Deuteronomy 27:26
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This final curse isn't just about actively breaking God's commands; it's about failing to "confirm" or "establish" them through action. It highlights that true obedience means actively living out God's entire Law, not just intellectually agreeing with it.
“‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse is the culmination of a solemn ceremony where the Israelites, having entered the promised land, are gathered between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. Following instructions given by Moses, six tribes proclaimed blessings from Gerizim and six tribes proclaimed curses from Ebal for specific transgressions of God's law. This final curse serves as a powerful summary, declaring that anyone who fails to uphold every part of God's law by actively doing it is cursed, with all the people responding "Amen" to affirm this reality.
Ever felt like just knowing the rules is enough? This verse hits hard on a deeper requirement for God's people.
The word 'confirm' here isn't about just mentally agreeing or intellectually understanding.
Establishing God's Word
It means to 'establish' or 'make firm'. Think of it like laying a foundation or setting something in stone. When the people are called to 'confirm the words of this law,' it means they are to make those words a reality in their lives through action.
Action Over Agreement
This verse, and the whole context of the curses in Deuteronomy 27, emphasizes that obedience isn't optional. It's not enough to hear and acknowledge the Law; true confirmation comes through doing it. This was the standard God set for His people then, and it highlights our own need for active obedience.
Imagine a whole nation shouting 'Amen!' to a curse. This verse forces us to confront a challenging truth about our own standing.
This final curse in Deuteronomy 27 is a powerful summary. It declares that anyone who doesn't perfectly uphold God's Law is cursed. The response, 'Amen,' signifies agreement and affirmation.
Acknowledging Our Condition
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When Israel said 'Amen,' they were acknowledging the reality of the curse and their own inability to escape it through perfect obedience. It was a stark admission of their need for God's intervention.
The Need for a Redeemer
This verse reveals the impossible standard of the Law for fallen humanity. No one, in their own strength, can 'confirm all the words of this law.' Paul uses this very passage in Galatians to show that everyone who relies on 'works of the law' is under this curse. The only way out is through Christ, who became the curse for us, redeeming us from this very sentence.
Understand the original words
arur · Hebrew Adjective
To be under the formal judgment or sentence of God, resulting in separation from His blessing and covenant favor due to disobedience or failure to uphold His requirements.
qim · Hebrew Verb
To uphold, establish, or make valid; in a covenantal context, it signifies a binding commitment to acknowledge and actively carry out the requirements set forth by a superior party.
torah · Hebrew Noun
The divine instruction, teaching, or moral requirements given by God to His people to regulate their life and relationship with Him; often refers to the Torah given at Sinai.
amen · Hebrew Interjection
An expression of solemn affirmation, agreement, and commitment, meaning "truly," "so be it," or "let it be so," indicating one's acceptance of God's word as binding and true.
This verse comes from a dramatic, public covenant renewal ceremony. The people, standing between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, are commanded to affirm that they accept God's law and its consequences—both blessing for obedience and curse for disobedience.
c. 1400 BC
Israel enters the Promised Land
After wandering for forty years, the Israelites, led by Joshua, crossed the Jordan River and began their conquest of Canaan.
c. 1400 BC
Conquest of Canaan begins
The Israelites waged war against the Canaanite nations, as commanded by God, to establish their inheritance in the land.
c. 1350 BC
Division of the Land
Following the conquest, the land of Canaan was systematically divided among the twelve tribes of Israel, establishing their territories.
c. 1350 BC— this verse
The Ceremony at Mount Ebal and Gerizim
Moses had instructed that upon entering the land, the people were to perform a grand ceremony at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, involving blessings and curses.
c. 1350 BC
Israel enters the period of Judges
After Joshua's death, Israel entered a period where they were governed by judges, often marked by cycles of disobedience, oppression, and deliverance.
This passage directly quotes and applies the curse from Deuteronomy 27:26, highlighting that anyone relying on perfectly following the Law is under its curse because no one can perfectly keep it.
James 2:10This verse echoes the principle of Deuteronomy 27:26 by stating that failing to keep even one part of the law makes a person guilty of breaking the whole law, emphasizing the comprehensive nature of God's commands and the curse for disobedience.
Romans 8:3This verse explains how God, through sending His Son in human likeness and as a sin offering, condemned sin in the flesh, directly addressing the impossibility of humans fulfilling the law perfectly and thus escaping the curse pronounced in Deuteronomy.
Hebrews 10:28-29This passage describes the severe punishment for rejecting the Law of Moses and failing to obey its commands, paralleling the 'curse' declared in Deuteronomy for those who do not confirm the words of the law by doing them.
cambridgeDeuteronomy 27:26: "Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen."
26 . confirmeth ] Lit. establisheth , 2 Kings 23:3 ; 2 Kings 23:24 of Josiah and the Book of the Law, Heb. Tôrah , as in Deuteronomy 1:5 , Deuteronomy 31:9 , which see.
clarkeDeuteronomy 27:26: "Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen."
That confirmeth not all the words of this law - The word כל col, All, is not found in any printed copy of the Hebrew text; but the Samaritan preserves it, and so do six MSS. in the collections of Kennicott and De Rossi, besides several copies of the Chaldee Targum. The Septuagint also, and St. Paul in his quotation of this place, Galatians 3:10 . St. Jerome says that…
This final curse isn't just about actively breaking God's commands; it's about failing to "confirm" or "establish" them through action. It highlights that true obedience means actively living out God's entire Law, not just intellectually agreeing with it.
This verse is the culmination of a solemn ceremony where the Israelites, having entered the promised land, are gathered between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. Following instructions given by Moses, six tribes proclaimed blessings from Gerizim and six tribes proclaimed curses from Ebal for specific transgressions of God's law. This final curse serves as a powerful summary, declaring that anyone who fails to uphold every part of God's law by actively doing it is cursed, with all the people responding "Amen" to affirm this reality.
This verse is the culmination of a solemn ceremony where the Israelites, having entered the promised land, are gathered between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. Following instructions given by Moses, six tribes proclaimed blessings from Gerizim and six tribes proclaimed curses from Ebal for specific transgressions of God's law. This final curse serves as a powerful summary, declaring that anyone who fails to uphold every part of God's law by actively doing it is cursed, with all the people responding "Amen" to affirm this reality.
"“‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’" — This final curse isn't just about actively breaking God's commands; it's about failing to "confirm" or "establish" them through action. It highlights that true obedience means actively living out God…
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Last reviewed October 2026
