With a loud voice, the Levites shall say to all the men of Israel, ‘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.’
‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or his mother.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who removes his neighbor’s landmark.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who leads the blind astray on the road.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, fatherless, and widow.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife, because he dishonors his father’s bed.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who lies with any kind of animal.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who lies with his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who secretly kills his neighbor.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
‘Cursed is he who doesn’t uphold the words of this law by doing them.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 23, 24 Under this he containeth all the corruptions of God’s…
Under this he containeth all the corruptions of God’s service, and the transgression of the first Table.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 24, 25, 26 Deu 27:15 Cursed [be] the man that maketh [any]…
Deu 27:15 Cursed [be] the man that maketh [any] graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth [it] in [a] secret [place]. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.
Ver. 15. Cursed be he, &c.] The blessings are not mentioned by Moses; that we might learn to look for them by the Messiah only. {Act 3:26}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 24, 26 The Levites, i.e. some of the Levites, to wit,…
The Levites, i.e. some of the Levites, to wit, the priests,
which bare the ark, as it is expressed, Jos 8:33, for the body of the Levites stood upon Mount Gerizim, Deu 27:12; but these stood in the valley between Gerizim and Ebal, looking towards the one or the other mountain as they pronounced either the blessings or the curses, as may be gathered from Jos 8:33.
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With a loud voice; so as they might be heard by a great number of the people, by whom the rest were informed and directed by some signal when they should answer.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv14–26 And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all…
And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel,.... Rather, "answer (e) and say"; not the whole tribe of Levi, for that stood on Mount Gerizim to bless, Deu 27:12; but the priests of that tribe who were placed in the valley, between the two mountains, and pronounced both the blessings and the curses in the hearing of all the tribes of Israel, to which they were to answer Amen; and that they might plainly hear, they expressed their words
with a loud voice, clearly and distinctly, as follow.
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(e) "respondebunt", Montanus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 16, 17, 24, 26 The Levites - Some of the Levites, namely, the…
The Levites - Some of the Levites, namely, the priests, who bare the ark, as it is expressed Josh. viii, 33, for the body of the Levites stood upon mount Gerizzim, ver. 12. But these stood in the valley between Gerizzim and Ebal, looking towards the one or the other mountain as they pronounced either the blessings or the curses.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 17, 18, 26 Verse 15. Cursed be the man, c.] Other laws,…
Verse 15. Cursed be the man, c.] Other laws, previously made, had prohibited all these things and penal sanctions were necessarily understood; but here God more openly declares that he who breaks them is cursed - falls under the wrath and indignation of his Maker and Judge. See Clarke on Ex 20:4.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 16, 18, 24, 26 Deu 27:14. The Levites — Some of the Levites,…
Deu 27:14. The Levites — Some of the Levites, namely, the priests, who bare the ark, as it is expressed Jos 8:33, for the body of the Levites stood upon mount Gerizim, Deu 27:12. But these stood in the valley between Gerizim and Ebal, looking toward the one or the other mountain as they pronounced either the blessings or the curses.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 26 Pronounce. Hebrew, "answer," as the older Protestant editions, 1540,…
Pronounce. Hebrew, "answer," as the older Protestant editions, 1540, &c., had it; though "our last translators, 1613, says Kennicott, in this, as in several other instances, altered for the worse," shall speak. A select company of Levites in the valley repeated what had been declared from Hebal.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v14 14-26. The Levites shall speak — These twelve curses…
14-26. The Levites shall speak — These twelve curses were to be pronounced against transgressors of the law. The first is against those who make graven or molten images. Comp. Exo_20:4. The second is against those who are lacking in respect to parents. Comp. Exo_21:17 and Lev_19:3. The third is against those who remove boundaries. Comp. Deu_19:14. The fourth, against those who lead the blind astray. Comp. Lev_19:14. The fifth, against those who wrong the stranger, the orphan, or the widow. Comp. Deu_24:17. The sixth, against unchastity in respect to the wife of the father. Lev_18:8. The seventh is against unnatural crime. Comp. Lev_18:8. The eighth, against unchastity in the case of incest with a sister. Comp. Lev_18:9. The ninth is also against unchastity. In this case with the mother-in-law or other near relative. Comp. Lev_18:17. The tenth is against the secret murder of a neighbour. Comp. Deu_19:11. The eleventh, against the one who takes a bribe to judicially condemn the innocent. Comp. Exo_23:7-8. Finally, the twelfth is to be pronounced against him who does not keep the law. This condemns every act of transgression.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv14–26 14. answer] As in Deu_21:7, solemnly pronounce.
