A Walk Through The Word

If You Are Loyal to the Lord, He Will Bless You

Moses said to Israel:

11 The Lord is your God, so you must always love him and obey his laws and teachings. ² Remember, he corrected you and not your children. You are the ones who saw the Lord use his great power ^3 (A) when he worked miracles in Egypt, making terrible things happen to the king and all his people. ^4 (B) And when the Egyptian army chased you in their chariots, you saw the Lord drown them and their horses in the Red Sea.^[a] Egypt still suffers from that defeat!

⁵ You saw what the Lord did for you while you were in the desert, right up to the time you arrived here. ^6 (C) And you saw how the Lord made the ground open up in the middle of our camp underneath the tents of Dathan and Abiram,^[b] who were swallowed up along with their families, their animals, and their tents.

⁷ With your own eyes, you saw the Lord's mighty power do all these things.

⁸ Soon you will cross the Jordan River, and if you obey the laws and teachings I'm giving you today, you will be strong enough to conquer the land ⁹ that the Lord promised your ancestors and their descendants. It's rich with milk and honey, and you will live there and enjoy it for a long time. ¹⁰ It's better land than you had in Egypt, where you had to struggle just to water your crops.^{[c] 11} But the hills and valleys in the promised land are watered by rain from heaven,^{[d] 12} because the Lord your God keeps his eye on this land and takes care of it all year long.

^13 (D) The Lord your God commands you to love him and to serve him with all your heart and soul. If you obey him, ^14-15 he will send rain at the right seasons,^[e] so you will have more than enough food, wine, and olive oil, and there will be plenty of grass for your cattle.

¹⁶ But watch out! You will be tempted to turn your backs on the Lord. And if you worship other gods, ¹⁷ the Lord will become angry and keep the rain from falling. Nothing will grow in your fields, and you will die and disappear from the good land that the Lord is giving you.

^18 (E) Memorize these laws and think about them. Write down copies and tie them to your wrists and your foreheads to help you obey them. ¹⁹ Teach them to your children. Talk about them all the time—whether you're at home or walking along the road or going to bed at night, or getting up in the morning. ²⁰ Write them on the door frames of your homes and on your town gates. ²¹ Then you and your descendants will live a long time in the land that the Lord promised your ancestors. Your families will live there as long as the sky is above the earth.

²² Love the Lord your God faithfully and obey all the laws and teachings I'm giving you today. If you live the way the Lord wants, ²³ he will help you take the land. And even though the nations there are more powerful than you, the Lord will force them to leave when you attack. ^24 (F) You will capture the land everywhere you go, from the Southern Desert to the Lebanon Mountains, and from the Euphrates River west to the Mediterranean Sea. ²⁵ No one will be able to stand up to you. The Lord will make everyone terrified of you, just as he promised.

²⁶ You have a choice—do you want the Lord to bless you, or do you want him to put a curse on you? ²⁷ Today I am giving you his laws, and if you obey him, he will bless you. ²⁸ But if you disobey him and worship those gods that have never done anything for you, the Lord will put a curse on you.

^29 (G) After the Lord your God helps you take the land, you must have a ceremony where you announce his blessings from Mount Gerizim and his curses from Mount Ebal. ³⁰ You know that these two mountains are west of the Jordan River in land now controlled by the Canaanites living in the Jordan River valley. The mountains are west of the road near the sacred trees of Moreh on the other side of Gilgal.

³¹ Soon you will cross the Jordan River to conquer the land that the Lord your God is giving you. And when you have settled there, ³² be careful to obey his laws and teachings that I am giving you today.

Only One Place To Worship the Lord

Moses said to Israel:

12 Now I'll tell you the laws and teachings that you have to obey as long as you live. Your ancestors worshiped the Lord, and he is giving you this land. ² But the nations that live there worship other gods. So after you capture the land, you must completely destroy their places of worship—on mountains and hills or in the shade of large trees. ^3 (H) Wherever these nations worship their gods, you must tear down their altars, break their sacred stones, burn the sacred poles^[f] used in worshiping the goddess Asherah, and smash their idols to pieces. Destroy these places of worship so completely that no one will remember they were ever there. ⁴ Don't worship the Lord your God in the way those nations worship their gods.

