A Walk Through The Word

Atonement for an Unsolved Murder

21 If someone is found slain, lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who the killer was,^{(A) 2} your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns. ³ Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke^{(B) 4} and lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer’s neck. ⁵ The Levitical priests shall step forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings^(C) in the name of the Lord and to decide all cases of dispute and assault.^{(D) 6} Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands^(E) over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, ⁷ and they shall declare: “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. ⁸ Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, Lord, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent person.” Then the bloodshed will be atoned for,^{(F) 9} and you will have purged^(G) from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

Marrying a Captive Woman

¹⁰ When you go to war against your enemies and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands^(H) and you take captives,^{(I) 11} if you notice among the captives a beautiful^(J) woman and are attracted to her,^(K) you may take her as your wife. ¹² Bring her into your home and have her shave her head,^(L) trim her nails ¹³ and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month,^(M) then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. ¹⁴ If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.^(N)

The Right of the Firstborn

¹⁵ If a man has two wives,^(O) and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love,^{(P) 16} when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love.^{(Q) 17} He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double^(R) share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father’s strength.^(S) The right of the firstborn belongs to him.^(T)

A Rebellious Son

¹⁸ If someone has a stubborn and rebellious^(U) son^(V) who does not obey his father and mother^(W) and will not listen to them when they discipline him, ¹⁹ his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. ²⁰ They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” ²¹ Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death.^(X) You must purge the evil^(Y) from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.^(Z)

Various Laws

²² If someone guilty of a capital offense^(AA) is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole, ²³ you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight.^(AB) Be sure to bury^(AC) it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse.^(AD) You must not desecrate^(AE) the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

22 If you see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to its owner.^{(AF) 2} If they do not live near you or if you do not know who owns it, take it home with you and keep it until they come looking for it. Then give it back. ³ Do the same if you find their donkey or cloak or anything else they have lost. Do not ignore it.

⁴ If you see your fellow Israelite’s donkey^(AG) or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help the owner get it to its feet.^(AH)

⁵ A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.

⁶ If you come across a bird’s nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young.^{(AI) 7} You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go,^(AJ) so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.^(AK)

⁸ When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.^(AL)

⁹ Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard;^(AM) if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled.^[a]

¹⁰ Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.^(AN)

¹¹ Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.^(AO)

¹² Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.^(AP)

Marriage Violations

¹³ If a man takes a wife and, after sleeping with her^(AQ), dislikes her ¹⁴ and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, “I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,” ¹⁵ then the young woman’s father and mother shall bring to the town elders at the gate^(AR) proof that she was a virgin. ¹⁶ Her father will say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her. ¹⁷ Now he has slandered her and said, ‘I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.’ But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.” Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town, ¹⁸ and the elders^(AS) shall take the man and punish him. ¹⁹ They shall fine him a hundred shekels^[b] of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, because this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.

²⁰ If, however, the charge is true^(AT) and no proof of the young woman’s virginity can be found, ²¹ she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done an outrageous thing^(AU) in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from among you.

²² If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept^(AV) with her and the woman must die.^(AW) You must purge the evil from Israel.

²³ If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, ²⁴ you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the young woman because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.^(AX)

²⁵ But if out in the country a man happens to meet a young woman pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. ²⁶ Do nothing to the woman; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders a neighbor, ²⁷ for the man found the young woman out in the country, and though the betrothed woman screamed,^(AY) there was no one to rescue her.

²⁸ If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered,^{(AZ) 29} he shall pay her father fifty shekels^[c] of silver. He must marry the young woman, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.