14. answer] As in Deu_21:7, solemnly pronounce.
with a loud voice] Lit. a high voice, not elsewhere in the O.T. Cp. Deu_5:19, a great voice.
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14–26. Appointment of the Levites to Curse
According to 11–13 both a blessing and a curse were to be pronounced, here we have only curses, twelve in number. There Levi was one of six tribes appointed to bless; here the Levites, in religious distinction from all the other tribes, are to pronounce the curses. Further, the 12 curses are not confined to sins dealt with in the Code of D; the objects of only 7 are forbidden in D, of 6 in E, Exo_20:2-23, of 1 in J, Exodus 34, and of as many as Deu_27:9 in H, Leviticus 17-26. The inferences are reasonable that this passage is not from the same hand as the preceding (i.e. not from E) and not from D.
The inclusion of so many sins forbidden only in H does not necessarily imply that the list of curses is exilic (Berth.). It may be from a source independent of all those documents, some national or local liturgy; and Meyer—Luther (Die Israeliten, 552) suggest that it was in use at the sanctuary of Shechem. Nor is the hand which introduced it here that of D, but of a late editor, for note the simple term Levites instead of D’s the priests the Levites and the phrase unto all the men of Israel, found elsewhere only in Jos_10:24 in a passage with many editorial elements. D’s phrase is all Israel (see, above Deu_27:9).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv16, 18, 24, 26 (16) Cursed be he that setteth light.—The first curse…
(16) Cursed be he that setteth light.—The first curse points to the first two commandments of the first table, and the second to the first commandment in the second table. If we mark off the first offence specified, secret idolatry—the only one which distinctly recalls the first commandment of the Law, and also the last general curse which embraces all transgression whatever, the intervening offences seem more easily arranged. We have duty to parents enforced (Deu_27:16) and the rights of neighbours (Deu_5:17), the blind (Deu_27:18), and the unprotected (Deu_27:19) come next. The next four precepts are all concerned with purity, first in the nearer, afterwards in the more distant relations (Deu_27:20-23). The last two precepts concern slander and treachery (Deu_27:24-25). Evidently the offences specified are examples of whole classes of actions; and the twelve curses may have some reference to the number of the tribes.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26 The Levites standing probably in some convenient spot midway…
The Levites standing probably in some convenient spot midway between the two mountains (cf. Jos_8:33) were to pronounce with a loud voice the blessing and the curse, so that all might hear; and the people were to give their assent, and take to themselves, as it were, the blessing or the curse as uttered, by a solemn Amen. By the Levites here are intended, not the sons of Levi generally, but that portion of them which belonged to the priesthood, and bare the ark of the covenant. (Jos_8:33)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v15 Cursed be he that removeth his neighbours landmark.
Deu_27:15-26
Cursed be he that removeth his neighbours landmark.
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The landmarks of faith
The landmarks of faith are just the truth which God has revealed to men, and the duty which He requires of them. Among the sins, the criminality of which it was the will of God should be deeply impressed on the minds of the children of Israel, that of removing the ancient landmarks was one. The reference manifestly is to landmarks that were set up, when the land of Canaan was divided among the tribes and families of Israel; to determine the boundaries of the portion belonging to each individual family, or tribe. This is a kind of crime which is spoken of and pointedly prohibited in other parts of Scripture as well as that quoted above. (Pro_22:28.) God saw meet to employ men of high character in the division made of the land, and that division He so sanctioned that it was His will that it should be maintained throughout the successive generations of Israel. But however great a crime it was to remove any of these landmarks, the criminality of the removal of such landmarks and its evil consequences were exceedingly small compared with the guilt that has been and is being contracted by the removal of the landmarks of faith. The dishonour done to God, and the injury to society by the one form of wickedness, is as nothing compared with the other. Of this there is ample illustration and confirmation furnished in the past history of our fallen world. The landmarks of faith were set up progressively by God Himself in the special revelation which He was pleased to give to men regarding His own character and will in relation to doctrine and practice; to the truth to be believed and the duty to be performed to Him and to one another. In most cases, though not in all, the removal of those Divinely erected landmarks has been a gradual process. Of Abraham God said, I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment (Gen_18:19). By this patriarch we can have no doubt the landmarks of faith as to truth and duty were faithfully set up in his household, both by precept and instruction, commended by the best example. But except in the line of Jacob, how speedily did these come to be removed among all the other branches of his posterity. His son Ishmael, and his children by Keturah, as well as Isaac, were no doubt highly favoured in their early years with the advantages of earnest paternal counsel. Reminiscences of this behoved to follow them to their respective places of sojourn and location. But the