What Does Deuteronomy 27:18 Mean in the King James?

Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Deuteronomy 27:18 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

THE KEY

The curse falls on the one who makes another lose the way, not on the blind person who cannot see it.

THE MEANING

When someone cannot see the way, this verse places responsibility on the one who makes them stray from it. The people’s “Amen” makes that recognition shared and public.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

This undoes the belief that a person who cannot see must bear the blame when someone leads them astray.

THE ROOT

מַשְׁגֶּה

mashgeh

GROWS FROM

שגה

To err or go astray; in this form, to cause someone to err.

“maketh ... to wander” in this verse is mashgeh. The Hebrew makes the action causative: someone is made to stray. The same root names both going astray and inadvertent error, revealing how the verse places culpability on the person who causes the wandering.

ALSO GROWS

shagah: To err or go astray.

שָׁגָה

It names the straying itself; the verse’s form makes another person the cause of it.

shegagah: An inadvertent error.

שְׁגָגָה

This branch shares the root of wandering into error, while the verse focuses on the person who brings someone else into it.

THE PATTERN

The path of a person who cannot see is a responsibility to protect, never an opening to exploit.

Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:14 · KJVIt names placing an obstacle before the blind as a wrong, just as Deuteronomy condemns making them stray.

And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

Isaiah 42:16 · KJVThe blind are led along an unfamiliar way, with the responsibility for their passage resting on the guide.

Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

Matthew 15:14 · KJVA guide who cannot see the way can bring others into danger, making the responsibility of guidance plain.

THE THREAD

And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

Isaiah 42:16 · KJV

Both verses connect “the blind” with “the way.” Deuteronomy names the one who causes the blind to stray; Isaiah speaks of leading the blind along an unknown way and not forsaking them.

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