Study Desk

"Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and you possess it and live in it,

that you shall take some of ^(a)the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and ^(b)go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name.

You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare this day to the Lord ^[a]my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.'

Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God.

You shall answer and say before the Lord your God, ‘^(c)My father was a ^[b]wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and ^[c]sojourned there, ^(d)few in number; but there he became a ^(e)great, mighty and populous nation.

And the ^(f)Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us.

Then ^(g)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;

^(h)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;

and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, ⁽ⁱ⁾a land flowing with milk and honey.

Now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground ^(j)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 ^(k)the Levite and the alien who is among you shall ^(l)rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household.

"^(m)When you have finished ^[d]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 ^[e]orphan and to the widow, that they may eat in your ^[f]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 ^[g]orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; ⁽ⁿ⁾I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments.

I have not eaten of it ^[h]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.

^(o)Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us, ^(p)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 ^(q)with all your heart and with all your soul.

^(r)You have today declared the Lord to be your God, and ^[i]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 ^(s)His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and ^[j]that you should keep all His commandments;

and ^[k]that He will ^(t)set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be ^(u)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.

^(a)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, ^(b)a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord , the God of your fathers, ^[a]promised you.

So it shall be when you cross the Jordan, you shall set up ^(c)on Mount Ebal, these stones, ^[b]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 ^(d)shall not ^[c]wield an iron tool on them.

You shall build the altar of the Lord your God of ^[d]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 ^(e)rejoice before the Lord your God.

You shall write on the ^[e]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 ^[f]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 ^(f)Mount Gerizim to bless the people: ^(g)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 ^[g](h)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 ⁽ⁱ⁾all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.'

‘^(j)Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.'

‘^(k)Cursed is he who moves his neighbor's boundary mark.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.'

‘^(l)Cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.'

‘^(m)Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien, ^[h]orphan, and widow.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.'

‘⁽ⁿ⁾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.'

‘^(o)Cursed is he who lies with any animal.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.'

‘^(p)Cursed is he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or of his mother.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.'

‘^(q)Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.'

‘^(r)Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.'

‘^(s)Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.'

‘^(t)Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.' And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.'