light which might thus shine for a time became gradually more and mole obscure, till at length there was scarcely anything left to distinguish them from the other branches of Noahs descendants, who had at an earlier date sunk into that state of moral debasement which is inseparable from idolatry. How brief the time during which these landmarks stood up erect in the days of David and the first years of the reign of his son Solomon! In the history of Judah we see the same issues realised so far as a similar course was pursued in that kingdom; and in the conduct of the Jews after their restoration from the Babylonish captivity, when the landmarks of faith were set up anew among them--by such notable instruments as Ezra and Nehemiah--and to which they bound themselves to adhere by solemn covenant. How soon did they also fall back and become hardened in unbelief. Again, at the era of the glorious Reformation from Popery, God graciously interposed for a blissful restoration of the widely obliterated landmarks of faith in a number of the nations of Europe. Distinguished instruments were simultaneously raised up in different countries, by whom these were anew set up in a remarkable degree of conformity to the Divine pattern. These, alas, have been, to a very lamentable extent, practically removed in all the Reformed Churches on the Continent--in France, Switzerland, Holland, and Germany. (Original Secession Magazine.)
Amen.
Amen
I. A lesson of acquiescence in the Divine law. Amen is understood to denote truth or certainty. Such, without doubt, was its signification here. The leading principles of the moral law were then being enunciated, in the hearing of all the people, and in token that these met with their acquiescence, they were to superadd the emphatic Amen. Now, every believer knows that the God in whom we live and move, is a God of infinite holiness, and that the Scripture is filled with precepts which every responsible creature is bound to carry into hourly practice. Be ye holy, for I am holy--Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them--Except your righteousness shall exceed--such are precepts whose import may not be misunderstood, leaving it as one of the dearest and most intelligible of Gospel maxims that to Gods moral law the Christian is called upon to append his sanction--his solemn Amen.
1. The Christian Church is not placed under the law, as a covenant of works. An acquiescence, therefore, in the moral law, or of our saying Amen to every one of its precepts, does not imply that we have elevated these to be the conditions of our salvation, or the grounds of an acceptance before God.
2. This does not stand in the way of an acknowledging the surpassing excellency of every such precept. The law may in itself be good and holy, although we cannot keep it--just as the light of the suns meridian splendour may be pure and glorious, although there are eyes too weak to bear it. And this we affirm.
3. We must consider the law as still the rule of our life. Our inability to realise the lofty standard of holiness indicated in the Decalogue, no more releases us from our obligation to perform it, than the mere declaration of bankruptcy cancels a debt, discharges the conscience from the duty of paying it, should there be ability to do so at any future time, or authorises a man to contract fresh obligations with the secret purpose of getting quit of them by a similar process.
4. As Christians, we are necessarily anticipating a restoration to that moral perfection which the law requires.
II. A lesson of conformity to the Divine method of salvation. Momentous, of course, are the effects which ensue upon the acceptance or rejection, but everyone who listens to the overtures of the Gospel does so in the attitude of an independent and rational being. There is no restraint, no compulsion. My son, give Me thine heart, is, indeed, the impressive demand; but we ought to know, that if we choose to risk the fearful consequences of embracing the alternative, there is no constraining influence compelling us to believe against our will. The thing, indeed, is impossible. Faith is a voluntary, act; and this is the most important principle suggested by the text, that to Gods method of salvation, our heart, in the hour of regeneration, must respond with an unreserved and cordial Amen.
III. A lesson of submission to Gods providential dispensations. It is obvious to even the natural judgment of man, that, of all methods of meeting the calamities which flesh is heir to, the worst is to murmur and oppose. Not only does this involve the turpitude of virtual rebellion against the authority of heaven; it positively adds to and renders more poignant the distresses we are called upon to endure. It were folly to imagine, for a single instant, that affliction can be thereby either mitigated or removed. The dying soldier may cherish the fiercest resentment against the enemy who has smitten him, but that resentment will not heal the deadly wound. The chances are that death will be thereby precipitated. So is it with our calamities. Whether we will or no, these will descend upon us; and our spiritual enemies can desire no greater victory over us than that these should crush and drive us to despair. Submission, then, is the lesson inculcated upon us by the afflictive dispensations of God. Whatever these may be, let the tendency of the Christians heart be to acknowledge them with a cordial Amen. Peace will be his in the present. He will experimentally know the meaning of that apostolic paradox, Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; in the worlds chastisements realise a pledge of his heavenly Fathers love; and anticipate with gladness unspeakable the approval of that blissful era when God the Lord shall wipe away, etc.