³⁰ A man is not to marry his father’s wife; he must not dishonor his father’s bed.^[d](BA)

Samaritan Opposition

⁵¹ As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven,^(A) Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.^{(B) 52} And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan^(C) village to get things ready for him; ⁵³ but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When the disciples James and John^(D) saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them^[a]?”^{(E) 55} But Jesus turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ Then he and his disciples went to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus^(F)

⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road,^(G) a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man^(H) has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹ He said to another man, “Follow me.”^(I)

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”^(J)

⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”^(K)

⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two^(L)(M)(N)

10 After this the Lord^(O) appointed seventy-two^[b] others^(P) and sent them two by two^(Q) ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.^{(R) 2} He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.^{(S) 3} Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.^{(T) 4} Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

⁵ “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ ⁶ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages.^(U) Do not move around from house to house.

⁸ “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you.^{(V) 9} Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God^(W) has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you.^(X) Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’^{(Y) 12} I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom^(Z) than for that town.^(AA)

Psalm 74

A maskil^[a] of Asaph.

Offerings for Priests and Levites

18 The Levitical^(A) priests—indeed, the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offerings^(B) presented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance.^{(C) 2} They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance,^(D) as he promised them.^(E)

³ This is the share due the priests^(F) from the people who sacrifice a bull^(G) or a sheep: the shoulder, the internal organs and the meat from the head.^{(H) 4} You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep,^{(I) 5} for the Lord your God has chosen them^(J) and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister^(K) in the Lord’s name always.^(L)

⁶ If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the Lord will choose,^{(M) 7} he may minister in the name^(N) of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the Lord. ⁸ He is to share equally in their benefits, even though he has received money from the sale of family possessions.^(O)

Occult Practices

⁹ When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate^(P) the detestable ways^(Q) of the nations there. ¹⁰ Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire,^(R) who practices divination^(S) or sorcery,^(T) interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,^{(U) 11} or casts spells,^(V) or who is a medium or spiritist^(W) or who consults the dead. ¹² Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.^{(X) 13} You must be blameless^(Y) before the Lord your God.^(Z)

The Prophet

¹⁴ The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination.^(AA) But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. ¹⁵ The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites.^(AB) You must listen to him. ¹⁶ For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”^(AC)

¹⁷ The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. ¹⁸ I will raise up for them a prophet^(AD) like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words^(AE) in his mouth.^(AF) He will tell them everything I command him.^{(AG) 19} I myself will call to account^(AH) anyone who does not listen^(AI) to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.^{(AJ) 20} But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods,^(AK) is to be put to death.”^(AL)

²¹ You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” ²² If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true,^(AM) that is a message the Lord has not spoken.^(AN) That prophet has spoken presumptuously,^(AO) so do not be alarmed.

Cities of Refuge^(AP)

19 When the Lord your God has destroyed the nations whose land he is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their towns and houses,^{(AQ) 2} then set aside for yourselves three cities in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess. ³ Determine the distances involved and divide into three parts the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that a person who kills someone may flee for refuge to one of these cities.

⁴ This is the rule concerning anyone who kills a person and flees there for safety—anyone who kills a neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought. ⁵ For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life. ⁶ Otherwise, the avenger of blood^(AR) might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought. ⁷ This is why I command you to set aside for yourselves three cities.

⁸ If the Lord your God enlarges your territory,^(AS) as he promised^(AT) on oath to your ancestors, and gives you the whole land he promised them, ⁹ because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today—to love the Lord your God and to walk always in obedience to him^(AU)—then you are to set aside three more cities. ¹⁰ Do this so that innocent blood^(AV) will not be shed in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.^(AW)

¹¹ But if out of hate someone lies in wait, assaults and kills a neighbor,^(AX) and then flees to one of these cities, ¹² the killer shall be sent for by the town elders, be brought back from the city, and be handed over to the avenger of blood to die. ¹³ Show no pity.^(AY) You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood,^(AZ) so that it may go well with you.

