He said to me,“ A curse sent by the Lord is written on it. It is going out over the whole land. Every thief will be driven out of the land. That is what it says on one side of the scroll. Everyone who lies when promising to tell the truth will also be driven out. That is what it says on the other side.

他对我说：“这是发出行在遍地上的咒诅。凡偷窃的必按卷上这面的话除灭；凡起假誓的必按卷上那面的话除灭。

他对我说：“这就是向全地面发出的诅咒。凡偷窃的必按书卷这面的话除灭，凡起假誓的必按书卷那面的话除灭。

他对我说：“这就是向全地面发出的诅咒。凡偷窃的必按书卷这面的话除灭，凡起假誓的必按书卷那面的话除灭。

他说：“这是临到全天下的咒诅，因为书卷一面写着‘凡偷盗的必被清除’，另一面写着‘凡起假誓的必被清除’。”

他对我说：“这是向全地发出的咒诅：凡偷盗的必照着书卷这面所写的被清除；凡起假誓的必照着那面所记的被清除。

他對我說：「這是發出行在遍地上的咒詛。凡偷竊的必按卷上這面的話除滅；凡起假誓的必按卷上那面的話除滅。

他對我說：「這就是向全地面發出的詛咒。凡偷竊的必按書卷這面的話除滅，凡起假誓的必按書卷那面的話除滅。

他對我說：「這就是向全地面發出的詛咒。凡偷竊的必按書卷這面的話除滅，凡起假誓的必按書卷那面的話除滅。

他說：「這是臨到全天下的咒詛，因為書卷一面寫著『凡偷盜的必被清除』，另一面寫著『凡起假誓的必被清除』。」

他對我說：“這是向全地發出的咒詛：凡偷盜的必照著書卷這面所寫的被清除；凡起假誓的必照著那面所記的被清除。

他對我說：『這是發出的咒詛、行於全地上的：凡偷竊的必按卷上這面的話被清除；凡奉我名起假誓的必按卷上那面的話被清除。

他對我說：「這是向全地面發出的詛咒。凡偷竊的都必照著書卷這一面上的話被清除，凡起假誓的都必照著書卷另一面上的話被清除。

彼曰、此乃呪詛、遍行斯土、凡盜竊者、必按卷此面之文而見絕、凡妄誓者、必按卷彼面之文而見絕、

天使曰、此咒詛之詞、遍行天下、凡盜竊者、必殲滅於左、凡妄誓者、必殲滅於右、俱循此言。

彼曰、此載咒詛咒詛或作降災之詞、遍行天下、凡盜竊者、必循卷此面之言被除、凡妄誓者、必循卷彼面之言被除、凡盜竊者必循卷此面之言被除凡妄誓者必循卷彼面之言被除或作凡盜竊者必循此卷見除於此凡妄誓者必循此卷見除於彼

And he said to me,“ This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished.

Then he said to me,“ This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side.

Then he said to me,“ This scroll contains the curse that is going out over the entire land. One side of the scroll says that those who steal will be banished from the land; the other side says that those who swear falsely will be banished from the land.

Then he said to me,“ This is the curse that is going out over the whole land, for everyone who is a thief, contrary to what is written on one side, has gone unpunished, and everyone who swears falsely, contrary to what is written on the other side, has gone unpunished.

Then he said to me,“ This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the entire land; everyone who steals certainly will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears falsely will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.

Then he said to me,“ This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth:‘ Every thief shall be expelled,’ according to this side of the scroll; and,‘ Every perjurer shall be expelled,’ according to that side of it.”

Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole land: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off on the one side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off on the other side according to it.

Then he said to me,“ This is the curse that is going out over the whole land, for every thief will be removed according to what is written on one side, and everyone who swears falsely will be removed according to what is written on the other side.

Then said he unto me, This[ is] the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off[ as] on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off[ as] on that side according to it.

The speaker went on to say,“ This is a curse traveling across the whole earth. For example, according to the curse whoever steals will be removed from the community; or on the other hand( according to the curse) whoever swears falsely will suffer the same fate.”

Then he said to me,“ This is the curse that goes out over the surface of the whole land; for everyone who steals shall be cut off according to it on the one side; and everyone who swears falsely shall be cut off according to it on the other side.

“ Do not steal.

So the Lord will send a curse on the earth. Its people will pay for what they’ve done. They will be burned up. Very few of them will be left.

So I put the high officials of your temple to shame. I let Jacob’s family be totally destroyed. And I let people make fun of Israel.

