Curses Pronounced
Deuteronomy 27:9-26
Deu.27.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וידבר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- משה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- והכהנים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- הלוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אל: NEG
- כל: DET
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- הסכת: DET+NOUN,f,pl,def
- ושמע: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- נהיית: VERB,qal,perf,2,pl
- לעם: PREP
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 6:4 (verbal): Shares the formula 'Hear, O Israel' (Shema), invoking communal attention and confession of Israel's identity and duty to YHWH.
- Exodus 24:3 (structural): Both passages stage a covenant ceremony in which Moses speaks and the people formally accept the covenant, becoming YHWH’s people by their response.
- Exodus 19:5-6 (thematic): Declares Israel’s status as YHWH’s people/treasured possession and a 'kingdom of priests, a holy nation,' paralleling the theme 'you have become a people to the LORD your God.'
- Joshua 24:23-24 (structural): Covenant-renewal context where the leader summons the tribes, calls for a decision, and the people verbally commit themselves to serve YHWH—paralleling Deut 27’s ceremonial address and affirmation.
- 1 Peter 2:9 (allusion): New Testament echo of Israel’s identity language—'a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation'—reflecting the idea of becoming God’s people articulated in Deut 27:9.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, "Be silent, and hear, O Israel: today you have become the people of the LORD your God."
- And Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, "Be silent and hear, O Israel: this day you have become the people of the LORD your God."
Deu.27.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ושמעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- בקול: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- ועשית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- מצותו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3ms
- ואת: CONJ
- חקיו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss:3,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- מצוך: VERB,piel,part,1,sg,obj:2,m,sg
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Exodus 24:7 (verbal): The covenant response "na'aseh venishma" ("we will do and we will hear") closely echoes Deut.'s call to obey and do the LORD's commandments, linking covenantal assent with obedience.
- Deuteronomy 5:32 (structural): A near-sibling injunction within Deuteronomy: "You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you," paralleling the command to hear God's voice and do his statutes.
- Deuteronomy 4:1 (thematic): Moses' opening exhortation to "give heed to the statutes and ordinances... and do them" thematically mirrors the call in 27:10 to listen to the LORD and perform his commandments.
- Joshua 1:7-8 (thematic): Joshua's charge to be careful to obey the law and meditate on it so as to prosper echoes Deut.27:10's emphasis on obedience to God's voice and statutes as the basis for covenant faithfulness and blessing.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall obey the voice of the LORD your God and keep his commandments and his statutes that I command you today.
- You shall obey the voice of the LORD your God and keep his commandments and his statutes that I command you this day.
Deu.27.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויצו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- משה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ביום: PREP
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
Parallels
- Deut.5:1 (verbal): Same opening address by Moses to the whole assembly—'Moses called all Israel, and said unto them'—a common formula for major public instructions.
- Deut.27:10-13 (structural): Immediate context: Moses' commands about setting the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal and the division of tribes; these verses form the extended charge introduced in v.11.
- Josh.8:30-35 (thematic): Joshua repeats the covenantal ceremony on Mount Ebal—building an altar, writing the law, and publicly reading it—which echoes Moses' command to the people to enact and hear the blessings/curses.
- Deut.31:12 (verbal): Moses instructs that 'assemble the people'—bringing all Israel, including women and children, to hear the law—another instance of Moses formally charging the people to hear/observe covenant stipulations.
- Deut.29:9 (thematic): Moses' exhortation to the people to 'keep the words' and enter into the covenant parallels the purpose of the charge in 27:11: public instruction for covenant obedience and communal commitment.
Alternative generated candidates
- On that day Moses charged the people, saying,
- And Moses commanded the people on that day, saying,
Deu.27.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- יעמדו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לברך: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- על: PREP
- הר: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- גרזים: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- בעברכם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- הירדן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- שמעון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולוי: CONJ+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ויהודה: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויששכר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויוסף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובנימן: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deut.27:13 (structural): Direct counterpart in the same ceremony: lists the six tribes appointed to stand on Mount Ebal (the complementary group to those on Gerizim in 27:12).
- Deut.11:29 (thematic): Earlier instruction that when Israel enters the land the blessing is to be set on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal—provides the theological basis for the arrangement in 27:12.
- Joshua 8:30-35 (structural): Narrative fulfillment of Deut 27: instructions: Joshua builds an altar, inscribes/reads the law and pronounces blessings and curses with Israel standing on Gerizim and Ebal as prescribed.
