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Deuteronomy 27

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Command to Write the Law on Stones 1–8

1
And Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandment which I command you this day. ​
2
And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over the Jordan unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster: ​
3
and 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 Jehovah thy God giveth thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, as Jehovah, the God of thy fathers, hath promised thee.
4
And it shall be, when ye are passed over the Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster. ​
5
And there shalt thou build an altar unto Jehovah thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt lift up no iron tool upon them. ​
6
Thou shalt build the altar of Jehovah thy God of unhewn stones; and thou shalt offer burnt-offerings thereon unto Jehovah thy God:
7
and thou shalt sacrifice peace-offerings, and shalt eat there; and thou shalt rejoice before Jehovah thy God. ​
8
And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly. ​

Israel Enters the Covenant Relationship 9–10

9
And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, Keep silence, and hearken, O Israel: This day thou art become the people of Jehovah thy God. ​
10
Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of Jehovah thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day.

Instructions for the Blessing and Cursing 11–14

11
And Moses charged the people the same day, saying,
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These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are passed over the Jordan: Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin. ​
13
And these shall stand upon mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
14
And the Levites shall answer, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice, ​

The Curses Declared 15–26

15
Cursed be the man that maketh a graven or molten image, an abomination unto Jehovah, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and setteth it up in secret. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen. ​
16
Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. ​
17
Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen. ​
18
Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen. ​
19
Cursed be he that wresteth the justice due to the sojourner, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen. ​
20
Cursed be he that lieth with his father’s wife, because he hath uncovered his father’s skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen. ​
21
Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.
22
Cursed 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.
23
Cursed be he that lieth with his mother-in-law. And all the people shall say, Amen.
24
Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbor in secret. And all the people shall say, Amen. ​
25
Cursed be he that taketh a bribe to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen. ​
26
Cursed be he that confirmeth not the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Deuteronomy 27

Verse 1

Moses with the elders of Israel — The elders stand with Moses as he gives the charge that the ceremony of vv.2–13 will seal. They were present when it was carried out: 'all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side' (Josh 8:33). 'This day' is the day of the address in Moab.

Verse 2

great stones, and plaister them — Sid is lime or plaster, and the verb is built on the same word: a coating to take the writing of v.8. The command is given for 'the day when ye shall pass over Jordan'. Joshua carried it out and 'wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses' (Josh 8:32).

Verse 4

in mount Ebal — Moses had already named the two mountains: 'the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal' (Deut 11:29). The stones with the law, and the altar of v.5, are set on Ebal, the mountain of the curse. Joshua built the altar 'in mount Ebal' (Josh 8:30).

Verse 5

thou shalt not lift up any iron tool — The rule comes from Sinai: 'thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it' (Ex 20:25). Joshua kept it: 'an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron' (Josh 8:31). Solomon's house was likewise built with no 'tool of iron heard' (1 Kgs 6:7).

Verse 7

peace offerings — Shelem, the offering of fellowship, of which the worshipper ate. It follows the burnt offerings of v.6, and Joshua offered both on Ebal (Josh 8:31). The meal is 'before the LORD thy God', the same eating and rejoicing as Deut 12:7: 'there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice'.

Verse 8

very plainly — Baer heytev, to make plain and well. The verb occurs only three times in the KJV: here, in 'began Moses to declare this law' (Deut 1:5), and in 'make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it' (Hab 2:2). The words are to be set down so that they can be read at a glance.

Verse 9

Take heed — Sakath occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament. The priests the Levites speak with Moses, and the message is that 'this day thou art become the people of the LORD thy God', the standing which Peter gives to the church: 'which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God' (1 Pet 2:10).

Verse 12

Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin — These six stand on Gerizim: four sons of Leah and the two of Rachel (Gen 35:23–24). The six of v.13 on Ebal are Leah's Reuben and Zebulun and the sons of the two handmaids (Gen 35:25–26). 'Joseph' stands for his two tribes, 'Manasseh and Ephraim' (Josh 14:4).

Verse 14

the Levites shall speak — The Levites pronounce each curse 'with a loud voice', and 'all the people' answer. The answer, Amen ('so be it'), follows each of the twelve curses of vv.15–26. In Ezra's day the people did the same at the reading of the law: 'all the people answered, Amen, Amen' (Neh 8:6).

Verse 15

in a secret place — Sether, concealment. The first curse falls on idolatry that no one sees, the breaking of 'Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image' (Ex 20:4). The word returns in v.24, 'smiteth his neighbour secretly', so the list holds two sins that no one sees.

Verse 16

setteth light by his father or his mother — Qalah is to treat as light or of small account, the opposite of the command 'Honour thy father and thy mother' (Ex 20:12). The curse puts a failure inside the household, which no court may ever see, in the same list as idolatry, the moved boundary and the perverted verdict.

Verse 17

removeth his neighbour's landmark — Gebul is a boundary mark, and 'removeth' (nasag) is to move it back. Moses had already forbidden it: 'Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance' (Deut 19:14). The land was an allotted inheritance, so the stone guarded what the LORD had given. See Prov 22:28.

Verse 18

maketh the blind to wander out of the way — Shagah, in the causative form, to cause to go astray. The law of Lev 19:14 guards the same person: 'Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God'. The one wronged cannot see who misled him, and the whole people say Amen to the curse.

Verse 19

the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow — The same three are protected in Deut 24:17, 'Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless'. The reason is given in Deut 10:18, where the LORD 'doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger'.

Verse 20

his father's skirt — The act is forbidden in Deut 22:30, 'A man shall not take his father's wife, nor discover his father's skirt'. The 'skirt' (kanaph) is the corner of the garment. Reuben's act with Bilhah (Gen 35:22) drew Jacob's word, 'thou shalt not excel' (Gen 49:4), and Paul judged a like case at Corinth (1 Cor 5:1).

Verse 24

smiteth his neighbour secretly — The verb is nakah, to strike, the one used for killing a man in Lev 24:17, 'he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death'. A killing done unseen escapes the court, and the curse of all the people is pronounced on it. The word sether, 'secretly', is the one of v.15.

Verse 25

taketh reward to slay an innocent person — Shochad is a bribe, the 'gift' that 'blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous' (Ex 23:8). The same law says 'the innocent and righteous slay thou not' (Ex 23:7). Ps 15:5 describes the man who 'shall never be moved' as one who does not take 'reward against the innocent'.

Verse 26

confirmeth not all the words of this law — Qum, to cause to stand, to uphold. The twelve curses end with the whole law. Paul cites the verse: 'Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them' (Gal 3:10), and then adds that 'Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law' (Gal 3:13).