¹⁴ Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.^(BA)

Witnesses

¹⁵ One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.^(BB)

¹⁶ If a malicious witness^(BC) takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, ¹⁷ the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges^(BD) who are in office at the time. ¹⁸ The judges must make a thorough investigation,^(BE) and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, ¹⁹ then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party.^(BF) You must purge the evil from among you. ²⁰ The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid,^(BG) and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. ²¹ Show no pity:^(BH) life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.^(BI)

Going to War

20 When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours,^(BJ) do not be afraid^(BK) of them,^(BL) because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with^(BM) you. ² When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. ³ He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted^(BN) or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. ⁴ For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you^(BO) to fight^(BP) for you against your enemies to give you victory.^(BQ)”

⁵ The officers shall say to the army: “Has anyone built a new house and not yet begun to live in^(BR) it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may begin to live in it. ⁶ Has anyone planted^(BS) a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it?^(BT) Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else enjoy it. ⁷ Has anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else marry her.^(BU)” ⁸ Then the officers shall add, “Is anyone afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his fellow soldiers will not become disheartened too.”^{(BV) 9} When the officers have finished speaking to the army, they shall appoint commanders over it.

¹⁰ When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace.^{(BW) 11} If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject^(BX) to forced labor^(BY) and shall work for you. ¹² If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. ¹³ When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it.^{(BZ) 14} As for the women, the children, the livestock^(CA) and everything else in the city,^(CB) you may take these as plunder^(CC) for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies. ¹⁵ This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance^(CD) from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.

¹⁶ However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes.^{(CE) 17} Completely destroy^[a] them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you. ¹⁸ Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods,^(CF) and you will sin^(CG) against the Lord your God.

¹⁹ When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees people, that you should besiege them?^{[b] 20} However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees^(CH) and use them to build siege works until the city at war with you falls.

The Transfiguration^(A)

²⁸ About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James^(B) with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.^{(C) 29} As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. ³⁰ Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. ³¹ They spoke about his departure,^[a](D) which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. ³² Peter and his companions were very sleepy,^(E) but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. ³³ As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master,^(F) it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

³⁴ While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen;^(G) listen to him.”^{(H) 36} When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.^(I)

Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy^(J)

³⁷ The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. ³⁸ A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. ³⁹ A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. ⁴⁰ I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”

⁴¹ “You unbelieving and perverse generation,”^(K) Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

⁴² Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³ And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.

Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time

While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, ⁴⁴ “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”^{(L) 45} But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it,^(M) and they were afraid to ask him about it.

⁴⁶ An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.^{(N) 47} Jesus, knowing their thoughts,^(O) took a little child and had him stand beside him. ⁴⁸ Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.^(P) For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”^(Q)

⁴⁹ “Master,”^(R) said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”

⁵⁰ “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”^(S)

BOOK III

Psalms 73–89

Psalm 73

A psalm of Asaph.

The Passover^(A)

16 Observe the month of Aviv^(B) and celebrate the Passover^(C) of the Lord your God, because in the month of Aviv he brought you out of Egypt by night. ² Sacrifice as the Passover to the Lord your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his Name.^{(D) 3} Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction,^(E) because you left Egypt in haste^(F)—so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.^{(G) 4} Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening^(H) of the first day remain until morning.^(I)

⁵ You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the Lord your God gives you ⁶ except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary^[a](J) of your departure from Egypt. ⁷ Roast^(K) it and eat it at the place the Lord your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents. ⁸ For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly^(L) to the Lord your God and do no work.^(M)

The Festival of Weeks^(N)

⁹ Count off seven weeks^(O) from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.^{(P) 10} Then celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you. ¹¹ And rejoice^(Q) before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name^(R)—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites^(S) in your towns, and the foreigners,^(T) the fatherless and the widows living among you.^{(U) 12} Remember that you were slaves in Egypt,^(V) and follow carefully these decrees.

The Festival of Tabernacles^(W)

¹³ Celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor^(X) and your winepress.^{(Y) 14} Be joyful^(Z) at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns. ¹⁵ For seven days celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy^(AA) will be complete.

¹⁶ Three times a year all your men must appear^(AB) before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread,^(AC) the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles.^(AD) No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed:^{(AE) 17} Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.