- Joshua 8:33-34 (verbal): Echoes the ceremony language: records the people, priests and elders standing on the two mountains and the reading of the law and curses/blessings, closely paralleling the purpose and setting of Deut 27:12.
Alternative generated candidates
- "These shall stand to bless the people on Mount Gerizim when you cross over the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin."
- "These shall stand to bless the people on Mount Gerizim, when you cross over the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.
Deu.27.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואלה: CONJ+DEM,pl,abs
- יעמדו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- על: PREP
- הקללה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- בהר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- עיבל: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- ראובן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גד: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- ואשר: CONJ+PRON,rel
- וזבולן: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ונפתלי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deut.27:12 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same pericope listing the tribes assigned to stand on Mount Gerizim (the complement to those on Ebal), forming the paired tribal distribution for the covenant ceremony.
- Deut.27:2-8 (structural): Earlier instructions for the covenant ceremony—setting stones, writing the law on them and building an altar on Mount Ebal—that provide the programmatic context for the tribal placements named in 27:13.
- Deut.11:29-32 (thematic): Announces that when Israel crosses the Jordan they will set Mount Gerizim for blessings and Mount Ebal for curses; this anticipates and thematically frames the listing of tribes assigned to Ebal in 27:13.
- Josh.8:30-35 (quotation): Narrative fulfilment of Deuteronomy’s command: Joshua builds the altar on Mount Ebal and the law is read while the people (with tribes on Gerizim and Ebal) stand on the opposing mountains, echoing the tribal assignments of Deut 27:12–13.
Alternative generated candidates
- "And these shall stand to pronounce the curse on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali."
- And these shall stand to pronounce the curse on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali."
Deu.27.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וענו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- הלוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ואמרו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- כל: DET
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- קול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רם: ADJ,m,sg
Parallels
- Deut 27:15-26 (verbal): Direct continuation: the Levites immediately pronounce the series of curses aloud to Israel — these verses contain the actual spoken formulae introduced in 27:14.
- Deut 27:11-13 (structural): Same ceremonial setting: tribes positioned on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal and the instruction for the Levites to address 'all the people' prepares the proclamation recorded in 27:14.
- Deut 31:11-13 (structural): Moses commands that all Israel be gathered so that the law may be read aloud (by the priests/Levites) — a parallel institutional practice of public proclamation of the law to the whole assembly.
- Josh 8:30-35 (allusion): Narrative fulfillment: Joshua builds the altar on Ebal and, with the elders/Levites present, reads the law aloud to all Israel, echoing the public, loud proclamation set up in Deut 27:14.
- Neh 8:1-8 (thematic): Post‑exilic parallel of communal law‑reading: Ezra and the Levites read and explain the Torah aloud to all the people, reflecting the same practice of a public, audible proclamation of the law introduced in 27:14.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the Levites shall answer and say to all the people of Israel, "A loud voice!"
- And the Levites shall answer and say to all the people with a loud voice,
Deu.27.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ארור: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- האיש: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יעשה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- פסל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומסכה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תועבת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מעשה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ידי: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- חרש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושם: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בסתר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וענו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כל: DET
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואמרו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- אמן: INTJ
Parallels
- Exodus 20:4-6 (quotation): The Ten Commandments prohibition against making graven images echoes Deut 27:15’s condemnation of idolatrous images as an abomination to Yahweh.
- Deuteronomy 4:15-19 (verbal): A close warning against fashioning any likeness or being led into idolatry; shares language and theological concern about images and worship of heavenly bodies.
- Leviticus 26:1 (thematic): Forbids making idols and setting up pillars; thematically aligned with Deut 27:15’s prohibition and the covenantal curse against idolatry.
- Psalm 115:4-8 (thematic): Denounces the powerlessness and folly of idols made by human hands, reflecting the same polemic against crafted images found in Deut 27:15.
- Isaiah 44:9-20 (allusion): Satirically depicts the craft and absurdity of idol-making and worship; develops the motif that idols are human handiwork and ultimately worthless, resonating with Deut 27:15’s judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- Cursed is the man who makes a carved image or a molten idol, an abomination to the LORD, the work of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret. And all the people shall say, "Amen."
- "Cursed is the man who makes a carved or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of a craftsman's hands—and sets it up in secret." And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'
Deu.27.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ארור: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מקלה: VERB,piel,part,3,m,sg
- אביו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- ואמו: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs,3,m,sg
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אמן: INTJ
Parallels
- Exodus 21:17 (verbal): Prescribes the penalty for anyone who curses or strikes a parent: 'He who curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.' Closely parallels Deut 27:16's prohibition against cursing one's parents.
