Deuteronomy 27

The Altar on Mount Ebal

1 Then Moses and the leaders of Israel gave this charge to the people: “Obey all these commands that I am giving you today. ² When you cross the Jordan River and enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. ³ Write this whole body of instruction on them when you cross the river to enter the land the Lordyour God is giving you—a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. ⁴ When you cross the Jordan, set up these stones at Mount Ebal and coat them with plaster, as I am commanding you today.

⁵ “Then build an altar there to the Lord your God, using natural, uncut stones. You must not shape the stones with an iron tool. ⁶ Build the altar of uncut stones, and use it to offer burnt offerings to the Lord your God. ⁷ Also sacrifice peace offerings on it, and celebrate by feasting there before the Lord your God. ⁸ You must clearly write all these instructions on the stones coated with plaster.”

⁹ Then Moses and the Levitical priests addressed all Israel as follows: “O Israel, be quiet and listen! Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. ¹⁰ So you must obey the Lord your God by keeping all these commands and decrees that I am giving you today.”

Curses from Mount Ebal

¹¹ That same day Moses also gave this charge to the people: ¹² “When you cross the Jordan River, the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin must stand on Mount Gerizim to proclaim a blessing over the people. ¹³ And the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali must stand on Mount Ebal to proclaim a curse.

¹⁴ “Then the Levites will shout to all the people of Israel:

¹⁵ ‘Cursed is anyone who carves or casts an idol and secretly sets it up. These idols, the work of craftsmen, are detestable to the Lord.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

¹⁶ ‘Cursed is anyone who dishonors father or mother.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

¹⁷ ‘Cursed is anyone who steals property from a neighbor by moving a boundary marker.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

¹⁸ ‘Cursed is anyone who leads a blind person astray on the road.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

¹⁹ ‘Cursed is anyone who denies justice to foreigners, orphans, or widows.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

²⁰ ‘Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with one of his father’s wives, for he has violated his father.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

²¹ ‘Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with an animal.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

²² ‘Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with his sister, whether she is the daughter of his father or his mother.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

²³ ‘Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with his mother-in-law.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

²⁴ ‘Cursed is anyone who attacks a neighbor in secret.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

²⁵ ‘Cursed is anyone who accepts payment to kill an innocent person.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

²⁶ ‘Cursed is anyone who does not affirm and obey the terms of these instructions.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

Deuteronomy 26

Harvest Offerings and Tithes

1“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession and you have conquered it and settled there, ² put some of the first produce from each crop you harvest into a basket and bring it to the designated place of worship—the place the Lordyour God chooses for his name to be honored. ³ Go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, ‘With this gift I acknowledge to the Lord your God that I have entered the land he swore to our ancestors he would give us.’ ⁴ The priest will then take the basket from your hand and set it before the altar of the Lord your God.

⁵ “You must then say in the presence of the Lord your God, ‘My ancestor Jacob was a wandering Aramean who went to live as a foreigner in Egypt. His family arrived few in number, but in Egypt they became a large and mighty nation. ⁶ When the Egyptians oppressed and humiliated us by making us their slaves, ⁷ we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He heard our cries and saw our hardship, toil, and oppression. ⁸ So the Lordbrought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and powerful arm, with overwhelming terror, and with miraculous signs and wonders. ⁹ He brought us to this place and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey! ¹⁰ And now, O Lord, I have brought you the first portion of the harvest you have given me from the ground.’ Then place the produce before the Lord your God, and bow to the ground in worship before him. ¹¹ Afterward you may go and celebrate because of all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household. Remember to include the Levites and the foreigners living among you in the celebration.

¹² “Every third year you must offer a special tithe of your crops. In this year of the special tithe you must give your tithes to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows, so that they will have enough to eat in your towns. ¹³ Then you must declare in the presence of the Lord your God, ‘I have taken the sacred gift from my house and have given it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows, just as you commanded me. I have not violated or forgotten any of your commands. ¹⁴ I have not eaten any of it while in mourning; I have not handled it while I was ceremonially unclean; and I have not offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God and have done everything you commanded me. ¹⁵ Now look down from your holy dwelling place in heaven and bless your people Israel and the land you swore to our ancestors to give us—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

A Call to Obey the Lord’s Commands

¹⁶ “Today the Lord your God has commanded you to obey all these decrees and regulations. So be careful to obey them wholeheartedly. ¹⁷ You have declared today that the Lord is your God. And you have promised to walk in his ways, and to obey his decrees, commands, and regulations, and to do everything he tells you. ¹⁸ The Lord has declared today that you are his people, his own special treasure, just as he promised, and that you must obey all his commands. ¹⁹ And if you do, he will set you high above all the other nations he has made. Then you will receive praise, honor, and renown. You will be a nation that is holy to the Lordyour God, just as he promised.”