Judges

¹⁸ Appoint judges^(AF) and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly.^{(AG) 19} Do not pervert justice^(AH) or show partiality.^(AI) Do not accept a bribe,^(AJ) for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent. ²⁰ Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Worshiping Other Gods

²¹ Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole^(AK) beside the altar you build to the Lord your God,^{(AL) 22} and do not erect a sacred stone,^(AM) for these the Lord your God hates.

17 Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect^(AN) or flaw in it, for that would be detestable^(AO) to him.^(AP)

² If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant,^{(AQ) 3} and contrary to my command^(AR) has worshiped other gods,^(AS) bowing down to them or to the sun^(AT) or the moon or the stars in the sky,^{(AU) 4} and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true^(AV) and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel,^{(AW) 5} take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death.^{(AX) 6} On the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.^{(AY) 7} The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting that person to death,^(AZ) and then the hands of all the people.^(BA) You must purge the evil^(BB) from among you.

Law Courts

⁸ If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge^(BC)—whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults^(BD)—take them to the place the Lord your God will choose.^{(BE) 9} Go to the Levitical^(BF) priests and to the judge^(BG) who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict.^{(BH) 10} You must act according to the decisions they give you at the place the Lord will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you to do. ¹¹ Act according to whatever they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left.^{(BI) 12} Anyone who shows contempt^(BJ) for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering^(BK) there to the Lord your God is to be put to death.^(BL) You must purge the evil from Israel.^{(BM) 13} All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not be contemptuous again.^(BN)

The King

¹⁴ When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession^(BO) of it and settled in it,^(BP) and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”^{(BQ) 15} be sure to appoint^(BR) over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites.^(BS) Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. ¹⁶ The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses^(BT) for himself^(BU) or make the people return to Egypt^(BV) to get more of them,^(BW) for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.”^{(BX) 17} He must not take many wives,^(BY) or his heart will be led astray.^(BZ) He must not accumulate^(CA) large amounts of silver and gold.^(CB)

¹⁸ When he takes the throne^(CC) of his kingdom, he is to write^(CD) for himself on a scroll a copy^(CE) of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. ¹⁹ It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life^(CF) so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees^{(CG) 20} and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law^(CH) to the right or to the left.^(CI) Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.^(CJ)

⁷ Now Herod^(A) the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John^(B) had been raised from the dead,^{(C) 8} others that Elijah had appeared,^(D) and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.^{(E) 9} But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him.^(F)

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand^(G)(H)

¹⁰ When the apostles^(I) returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida,^{(J) 11} but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God,^(K) and healed those who needed healing.

¹² Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”

¹³ He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” ¹⁴ (About five thousand men were there.)

But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. ¹⁶ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them.^(L) Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. ¹⁷ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah^(M)(N)

¹⁸ Once when Jesus was praying^(O) in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

¹⁹ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist;^(P) others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”^(Q)

²⁰ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”^(R)

Jesus Predicts His Death

²¹ Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.^{(S) 22} And he said, “The Son of Man^(T) must suffer many things^(U) and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law,^(V) and he must be killed^(W) and on the third day^(X) be raised to life.”^(Y)

²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.^{(Z) 24} For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.^{(AA) 25} What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? ²⁶ Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them^(AB) when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.^(AC)

²⁷ “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

Worshiping Other Gods

13 ^[a]If a prophet,^(A) or one who foretells by dreams,^(B) appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, ² and if the sign^(C) or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods”^(D) (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” ³ you must not listen to the words of that prophet^(E) or dreamer.^(F) The Lord your God is testing^(G) you to find out whether you love^(H) him with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁴ It is the Lord your God you must follow,^(I) and him you must revere.^(J) Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast^(K) to him. ⁵ That prophet or dreamer must be put to death^(L) for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn^(M) you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil^(N) from among you.

⁶ If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices^(O) you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods”^(P) (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, ⁷ gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), ⁸ do not yield^(Q) to them or listen to them. Show them no pity.^(R) Do not spare them or shield them. ⁹ You must certainly put them to death.^(S) Your hand^(T) must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. ¹⁰ Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away^(U) from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ¹¹ Then all Israel will hear and be afraid,^(V) and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.

