Deuteronomy 27:1-14

The Assembly at Shechem

27:1 Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Pay attention to all the commandments ¹  I am giving ²  you today. 27:2 When you cross the Jordan River ³  to the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must erect great stones and cover ⁴  them with plaster. 27:3 Then you must inscribe on them all the words of this law when you cross over, so that you may enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, ⁵  said to you. 27:4 So when you cross the Jordan you must erect on Mount Ebal ⁶  these stones about which I am commanding you today, and you must cover them with plaster. 27:5 Then you must build an altar there to the Lord your God, an altar of stones – do not use an iron tool on them. 27:6 You must build the altar of the Lord your God with whole stones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. 27:7 Also you must offer fellowship offerings and eat them there, rejoicing before the Lord your God. 27:8 You must inscribe on the stones all the words of this law, making them clear.”

27:9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: “Be quiet and pay attention, Israel. Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. 27:10 You must obey him ⁷  and keep his commandments and statutes that I am giving you today.” 27:11 Moreover, Moses commanded the people that day: 27:12 “The following tribes ⁸  must stand to bless the people on Mount Gerizim when you cross the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 27:13 And these other tribes must stand for the curse on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

The Covenant Curses

27:14 “The Levites will call out to every Israelite ⁹  with a loud voice:

[27:1]  ¹ tn Heb “the whole commandment.” See note at 5:31.

[27:1]  ² tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today” (likewise in v. 10).

[27:2]  ³ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “plaster” (so KJV, ASV; likewise in v. 4). In the translation “cover” has been used for stylistic reasons.

[27:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “fathers.”

[27:4]  ⁶ tc Smr reads “Mount Gerizim” for the MT reading “Mount Ebal” to justify the location of the Samaritan temple there in the postexilic period. This reading is patently self-serving and does not reflect the original. In the NT when the Samaritan woman of Sychar referred to “this mountain” as the place of worship for her community she obviously had Gerizim in mind (cf. John 4:20).

[27:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “listen to the voice of the Lord your God.” Here “listen” (NAB “hearken”) means “obey” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[27:12]  ⁸ tn The word “tribes” has been supplied here and in the following verse in the translation for clarity.

[27:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “Israelite man.”