Deuteronomy 25

1 “Suppose two people take a dispute to court, and the judges declare that one is right and the other is wrong. ² If the person in the wrong is sentenced to be flogged, the judge must command him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of lashes appropriate to the crime. ³ But never give more than forty lashes; more than forty lashes would publicly humiliate your neighbor.

⁴ “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.

⁵ “If two brothers are living together on the same property and one of them dies without a son, his widow may not be married to anyone from outside the family. Instead, her husband’s brother should marry her and have intercourse with her to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law.⁶ The first son she bears to him will be considered the son of the dead brother, so that his name will not be forgotten in Israel.

⁷ “But if the man refuses to marry his brother’s widow, she must go to the town gate and say to the elders assembled there, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel—he refuses to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law by marrying me.’ ⁸ The elders of the town will then summon him and talk with him. If he still refuses and says, ‘I don’t want to marry her,’ ⁹ the widow must walk over to him in the presence of the elders, pull his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. Then she must declare, ‘This is what happens to a man who refuses to provide his brother with children.’ ¹⁰ Ever afterward in Israel his family will be referred to as ‘the family of the man whose sandal was pulled off’!

¹¹ “If two Israelite men get into a fight and the wife of one tries to rescue her husband by grabbing the testicles of the other man, ¹² you must cut off her hand. Show her no pity.

¹³ “You must use accurate scales when you weigh out merchandise, ¹⁴ and you must use full and honest measures. ¹⁵ Yes, always use honest weights and measures, so that you may enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. ¹⁶ All who cheat with dishonest weights and measures are detestable to the Lord your God.

¹⁷ “Never forget what the Amalekites did to you as you came from Egypt. ¹⁸ They attacked you when you were exhausted and weary, and they struck down those who were straggling behind. They had no fear of God. ¹⁹ Therefore, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies in the land he is giving you as a special possession, you must destroy the Amalekites and erase their memory from under heaven. Never forget this!

Deuteronomy 24

1 “Suppose a man marries a woman but she does not please him. Having discovered something wrong with her, he writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house. ² When she leaves his house, she is free to marry another man. ³ But if the second husband also turns against her, writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away, or if he dies, ⁴ the first husband may not marry her again, for she has been defiled. That would be detestable to the Lord. You must not bring guilt upon the land the Lordyour God is giving you as a special possession.

⁵ “A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or be given any other official responsibilities. He must be free to spend one year at home, bringing happiness to the wife he has married.

⁶ “It is wrong to take a set of millstones, or even just the upper millstone, as security for a loan, for the owner uses it to make a living.

⁷ “If anyone kidnaps a fellow Israelite and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. In this way, you will purge the evil from among you.

⁸ “In all cases involving serious skin diseases,^[a] be careful to follow the instructions of the Levitical priests; obey all the commands I have given them. ⁹ Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam as you were coming from Egypt.

¹⁰ “If you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to pick up the item he is giving as security. ¹¹ You must wait outside while he goes in and brings it out to you. ¹² If your neighbor is poor and gives you his cloak as security for a loan, do not keep the cloak overnight. ¹³ Return the cloak to its owner by sunset so he can stay warm through the night and bless you, and the Lord your God will count you as righteous.

¹⁴ “Never take advantage of poor and destitute laborers, whether they are fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns. ¹⁵ You must pay them their wages each day before sunset because they are poor and are counting on it. If you don’t, they might cry out to the Lordagainst you, and it would be counted against you as sin.

¹⁶ “Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.

¹⁷ “True justice must be given to foreigners living among you and to orphans, and you must never accept a widow’s garment as security for her debt. ¹⁸ Always remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from your slavery. That is why I have given you this command.