¹² If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in ¹³ that troublemakers^(W) have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known), ¹⁴ then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly.^(X) And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you,^{(Y) 15} you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely,^[b](Z) both its people and its livestock.^{(AA) 16} You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town^(AB) and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God.^(AC) That town is to remain a ruin^(AD) forever, never to be rebuilt, ¹⁷ and none of the condemned things^[c] are to be found in your hands. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger,^(AE) will show you mercy,^(AF) and will have compassion^(AG) on you. He will increase your numbers,^(AH) as he promised^(AI) on oath to your ancestors— ¹⁸ because you obey the Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right^(AJ) in his eyes.

Clean and Unclean Food^(AK)

14 You are the children^(AL) of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead, ² for you are a people holy^(AM) to the Lord your God.^(AN) Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.^(AO)

³ Do not eat any detestable thing.^{(AP) 4} These are the animals you may eat:^(AQ) the ox, the sheep, the goat,^{(AR) 5} the deer,^(AS) the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat,^(AT) the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep.^{[d] 6} You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. ⁷ However, of those that chew the cud or that have a divided hoof you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the hyrax. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you. ⁸ The pig is also unclean; although it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses.^(AU)

⁹ Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales. ¹⁰ But anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat; for you it is unclean.

¹¹ You may eat any clean bird. ¹² But these you may not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, ¹³ the red kite, the black kite, any kind^(AV) of falcon,^{(AW) 14} any kind of raven,^{(AX) 15} the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, ¹⁶ the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, ¹⁷ the desert owl,^(AY) the osprey, the cormorant, ¹⁸ the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.

¹⁹ All flying insects are unclean to you; do not eat them. ²⁰ But any winged creature that is clean you may eat.^(AZ)

²¹ Do not eat anything you find already dead.^(BA) You may give it to the foreigner residing in any of your towns, and they may eat it, or you may sell it to any other foreigner. But you are a people holy to the Lord your God.^(BB)

Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.^(BC)

Tithes

²² Be sure to set aside a tenth^(BD) of all that your fields produce each year. ²³ Eat^(BE) the tithe of your grain, new wine^(BF) and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name,^(BG) so that you may learn^(BH) to revere^(BI) the Lord your God always. ²⁴ But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), ²⁵ then exchange^(BJ) your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. ²⁶ Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink,^(BK) or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice.^{(BL) 27} And do not neglect the Levites^(BM) living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.^(BN)

²⁸ At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes^(BO) of that year’s produce and store it in your towns,^{(BP) 29} so that the Levites (who have no allotment^(BQ) or inheritance^(BR) of their own) and the foreigners,^(BS) the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied,^(BT) and so that the Lord your God may bless^(BU) you in all the work of your hands.

The Year for Canceling Debts^(BV)

15 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.^{(BW) 2} This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. ³ You may require payment from a foreigner,^(BX) but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you. ⁴ However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless^(BY) you, ⁵ if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow^(BZ) all these commands I am giving you today. ⁶ For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.^(CA)

⁷ If anyone is poor^(CB) among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted^(CC) toward them. ⁸ Rather, be openhanded^(CD) and freely lend them whatever they need. ⁹ Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts,^(CE) is near,” so that you do not show ill will^(CF) toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin.^{(CG) 10} Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart;^(CH) then because of this the Lord your God will bless^(CI) you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. ¹¹ There will always be poor people^(CJ) in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.^(CK)

Freeing Servants^(CL)(CM)

¹² If any of your people—Hebrew men or women—sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free.^{(CN) 13} And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. ¹⁴ Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor^(CO) and your winepress. Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you. ¹⁵ Remember that you were slaves^(CP) in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you.^(CQ) That is why I give you this command today.

¹⁶ But if your servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, ¹⁷ then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant.

