Deuteronomy 27:26 Meaning and Explanation
“Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The final declaration gathers the chapter's warnings into one searching conclusion. Individual sins can be named, yet God's law is not a short list for selective obedience. This verse asks what it means to stand under a covenant whose words are to be established and carried out, while the Bible also shows humanity's need for God's mercy and help.
Deuteronomy 27:26 pronounces a curse on anyone who does not uphold and practice all the words of God's law. Israel's Amen accepts the law's comprehensive claim on the covenant people.
The Context of Deuteronomy 27:26
Moses and the elders command Israel to keep the commandments, write the law very plainly on stones after crossing the Jordan, and worship at an altar through burnt and peace offerings. Moses declares that Israel has become the people of the LORD and must obey his voice. The Levites then proclaim twelve curses from Mount Ebal, each met by the people's Amen. The earlier curses name idolatry and wrongs against parents, neighbors, the vulnerable, sexual faithfulness, and innocent life. Verse 26 closes the series by extending the covenant's demand to all the words of the law.
What Does Deuteronomy 27:26 Mean?
The verse speaks of one who "confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them." To confirm the law is to uphold it as binding and true, and "to do them" brings that acknowledgment into conduct. The wording refuses a merely verbal allegiance. Israel has just heard particular examples of grave wrongdoing, but the final curse prevents the people from treating the list as complete. God's commands form a whole covenant way of life. The people's Amen is therefore weighty. They publicly agree that God's revealed instruction deserves obedience, including when obedience reaches beyond the sins that are easiest to condemn in someone else.
The chapter has already paired law with altar, sacrifice, peace offerings, and rejoicing before the LORD. Israel's covenant life is not presented as bare rule keeping detached from worship and God's provision. Still, the law's seriousness remains. The words are to be written plainly, heard publicly, and practiced. Verse 26 brings the preceding curses under one conclusion: idolatry, contempt, injustice, violence, and hidden wrongs all matter because the LORD's instruction governs the people he has made his own. The verse also prepares readers for later biblical prayers and promises that ask God to teach, forgive, restore, and write his ways more deeply within his people.
Paul cites this verse in Galatians 3:10 while explaining the curse that falls on those who rely on works of the law and yet do not continue in all its commands. His use preserves the verse's searching force: no one can claim righteousness through partial obedience. Paul then points to Christ bearing the curse described in the law, so that the promise might reach the nations. This does not make God's law trivial. It reveals both the holiness of God's demand and the depth of God's provision in Christ, who calls his people into a life of faithful obedience shaped by the Spirit.
Deuteronomy 27:26 in the Original Language
qum (קוּם), 'confirmeth' -- establish, uphold, or cause to stand. Here the word concerns treating the words of God's law as binding in actual practice, as the following phrase "to do them" makes clear.
Bible Verses Related to Deuteronomy 27:26
“And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.”
- Deuteronomy 27:8
“But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:”
- Deuteronomy 28:15
“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
- Galatians 3:10-14
“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”
- James 2:10
Where Deuteronomy 27:26 Echoes in Scripture
Galatians 3:10 directly quotes Deuteronomy 27:26 in Paul's argument about the law's curse. Paul uses the verse to show that a person cannot rest a claim to righteousness on law-works while failing the law's comprehensive demand. In the following verses he connects this burden to Christ's bearing of the curse, bringing Deuteronomy's solemn covenant declaration into the heart of his gospel proclamation.
How to Apply Deuteronomy 27:26 Today
This final Amen invites humility. We may recognize obvious wrongs while overlooking the ways God's instruction reaches our speech, promises, treatment of neighbors, worship, and use of power. The appropriate response includes honest confession, careful learning, and concrete obedience in the responsibilities already before us. Because the chapter also includes altar and offerings, we need not approach God with denial or despair when we see our failures. We can come seeking his mercy and help. In light of Christ, obedience becomes a grateful, serious response to God's grace, sustained by prayer and the Spirit rather than a performance for self-justification.
Reflection & Prayer
Where are we tempted to affirm God's commands in principle while resisting their claim on a particular area of life? We might pray: "Holy God, make your word firm in us. Reveal what we excuse, forgive what we have done, and strengthen us through Christ to walk faithfully in the light you give."