People of Jacob, listen to me. You are called by the name of Israel. You come from the family line of Judah. You make promises in the name of the Lord. You pray to Israel’s God. But you aren’t honest. You don’t mean what you say.

Elijah will bring peace between parents and their children. He will also bring peace between children and their parents. If that does not happen, I will come. And I will completely destroy the land.”

“‘ Do not give your word in my name and then be a false witness. That would be treating the name of your God as if it were not holy. I am the Lord.

The Lord who rules over all announces,‘ I will send the curse out. It will enter the house of the thief. It will also enter the house of anyone who lies when making a promise in my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely. It will pull down its beams and stones.’ ”

They make their promises in my name. They say,‘ You can be sure that the Lord is alive.’ But their promises can’t be trusted.”

So I will make this house like Shiloh. All the nations on earth will use the name of this city in a curse.” ’ ”

But you will be cursed if you don’t obey them. So don’t turn away from the path I’m now commanding you to take. Don’t turn away by worshiping other gods you didn’t know before.The Lord your God will bring you into the land to take it over. When he does, you must announce the blessings from Mount Gerizim. You must announce the curses from Mount Ebal.

Outside the city are those who are impure. These people include those who practice witchcraft. Outside are also those who commit sexual sins and murder. Outside are those who worship statues of gods. And outside is everyone who loves and does what is false.

If you don’t, I might have too much. Then I might say I don’t know you. I might say,‘ Who is the Lord?’ Or I might become poor and steal. Then I would bring shame to the name of my God.

“ May anyone who makes a statue of a god and sets it up in secret be under the Lord’ s curse. That statue is made by a skilled worker. And the Lord hates it.” Then all the people will say,“ Amen!”“ May anyone who brings shame on their father or mother be under the Lord’ s curse.” Then all the people will say,“ Amen!”“ May anyone who moves their neighbor’s boundary stone be under the Lord’ s curse.” Then all the people will say,“ Amen!”“ May anyone who leads blind people down the wrong road be under the Lord’ s curse.” Then all the people will say,“ Amen!”“ May anyone who treats unfairly outsiders, widows, and children whose fathers have died be under the Lord’ s curse.” Then all the people will say,“ Amen!”“ May anyone who sleeps with his stepmother be under the Lord’ s curse. That man brings shame on his father by doing that.” Then all the people will say,“ Amen!”“ May anyone who has sex with animals be under the Lord’ s curse.” Then all the people will say,“ Amen!”“ May anyone who sleeps with his sister be under the Lord’ s curse. It doesn’t matter whether she is his full sister or his half sister.” Then all the people will say,“ Amen!”“ May anyone who sleeps with his mother- in- law be under the Lord’ s curse.” Then all the people will say,“ Amen!”“ May anyone who kills their neighbor secretly be under the Lord’ s curse.” Then all the people will say,“ Amen!”“ May anyone who accepts money to kill someone who isn’t guilty of doing anything wrong be under the Lord’ s curse.” Then all the people will say,“ Amen!”“ May anyone who doesn’t honor the words of this law by obeying them be under the Lord’ s curse.” Then all the people will say,“ Amen!”

But others will be thrown into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. Those who are afraid and those who do not believe will be there. Murderers and those who make themselves impure will join them. Those who commit sexual sins and those who practice witchcraft will go there. Those who worship statues of gods and all who tell lies will be there too. The lake of fire is the second death.”

All who depend on obeying the law are under a curse. It is written,“ May everyone who doesn’t continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law be under God’s curse.”( Deuteronomy 27:26)We know that no one who depends on the law is made right with God. This is because“ the one who is right with God will live by faith.”( Habakkuk 2:4)The law is not based on faith. In fact, it is just the opposite. It teaches that“ the person who does these things will live by them.”( Leviticus 18:5)Christ set us free from the curse of the law. He did it by becoming a curse for us. It is written,“ Everyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse.”( Deuteronomy 21:23)

Do not make evil plans against one another. When you promise to tell the truth, do not lie. Many people love to do that. But I hate all these things,” announces the Lord.

We also know that the law isn’t made for godly people. It is made for those who break the law. It is for those who refuse to obey. It is for ungodly and sinful people. It is for those who aren’t holy and who don’t believe. It is for those who kill their fathers or mothers. It is for murderers.