¹⁸ Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because their service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

The Firstborn Animals

¹⁹ Set apart for the Lord^(CR) your God every firstborn male^(CS) of your herds and flocks.^(CT) Do not put the firstborn of your cows to work, and do not shear the firstborn of your sheep.^{(CU) 20} Each year you and your family are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose.^{(CV) 21} If an animal has a defect,^(CW) is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God.^{(CX) 22} You are to eat it in your own towns. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it, as if it were gazelle or deer.^{(CY) 23} But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.^(CZ)

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman^(A)

⁴⁰ Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. ⁴¹ Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader,^(B) came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house ⁴² because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. ⁴³ And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding^(C) for twelve years,^[a] but no one could heal her. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak,^(D) and immediately her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵ “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master,^(E) the people are crowding and pressing against you.”

⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me;^(F) I know that power has gone out from me.”^(G)

⁴⁷ Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. ⁴⁸ Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.^(H) Go in peace.”^(I)

⁴⁹ While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader.^(J) “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”

⁵⁰ Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”

⁵¹ When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James,^(K) and the child’s father and mother. ⁵² Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning^(L) for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”^(M)

⁵³ They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. ⁵⁴ But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!”^{(N) 55} Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.^(O)

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve^(P)(Q)

9 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons^(R) and to cure diseases,^{(S) 2} and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God^(T) and to heal the sick. ³ He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt.^{(U) 4} Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. ⁵ If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”^{(V) 6} So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.

Psalm 71^(A)

Love and Obey the Lord

11 Love^(A) the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.^{(B) 2} Remember today that your children^(C) were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God:^(D) his majesty,^(E) his mighty hand, his outstretched arm;^{(F) 3} the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country;^{(G) 4} what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots,^(H) how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea^[a](I) as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord brought lasting ruin on them. ⁵ It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the wilderness until you arrived at this place, ⁶ and what he did^(J) to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened^(K) its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them. ⁷ But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done.^(L)

⁸ Observe therefore all the commands^(M) I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,^{(N) 9} and so that you may live long^(O) in the land the Lord swore^(P) to your ancestors to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.^{(Q) 10} The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt,^(R) from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. ¹¹ But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys^(S) that drinks rain from heaven.^{(T) 12} It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes^(U) of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.

¹³ So if you faithfully obey^(V) the commands I am giving you today—to love^(W) the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul^(X)— ¹⁴ then I will send rain^(Y) on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains,^(Z) so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. ¹⁵ I will provide grass^(AA) in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.^(AB)

¹⁶ Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.^{(AC) 17} Then the Lord’s anger^(AD) will burn against you, and he will shut up^(AE) the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce,^(AF) and you will soon perish^(AG) from the good land the Lord is giving you. ¹⁸ Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.^{(AH) 19} Teach them to your children,^(AI) talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.^{(AJ) 20} Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates,^{(AK) 21} so that your days and the days of your children may be many^(AL) in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.^(AM)

²² If you carefully observe^(AN) all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love^(AO) the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast^(AP) to him— ²³ then the Lord will drive out^(AQ) all these nations^(AR) before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.^{(AS) 24} Every place where you set your foot will be yours:^(AT) Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River^(AU) to the Mediterranean Sea. ²⁵ No one will be able to stand against you. The Lord your God, as he promised you, will put the terror^(AV) and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.^(AW)

²⁶ See, I am setting before you today a blessing^(AX) and a curse^(AY)— ²⁷ the blessing^(AZ) if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; ²⁸ the curse if you disobey^(BA) the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods,^(BB) which you have not known. ²⁹ When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim^(BC) the blessings, and on Mount Ebal^(BD) the curses.^{(BE) 30} As you know, these mountains are across the Jordan, westward, toward the setting sun, near the great trees of Moreh,^(BF) in the territory of those Canaanites living in the Arabah in the vicinity of Gilgal.^{(BG) 31} You are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession^(BH) of the land the Lord your God is giving^(BI) you. When you have taken it over and are living there, ³² be sure that you obey all the decrees and laws I am setting before you today.