- Leviticus 20:9 (verbal): Declares that anyone who curses his father or mother shall be put to death—another Pentateuchal law matching the same offense and severe sanction referenced in Deut 27:16.
- Matthew 15:4 (quotation): Jesus cites the Mosaic command to honor parents and the associated punishment for reviling them ('whoever reviles father or mother must surely die'), directly echoing the OT injunction against cursing parents.
- Ephesians 6:2–3 (quotation): Paul quotes the command to 'Honor your father and mother' (the Fifth Commandment) and its promise, reflecting the same scriptural tradition that undergirds Deut 27:16's concern for respecting parents.
Alternative generated candidates
- Cursed is he who treats his father or his mother with contempt. And all the people shall say, "Amen."
- "Cursed is he who dishonors his father or his mother." And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'
Deu.27.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ארור: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מסיג: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- גבול: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- רעהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אמן: INTJ
Parallels
- Deut.19:14 (verbal): Nearly identical legal prohibition earlier in Deuteronomy: 'You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark.' The same command against moving boundary stones is repeated.
- Proverbs 22:28 (verbal): Wisdom echo: 'Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers set.' Uses the same imagery/phrase to forbid altering boundaries.
- Proverbs 23:10 (verbal): Another proverb with the same formula ('Do not move the ancient landmark') linking boundary protection to justice, here framed with concern for the fatherless.
- Job 24:2 (thematic): Complains that some 'remove landmarks' and seize property; thematically parallels Deut.27:17’s condemnation of boundary‑moving as theft and social injustice.
Alternative generated candidates
- Cursed is he who moves his neighbor's boundary stone. And all the people shall say, "Amen."
- "Cursed is he who moves his neighbor's boundary mark." And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'
Deu.27.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ארור: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- משגה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בדרך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אמן: INTJ
Parallels
- Leviticus 19:14 (verbal): Direct legal parallel—Leviticus explicitly forbids 'putting a stumbling block before the blind' (and cursing the deaf), which corresponds to Deut 27:18's curse on misleading the blind.
- Matthew 15:14 (thematic): Jesus condemns 'blind leaders of the blind' whose leadership leads to ruin; thematically parallels the denunciation of those who mislead the blind in Deut 27:18.
- Luke 6:39 (quotation): Contains the same saying as Matthew ("Can the blind lead the blind?/... both fall into a pit"), a close NT parallel about the danger of misleading the blind.
- Micah 3:5 (thematic): Prophetic rebuke of leaders/prophets who lead the people astray; thematically related to Deut 27:18's condemnation of those who mislead the blind.
Alternative generated candidates
- Cursed is he who leads a blind person astray on the road. And all the people shall say, "Amen."
- "Cursed is he who leads the blind astray on the road." And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'
Deu.27.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ארור: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מטה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משפט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יתום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואלמנה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אמן: INTJ
Parallels
- Deut.24:17 (verbal): Repeats the injunction not to pervert justice or deprive the foreigner and the fatherless of right — close verbal and legal parallel within Deuteronomy.
- Exod.22:22-24 (verbal): Explicit prohibition against oppressing widows and orphans and warning of divine punishment — similar language and concern for vulnerable persons.
- Lev.19:15 (thematic): Commands impartial justice without partiality to poor or great — echoes Deut.27:19's concern for fair judgment toward marginalized groups.
- Ps.82:3-4 (thematic): Calls on judges to defend the weak and fatherless and deliver the needy from the wicked — a prophetic/poetic reiteration of the duty to protect orphans and widows.
- Isa.1:17 (thematic): Urgent call to seek justice, defend the fatherless and plead for the widow — prophetic summons echoing the ethical mandate of Deut.27:19.
Alternative generated candidates
- Cursed is he who perverts the right of the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. And all the people shall say, "Amen."
- "Cursed is he who perverts justice for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow." And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'
Deu.27.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ארור: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- שכב: VERB,qal,inf
- עם: PREP
- אשת: NOUN,f,sg,cns
- אביו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- גלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כנף: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אביו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אמן: INTJ
Parallels
- Leviticus 18:8 (verbal): Same prohibition language: forbids uncovering a father’s wife (’uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’), paralleling the act condemned in Deut 27:20.
