Deuteronomio 27

VBL · Chapter 27/34

1Moisés y los ancianos israelitas de Israel le dieron estas instrucciones al pueblo: Guarda todos los mandamientos que yo te entrego hoy.

2El día que cruces el Jordán hacia el país que el Señor tu Dios te da, coloca unas grandes piedras y píntalas con cal.

3Entonces escribe todas estas leyes en ellas una vez que hayas cruzado para entrar en el país que el Señor tu Dios te está dando, una tierra que fluye leche y miel, tal como el Señor, el Dios de tus antepasados, te lo prometió.

4Una vez que hayas cruzado el Jordán, debes colocar estas piedras en el Monte Ebal, habiéndolas pintado con cal, como te he ordenado hacer hoy.

5Construye también allí un altar de piedra para el Señor tu Dios, un altar de piedras. No uses ninguna herramienta de piedra en su construcción.

6Construye el altar del Señor tu Dios con piedras sin cortar y sacrifícalo con holocaustos para el Señor tu Dios.

7Ahí es también donde debes sacrificar y comer tus ofrendas de paz, celebrando en la presencia del Señor tu Dios.

8Escribe todas estas leyes claramente en las piedras.

9Moisés y los sacerdotes levitas les dieron estas órdenes a todos los israelitas: “¡Cállense, pueblo de Israel, y escuchen! Hoy se han convertido en el pueblo del Señor su Dios.

10Así que obedezcan lo que el Señor su Dios les dice, y sigan los mandamientos y preceptos que les doy hoy”.

11Ese día Moisés dio estas órdenes al pueblo:

12Después de haber cruzado el Jordán, las siguientes tribus se pararán en el Monte Gerizim para bendecir al pueblo: Simeón, Leví, Judá, Isacar, José y Benjamín.

13Las siguientes tribus se pararán en el Monte Ebal para la maldición: Rubén, Gad, Aser, Zabulón, Dan y Neftalí.

14Entonces los levitas gritarán en voz alta para que los israelitas puedan oír:

15“Maldito sea el que fabrique una imagen tallada o un ídolo de metal y le adore en secreto. ¡No es sino un objeto hecho por hombres, y es ofensivo para el Señor!” Todos dicen: “¡Amén!”

16“¡Maldito sea el que deshonre a su padre o a su madre”. Todos dicen: “¡Amén!”

17“¡Maldito sea el que mueva los linderos de su vecino!” Todos dicen: “¡Amén!”

18“¡Maldito sea el que permita a un ciego deambular por el camino!” Todos dicen: “¡Amén!”

19“¡Maldito sea el que no trate bien a los extranjeros, a los huérfanos y a las viudas!” Todos dicen: “¡Amén!”

20“¡Maldito sea el que se acueste con la mujer de su padre, porque habrá deshonrado a su padre!” Todos dicen: “¡Amén!”

21“¡Maldito sea el que se acueste con cualquier animal!” Todos dicen: “¡Amén!”

22“¡Maldito sea el hombre que se acueste con su hermana, la hija de su padre o la hija de su madre!” Todos dicen: “¡Amén!”

23“¡Maldito sea el hombre que se acueste con su suegra!” Todos dicen: “¡Amén!”

24“¡Maldito sea el que ataque en secreto a su prójimo!” Todos dicen: “¡Amén!”

25“¡Maldito sea el que acepte un soborno para matar a un inocente!” Todos dicen: “¡Amén!”

26“¡Maldito sea el que no obedezca cuidadosamente todas estas leyes al cumplirlas!” Todos dicen: “¡Amén!”

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Moses instructs that, upon entering the land, Israel is to set up large stones inscribed with the Law on Mount Ebal, build an altar there, and hold a solemn ceremony in which six tribes proclaim blessings from Mount Gerizim and six tribes proclaim curses from Mount Ebal, with the people answering 'Amen' after each one.

Explanation

This public, formal ceremony of covenant renewal, planned years in advance to take place as soon as Israel entered the land, turned the new generation into active, conscious participants in the covenant, not merely passive heirs of an agreement made by their parents at Sinai. The specific list of proclaimed curses (against secret idolatry, dishonoring parents, property fraud, exploiting the vulnerable, and sexual sins) focuses notably on sins committed in secret or against the most defenseless — exactly the kinds of injustice hardest to hold accountable through the ordinary judicial system — making them a matter of responsibility and vigilance for the whole community through this public declaration. The collective response of 'Amen' from all the people after each curse created an explicit, public, verbal commitment from every individual to these ethical standards.