The One Place of Worship

12 These are the decrees^(BJ) and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess—as long as you live in the land.^{(BK) 2} Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains,^(BL) on the hills and under every spreading tree,^(BM) where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods. ³ Break down their altars, smash^(BN) their sacred stones and burn^(BO) their Asherah^(BP) poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names^(BQ) from those places.

⁴ You must not worship the Lord your God in their way.^{(BR) 5} But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name^(BS) there for his dwelling.^(BT) To that place you must go; ⁶ there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes^(BU) and special gifts, what you have vowed^(BV) to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.^{(BW) 7} There, in the presence^(BX) of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice^(BY) in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.

⁸ You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit,^{(BZ) 9} since you have not yet reached the resting place^(CA) and the inheritance^(CB) the Lord your God is giving you. ¹⁰ But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving^(CC) you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest^(CD) from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety. ¹¹ Then to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name^(CE)—there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord.^{(CF) 12} And there rejoice^(CG) before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites^(CH) from your towns who have no allotment or inheritance^(CI) of their own. ¹³ Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please.^{(CJ) 14} Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose^(CK) in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.

¹⁵ Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer,^(CL) according to the blessing the Lord your God gives you. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it. ¹⁶ But you must not eat the blood;^(CM) pour^(CN) it out on the ground like water.^{(CO) 17} You must not eat in your own towns the tithe^(CP) of your grain and new wine and olive oil,^(CQ) or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give,^(CR) or your freewill offerings or special gifts.^{(CS) 18} Instead, you are to eat^(CT) them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place the Lord your God will choose^(CU)—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns—and you are to rejoice^(CV) before the Lord your God in everything you put your hand to. ¹⁹ Be careful not to neglect the Levites^(CW) as long as you live in your land.^(CX)

²⁰ When the Lord your God has enlarged your territory^(CY) as he promised^(CZ) you, and you crave meat^(DA) and say, “I would like some meat,” then you may eat as much of it as you want. ²¹ If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put his Name^(DB) is too far away from you, you may slaughter animals from the herds and flocks the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and in your own towns you may eat as much of them as you want.^{(DC) 22} Eat them as you would gazelle or deer.^(DD) Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat. ²³ But be sure you do not eat the blood,^(DE) because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.^{(DF) 24} You must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.^{(DG) 25} Do not eat it, so that it may go well^(DH) with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right^(DI) in the eyes of the Lord.

²⁶ But take your consecrated things and whatever you have vowed to give,^(DJ) and go to the place the Lord will choose. ²⁷ Present your burnt offerings^(DK) on the altar of the Lord your God, both the meat and the blood. The blood of your sacrifices must be poured beside the altar of the Lord your God, but you may eat^(DL) the meat. ²⁸ Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well^(DM) with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God.

²⁹ The Lord your God will cut off^(DN) before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land,^{(DO) 30} and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared^(DP) by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.”^{(DQ) 31} You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates.^(DR) They even burn their sons^(DS) and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.^(DT)

³² See that you do all I command you; do not add^(DU) to it or take away from it.^[b]

Jesus Calms the Storm^(A)(B)

²² One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. ²³ As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

²⁴ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master,^(C) we’re going to drown!”

He got up and rebuked^(D) the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.^{(E) 25} “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.

In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man^(F)(G)

²⁶ They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,^[a] which is across the lake from Galilee. ²⁷ When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me,^(H) Jesus, Son of the Most High God?^(I) I beg you, don’t torture me!” ²⁹ For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

³⁰ Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. ³¹ And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.^(J)

³² A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. ³³ When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake^(K) and was drowned.

³⁴ When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, ³⁵ and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet,^(L) dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ³⁶ Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed^(M) man had been cured. ³⁷ Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them,^(N) because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

³⁸ The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

Psalm 70^[a](A)

For the director of music. Of David. A petition.