- Leviticus 20:11 (verbal): Repeats the prohibition with prescribed sanction (death): a man who lies with his father’s wife is guilty, echoing Deut 27:20’s denunciation of the act.
- Genesis 35:22 (thematic): Narrative example of the offense (Reuben lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine); thematically parallels the forbidden conduct cited in Deut 27:20.
- 1 Corinthians 5:1 (allusion): Paul reports a case of a man 'having his father’s wife' in the Corinthian church and condemns it—an explicit New Testament reference to the same incestuous behavior addressed in Deut 27:20.
Alternative generated candidates
- Cursed is he who lies with his father's wife, for he uncovers his father's nakedness. 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.'
Deu.27.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ארור: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- שכב: VERB,qal,inf
- עם: PREP
- כל: DET
- בהמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אמן: PART
Parallels
- Exodus 22:19 (verbal): Direct Mosaic law forbidding intercourse with animals and prescribing death—language closely parallels Deut. 27:21’s prohibition.
- Leviticus 18:23 (verbal): Explicit prohibition against lying with any beast; the wording and categorical ban echo Deut. 27:21.
- Leviticus 20:15-16 (structural): Repeats the ban and prescribes a capital penalty for bestiality—parallels Deut. 27:21’s legal/ritual denunciation and communal sanction.
- Romans 1:26-27 (thematic): Paul condemns same-sex and 'unnatural' sexual acts as examples of sexual transgressions; thematically connects to biblical condemnations of sexual relations with animals.
- Jude 1:7 (allusion): Speaks of Sodom and Gomorrah giving themselves to sexual immorality and 'going after strange flesh'—often read as alluding to condemned sexual practices including bestiality, paralleling Deut. 27:21’s moral judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- Cursed is he who lies with any animal. And all the people shall say, "Amen."
- "Cursed is he who lies with any beast." And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'
Deu.27.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ארור: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- שכב: VERB,qal,inf
- עם: PREP
- אחתו: NOUN,f,sg,cons,3,m
- בת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- אביו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- או: CONJ
- בת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- אמו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אמן: INTJ
Parallels
- Leviticus 18:8 (verbal): Explicitly prohibits uncovering the nakedness of one's father's wife — language and prohibition closely parallel Deut 27:22.
- Leviticus 20:11 (verbal): Repeats the ban on intercourse with a father's wife and prescribes a severe penalty, providing a legal counterpart to Deut's curse.
- Genesis 35:22 (thematic): Narrative example: Reuben lies with Bilhah, his father’s concubine — an instance of the very conduct condemned in Deut 27:22.
- 1 Corinthians 5:1-2 (allusion): Paul censures a man 'having his father's wife' in the Corinthian church; New Testament recognition of the same prohibition and moral outrage.
Alternative generated candidates
- Cursed is he who lies with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, "Amen."
- "Cursed is he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother." And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'
Deu.27.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ארור: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- שכב: VERB,qal,inf
- עם: PREP
- חתנתו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3ms
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אמן: INTJ
Parallels
- Leviticus 18:15 (verbal): Prohibits uncovering the nakedness of a daughter‑in‑law (the same kinship relation), placing the act among forbidden sexual relationships.
- Leviticus 20:12 (verbal): Prescribes the penalty for a man who lies with his daughter‑in‑law (death for both), echoing Deut 27:23's condemnation of the act.
- Genesis 38:12–26 (thematic): Narrative account of Judah and Tamar — a case of intercourse between a man and his daughter‑in‑law — illustrating the social and moral tensions surrounding such unions.
- 1 Corinthians 5:1–5 (structural): Later New Testament treatment of egregious sexual immorality within a community and the call for communal sanction (expulsion/discipline), paralleling Deut 27:23's communal curse and response.
Alternative generated candidates
- Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law. And all the people shall say, "Amen."
- "Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law." And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'
Deu.27.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ארור: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מכה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רעהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- בסתר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אמן: INTJ
Parallels
- Deut.27:15-26 (structural): This verse is part of the covenant curses section; the repeated liturgical formula (“cursed be… and all the people shall say, Amen”) frames v.24 within the larger list of communal maledictions.
- Exod.21:18-19 (thematic): Legislation concerning personal violence and injury; relates to the prohibition/penalty for striking a neighbor (here Deut.27:24 condemns secret assault as a curse).
- Leviticus 19:16 (thematic): Israelite ethic toward one’s neighbor — forbidding slander, falsehood, and harm to others — provides the broader social-ethical context for condemning secret attacks on a neighbor.
