Deu_26:1-19; Deu_27:1-26; Deu_28:1-68; Deu_29:1-29

SECTION L.

THABO.

XXVI. And when thou hast entered into the land which the Lord thy God will give thee for possession, and thou inherit and dwell in it, thou shalt take of the first of all the produce of the earth which thou shalt bring up from the land the Lord thy God will give thee, and put it into a basket, and go to the place which the Lord thy God will choose to make His Shekinah to dwell there. And thou shalt come unto the priest who will be in those days, and say to him: I profess this day before the Lord thy God, that I have come into the land which the Lord did covenant to our fathers to give them. And the priest shall take the basket from thy hand, and lay it down before the altar of the Lord thy God; and thou shalt answer and say before the Lord thy God:

Laban the Aramite sought to destroy my father, I and he went down to Mizraim, and dwelt there with a few people, but became there a people great and strong. But the Mizraee maltreated and afflicted us, and laid hard labour upon us. And we prayed before the Lord, the God of our fathers; and the Lord heard our prayer, and our travail, weariness, and oppression were manifest before Him; and the Lord brought us out of Mizraim with a mighty hand and uplifted arm, with great visions, signs, and wonders, and brought us to this place, and gave us this land, a land producing milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land which Thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it down before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God. And thou shalt rejoice in all the good which the Lord thy God hath given thee, with the men of thy house, the Levite and the stranger who is among you. When thou hast made an end of tything all the tythe of thy produce in the third year, the year of the tythes, and hast given it to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, that they may eat within thy cities and be satisfied, then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God:

I have set apart the consecrated tenth from my house, and have given also to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Thy commandment which Thou hast commanded me. I have not transgressed Thy commandment, nor been forgetful. I have not eaten of it in my mourning, nor exchanged ally of it for what is unclean, nor given of it for the dead. I have been obedient to the Word of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that Thou hast commanded me. Look down from the heavens, the habitation of Thy holiness, and bless Thy people Israel, and the land which Thou hast given us, as Thou didst swear to our fathers, a land producing milk and honey. This day doth the Lord thy God command thee to do these statutes and judgments, and to keep and perform them with all thy heart, and with all thy soul. This day hast thou declared (or avouched) the Lord to be thy God, and to walk in the ways that are right before Him, and Ito keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and to be obedient to His word. And the Lord hath declared thee this day to be His beloved people, as He hath said unto thee, that thou mayest observe all His commandments, and that He may set thee above all the nations whom He hath made, in praise, and in name, and in greatness, and that thou mayest be a holy people before the Lord thy God, as He hath spoken.

XXVII. And Mosheh and the elders of Israel instructed the people, saying: Observe all the commandments which I command you this day. In the day that you pass over the Jordan to the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt set thee up great stones, and cover them with plaster (or lime), and write upon them all the words of this law, when thou hast passed over to go into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, a land producing milk and honey, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said to thee. When you have passed the Jordan, you shall set up those stones which I command you this day, on the mountain of Ebal, and plaster them with lime; and thou shalt build an altar before the Lord thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up iron upon it. With perfected stones shalt thou build the altar of the Lord thy God, and offer sacrifices thereon before the Lord thy God. And thou shalt sacrifice consecrated victims, and eat there, and rejoice before the Lord thy God; and thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law, distinctly and beautifully. And Mosheh, and the priests, the Levites, spake to all Israel: Listen and hear, O Israel: Today art thou a people before the Lord thy God and thou shalt hearken to the Word of the Lord thy God, and do His commandments and His statutes which I command thee this day. And Mosheh charged the people on that day, saying: These shall stand to bless the people on the mountain of Gerizim, when you have passed the Jordan; Shemeon and Levi, Jehudah, Issakar, Joseph, and Benjamin. And these shall stand to accurse upon the mountain of Ebal; Reuben and Asher, Zebulon, Dan, and Naphtali. And the Levites shall answer and say to all the men of Israel, with a high voice:

Accursed be the man who shall make an image or molten (one), an abomination before the Lord, the work of an artificer’s hand, and place it in secret. And all the people shall respond and say, Amen. Accursed be he who contemneth his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Accursed he who changeth the boundary of his neighbour. And all the people shall say, Amen. Accursed he who maketh the blind wander in the way. And all the people shall say, Amen. Accursed he who perverteth the judgment of the stranger, the orphan, or the widow. And all the people shall say, Amen. Accursed he who lieth with his father’s wife: he uncovereth the skirt of his father. And all the people shall say, Amen. Accursed is he who lieth with any beast. And all the people shall say, Amen. Accursed is he who lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Accursed is he who lieth with his mother-in-law. And all the people shall say, Amen. Accursed is he who smiteth his neighbour in secret. And all the people shall say, Amen. Accursed is he who receiveth hire to kill the life, and (shed the) blood of the innocent. And all the people shall say, Amen. Accursed is he who confirmeth not the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.

