26
祝福とのろい
1偶像を造ってはならない。彫像だろうが、石像だろうが、石の柱だろうが、偶像を拝んではならない。わたしがあなたがたの神、主だからだ。 2安息日の定めを守り、幕屋（神がイスラエルの民と会う聖所）を重んじなさい。わたしは主である。
3わたしのおきてに従って歩むなら、 4-5季節ごとに雨を降らせ、豊作をもたらす。麦の脱穀はぶどうの時期までかかり、ぶどうの取り入れは次の種まきの時まで続く。不自由なく安心して暮らせるだろう。 6少しの心配もない平和な毎日を送ることができる。危険な野の獣はわたしが追い払おう。戦争で国土を荒らされることもない。 7あなたがたは敵を追い払い、さんざん打ちのめす。 8五人で百人を、百人で一万人を追い散らし、敵の息の根を完全に止める。 9わたしは契約どおり、あなたがたを増やし、心にかける。 10刈り入れ時がきても、まだ前の収穫が残っていて困るほどになるだろう。 11わたしはあなたがたと共に住む。あなたがたを嫌ったりはしない。 12共に歩み、あなたがたの神となる。そして、あなたがたはわたしの民となる。 13わたしがあなたがたをエジプトから救い出し、奴隷の鎖を断ち切ったのだ。だから、胸を張って堂々と歩きなさい。
14しかし、わたしの言うことを聞かず、従おうともせず、 15おきてを無視するなら、 16あなたがたを罰する。突然、恐怖が襲いかかり、結核や熱病が猛威をふるうだろう。目は衰え、生きる気力もなくなる。種をまいても、収穫は全部、敵が横取りする。 17わたしの責任ではない。敵に追い散らされても助けはしない。あなたがたは憎しみに燃えた敵に支配され、追いかけられもしないのに逃げ出す。
18それでもなお従わないなら、七倍の罰を加える。 19自分の力に頼ろうとする思い上がりを、粉々に砕く。思い知るがいい。天は鉄のように、地は青銅のようになり、一滴の雨も降らず作物も実らない。 20いくら耕し、手入れをしても、収穫は全くない。
21それでもなお従わず、言うことを聞かないなら、さらに七倍の災害で苦しめる。 22野の獣を放って子どもたちや家畜を殺させ、人口を減らす。こうしてイスラエルは荒れ果てる。
23しかしなお行いを改めず、反抗し続けるなら、 24わたしは黙ってはいない。その罪の重さを、いやと言うほど思い知らせる。この手で七倍も強く打ちのめす。 25契約の違反は戦争で罰する。町に逃げ込んでも、町中に疫病がはやり、結局は敵に征服されてしまう。 26食べ物は底をつき、十家族分のパンを焼くのに、一つのかまどで間に合うほどになる。配給はわずかで、とうてい腹を満たすことはできない。
27しかしなお聞き従わないなら、 28もう容赦はしない。さらに七倍も重い罰を加える。 29あなたがたを、わが子の肉まで食べるほどに飢えさせる。 30あなたがたが偶像として拝む山の祭壇を打ち壊し、香の祭壇を切り倒す。偶像に混じって、あなたがたの死体がそこここに転がり、腐り果てていくのを黙って眺めよう。わたしはあなたがたを忌み嫌う。 31町々を廃墟とし、礼拝所を打ち壊す。ささげ物でなだめようとしても、ふだんは受け入れる香りさえ嗅ぐ気もしない。 32国はすっかり荒れ果て、代わって住みついた敵でさえ、あまりのひどさに驚き恐れるだろう。
33あなたがたは散り散りに国外へ逃げ、行く先々でも戦いに敗れる。国はすっかり荒れ果て、町々は廃墟と化す。 34-35こうして、ようやく土地を休ませることができる。あなたがたが利用できるだけ利用し尽くした土地を、敵の捕虜となっている間、ずっと休ませよう。あなたがたが住んでいた時、七年ごとに一年の休みを与えなかった分を、まとめて取り戻す。
36生き残った者は、捕虜や奴隷として遠い国へ連れて行かれる。外国でおびえながら暮らすのだ。風に舞う木の葉の音にもおびえ、剣で追い立てられるように逃げ惑う。追いかけられもしないのに倒れる。 37戦いで弱気を起こし、敵前を逃げ惑うように、追いかけられもしないのに力なく恐怖におののく。 38あげくの果ては敵地であえない最期を遂げる。 39運よく生き残った者も、自分と先祖たちの犯した罪の重さに耐えきれず、見る影もなくやつれ果てるだろう。
40-41しかし最後には、自分たちの裏切りを認める。苦しい思いをするのも、元はと言えばわたしに反抗したからだ。それで、わたしも黙ってはおらず、あなたがたを敵の手に渡した。だが、みなが悪かったと反省し、素直に罰を受けるなら、 42アブラハム、イサク、ヤコブと結んだ契約を思い出し、荒れ果てたイスラエルをもう一度心に留めよう。 43その間に国土は十分に地力を回復する。一方、国民は神のおきてを破り、定めを軽んじた罰を受け入れるようになる。 44彼らの行状は目に余ったが、わたしは誠実に契約を守り、完全に滅ぼすことはしなかった。わたしは彼らの神、主だからだ。 45わたしは彼らの先祖と結んだ契約を思い出す。彼らの神となるという契約である。周囲の国々が驚き見守る中で、彼らの先祖をエジプトから救い出したのは、このわたしだ。わたしは彼らの神、主である。」
46以上は、シナイ山で神がモーセに語った、イスラエルの民の守るべきおきて、定め、指示です。
Rewards for Obeying the Lord
1“ ‘Do not make statues of gods for yourselves. Do not set up a likeness of a god or a sacred stone for yourselves. Do not place a carved stone in your land and bow down in front of it. I am the Lord your God.