Then Nebuchadnezzar made a peace treaty with Zedekiah. He was a member of Jerusalem’s royal family. Nebuchadnezzar made him promise he would keep the treaty. He also took away the leading men of the land as prisoners.He did it to bring down their kingdom. It would not rise again. In fact, it would be able to last only by keeping his treaty.But Zedekiah turned against him. He sent messengers to Egypt. They went there to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he who does things like that escape? Can he break the peace treaty and still escape?“‘ Zedekiah will die in Babylon,’ announces the Lord and King.‘ And that is just as sure as I am alive. He will die in the land of King Nebuchadnezzar, who put him on the throne. Zedekiah didn’t keep his promise to Nebuchadnezzar and broke his treaty.

You have even failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields. Their pay is crying out against you. The cries of those who gathered the harvest have reached the ears of the Lord. He rules over all.

The Lord puts a curse on the houses of sinners. But he blesses the homes of those who do what is right.

People curse one another. They tell lies and commit murder. They steal and commit adultery. They break all my laws. They keep spilling the blood of other people.

“ Then he will say to those on his left,‘ You are cursed! Go away from me into the fire that burns forever. It has been prepared for the devil and his angels.

“‘ “You continue to steal and commit murder. You commit adultery. You tell lies in court. You burn incense to Baal. You worship other gods you didn’t know before.

When you take another believer to court, you have lost the battle already. Why not be treated wrongly? Why not be cheated?Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong. And you do it to your brothers and sisters.Don’t you know that people who do wrong will not receive God’s kingdom? Don’t be fooled. Those who commit sexual sins will not receive the kingdom. Neither will those who worship statues of gods or commit adultery. Neither will men who sleep with other men.

“ So I will come and put you on trial. I will be quick to bring charges against all of you,” says the Lord who rules over all.“ I will bring charges against you sinful people who do not have any respect for me. That includes those who practice evil magic. It includes those who commit adultery and those who tell lies in court. It includes those who cheat workers out of their pay. It includes those who treat widows badly. It also includes those who mistreat children whose fathers have died. And it includes those who take away the rights of outsiders in the courts.

“ Will a mere human being dare to steal from God? But you rob me!“ You ask,‘ How are we robbing you?’“ By holding back your offerings. You also steal from me when you do not bring me a tenth of everything you produce.So you are under my curse. In fact, your whole nation is under my curse. That is because you are robbing me.Bring the entire tenth to the storerooms in my temple. Then there will be plenty of food. Test me this way,” says the Lord.“ Then you will see that I will throw open the windows of heaven. I will pour out so many blessings that you will not have enough room to store them.