- Psalm 35:11 (thematic): The psalmist complains of malicious/false witnesses and covert plots against him; thematically parallel in condemning hidden hostility and secret violence toward a neighbor.
- Zechariah 8:16-17 (allusion): A prophetic injunction to speak truth and not devise evil against one another echoes Deuternomic concern that people refrain from secret harm and treachery within the community.
Alternative generated candidates
- Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor secretly. And all the people shall say, "Amen."
- "Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor secretly." And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'
Deu.27.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ארור: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- לקח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שחד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- להכות: VERB,qal,inf
- נפש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- דם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נקי: ADJ,m,sg
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אמן: INTJ
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 16:19 (verbal): Direct legal prohibition against accepting a bribe—both texts condemn bribery that perverts justice; Deut 27:25 applies the curse where a bribe leads to shedding innocent blood.
- Exodus 23:8 (verbal): Prohibits taking a bribe ('you shall take no bribe') and explains how a bribe blinds and subverts justice—parallels the theme of bribery corrupting verdicts and causing wrongful death.
- Proverbs 6:16–17 (verbal): Lists 'hands that shed innocent blood' among the things the LORD hates; echoes Deut 27:25’s specific condemnation of causing the death of the innocent.
- Genesis 9:6 (thematic): Affirms the principle of blood-guilt—shedding human blood is a capital offense because humans are made in God's image; thematically related to the curse on those causing innocent bloodshed.
- Micah 3:11 (thematic): Condemns leaders who accept bribes and pervert justice; thematically echoes Deut 27:25’s denunciation of bribery that produces injustice and harm to the innocent.
Alternative generated candidates
- Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person. And all the people shall say, "Amen."
- "Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to put to death an innocent person." And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'
Deu.27.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ארור: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- יקים: VERB,hiph,impf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- התורה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הזאת: DEM,f,sg,def
- לעשות: VERB,qal,inf
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אמן: INTJ
Parallels
- Joshua 8:34-35 (structural): Narrative repetition of the public reading of the law on Mount Ebal and the people’s liturgical response ‘Amen,’ mirroring Deuteronomy’s prescription for pronouncing the curse.
- Galatians 3:10 (quotation): Paul cites Deut.27:26 verbatim (in Greek form) to argue that those relying on the works of the law are ‘under the curse’ for not keeping all things written in the law.
- Jeremiah 11:3-5 (allusion): Prophetic warning that invokes a covenantal curse for disobedience—‘Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant’—echoing Deuteronomy’s covenantal curse motif.
- Deuteronomy 28:15 (thematic): Within the same covenantal corpus, this verse begins the extended list of curses for failure to obey the law, thematically paralleling the single declarative curse of 27:26.
- Nehemiah 8:6 (verbal): Scene of public Torah-reading where Levites and the people respond ‘Amen, Amen’—a liturgical echo of the communal affirmation described in Deut.27:26.
Alternative generated candidates
- Cursed is the one who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them. 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.'
And Moses and the priests the Levites spoke to all Israel, saying, Be silent and hear, O Israel; today you have become the people of the LORD your God.
You shall obey the voice of the LORD your God and do his commandments and his statutes that I command you this day. And Moses charged the people on that day, saying,
These shall stand to bless the people on Mount Gerizim as you cross the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. And these shall stand for the curse on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. And the Levites shall call to all the people of Israel with a loud voice.
Cursed is the man who makes a carved image or a molten image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret; and all the people shall say, Amen.
Cursed is anyone who dishonors his father or his mother; and all the people shall say, Amen.
Cursed is anyone who moves his neighbor's boundary marker; and all the people shall say, Amen.
Cursed is anyone who leads the blind astray on the road; and all the people shall say, Amen.
Cursed is anyone who perverts the justice due the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow; and all the people shall say, Amen.
Cursed is anyone who lies with his father's wife, for he uncovers his father's nakedness; and all the people shall say, Amen.
Cursed is anyone who lies with any animal; and all the people shall say, Amen.
Cursed is anyone who lies with his sister, whether his father's daughter or his mother's daughter; and all the people shall say, Amen.
Cursed is anyone who lies with his mother-in-law; and all the people shall say, Amen.
Cursed is anyone who strikes his neighbor in secret; and all the people shall say, Amen.
Cursed is anyone who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person; and all the people shall say, Amen.
Cursed is anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by carrying them out; and all the people shall say, Amen.