2“ ‘You must always keep my Sabbath days. Have respect for my sacred tent. I am the Lord.
3“ ‘Follow my rules. Be careful to obey my commands. 4Then I will send you rain at the right time. The ground will produce its crops. The trees will bear their fruit. 5You will continue to harvest your grain until you gather your grapes. You will continue to gather your grapes until you plant your crops. You will have all you want to eat. And you will live in safety in your land.
6“ ‘I will give you peace in the land. You will be able to sleep because no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild animals from the land. There will not be any war in your country. 7You will hunt down your enemies. You will kill them with your swords. 8Five of you will chase 100. And 100 of you will chase 10,000. You will kill your enemies with your swords.
9“ ‘I will bless you. I will give you many children so that there will be many of you. And I will be faithful to the covenant I made with you. 10You will still be eating last year’s crops when you will have to make room for new crops. 11I will live among you. I will not turn away from you. 12I will walk among you. I will be your God. And you will be my people. 13I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt. I did not want you to be slaves in Egypt anymore. I threw off your heavy load. I helped you walk with your heads held high.
Punishment for Not Obeying the Lord
14“ ‘On the other hand, suppose you do not listen to me. Suppose you do not carry out all my commands. 15Suppose you say no to my rules and turn away from my laws. And suppose you break my covenant by failing to carry out all my commands. 16Then here is what I will do to you. All at once I will bring terror on you. I will send sicknesses that will make you weak. I will send fever that will destroy your sight. It will slowly take your strength away. When you plant seeds, it will not do you any good. Instead, your enemies will eat what you have planted. 17I will turn against you. Then your enemies will win the battle over you. Those who hate you will rule over you. You will run away even when no one is chasing you.
18“ ‘After all that, suppose you still will not listen to me. Then I will punish you for your sins seven times. 19I will break down your stubborn pride. I will make the sky above you like iron, and it will not rain. I will make the ground under you like bronze, and you will not be able to farm it. 20You will work with all your strength, but it will not do you any good. That is because your soil will not produce any crops. The trees of your land will not bear any fruit.
21“ ‘Suppose you continue to be my enemy. And suppose you still refuse to listen to me. Then I will multiply your troubles many times because of your sins. 22I will send wild animals against you. They will kill your children. They will destroy your cattle. There will be so few of you left that your roads will be deserted.
23“ ‘After all those things, suppose you still do not accept my warnings. And suppose you continue to be my enemy. 24Then I myself will be your enemy. I will make you suffer again and again for your sins. 25I will send war against you to punish you for breaking my covenant. When you go back into your cities, I will send a plague among you. You will be handed over to your enemies. 26I will cut off your supply of bread. Ten women will need only one oven to bake your bread. They will weigh out the bread piece by piece. Even when you eat all of it, it will not be enough to satisfy you.
27“ ‘After all that, suppose you still do not listen to me. And suppose you continue to be my enemy. 28Then I will be angry with you. I will be your enemy. I myself will again punish you for your sins over and over. 29You will eat the dead bodies of your sons. You will also eat the dead bodies of your daughters. 30I will destroy the high places where you worship other gods. I will pull down your incense altars. I will pile up your dead bodies on the lifeless statues of your gods. And I will turn away from you. 31I will completely destroy your cities. I will destroy your places of worship. The pleasant smell of your offerings will not give me any delight. 32I myself will destroy your land so completely that your enemies who live there will be shocked. 33I will scatter you among the nations. I will pull out my sword and hunt you down. Your land and your cities will be completely destroyed. 34Then the deserted land will enjoy its sabbath years. It will rest. It will not be farmed. It will enjoy its sabbaths. But you will become prisoners in the country of your enemies. 35The land will rest the whole time it is deserted. It was not able to rest during the sabbaths you lived in it.
36“ ‘Some of you will be left in the lands of your enemies. I will fill your hearts with fear. The sound of a leaf blown by the wind will scare you away. You will run as if you were escaping from swords. You will fall down, even though no one is chasing you. 37You will trip over one another as if you were running away from the battle. You will run away, even though no one is chasing you. You will not be able to stand and fight against your enemies. 38While you are still scattered among the nations, you will die. The lands of your enemies will destroy you. 39You who are left in those lands will become weaker and weaker. You will die because of your sins and the sins of your people who lived before you.
40“ ‘But suppose you admit that both you and your people who lived before you have sinned. You admit the evil and dishonest things you have done against me. And you admit you have become my enemy. 41What you did made me become your enemy. I let your enemies take you into their land. But suppose you stop being stubborn. You stop being proud. And you pay for your sin. 42Then I will remember my covenant with Jacob. I will remember my covenant with Isaac. I will remember my covenant with Abraham. I will remember what I said to them about the land. 43You will leave the land. It will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies deserted because you are not there. You will pay for your sins because you said no to my laws. You turned away from my rules. 44But even after all that, I will not say no to you or turn away from you. I will not destroy you completely in the land of your enemies. I will not break my covenant with you. I am the Lord your God. 45Because of you, I will remember the covenant I made with the people of Israel who lived before you. I brought them out of Egypt to be their God. The nations saw me do it. I am the Lord.’ ”
46These are the orders, the laws and the rules of the covenant the Lord made on Mount Sinai. He made it between himself and the Israelites through Moses.
