Joshua 24:27

24:27 Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a witness against you, for it has heard everything the Lord said to us. ¹  It will be a witness against you if ²  you deny your God.”

Genesis 28:22

28:22 Then this stone ³  that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely ⁴  give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” ⁵ 

Deuteronomy 27:1-26

The Assembly at Shechem

27:1 Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Pay attention to all the commandments ⁶  I am giving ⁷  you today. 27:2 When you cross the Jordan River ⁸  to the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must erect great stones and cover ⁹  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, ¹⁰  said to you. 27:4 So when you cross the Jordan you must erect on Mount Ebal ¹¹  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 ¹²  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 ¹³  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 ¹⁴  with a loud voice: 27:15 ‘Cursed is the one ¹⁵  who makes a carved or metal image – something abhorrent ¹⁶  to the Lord, the work of the craftsman ¹⁷  – and sets it up in a secret place.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ ¹⁸  27:16 ‘Cursed ¹⁹  is the one who disrespects ²⁰  his father and mother.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:17 ‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s boundary marker.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:18 ‘Cursed is the one who misleads a blind person on the road.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:19 ‘Cursed is the one who perverts justice for the resident foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:20 ‘Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with ²¹  his father’s former wife, ²²  for he dishonors his father.’ ²³  Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:21 ‘Cursed is the one who commits bestiality.’ ²⁴  Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:22 ‘Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his sister, the daughter of either his father or mother.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:23 ‘Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his mother-in-law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:24 ‘Cursed is the one who kills ²⁵  his neighbor in private.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:25 ‘Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 27:26 ‘Cursed is the one who refuses to keep the words of this law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

Deuteronomy 27:1

The Assembly at Shechem

27:1 Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Pay attention to all the commandments ²⁶  I am giving ²⁷  you today.

Deuteronomy 7:12

Promises of Good for Covenant Obedience

7:12 If you obey these ordinances and are careful to do them, the Lord your God will faithfully keep covenant with you ²⁸  as he promised ²⁹  your ancestors.

Psalms 103:2

103:2 Praise the Lord, O my soul!

Do not forget all his kind deeds! ³⁰ 

Psalms 11:4

11:4 The Lord is in his holy temple; ³¹ 

the Lord’s throne is in heaven. ³² 

His eyes ³³  watch; ³⁴ 

his eyes ³⁵  examine ³⁶  all people. ³⁷ 

Luke 19:40

19:40 He answered, ³⁸  “I tell you, if they ³⁹  keep silent, the very stones ⁴⁰  will cry out!”

[24:27]  ¹ tn Heb “all the words of the Lord which he spoke with us.”

[24:27]  ² tn Or “lest,” “so that you might not.”

[28:22]  ³ tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.

[28:22]  ⁴ tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.

[28:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “and all which you give to me I will surely give a tenth of it to you.” The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/object) highlights this statement as well.

[27:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “the whole commandment.” See note at 5:31.

[27:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today” (likewise in v. 10).

[27:2]  ⁸ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[27:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “plaster” (so KJV, ASV; likewise in v. 4). In the translation “cover” has been used for stylistic reasons.

[27:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “fathers.”

[27:4]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn The word “tribes” has been supplied here and in the following verse in the translation for clarity.

[27:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Israelite man.”

[27:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “man,” but in a generic sense here.

[27:15]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew term translated here “abhorrent” (תּוֹעֵבָה, to’evah) speaks of attitudes and/or behaviors so vile as to be reprehensible to a holy God. See note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.

[27:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “craftsman’s hands.”

[27:15]  ¹⁸ tn Or “So be it!” The term is an affirmation expressing agreement with the words of the Levites.

[27:16]  ¹⁹ tn The Levites speak again at this point; throughout this pericope the Levites pronounce the curse and the people respond with “Amen.”

[27:16]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew term קָלָה (qalah) means to treat with disdain or lack of due respect (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “dishonors”; NLT “despises”). It is the opposite of כָּבֵד (kaved, “to be heavy,” that is, to treat with reverence and proper deference). To treat a parent lightly is to dishonor him or her and thus violate the fifth commandment (Deut 5:16; cf. Exod 21:17).

[27:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “who lies with” (so NASB, NRSV); also in vv. 22, 23. This is a Hebrew idiom for having sexual relations (cf. NIV “who sleeps with”; NLT “who has sexual intercourse with”).

[27:20]  ²² tn See note at Deut 22:30.

[27:20]  ²³ tn Heb “he uncovers his father’s skirt” (NASB similar). See note at Deut 22:30.

[27:21]  ²⁴ tn Heb “lies with any animal” (so NASB, NRSV). “To lie with” is a Hebrew euphemism for having sexual relations with someone (or in this case, some animal).

[27:24]  ²⁵ tn Or “strikes down” (so NRSV).

[27:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the whole commandment.” See note at 5:31.

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

[7:12]  ²⁸ tn Heb “will keep with you the covenant and loyalty.” On the construction used here, see v. 9.

[7:12]  ²⁹ tn Heb “which he swore on oath.” The relative pronoun modifies “covenant,” so one could translate “will keep faithfully the covenant (or promise) he made on oath to your ancestors.”

[103:2]  ³⁰ tn Or “his benefits” (see 2 Chr 32:25, where the noun is also used of kind deeds performed by the Lord).

[11:4]  ³¹ tn Because of the royal imagery involved here, one could translate “lofty palace.” The Lord’s heavenly temple is in view here (see Mic 1:2-4).

[11:4]  ³² sn The Lord’s throne is in heaven. The psalmist is confident that the Lord reigns as sovereign king, “keeps an eye on” all people, and responds in a just manner to the godly and wicked.

[11:4]  ³³ sn His eyes. The anthropomorphic language draws attention to God’s awareness of and interest in the situation on earth. Though the enemies are hidden by the darkness (v. 2), the Lord sees all.

[11:4]  ³⁴ tn The two Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this verse describe the Lord’s characteristic activity.

[11:4]  ³⁵ tn Heb “eyelids.”

[11:4]  ³⁶ tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 7:9; 26:2; 139:23.

[11:4]  ³⁷ tn Heb “test the sons of men.”

[19:40]  ³⁸ tn Grk “and answering, he said.” This has been simplified in the translation to “He answered.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:40]  ³⁹ tn Grk “these.”

[19:40]  ⁴⁰ sn This statement amounts to a rebuke. The idiom of creation speaking means that even creation knows what is taking place, yet the Pharisees miss it. On this idiom, see Gen 4:10 and Hab 2:11.