¹⁹ “When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the Lordyour God will bless you in all you do. ²⁰ When you beat the olives from your olive trees, don’t go over the boughs twice. Leave the remaining olives for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. ²¹ When you gather the grapes in your vineyard, don’t glean the vines after they are picked. Leave the remaining grapes for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. ²² Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. That is why I am giving you this command.

Deuteronomy 22

1 “If you see your neighbor’s ox or sheep or goat wandering away, don’t ignore your responsibility.^[a] Take it back to its owner. ² If its owner does not live nearby or you don’t know who the owner is, take it to your place and keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then you must return it. ³ Do the same if you find your neighbor’s donkey, clothing, or anything else your neighbor loses. Don’t ignore your responsibility.

⁴ “If you see that your neighbor’s donkey or ox has collapsed on the road, do not look the other way. Go and help your neighbor get it back on its feet!

⁵ “A woman must not put on men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing. Anyone who does this is detestable in the sight of the Lord your God.

⁶ “If you happen to find a bird’s nest in a tree or on the ground, and there are young ones or eggs in it with the mother sitting in the nest, do not take the mother with the young. ⁷ You may take the young, but let the mother go, so that you may prosper and enjoy a long life.

⁸ “When you build a new house, you must build a railing around the edge of its flat roof. That way you will not be considered guilty of murder if someone falls from the roof.

⁹ “You must not plant any other crop between the rows of your vineyard. If you do, you are forbidden to use either the grapes from the vineyard or the other crop.

¹⁰ “You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together.

¹¹ “You must not wear clothing made of wool and linen woven together.

¹² “You must put four tassels on the hem of the cloak with which you cover yourself—on the front, back, and sides.

Regulations for Sexual Purity

¹³ “Suppose a man marries a woman, but after sleeping with her, he turns against her ¹⁴ and publicly accuses her of shameful conduct, saying, ‘When I married this woman, I discovered she was not a virgin.’ ¹⁵ Then the woman’s father and mother must bring the proof of her virginity to the elders as they hold court at the town gate. ¹⁶ Her father must say to them, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife, and now he has turned against her. ¹⁷ He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, “I discovered that your daughter was not a virgin.” But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.’ Then they must spread her bed sheet before the elders. ¹⁸ The elders must then take the man and punish him. ¹⁹ They must also fine him 100 pieces of silver,^[b] which he must pay to the woman’s father because he publicly accused a virgin of Israel of shameful conduct. The woman will then remain the man’s wife, and he may never divorce her.

²⁰ “But suppose the man’s accusations are true, and he can show that she was not a virgin.²¹ The woman must be taken to the door of her father’s home, and there the men of the town must stone her to death, for she has committed a disgraceful crime in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her parents’ home. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.

²² “If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the woman must die. In this way, you will purge Israel of such evil.

²³ “Suppose a man meets a young woman, a virgin who is engaged to be married, and he has sexual intercourse with her. If this happens within a town, ²⁴ you must take both of them to the gates of that town and stone them to death. The woman is guilty because she did not scream for help. The man must die because he violated another man’s wife. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.

²⁵ “But if the man meets the engaged woman out in the country, and he rapes her, then only the man must die. ²⁶ Do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no crime worthy of death. She is as innocent as a murder victim. ²⁷ Since the man raped her out in the country, it must be assumed that she screamed, but there was no one to rescue her.

²⁸ “Suppose a man has intercourse with a young woman who is a virgin but is not engaged to be married. If they are discovered, ²⁹ he must pay her father fifty pieces of silver.^[c] Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he may never divorce her as long as he lives.

^30 [d]“A man must not marry his father’s former wife, for this would violate his father.

Deuteronomy 21

Cleansing for Unsolved Murder

1 “When you are in the land the Lord your God is giving you, someone may be found murdered in a field, and you don’t know who committed the murder. ² In such a case, your elders and judges must measure the distance from the site of the crime to the nearby towns.³ When the nearest town has been determined, that town’s elders must select from the herd a heifer that has never been trained or yoked to a plow. ⁴ They must lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and that has a stream running through it. There in the valley they must break the heifer’s neck. ⁵ Then the Levitical priests must step forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in the Lord’s name. They are to decide all legal and criminal cases.