Fun facts

  • This ceremonial event would actually be carried out just as described, in Joshua 8:30-35, right after the conquest of Ai, showing that Joshua took seriously the detailed instruction Moses had given decades earlier, even while still in the middle of active military campaigns.
  • The word 'Amen,' used here for the first time so systematically and repeatedly, would go on to become one of the most universally known and used Hebrew words in practically every religious tradition descended from Judaism, including Christianity and Islam.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Deuteronomio 27:1Moses and the elders together give the collective command to keep all the commandments just given, marking the shared authority of the leadership.
  2. Deuteronomio 27:2Upon entering the land, the people were to set up large stones, coat them with plaster, and write the whole law on them: a public, permanent monument of the covenant, in the style of the stelae ancient kings used to record treaties and laws in plain sight.
  3. Deuteronomio 27:3The whole law was to be written on these plastered stones, a public and visible record right at the entrance to the promised land.
  4. Deuteronomio 27:4It specifies the exact location of the monument: Mount Ebal, which soon after also becomes the mountain of curses in this same chapter.
  5. Deuteronomio 27:5It commands building an altar there of natural stones, with no metal tool used to shape them.
  6. Deuteronomio 27:6The altar was to be made of whole stones, uncut, and used to offer burnt offerings to God.
  7. Deuteronomio 27:7Besides the burnt offerings, peace offerings were to be sacrificed there, with a celebratory meal before God.
  8. Deuteronomio 27:8It reinforces that the law written on the stones was to be clear and easily legible, with no ambiguity.
  9. Deuteronomio 27:9Moses and the priests solemnly announce that, on that day, the people formally became the people of God.
  10. Deuteronomio 27:10The natural consequence of that identity is obedience: following God’s voice and keeping the commandments given.
  11. Deuteronomio 27:11Six tribes stood on Mount Gerizim to bless and six on Mount Ebal to curse, a ritual physically staged on both sides of a valley, with the geography itself becoming part of the covenant ceremony.
  12. Deuteronomio 27:12It lists the six tribes that would stand on Mount Gerizim to pronounce the blessings: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.
  13. Deuteronomio 27:13It lists the other six tribes that would stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce the curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
  14. Deuteronomio 27:14The Levites had the role of proclaiming each curse aloud before all the assembled people.
  15. Deuteronomio 27:15The list of twelve curses, each answered by the people with “Amen,” covers everything from idolatry to incest and bribery: it’s the formal closing of the treaty, following the same pattern as other ancient Near Eastern covenants that ended with lists of curses against anyone who broke the agreement.
  16. Deuteronomio 27:16The first curse of the ritual falls on whoever dishonors his father or mother, with the people answering “amen” in agreement.
  17. Deuteronomio 27:17The second curse falls on whoever secretly moves his neighbor’s boundary marker, a kind of silent theft of property.
  18. Deuteronomio 27:18The third curse condemns whoever deceives a blind man so as to make him lose his way, an abuse against someone unable to defend himself.
  19. Deuteronomio 27:19The fourth curse protects the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow, falling on whoever perverts justice against these vulnerable people.
  20. Deuteronomio 27:20The fifth curse condemns relations with one’s father’s wife, repeating the prohibition already seen in the previous chapter.
  21. Deuteronomio 27:21The sixth curse falls on sexual relations with an animal, considered one of the gravest transgressions on the list.
  22. Deuteronomio 27:22The seventh curse condemns relations with one’s own sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother.
  23. Deuteronomio 27:23The eighth curse falls on relations with one’s mother-in-law, closing out the block of sexual prohibitions within the family itself.
  24. Deuteronomio 27:24The ninth curse condemns whoever strikes his neighbor in secret, a crime committed with no witnesses and therefore harder to punish under human law.
  25. Deuteronomio 27:25The tenth curse falls on whoever accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person, corrupting justice for money.
  26. Deuteronomio 27:26The final curse sums up all the others: it falls on whoever does not confirm and does not carry out the words of this law as a whole.

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