Deuteronomy 11:26-32·~1 min

A Blessing and a Curse

Moses sets blessing and curse before Israel in simple covenant terms. Obedience to the LORD's commandments brings blessing, while turning aside after other gods brings curse.

S²⁶ee, today I am setting before you a blessing and a curse — ²⁷a blessing if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you today, ²⁸but a curse if you disobey the commandments of the LORD your God and turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.

When Israel enters the land, blessing and curse are to be proclaimed on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. The coming crossing and settlement make this choice immediate, so Moses ends by calling for careful obedience.

²⁹When 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. ³⁰Are not these mountains across the Jordan, west of the road toward the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah opposite Gilgal near the Oak of Moreh? ³¹For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you. When you take possession of it and settle in it, ³²be careful to follow all the statutes and ordinances that I am setting before you today.

Section summaryMoses gathers the chapter into a plain choice: blessing with obedience, curse with disobedience and the pursuit of other gods. He then anchors that choice in the land itself, naming the mountains where blessing and curse will be proclaimed as Israel crosses the Jordan to settle there.

Role in the chapterThis closing section condenses the chapter into covenant alternatives and gives them a physical setting in the land. It prepares for the fuller blessing-and-curse structure that will unfold later in Deuteronomy.