XXVIII. And if thou wilt indeed be obedient to the Word of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command thee this day, the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the peoples of the earth; and all these blessings shall come upon thee and keep with thee, if thou wilt be obedient to the Word of the Lord thy God. Blessed (shalt) thou (be) in the city, and blessed in the field. Blessed shall be the offspring of thy womb, and the produce of thy land, the increase of thy cattle, the oxen of thy herd, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be in thy coming in, and blessed in thy going out. The Lord shall cause thy adversaries that rise up against thee to be shattered before thee; they will come out to thee in one way, but in seven ways shall they flee from before thee. The Lord will command blessing upon thee in all thy storehouses, and on all that thou set test thy hand unto, and will bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth to thee. The Lord shall confirm thee for Himself to be a holy people, as He hath sworn to thee, if thou wilt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in the ways which are right before Him. And all the nations of the earth shall see that the Name of the Lord is invoked upon thee, and they will be afraid of thee. And the Lord will make thee to abound in good, in the offspring of thy womb, and of thy cattle, and in the produce of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware to thy fathers to give thee. The Lord will open for thee His good treasure, the heavens, to give rain to thy land in its season, and to bless all the works of thy hand; and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but not borrow; and the Lord will make thee strong and not weak, and thou shalt evermore be upper and not under, if thou wilt obey the commandments of the Lord thy God which I command thee this day to keep and to perform. And you shall not go astray from any of the things I command you this day, right or left, to walk after the gods of the Gentiles to serve them. But if thou wilt not obey the Word of the Lord thy God to observe and do all His commandments, and His statutes which I command you this day, all these curses shall come upon thee and cleave to thee. Accursed shalt thou be in the city, and accursed in the field; accursed thy basket and thy store; accursed the generation of thy womb, the produce of thy ground, the oxen of thy herd, and the folds of thy sheep. Accursed shalt thou be in thy coming in, and accursed in thy going out. The Lord shall send upon thee malediction and trouble and rebuke (or menace) in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou art consumed and perish quickly, on account of the wickedness of thy works, when thou hast forgotten to fear Me (or, whereby thou hast forgotten My fear). The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave to thee, until He have destroyed thee from off the land into which thou art going to possess it. The Lord will smite thee with wasting, with fever, with inflammation, with dryness, and with the sword, and with jaundice (or mildew?). And they shall follow thee till thou art destroyed. And the heavens over thy head will be obdurate as brass in withholding rain, and the ground under thee obstinate as iron in producing no fruit. The Lord will give thee ashes for the rain of thy land; and dust will come down from the heavens upon thee, until thou be consumed. The Lord will deliver thee up to be broken before thy enemies; thou wilt go out to them by one way, but by seven ways shalt thou flee before them, and thou shalt be dispersed in all the kingdoms of the earth. And thy carcase shall be cast out for food for all the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be none to drive (them) away. And the Lord will smite thee with the ulcer of the Mizraee, with emerods, soreness, and the dry scurvy, from which thou canst not be healed. And the Lord will smite thee with distraction, and blindness, and with bewilderment of heart; and thou shalt grope in the noonday as the blind gropeth in darkness; and thou shalt not prosper in thy way, but be only oppressed and despoiled always, and no man will be able to save.

Thou wilt betroth a wife, but another man shall have her; thou wilt build a house, but not dwell in it, and plant a vineyard, but have no use thereof. Thy ox will all be killed in thy sight; but thou shalt not eat of it; thy ass shall be taken away from thee, and not be returned to thee; thy sheep will be delivered to thy enemies, and thou wilt have no one to rescue them; thy sons and daughters will be given up to another people, and thy eyes look and fail (with longing) for them all the day, and there shall be no power in thy hand. The produce of thy land and all thy labours a people whom thou knowest not shall devour, and thou wilt only be oppressed and crushed all the days. And thou wilt be mad through the sight of thy eyes which thou seest. The Lord will smite thee with an evil ulcer upon thy knees and thy thighs, from which thou wilt not be able to be healed from the sole of thy foot unto thy brain. The Lord will make thee and thy king whom thou mayest have set over thee to be captive to a people whom thou and thy fathers have not known; and there shalt thou serve a people, worshippers of idols of wood and stone; and thou wilt become a ruin, a proverb, and a history, among all nations whither the Lord shall make thee go.

