← All Chapters The Book of Deuteronomy · Chapter 27

Deuteronomy 27: Stones, an Altar, and Solemn Amens

On crossing the Jordan, Israel is to write the law on plastered stones, build an altar on Mount Ebal, and answer the curses with a corporate Amen.

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Deuteronomy 27 (WEB)

1 Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep all the commandment which I command you this day.

2 It shall be on the day when you shall pass over the Jordan to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, that you shall set yourself up great stones, and coat them with plaster.

3 You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have passed over; that you may go in to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you.

4 It shall be, when you have passed over the Jordan, that you shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, on Mount Ebal, and you shall coat them with plaster.

5 There you shall build an altar to Yahweh your God, an altar of stones. You shall not use any iron tool on them.

6 You shall build the altar of Yahweh your God of uncut stones. You shall offer burnt offerings on it to Yahweh your God.

7 You shall sacrifice peace offerings, and shall eat there. You shall rejoice before Yahweh your God.

8 You shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.”

9 Moses and the priests the Levites spoke to all Israel, saying, “Be silence, and listen, Israel! Today you have become the people of Yahweh your God.

10 You shall therefore obey Yahweh your God’s voice, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command you this day.”

11 Moses commanded the people the same day, saying,

12 “These shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have passed over the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.

13 These shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

14 With a loud voice, the Levites shall say to all the men of Israel,

15 ‘Cursed is the man who makes an engraved or molten image, an abomination to Yahweh, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ All the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’

16 ‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or his mother.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

17 ‘Cursed is he who removes his neighbor’s landmark.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

18 ‘Cursed is he who leads the blind astray on the road.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

19 ‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, fatherless, and widow.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

20 ‘Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife, because he dishonors his father’s bed.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

21 ‘Cursed is he who lies with any kind of animal.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

22 ‘Cursed is he who lies with his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

23 ‘Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

24 ‘Cursed is he who secretly kills his neighbor.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

25 ‘Cursed is he who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

26 ‘Cursed is he who doesn’t uphold the words of this law by doing them.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’”

Summary

Moses and the elders command that when Israel crosses the Jordan they set up great plastered stones and write on them all the words of the law, plainly visible to all. On Mount Ebal they are to build an altar of uncut stones, untouched by any iron tool, and there offer burnt offerings and peace offerings and rejoice before the Lord. Moses and the priests then declare that on this day Israel has become the people of God and must obey his voice. Six tribes are appointed to stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people and six on Mount Ebal for the curse, while the Levites pronounce a series of curses to which all the people respond, “Amen.” The curses fall on hidden idolatry, dishonoring parents, moving a neighbor's landmark, misleading the blind, perverting justice for the vulnerable, secret sexual sins, secret violence, and bribery to shed innocent blood. The final and sweeping curse rests on everyone who does not uphold the words of the law by doing them. By their own repeated Amen, the people bind themselves to the covenant and acknowledge the justice of its sanctions.

Main Characters

  • Moses and the elders — The leaders who command the writing of the law on stones and arrange the covenant ceremony of blessing and cursing in the land.
  • The Levites — Those who proclaim the curses with a loud voice to all the men of Israel, voicing the law's sanctions.
  • The twelve tribes — Six stationed on Mount Gerizim for blessing and six on Mount Ebal for cursing, dramatizing the two ways set before Israel.
  • All the people — The whole assembly who answer each curse with “Amen,” binding themselves willingly to the covenant and its justice.

Key Verse

Deuteronomy 27:26 (WEB)

‘Cursed is he who doesn’t uphold the words of this law by doing them.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’”

Lessons Learned

  • God's word is to be written plainly and kept before the eyes of his people.
  • Worship and obedience belong together; the altar stands at the heart of the ceremony.
  • Many of the curses target hidden sins, reminding us that God sees what others cannot.
  • By saying “Amen,” the people own the justice of God's law over their own lives.
  • The law must be public and plain. Israel is to “write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly” (Deuteronomy 27:8, WEB). God's truth is meant to be visible and known, not hidden away.
  • An altar accompanies the law. On Ebal they build “an altar of stones” and offer sacrifices (Deuteronomy 27:5-6, WEB). The law's demand is always set alongside the provision of atonement.
  • God judges secret sin. The curses fall on the one who sins “in secret” and “secretly” (Deuteronomy 27:15, 24, WEB). What is hidden from people is open before God.
  • We stand condemned by the whole law. “Cursed is he who doesn’t uphold the words of this law by doing them” (Deuteronomy 27:26, WEB)—a curse Paul says Christ bore for us (Galatians 3:13).
  1. Why might God want the law written “very plainly” on large stones for everyone to see?
  2. What is the significance of building an altar in the middle of a ceremony about blessing and curse?
  3. Notice how many curses concern hidden or secret sins. What does this reveal about the kind of obedience God wants?
  4. Paul quotes verse 26 in Galatians 3:10-13. How does the final curse drive us to Christ, who became a curse for us?
  5. When have you said “Amen” to God's word in a way that genuinely bound your conscience? What might it look like to do so afresh?
  1. Writing the law plainly makes God's will accessible to all, not the property of an elite. The stones serve as a permanent, public witness. God's people are never meant to be in the dark about what he asks of them.
  2. The altar shows that the covenant is not bare law but law within grace. Standing under God's commands, sinful people need sacrifice and a place to draw near. The burnt and peace offerings point ahead to the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ.
  3. The repeated emphasis on secret sin shows that God desires integrity all the way down, not mere outward respectability. He sees the heart and the hidden deed alike. True obedience is the same in the dark as in the light.
  4. Paul argues that all who rely on the law are under verse 26's curse, because no one keeps it perfectly—“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us” (Gal 3:13). The ceremony's last word of judgment becomes the gospel's invitation.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Encourage members to reflect on whether their “amens” to Scripture are heartfelt commitments or mere words. Invite a fresh, sincere yes to God, resting on Christ who bore the curse they could not.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.