⁶ “The elders of the town must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken.⁷ Then they must say, ‘Our hands did not shed this person’s blood, nor did we see it happen.⁸ O Lord, forgive your people Israel whom you have redeemed. Do not charge your people with the guilt of murdering an innocent person.’ Then they will be absolved of the guilt of this person’s blood. ⁹ By following these instructions, you will do what is right in the Lord’s sight and will cleanse the guilt of murder from your community.

Marriage to a Captive Woman

¹⁰ “Suppose you go out to war against your enemies and the Lord your God hands them over to you, and you take some of them as captives. ¹¹ And suppose you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you are attracted to her and want to marry her. ¹² If this happens, you may take her to your home, where she must shave her head, cut her nails, ¹³ and change the clothes she was wearing when she was captured. She will stay in your home, but let her mourn for her father and mother for a full month. Then you may marry her, and you will be her husband and she will be your wife. ¹⁴ But if you marry her and she does not please you, you must let her go free. You may not sell her or treat her as a slave, for you have humiliated her.

Rights of the Firstborn

¹⁵ “Suppose a man has two wives, but he loves one and not the other, and both have given him sons. And suppose the firstborn son is the son of the wife he does not love. ¹⁶ When the man divides his inheritance, he may not give the larger inheritance to his younger son, the son of the wife he loves, as if he were the firstborn son. ¹⁷ He must recognize the rights of his oldest son, the son of the wife he does not love, by giving him a double portion. He is the first son of his father’s virility, and the rights of the firstborn belong to him.

Dealing with a Rebellious Son

¹⁸ “Suppose a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they discipline him. ¹⁹ In such a case, the father and mother must take the son to the elders as they hold court at the town gate. ²⁰ The parents must say to the elders, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and refuses to obey. He is a glutton and a drunkard.’²¹ Then all the men of his town must stone him to death. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid.

Various Regulations

²² “If someone has committed a crime worthy of death and is executed and hung on a tree,^[a]23 the body must not remain hanging from the tree overnight. You must bury the body that same day, for anyone who is hung^[b] is cursed in the sight of God. In this way, you will prevent the defilement of the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession.

Deuteronomy 20

Regulations concerning War

1 “When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you! ² When you prepare for battle, the priest must come forward to speak to the troops. ³ He will say to them, ‘Listen to me, all you men of Israel! Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them. ⁴ For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’

⁵ “Then the officers of the army must address the troops and say, ‘Has anyone here just built a new house but not yet dedicated it? If so, you may go home! You might be killed in the battle, and someone else would dedicate your house. ⁶ Has anyone here just planted a vineyard but not yet eaten any of its fruit? If so, you may go home! You might die in battle, and someone else would eat the first fruit. ⁷ Has anyone here just become engaged to a woman but not yet married her? Well, you may go home and get married! You might die in the battle, and someone else would marry her.’

⁸ “Then the officers will also say, ‘Is anyone here afraid or worried? If you are, you may go home before you frighten anyone else.’ ⁹ When the officers have finished speaking to their troops, they will appoint the unit commanders.

¹⁰ “As you approach a town to attack it, you must first offer its people terms for peace. ¹¹ If they accept your terms and open the gates to you, then all the people inside will serve you in forced labor. ¹² But if they refuse to make peace and prepare to fight, you must attack the town. ¹³ When the Lord your God hands the town over to you, use your swords to kill every man in the town. ¹⁴ But you may keep for yourselves all the women, children, livestock, and other plunder. You may enjoy the plunder from your enemies that the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁵ “But these instructions apply only to distant towns, not to the towns of the nations in the land you will enter. ¹⁶ In those towns that the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession, destroy every living thing. ¹⁷ You must completely destroy^[a] the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, just as the Lord your God has commanded you. ¹⁸ This will prevent the people of the land from teaching you to imitate their detestable customs in the worship of their gods, which would cause you to sin deeply against the Lord your God.

¹⁹ “When you are attacking a town and the war drags on, you must not cut down the trees with your axes. You may eat the fruit, but do not cut down the trees. Are the trees your enemies, that you should attack them? ²⁰ You may only cut down trees that you know are not valuable for food. Use them to make the equipment you need to attack the enemy town until it falls.