But suppose you don’t obey the Lord your God. And you aren’t careful to obey all his commands and rules I’m giving you today. Then he will send curses on you. They’ll catch up with you. Here are those curses.You will be cursed in the cities. You will be cursed out in the country.Your baskets and bread pans will be cursed.Your children will be cursed. Your crops will be cursed. Your calves and lambs will be cursed.You will be cursed no matter where you go.The Lord will send curses on you. You won’t know what’s going on. In everything you do, he will be angry with you. You will be destroyed suddenly and completely. This will happen because you did an evil thing when you deserted the Lord.He will send all kinds of sicknesses on you. He’ll send them until he has destroyed you. He’ll remove you from the land you are entering to take as your own.The Lord will make you sick and very weak. He will strike you with fever and swelling. He’ll send burning heat. There won’t be any rain. The hot winds will completely dry up your crops. All those things will happen until you die.The sky above you will be like bronze. The ground beneath you will be like iron.The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder. It will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.The Lord will help your enemies win the battle over you. You will come at them from one direction. But you will run away from them in every direction. All the kingdoms on earth will be completely shocked when they see you.Birds and wild animals will eat up your dead bodies. There won’t be anyone left to scare them away.The Lord will send boils on you, just like the ones he sent on the Egyptians. You will have growths in your bodies and boils on your skin. You will itch all over. No one will be able to heal you.The Lord will make you lose your mind. He will make you blind. You won’t know what’s going on.Even at noon you will have to feel your way around like a blind person in the dark. You won’t have success in anything you do. Day after day you will be robbed and treated badly. No one will be able to save you.You and a woman will promise to marry each other. But another man will take her and rape her. You will build a house. But you won’t live in it. You will plant a vineyard. But you won’t eat a single grape from it.Your ox will be killed right in front of your eyes. But you won’t eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away from you by force. And you will never get it back. Your sheep will be given to your enemies. No one will be able to save them.Your children will be given to another nation. Day after day you will watch for them to come back. But you will only wear out your eyes. You won’t be able to help your children.A nation you don’t know anything about will eat what you work to produce on your land. You will only be treated badly as long as you live.The things you see will make you lose your mind.The Lord will send painful boils on your knees and legs. No one will be able to heal them. They will cover you from head to toe.The Lord will drive you out of the land. And he will drive out the king you place over yourselves. All of you will go to another nation. You and your people of long ago didn’t know anything about them. There you will worship other gods. They will be made out of wood and stone.You will look very bad to all the nations where the Lord sends you. They will be completely shocked when they see you. They will mock you and make fun of you.You will plant many seeds in your field. But you will gather very little food. Locusts will eat it up.You will plant vineyards and take care of them. But you won’t drink the wine. You won’t gather the grapes. Worms will eat them up.You will have olive trees through your whole country. But you won’t use the oil. The olives will drop off the trees.You will have children. But you won’t be able to keep them. They’ll be taken away as prisoners.Large numbers of locusts will eat up the leaves on all your trees. They will also eat up the crops on your land.Outsiders who live among you will become your leaders. They will rise higher and higher. But you will sink lower and lower.They will lend money to you. But you won’t be able to lend money to them. They will be the leaders. But you will be the followers.The Lord your God will send all these curses on you. They will follow you everywhere. They’ll catch up with you. You will be under the Lord’ s curse until you are destroyed. That’s because you didn’t obey him. You didn’t keep the commands and rules he gave you.These curses will remain as signs and awful judgments against you and your children after you forever.You didn’t serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness when times were good.So he will send enemies against you. You will have to serve them. You will be hungry and thirsty. You will be naked and poor. The Lord will put the iron chains of slavery around your necks until he has destroyed you.The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away. It will come from the ends of the earth. It will dive down on you like an eagle. You won’t understand that nation’s language.Its people will look mean. They won’t have any respect for old people. They won’t show any kindness to young people.They will eat up the young animals among your livestock. They’ll eat up the crops on your land. They’ll destroy you. They won’t leave you any grain, olive oil or fresh wine. They won’t leave you any calves or lambs. They’ll destroy you.They’ll surround all the cities throughout your whole land. They’ll attack those cities until the high, strong walls you trust in fall down. That’s what will happen to the cities in the land the Lord your God is giving you.Your enemies will surround you and attack you. They will make you suffer greatly. So you will eat your own children. You will eat the dead bodies of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you.There may be a gentle and caring man among you. But he will treat his own brother badly. He’ll be just as mean to the wife he loves and to any of his children who are still alive.He won’t give to a single one of them any part of the dead bodies of his children that he’s eating. It will be all he has left to eat. That’s how much your enemies will make you suffer when they surround all your cities and attack them.There may be a gentle and caring woman among you. She wouldn’t even touch the ground with her feet without first putting her sandals on. But she will not share anything with the husband she loves. She won’t share with her own children either.She will eat what comes out of her body after she has a baby. Then she’ll even eat her baby. She won’t share it with anyone in her family. In her great hunger she’ll plan to eat it in secret. There won’t be anything else for her to eat because the city she lives in will be surrounded. That’s an example of how much your enemies will make you suffer when they are attacking your cities.Be careful to follow all the words of this law. They are written in this scroll. Have respect for the glorious and wonderful name of the Lord your God. If you don’t,he will send terrible plagues on you and your children after you. He’ll send horrible and lasting troubles. He’ll make you very sick for a long time.He’ll bring on you all the sicknesses you were afraid of getting when you were in Egypt. You won’t be able to get rid of them.The Lord will also bring on you all other kinds of sickness and trouble. I haven’t even written those down in this Book of the Law. You will be destroyed.At one time you were as many as the stars in the sky. But there will only be a few of you left. That’s because you didn’t obey the Lord your God.It pleased the Lord to give you success and to cause there to be many of you. But it will please him just as much to wipe you out and destroy you. You will be removed from the land you are entering to take as your own.Then the Lord will scatter you among all the nations. He’ll spread you around from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship statues of gods made out of wood and stone. You and your people of long ago hadn’t known anything about those gods.Among those nations you won’t find any peace. There won’t be any place where you can make your home and rest your feet. The Lord will give you minds filled with worry. He’ll give you eyes worn out from looking for help. You won’t have any hope in your hearts.Your lives will always be in danger. You will be filled with fear night and day. You will never be sure you are safe.In the morning you will say,“ We wish it were evening!” In the evening you will say,“ We wish it were morning!” Your hearts will be filled with fear. The things you see will terrify you.The Lord will send you back to Egypt in ships. He’ll send you on a journey I said you should never have to make again. You will offer to sell yourselves to your enemies as slaves in Egypt. But no one will buy you.