Much seed wilt thou carry out into the field, but little shalt thou gather in, for the locust will consume it; thou wilt plant and till vineyards, but wilt not drink the wine, nor gather in, for the worm shall eat it; thou wilt have olive trees in all thy borders, but with the oil thou wilt not anoint, for thy olive trees shall waste; thou wilt beget sons and daughters, but wilt not have them (with thee), for they shall go into captivity. The locust will consume all the fruitage and the trees of thy land. The uncircumcised stranger who is among thee will rise up high above thee, but thou shalt be brought down very low: he shall lend to thee, but thou wilt not lend to him; he will be strong, and thou wilt be weak. And all these curses shall come upon thee, and follow thee, and cleave to thee till thou art consumed, because thou wast not obedient to the Word of the Lord thy God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He hath commanded thee. And they will be upon thee for a sign and a wonder, and upon thy children for ever; because thou wouldst not worship before the Lord thy God with cheerfulness and comeliness of heart for the abundance of all (His benefits): but thou shalt serve thy enemies whom the Lord will send against thee, in hunger, thirst, nakedness, and want of all things; and He will put a yoke of iron upon thy neck until He hath destroyed thee. And the Lord will bring upon thee a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, like the flying eagle, a people whose language thou wilt not understand, a people of mighty presence, who will not regard the old man, nor have mercy on the infant. And he will eat up the increase of thy cattle, and the fruitage of thy ground, until he hath consumed thee; for he will not leave thee corn, wine, nor oil, the oxen of thy herd, nor the sheep of thy flock, until he hath brought thee to ruin. And he will shut thee up in all thy cities, till he hath brought down thy high and fenced walls, wherein thou didst confide to be saved by them throughout all thy land; and he will besiege thee in all thy cities in all thy land which the Lord thy God did give thee. And thou wilt eat the offspring of thy womb, the flesh of thy sons and daughters whom the Lord thy God had given thee, in the siege and straitness with which thy enemies shall straiten thee. The man who is gentle among you, and very delicate, will look with an evil eye upon his brother, and upon the wife of his covenant, and upon the remnant of his children whom he will leave; he will not give to one of them of the flesh of his children which he shall eat, for that nothing remaineth to him of all, in the siege and the straitness with which thy enemies shall straiten thee in all thy cities.

She who is tender among you, and delicate, who had not (been used to) put the sole of her foot upon the ground under her, from delicateness and tenderness, will look with an evil eye upon the husband of her covenant, and upon her son and her daughter, and against her little children who have been brought forth of her, and against her children whom she hath borne; for she will eat them in secret, in the want of all things, in the siege and the straitness with which thy enemies shall straiten thee in thy cities: if thou wilt not observe to perform all the words of this law which are written in this book, to reverence this glorious and fearful Name, THE LORD THY GOD. And the Lord will make thy plagues to be manifest (distinguished), and the plagues of thy children) great plagues and continuous, afflictions evil and abiding. And He will lay upon thee all the strokes of Mizraim of which thou wast afraid, and they shall cleave to thee. All the diseases also and all the plagues that are not written in the book of this law, will the Lord lay upon thee till He hath destroyed thee. And you, who had been as the stars of heaven for multitude, will be left a small people, because you would not be obedient to the Word of the Lord your God. And as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good and to multiply you, so will the Lord rejoice over you to destroy and consume you, and to carry you away from off the land which you are entering to possess it. And the Lord will scatter thee among all nations unto the ends of the earth; and thou shalt there serve peoples who worship idols of wood and stone, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known. But among those nations thou wilt have no repose, nor will the sole of thy foot have rest, but the Lord will give thee there a timorous heart, darkness of eyes, and feebleness of mind; and thou wilt hold thy life in suspense, and be afraid by night and day, for thou wilt be never sure of thy life. In the morning thou wilt say, O that it were evening I but in the evening thou wilt say, O that it were morning! from the fearfulness of thy heart with which thou wilt fear, and the sight of thy eyes which thou shalt see. And the Lord will cause thee to return to Mizraim, in ships, by the way of which I spake with thee, thou shalt see it no more: and there shall you be offered for sale for bondmen and bondwomen, but none shall buy.

These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Mosheh to ratify with the children of Israel in the land of Moab; besides the covenant which He ratified with them at Horeb.

XXIX. And Mosheh called unto all Israel, and said to them: You have seen all that the Lord wrought before your eyes in the land of Mizraim on Pharoh, and all his servants, and on all his land; the great temptations, the signs and grand portents which thy eyes beheld; yet the Lord hath not given you a heart to understand, nor eyes to discern, nor ears to hear, unto this day. And I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your raiment hath not become old upon you, and thy shoes have not worn away from off thy feet; you have not eaten bread, nor drunk wine, either new or old, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. And you came to this place; and Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Mathnan came out to meet us, to wage battle; and we smote them, and subdued their land, and gave it for an inheritance to the tribe of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Menasheh. Keep ye the words of this covenant, and perform them, that you may prosper in all that you do.