Deuteronomy 27:14
in Deuteronomy 27Then the Levites shall proclaim in a loud voice to every Israelite:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the Levites shall answer, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice,
KJV
And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice,
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This verse in Deuteronomy 27
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd 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. (e) ענו "respondebunt", Montanus.
This site's exposition
And the Levites shall speak
on Deuteronomy 27:14-15
Levi stands on Gerizim at verse 12 and the Levites speak the curses at verse 14, and John Gill reads the speakers as the priests of that tribe placed in the valley between the mountains, which is where Joshua 8:33 puts the men who bore the ark. The first curse falls on an image put in a secret place, and that sets the key of the whole list, since most of what follows is done where no witness stands. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown render the formula as a declaration rather than a wish, cursed is he rather than cursed be he. The people answer Amen twelve times, a word first spoken in Scripture by one woman at Numbers 5:22 and here said by a nation.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
10 Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the L ORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day. A general charge to the people to keep God's commandments; for in vain did they know them, unless they would do them. This is pressed upon them, 1.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
ארור האיש, all of the “cursed be” mentioned here had first been intoned as a blessing for all the people refraining from becoming guilty of the sins that are mentioned here.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעָנ֣וּ | veanu | and they will answer | H6030 → | 331 times |
| הַלְוִיִּ֗ם | halviyim | the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| וְאָֽמְר֛וּ | veameru | and they will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | person of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| ק֥וֹל | kol | a voice | H6963 → | 506 times |
| רָֽם׃ ס | ram | high | H7311 → | 190 times |
וְעָנ֣וּand they will answer
veanuH6030 →331 times
הַלְוִיִּ֗םthe Levites
halviyimH3881 →291 times
וְאָֽמְר֛וּand they will say
veameruH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אִ֥ישׁperson of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
ק֥וֹלa voice
kolH6963 →506 times
רָֽם׃ סhigh
ramH7311 →190 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Daniel 9:11All Israel has transgressed Your law and turned away, refusing to obey Your voice; so the oath and the curse written in the Law of Moses the servant of God has been poured out…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 8:5–10
Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.
- Isaiah 1:4–6
Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children of depravity! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on…
- Deuteronomy 28:15–68
If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
- Jeremiah 8:5–10
Through
Joshua 8:33All Israel, foreigners and citizens alike, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 11:29
When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.
- Deuteronomy 31:12
Assemble the people—men, women, children, and the foreigners within your gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and to follow carefully all the words of this law.
- Deuteronomy 31:9
So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 27:11–14
On that day Moses commanded the people:
- Joshua 4:18
When the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD came up out of the Jordan and their feet touched the dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned to their course…
- Deuteronomy 11:29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.