^5-19 (I) Soon you will cross the Jordan, and the Lord will help you conquer your enemies and let you live in peace, there in the land he has given you. But after you are settled, life will be different. You must not offer sacrifices just anywhere you want to. Instead, the Lord will choose a place somewhere in Israel where you must go to worship him. All of your sacrifices and offerings must be taken there, including sacrifices to please the Lord^[g] and any gift you promise or voluntarily give him. That's where you must also take one tenth of your grain, wine, and olive oil,^[h] as well as the first-born of your cattle, sheep, and goats.^[i] You and your family and servants will eat your gifts and sacrifices^[j] and celebrate there at the place of worship, because the Lord your God has made you successful in everything you have done. And since Levites will not have any land of their own, you must ask some of them to come along and celebrate with you.

Sometimes you may want to kill an animal for food and not as a sacrifice. If the Lord has blessed you and given you enough cows or sheep or goats, then you can butcher one of them where you live. You can eat it just like the meat from a deer or gazelle that you kill when you go hunting. And even those people who are unclean and unfit for worship can have some of the meat. But you must not eat the blood of any animal—let the blood drain out on the ground.

^20-21 The Lord has promised that later on he will give Israel more land, and some of you may not be able to travel all the way from your homes to the place of worship each time you are hungry for meat.^[k] But the Lord will give you cattle, sheep, and goats, and you can butcher any of those animals at home and eat as much as you want. ²² It is the same as eating the meat from a deer or a gazelle that you kill when you go hunting. And in this way, anyone who is unclean and unfit for worship can have some of the meat.^[l]

^23-24 (J) But don't eat the blood. It is the life of the animal, so let it drain out on the ground before you eat the meat. ²⁵ Do you want the Lord to make you successful? Do you want your children to be successful even after you are gone? Then do what pleases the Lord and don't eat blood.

^26-27 All sacrifices and offerings to the Lord must be taken to the place where he chooses to be worshiped. If you offer a sacrifice to please the Lord, all of its meat must be burned on the altar. You can eat the meat from certain kinds of sacrifices, but you must always pour out the animal's blood on the altar.

²⁸ If you obey these laws, you will be doing what the Lord your God says is right and good. Then he will help you and your descendants be successful.

Worship the Lord in the Right Way

Moses said:

²⁹ Israel, as you go into the land and attack the nations that are there, the Lord will get rid of them, and you can have their land.

³⁰ But that's when you must be especially careful not to ask, “How did those nations worship their gods? Shouldn't we worship the Lord in the same way?” ³¹ No, you should not! The Lord hates the disgusting way those nations worship their gods, because they even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices.

^32 (K) Obey all the laws and teachings I am giving you. Don't add any, and don't take any away.

A Storm

(Matthew 8.23-27; Mark 4.35-41)

²² One day, Jesus and his disciples got into a boat, and he said, “Let's cross the lake.”^[a] They started out, ²³ and while they were sailing across, he went to sleep.

Suddenly a storm struck the lake, and the boat started sinking. They were in danger. ²⁴ So they went to Jesus and woke him up, “Master, Master! We are about to drown!”

Jesus got up and ordered the wind and waves to stop. They obeyed, and everything was calm. ²⁵ Then Jesus asked the disciples, “Don't you have any faith?”

But they were frightened and amazed. They said to each other, “Who is this? He can give orders to the wind and the waves, and they obey him!”

A Man with Demons in Him

(Matthew 8.28-34; Mark 5.1-20)

²⁶ Jesus and his disciples sailed across Lake Galilee and came to shore near the town of Gerasa.^{[b] 27} As Jesus was getting out of the boat, he was met by a man from this town. The man had demons in him. He had gone naked for a long time and no longer lived in a house, but in the graveyard.^[c]

²⁸ The man saw Jesus and screamed. He knelt down in front of him and shouted, “Jesus, Son of God Most High, what do you want with me? I beg you not to torture me!” ²⁹ He said this because Jesus had already told the evil spirit to go out of him.

The man had often been attacked by the demon. And even though he had been bound with chains and leg irons and kept under guard, he smashed whatever bound him. Then the demon would force him out into lonely places.

³⁰ Jesus asked the man, “What is your name?”

He answered, “My name is Lots.” He said this because there were “lots” of demons in him. ³¹ They begged Jesus not to send them to the deep pit,^[d] where they would be punished.

