Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression;
and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders;
Now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, O LORD have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God;
and you and the Levite and the alien who is among you shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given you and your household.
“When you have finished paying all the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and to the widow, that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.
You shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and also have given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments.
I have not eaten of it while mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the LORD my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me.
Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as You swore to our fathers.’
“This day the LORD your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul.
You have today declared the LORD to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice.
The LORD has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments;
and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the LORD your God, as He has spoken.”
Then Moses and the elders of Israel charged the people, saying, “Keep all the commandments which I command you today.
So it shall be on the day when you cross the Jordan to the land which the LORD your God gives you, that you shall set up for yourself large stones and coat them with lime
and write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over, so that you may enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.
So it shall be when you cross the Jordan, you shall set up on Mount Ebal, these stones, as I am commanding you today, and you shall coat them with lime.
Moreover, you shall build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones; you shall not wield an iron tool on them.
You shall build the altar of the LORD your God of uncut stones, and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the LORD your God;
and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and eat there, and rejoice before the LORD your God.
You shall write on the stones all the words of this law very distinctly.”
Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, saying, “Be silent and listen, O Israel! This day you have become a people for the LORD your God.
You shall therefore obey the LORD your God, and do His commandments and His statutes which I command you today.”
Moses also charged the people on that day, saying,
“When you cross the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.
For the curse, these shall stand on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
The Levites shall then answer and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice,
‘Cursed is the man who makes an idol or a molten image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary mark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien, orphan, and widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s skirt.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
“Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God:
“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
“Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.
“The LORD shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways.
The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.
So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will be afraid of you.
The LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.
The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully,
and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
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