then offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. Sacrifice friendship offerings there. Eat them and be filled with joy in the sight of the Lord your God. You must write all the words of this law on the stones you have set up. Write the words very clearly.”
Curses for Not Obeying the Lord
Then Moses and the priests, who are Levites, spoke to all the Israelites. They said, “Israel, be quiet! Listen! You have now become the people of the Lord your God. Obey him. Obey his commands and rules that we’re giving you today.”
Here are the commands Moses gave the people that same day.
You will go across the Jordan River. When you do, six tribes will stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people. Those tribes are Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. The other six tribes will stand on Mount Ebal to announce some curses. Those tribes are Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.
The Levites will speak to all the Israelites in a loud voice. The Levites will say,
“May anyone who makes a statue of a god and sets it up in secret be under the Lord’s curse. That statue is made by a skilled worker. And the Lord hates it.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
“May anyone who brings shame on their father or mother be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
“May anyone who moves their neighbor’s boundary stone be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
“May anyone who leads blind people down the wrong road be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
“May anyone who treats unfairly outsiders, widows, and children whose fathers have died be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
“May anyone who sleeps with his stepmother be under the Lord’s curse. That man brings shame on his father by doing that.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
“May anyone who has sex with animals be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
“May anyone who sleeps with his sister be under the Lord’s curse. It doesn’t matter whether she is his full sister or his half sister.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
“May anyone who sleeps with his mother-in-law be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
“May anyone who kills their neighbor secretly be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
“May anyone who accepts money to kill someone who isn’t guilty of doing anything wrong be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
“May anyone who doesn’t honor the words of this law by obeying them be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
Deuteronomy 28:1-14
Blessings for Obeying the Lord
Make sure you obey the Lord your God completely. Be careful to obey all his commands. I’m giving them to you today. If you do these things, the Lord will honor you more than all the other nations on earth. If you obey the Lord your God, here are the blessings that will come to you and remain with you.
You will be blessed in the cities. You will be blessed out in the country.
Your children will be blessed. Your crops will be blessed. The young animals among your livestock will be blessed. That includes your calves and lambs.
Your baskets and bread pans will be blessed.
You will be blessed no matter where you go.
Enemies will rise up against you. But the Lord will help you win the battle over them. They will come at you from one direction. But they’ll run away from you in every direction.
The Lord your God will bless your barns with plenty of grain and other food. He will bless everything you do. He’ll bless you in the land he’s giving you.
The Lord your God will make you his holy people. He will set you apart for himself. He promised to do this. He promised to do it if you would keep his commands and live exactly as he wants you to live. All the nations on earth will see that you belong to the Lord. And they will be afraid of you. The Lord will give you more than you need. You will have many children. Your livestock will have many little ones. Your crops will do very well. All of that will happen in the land he promised to give you. He promised this to your people of long ago.
The Lord will open up the heavens. That’s where he stores his riches. He will send rain on your land at just the right time. He’ll bless everything you do. You will lend money to many nations. But you won’t have to borrow from any of them. The Lord your God will make you leaders, not followers. Pay attention to his commands that I’m giving you today. Be careful to obey them. Then you will always be on top. You will never be on the bottom. Don’t turn away from any of the commands I’m giving you today. Don’t turn to the right or the left. Don’t follow other gods. Don’t worship them.