³² A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. So the demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and Jesus let them go. ³³ Then the demons left the man and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

³⁴ When the men taking care of the pigs saw this, they ran to spread the news in the town and on the farms. ³⁵ The people went out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they also found the man. The demons had gone out of him, and he was sitting there at the feet of Jesus. He had clothes on and was in his right mind. But the people were terrified.

³⁶ Then all who had seen the man healed told about it. ³⁷ Everyone from around Gerasa^[e] begged Jesus to leave, because they were so frightened.

When Jesus got into the boat to start back, ³⁸ the man who had been healed begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him off and said, ³⁹ “Go back home and tell everyone how much God has done for you.” The man then went all over town, telling everything that Jesus had done for him.

(By David for the music leader. To be used when an offering is made.)

God Is Wonderful

Why the Lord Will Help Israel

Moses said:

9 Israel, listen to me! You will soon cross the Jordan River and go into the land to force out the nations that live there. They are more powerful than you are, and the walls around their cities reach to the sky. ² Some of these nations are descendants of the Anakim.^[a] You know how tall and strong they are, and you've heard that no one can defeat them in battle. ³ But the Lord your God has promised to go ahead of you, like a raging fire burning everything in its path. So when you attack your enemies, it will be easy for you to destroy them and take their land.

^4-6 After the Lord helps you wipe out these nations and conquer their land, don't think he did it because you are such good people. You aren't good—you are stubborn! No, the Lord is going to help you, because the nations that live there are evil, and because he wants to keep the promise he made to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

When Israel Made an Idol

(Exodus 32)

Moses said to Israel:

⁷ Don't ever forget how you kept rebelling and making the Lord angry the whole time you were in the desert. You rebelled from the day you left Egypt until the day you arrived here.

⁸ At Mount Sinai^[b] you made the Lord so angry that he was going to destroy you. ^9-11 (A) It happened during those 40 days and nights that I was on the mountain, without anything to eat or drink. He had told me to come up there so he could give me the agreement he made with us. And this agreement was actually the same Ten Commandments^[c] he had announced to you when he spoke from the fire on the mountain. The Lord had written them on two flat stones with his own hand. But after giving me the two stones, ¹² he said:

Moses, hurry down the mountain to those people you led out of Egypt. They have already disobeyed me and committed the terrible sin of making an idol.

¹³ I've been watching the Israelites, and I've seen how stubborn and rebellious they are. ¹⁴ So don't try to stop me! I am going to wipe them out, and no one on earth will remember they ever lived. Then I will let your descendants become an even bigger and more powerful nation than Israel.

Moses said:

¹⁵ Fire was raging on the mountaintop as I went back down, carrying the two stones with the commandments on them. ¹⁶ I saw how quickly you had sinned and disobeyed the Lord your God. There you were, worshiping the metal idol you had made in the shape of a calf. ¹⁷ So I threw down the two stones and smashed them before your very eyes.

^18-20 I bowed down at the place of worship and prayed to the Lord, without eating or drinking for 40 days and nights. You had committed a terrible sin by making that idol, and the Lord hated what you had done. He was angry enough to destroy all of you and Aaron as well. So I prayed for you and Aaron as I had done before, and this time the Lord answered my prayers.^[d]

²¹ It was a sin for you to make that idol, so I threw it into the fire to melt it down. Then I took the lump of gold, ground it into powder, and threw the powder into the stream flowing down the mountain.

^22 (B) You also made the Lord angry when you were staying at Taberah,^[e] at Massah,^[f] and at Kibroth-Hattaavah.^{[g] 23 (C)} Then at Kadesh-Barnea the Lord said, “I am giving you the land, so go ahead and take it!” But since you didn't trust the Lord, you rebelled and disobeyed his command.^{[h] 24} In fact, you've rebelled against the Lord for as long as he has^[i] known you.

²⁵ After you had made the idol in the shape of a calf, the Lord said he was going to destroy you. So I lay face down in front of the Lord for 40 days and nights ²⁶ and prayed:

Our Lord, please don't wipe out your people. You used your great power to rescue them from Egypt and to make them your very own. ²⁷ Israel's ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob obeyed you faithfully. Think about them, and not about Israel's stubbornness, evil, and sin. ²⁸ If you destroy your people, the Egyptians will say, “The Lord promised to give Israel land, but he wasn't powerful enough to keep his promise. In fact, he hated them so much that he took them into the desert and killed them.” ²⁹ But you, our Lord, chose the people of Israel to be your own, and with your mighty power you rescued them from Egypt.

