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Deuteronomy

About this book
Chapter 27

1 Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Pay attention to all the commandments I am giving you today. 2 When you cross the Jordan River to the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must erect great stones and cover them with plaster. 3 Then you must inscribe on them all the words of this law when you cross over, so that you may enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to you. 4 So when you cross the Jordan you must erect on Mount Ebal these stones⁠ about which I am commanding you today, and you must cover them with plaster. 5 Then you must build an altar there to the Lord your God, an altar of stones—do not use an iron tool on them.⁠ 6 You must build the altar of the Lord your God with whole stones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. 7 Also you must offer fellowship offerings and eat them there, rejoicing before the Lord your God. 8 You must inscribe on the stones all the words of this law, making them clear.”⁠ 9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: “Be quiet and pay attention, Israel. Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 You must obey him and keep his commandments and statutes that I am giving you today.” 11 Moreover, Moses commanded the people that day: 12 “The following tribes must stand to bless the people on Mount Gerizim when you cross the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 And these other tribes must stand for the curse on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 “The Levites will call out to every Israelite with a loud voice: 15 ‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or metal image—something abhorrent to the Lord, the work of the craftsman—and sets it up in a secret place.’⁠ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 16 ‘Cursed is the one who disrespects his father and mother.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 17 ‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s boundary marker.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’⁠ 18 ‘Cursed is the one who misleads a blind person on the road.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 19 ‘Cursed is the one who perverts justice for the resident foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 20 ‘Cursed is the one who goes to bed with his father’s former wife, for he dishonors his father.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 21 ‘Cursed is the one who commits bestiality.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 22 ‘Cursed is the one who goes to bed with his sister, the daughter of either his father or mother.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 23 ‘Cursed is the one who goes to bed with his mother-in-law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 24 ‘Cursed is the one who kills his neighbor in private.’⁠ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 25 ‘Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.’⁠ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 26 ‘Cursed is the one who refuses to keep the words of this law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

Texts in conversation

Compare Deuteronomy 27:25 and Jeremiah 19:4

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Jeremiah 19 echoes Deuteronomy 27 to highlight how the nation's leaders have violated covenantal obligations, especially killing the innocent. Jeremiah frames the people's actions as moral failures and breaking the covenant.

Passages

Deuteronomy 27:25

Hebrew Bible
22 ‘Cursed is the one who goes to bed with his sister, the daughter of either his father or mother.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 23 ‘Cursed is the one who goes to bed with his mother-in-law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 24 ‘Cursed is the one who kills his neighbor in private.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 25 ‘Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ 26 ‘Cursed is the one who refuses to keep the words of this law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

Jeremiah 19:4

Hebrew Bible
3 Say, ‘Listen to the Lord’s message, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, has said, “Look here! I am about to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it ring. 4 I will do so because these people have rejected me and have defiled this place. They have offered sacrifices in it to other gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah knew anything about. They have filled it with the blood of innocent children. 5 They have built places here for worship of the god Baal so that they could sacrifice their children as burnt offerings to him in the fire. Such sacrifices are something I never commanded them to make. They are something I never told them to do! Indeed, such a thing never even entered my mind.
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jeremiah

References

"... What matters here in terms of divine service and masculinity is Judas’s acknowledgement that he has not acted as a disciple or divine servant, but instead handed over God’s servant. Judas returns to the chief priests and elders to confess his sin, saying that he has handed over “innocent blood” (αἷμα ἀθῷον). As discussed in the previous section, the phrase “innocent blood” recalls Deuteronomy 27:25, which curses anyone who takes a bribe to shed innocent blood. (Luz notes that this phrase is used “about 19 times” in the Septuagint. Luz, Matthew, 470, note 33. Carter highlights its use in 2 Kings 21:16; 24:1-4; Jeremiah 7:5-7; 1 Maccabees 1:37; 2 Maccabees 1:7-8, as well as the presence of blood of the innocent in Jeremiah 19:4, which includes the purchase of a potter’s field.) It also anticipates 27:24, when Pilate will claim his own innocence with respect to Jesus using the same expression, stating Jesus’s innocence by implication ..."
Kendra Allison Mohn, Real Men: Masculinities in the Gospel of Matthew (Brite Divinity School, 2018), 267–268.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Deuteronomy 27:25 and Jeremiah 19:4

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