But they have fallen away from the faith. So it won’t be possible to bring them back. They won’t be able to turn away from their sins. They are losing everything. That’s because they are nailing the Son of God to the cross all over again. They are bringing shame on him in front of everyone.Some land drinks the rain that falls on it. It produces a crop that is useful to those who farm the land. That land receives God’s blessing.But other land produces only thorns and weeds. That land isn’t worth anything. It is in danger of coming under God’s curse. In the end, it will be burned.

That day will come on every person who lives on the whole earth.

All the people of Israel have broken your law and turned away from it. They have refused to obey you.“ Curses and warnings are written down in the Law of Moses. He was your servant. Those curses have been poured out on us. That’s because we have sinned against you.

“ How terrible for you, blind guides! You say,‘ If anyone makes a promise in the name of the temple, it means nothing. But anyone who makes a promise in the name of the gold of the temple must keep that promise.’You are blind and foolish! Which is more important? Is it the gold? Or is it the temple that makes the gold holy?You also say,‘ If anyone makes a promise in the name of the altar, it means nothing. But anyone who makes a promise in the name of the gift on the altar must keep that promise.’You are blind! Which is more important? Is it the gift? Or is it the altar that makes the gift holy?So anyone making a promise in the name of the altar makes a promise in the name of it and everything on it.And anyone making a promise in the name of the temple makes a promise in the name of it and the one who lives in it.And anyone making a promise in the name of heaven makes a promise in the name of God’s throne and the one who sits on it.

To help a thief is to become your own enemy. When you go to court, you won’t dare to say anything.

Anyone who has been stealing must never steal again. Instead, they must work. They must do something useful with their own hands. Then they will have something to give to people in need.

They loved to curse others. May their curses come back on them. They didn’t find any pleasure in giving anyone their blessing. May no blessing ever come to them.They cursed others as easily as they put on clothes. Cursing was as natural to them as getting a drink of water or putting olive oil on their bodies.May their curses cover them like coats. May their curses be wrapped around them like a belt forever.May that be the Lord’ s way of paying back those who bring charges against me. May it happen to those who say evil things about me.

My brothers and sisters, here is what is most important. Don’t make a promise by giving your word. Don’t promise by heaven or earth. And don’t promise by anything else to back up what you say. All you need to say is a simple“ Yes” or“ No.” If you do more than this, you will be judged.

The land is full of people who aren’t faithful to the Lord. Now the land is under his curse. And that’s why it is thirsty for water. That’s why the desert grasslands are dry. The prophets are leading sinful lives. They don’t use their power in the right way.

“ Again, you have heard what was said to your people long ago. They were told,‘ Do not break the promises you make to the Lord. Keep your promises to the Lord that you have made.’But here is what I tell you. Do not make any promises like that at all. Do not make them in the name of heaven. That is God’s throne.Do not make them in the name of the earth. That is the stool for God’s feet. Do not make them in the name of Jerusalem. That is the city of the Great King.And do not make a promise in your own name. You can’t make even one hair of your head white or black.All you need to say is simply‘ Yes’ or‘ No.’ Anything more than this comes from the evil one.

Some people who worship those gods will hear the promise that seals the covenant I’m making. They think they can escape trouble by what they’re saying. They say,“ We’ll be safe, even though we’re stubborn and go our own way.” But they will bring trouble on the whole land.The Lord will never be willing to forgive those people. His great anger will blaze out against them. All the curses I’ve written down in this book will fall on them. And the Lord will erase any mention of them from the earth.He will find those people in all the tribes of Israel and give them nothing but trouble. That will agree with all the curses of the covenant. They are written down in this Book of the Law.Even your children’s children will see the troubles that have fallen on the land. They’ll see the sicknesses the Lord has brought on it. People who come from countries far away will also see those things.The whole land will be burned up. Nothing but salt and sulfur will be left. Nothing will be planted there. Nothing will grow there. In fact, nothing will even start to grow there. The land will be like Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim after they were destroyed. The Lord wiped out those cities because he was very angry.All the nations will ask,“ Why has the Lord done this to the land? What could have made him so very angry?”And they will hear the answer,“ It’s because the people living there have broken the covenant of the Lord. He’s the God of their people of long ago. He made that covenant with them when he brought them out of Egypt.They went off and worshiped other gods. They bowed down to them. They hadn’t known anything about those gods before. The Lord hadn’t given those gods to them.So the Lord became very angry with this land. He brought on it all the curses written down in this book.The Lord’ s anger blazed out against his people. So he pulled them up out of their land. He threw them into another land. And that’s where they are now.”