IV. A lesson of confidence in the Divine promises and of assurance regarding the execution of the Divine purposes. (James Cochrane, M. A.)
That maketh the blind to wander out of the way.--
Against imposing on the ignorant
In this chapter, curses are pronounced against several heinous crimes, such as idolatry, contempt of parents, murder, rapine, and the like; and amongst these crimes is mentioned this, of causing the blind to go out of their way; a wickedness of a singular nature, and which one would not expect to find in this list of vicious actions. It is a crime which is seldom committed; there are few opportunities for it; there is little temptation to it: it is doing mischief for mischiefs sake, an enormity to which few can easily bring themselves. We may therefore reasonably suppose that more is intended than barely to condemn those who should lead a blind man out of his way. And what that may be, it is not difficult to discover. Blindness in all languages is put for error and ignorance; and, in the style of the Scriptures, ways and paths, and walking, running, going, wandering astray, stumbling, falling, mean the actions and the behaviour of men. These obvious observations will lead us to the moral, mystical, spiritual, and enlarged sense of the law, or commination; and it is this: Cursed is he who imposeth upon the simple, the credulous, the unwary, the ignorant, and the helpless; and either hurts, or defrauds, or deceives, or seduces, or misinforms, or misleads, or perverts, or corrupts and spoils them.
1. As to the ministers of the Gospel, they may be said to mislead the blind when, instead of endeavouring to instruct and amend their hearers, they deal in false opinions, or unintelligible doctrines, or unprofitable disputes, or uncharitable reproofs, or personal reflections, or flattery, or in any subjects foreign from religion and void of edification; much more when they teach things of an evil tendency, and which may have a bad influence on the minds and manners of the people.
2. In all our worldly affairs and intercourse with others, as we ought to act fairly, justly towards every person, so more especially ought we to behave towards those whom we might injure with impunity, that is, without danger of being called to account for it in this life.
3. As nations subsist by trade, so trade subsists by integrity. In commerce upright dealing is an indispensable duty, and defrauding is a vice. But if it be a fault to make unreasonable advances in our dealings even with those who are skilful as ourselves, it is far worse to impose upon the ignorant and the necessitous, and to wrong those who have a good opinion of us, and place an entire confidence in us.
4. Of the same bad nature is giving wrong counsel and hurtful advice, knowingly and wilfully, to those who have an opinion of our superior skill, and apply to us for direction. As likewise all dishonesty in offices of trust and confidence.
5. To take bad courses, to keep bad company, to be vicious amongst the vicious, dissolute amongst the dissolute--this is confessedly a great fault. But yet there is a greater, which is, to seek out the weak, the young, the ignorant, the unsteadfast, to instill bad principles into them, to entice them to sin, to spoil an honest disposition, to seduce an innocent mind, to rob an unspotted person of virtue, of honour and reputation, of peace of mind, of a quiet conscience, and perhaps of all happiness present and future. This is not an ordinary offence; it is to be agents and assisters to the devil, and to do his work and imitate his example. It is a crime attended with this terrible circumstance, that even repentance itself can be attended with no suitable reparation to the injured person. (J. Jortin, D. D.)
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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 May the man be cursed ... sets it up…
May the man be cursed ... sets it up in secret
This is the statement the Levites must shout to all the people of Israel. It may be stated in active form. AT: "May Yahweh curse the person ... sets it up in secret" (See: Active or Passive)
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the work of the hands of a craftsman
This is an idiom. AT: "something a man has made" (See: Idiom)
craftsman
a man who knows how to make things well
translationWords
image
hand
people of God
amen
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22 27:14 The Levites as a group were stationed on…
27:14 The Levites as a group were stationed on Mount Gerizim (27:12). The Ark of the Covenant accompanied them, and they offered sacrifices (Josh 8:30-35). It was part of the Levites’ role to teach and proclaim the Torah (Deut 33:10; see study note on 6:8; see also Lev 10:11).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.