Deuteronomy 27

1 Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “ Keep all the commandments I am giving you today. 2 And on the day you cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, set up large stones and coat them with plaster. 3 Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you. 4 And when you have crossed the Jordan, you are to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you are to coat them with plaster. 5 Moreover, you are to build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You must not use any iron tool on them. 6 You shall build the altar of the LORD your God with uncut stones and offer upon it burnt offerings to the LORD your God. 7 There you are to sacrifice your peace offerings, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the LORD your God. 8 And you shall write distinctly upon these stones all the words of this law.” 9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: “ Be silent, O Israel, and listen! This day you have become the people of the LORD your God. 10 You shall therefore obey the voice of the LORD your God and follow His commandments and statutes I am giving you today.” Curses Pronounced from Ebal 11 On that day Moses commanded the people: 12 “ When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to deliver the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 Then the Levites shall proclaim in a loud voice to every Israelite: 15 ‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman—and sets it up in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ 16 ‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ 17 ‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ 18 ‘Cursed is he who lets a blind man wander in the road.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ 19 ‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ 20 ‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his father’s wife, for he has violated his father’s marriage bed.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ 21 ‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ 22 ‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ 23 ‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his mother-in-law.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ 24 ‘Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ 25 ‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ 26 ‘Cursed is he who does not put the words of this law into practice.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

✦ What the text says

## Summary Deuteronomy 27 records instructions Moses and the elders give Israel for the day they cross the Jordan: to inscribe "all the words of this law" on plastered stones and build an uncut-stone altar on Mount Ebal, offering sacrifices there. The chapter then shifts to a ceremony in which six tribes stand on Mount Gerizim, six on Mount Ebal, and the Levites pronounce twelve curses aloud, each answered by the people with *'amen* ("amen", H0543). ## Key words - *'arur* ("cursed", H0779) — qal passive participle, masculine singular, opening each of the twelve pronouncements; a fixed formulaic pattern applied to a series of participial subjects (the one who does X). - *'amen* ("amen", H0543) — an interjection, the fixed congregational response repeated after each curse, functioning as a communal ratification rather than a translated word. - *sha.mor* ("keep", H8104G) — qal absolute infinitive paired with the finite command in verse 1, a construction that intensifies the imperative sense of observance. - *ba.'Er* ("surely/clearly", H0874) with *hei.Tev* ("doing well", H3190) — piel infinitive plus hiphil absolute infinitive in verse 8, a double verbal construction stressing the manner ("very plainly, very well") of the writing. - *zik.nei* ("elders of", H2205G) — masculine plural construct, linking "elders" to "Israel" and placing them alongside Moses as co-issuers of the command in verse 1. ## What the text says The opening verses (1–8) use a chain of sequential perfect verbs (*va*-prefixed forms continuing narrative or instructional sequence) to lay out a temporal sequence tied to the infinitive construct *be'ovrekhem* ("when you have passed over," from H5674A): crossing the Jordan, setting up stones, whitewashing them, writing on them, building an altar, and sacrificing. Each step is presented as consequence of the previous one through this verbal chaining rather than independent commands. The double infinitive construction in verse 8, *ba'er heitev*, has no single English equivalent — it stacks two verbal roots (H0874 piel infinitive, H3190 hiphil absolute infinitive) to intensify the adverbial notion of clarity beyond what a single adverb would convey. The second half (11–26) shifts from narrative/instructional perfects to a repetitive liturgical formula: each curse begins with the qal passive participle *'arur* ("cursed") followed by a participial or relative clause naming the offender (*sokhev* "one who lies," H7901I; *makkeh* "one who strikes," H5221; *massig* "one who displaces," H5253), and closes with the sequential perfect *ve'amar kol ha'am amen* ("and all the people will say, amen"). The participial subjects (rather than finite verbs) present each wrongdoing as a characterizing state or habitual identity ("the one who does...") rather than a single narrated act.

This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.