25.
1 "If
there is a dispute between men, and they come to court, that the judges may
judge them, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked,
2 "then it
shall be, if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, that the judge will cause
him to lie down and be beaten in his presence, according to his guilt, with a
certain number of blows.
3 "Forty
blows he may give him and no more, lest he should exceed this and beat him with
many blows above these, and your brother be humiliated in your sight.
4 "You
shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.
5 "If
brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the
dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband's
brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a
husband's brother to her.
6 "And it shall
be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead
brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
7 "But if
the man does not want to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife
go up to the gate to the elders, and say, 'My husband's brother refuses to
raise up a name to his brother in Israel; he will not perform the duty of my
husband's brother.'
8 "Then
the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm
and says, 'I do not want to take her,'
9 "then
his brother's wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, remove his
sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and answer and say, 'So shall it be
done to the man who will not build up his brother's house.'
10 "And
his name shall be called in Israel, 'The house of him who had his sandal
removed.'
11 "If two
men fight together, and the wife of one draws near to rescue her husband from
the hand of the one attacking him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the
genitals,
12 "then
you shall cut off her hand; your eye shall not pity her.
13 "You
shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light.
14 "You
shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small.
15 "You
shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your
days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
16 "For
all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are an abomination to the
LORD your God.
17
"Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of
Egypt,
18 "how he
met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your
rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God.
19
"Therefore it shall be, when the LORD your God has given you rest from
your enemies all around, in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to
possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek
from under heaven. You shall not forget.
26.
1 "And it
shall be, when you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you as
an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it,
2 "that
you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you
shall bring from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and put it in
a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name
abide.
3 "And you
shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, 'I declare
today to the LORD your God that I have come to the country which the LORD swore
to our fathers to give us.'
4 "Then
the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the
altar of the LORD your God.
5 "And you
shall answer and say before the LORD your God: 'My father was a Syrian, about
to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there
he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous.
6 'But the
Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us.
7 'Then we
cried out to the LORD God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and
looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression.
8 'So the LORD
brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with
great terror and with signs and wonders.
9 'He has
brought us to this place and has given us this land, "a land flowing with
milk and honey";
10 'and now,
behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O LORD, have
given me.' Then you shall set it before the LORD your God, and worship before
the LORD your God.
11 "So you
shall rejoice in every good thing which the LORD your God has given to you and
your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.
12 "When
you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third
year--the year of tithing--and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the
fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be
filled,
13 "then
you shall say before the LORD your God: 'I have removed the holy tithe from my
house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless,
and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me;
I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.
14 'I have not
eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for an unclean
use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my
God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me.
15 'Look down
from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the
land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, "a land
flowing with milk and honey."'
16 "This
day the LORD your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore
you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your
soul.
17 "Today
you have proclaimed the LORD to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways
and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will
obey His voice.
18 "Also
today the LORD has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised
you, that you should keep all His commandments,
19 "and
that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in
name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the LORD your God,
just as He has spoken."
27.
1 Now Moses,
with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying: "Keep all the
commandments which I command you today.
2 "And it
shall be, on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the LORD
your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and
whitewash them with lime.
3 "You
shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that
you may enter the land which the LORD your God is giving you, 'a land flowing
with milk and honey,' just as the LORD God of your fathers promised you.
4
"Therefore it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that on
Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you
shall whitewash them with lime.
5 "And
there you shall build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones; you
shall not use an iron tool on them.
6 "You
shall build with whole stones the altar of the LORD your God, and offer burnt
offerings on it to the LORD your God.
7 "You
shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and rejoice before the LORD
your God.
8 "And you
shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law."
9 Then Moses
and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, "Take heed and
listen, O Israel: This day you have become the people of the LORD your God.
10
"Therefore you shall obey the voice of the LORD your God, and observe His
commandments and His statutes which I command you today."
11 And Moses
commanded the people on the same day, saying,
12 "These
shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have crossed over
the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin;
13 "and
these shall stand on Mount Ebal to curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and
Naphtali.
14 "And
the Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel:
15 'Cursed is
the one who makes a carved or molded 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!'
16 'Cursed is
the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt.' And all the people
shall say, 'Amen!'
17 'Cursed is
the one who moves his neighbor's landmark.' And all the people shall say,
'Amen!'
18 'Cursed is
the one who makes the blind to wander off the road.' And all the people shall
say, 'Amen!'
19 'Cursed is
the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.'
And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'
20 'Cursed is
the one who lies with his father's wife, because he has uncovered his father's
bed.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'
21 'Cursed is
the one who lies with any kind of animal.' And all the people shall say,
'Amen!'
22 'Cursed is
the one who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of
his mother.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'
23 'Cursed is
the one who lies with his mother-in-law.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'
24 'Cursed is
the one who attacks his neighbor secretly.' And all the people shall say,
'Amen!'
25 'Cursed is
the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.' And all the people shall
say, 'Amen!'
26 'Cursed is
the one who does not confirm all the words of this law.' And all the people
shall say, 'Amen!'