The Second Set of Commandments

(Exodus 34.1-10)

Moses said to the people:

10 The Lord told me to chisel out two flat stones, just like the ones he had given me earlier. He also commanded me to make a wooden chest, then come up the mountain and meet with him. ² He told me that he would write on the new stones the same words he had written on the ones I broke, and that I could put these stones in this sacred chest.

³ So I made a chest out of acacia wood, and I chiseled two flat stones like the ones I broke. Then I carried the stones up the mountain, ⁴ where the Lord wrote the Ten Commandments on them, just as he had done the first time. The commandments were exactly what he had announced from the fire, when you were gathered at the mountain.

After the Lord returned the stones to me, ⁵ I took them down the mountainside and put them in the chest, just as he had commanded. And they are still there.

Aaron Died

(Numbers 20.22-29)

Moses said to Israel:

^6 (D) Later we set up camp at the wells belonging to the descendants of Jaakan.^[j] Then we moved on and camped at Moserah, where Aaron died and was buried, and his son Eleazar became the priest. ⁷ Next, we camped at Gudgodah and then at Jotbathah, where there are flowing streams.

The Levites Were Appointed To Carry the Chest

Moses said to Israel:

^8 (E) After I put the two stones in the sacred chest,^[k] the Lord chose the tribe of Levi, not only to carry the chest, but also to serve as his priests at the place of worship and to bless the other tribes in his name. And they still do these things. ⁹ The Lord promised that he would always provide for the tribe of Levi, and that's why he won't give them any land, when he divides it among the other tribes.

The Lord Answered the Prayers of Moses

(Exodus 34.9,10,27-29)

Moses said to Israel:

^10 (F) When I had taken the second set of stones up the mountain, I spent 40 days and nights there, just as I had done before. Once again, the Lord answered my prayer and did not destroy you. ¹¹ Instead, he told me, “Moses, get ready to lead the people into the land that I promised their ancestors.”^[l]

What the Lord Wants

Moses said:

¹² People of Israel, what does the Lord your God want from you? The Lord wants you to respect and follow him, to love and serve him with all your heart and soul, ¹³ and to obey his laws and teachings that I am giving you today. Do this, and all will go well for you.

¹⁴ Everything belongs to the Lord your God, not only the earth and everything on it, but also the sky and the highest heavens. ¹⁵ Yet the Lord loved your ancestors and wanted them to belong to him. So he chose them and their descendants rather than any other nation, and today you are still his people.

¹⁶ Remember your agreement with the Lord and stop being so stubborn. ^17 (G) The Lord your God is more powerful than all other gods and lords, and his tremendous power is to be feared. His decisions are always fair, and you cannot bribe him to change his mind. ^18 (H) The Lord defends the rights of orphans and widows. He cares for foreigners and gives them food and clothing. ¹⁹ And you should also care for them, because you were foreigners in Egypt.

²⁰ Respect the Lord your God, be faithful, and serve only him, making promises in his name. ²¹ Offer your praises to him, because you have seen him work such terrifying miracles for you.

^22 (I) When your ancestors went to live in Egypt, there were only 70 of them. But the Lord has blessed you, and now there are more of you than there are stars in the sky.

A Story about a Farmer

(Matthew 13.1-9; Mark 4.1-9)

⁴ When a large crowd from several towns had gathered around Jesus, he told them this story:

⁵ A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. While the farmer was doing this, some of the seeds fell along the road and were stepped on or eaten by birds. ⁶ Other seeds fell on rocky ground and started growing. But the plants did not have enough water and soon dried up. ⁷ Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ The rest of the seeds fell on good ground where they grew and produced a hundred times as many seeds.

When Jesus had finished speaking, he said, “If you have ears, pay attention!”

Why Jesus Used Stories

(Matthew 13.10-17; Mark 4.10-12)

⁹ Jesus' disciples asked him what the story meant. ^10 (A) So he answered:

I have explained the secrets about God's kingdom to you. But for others I use stories, so they will look, but not see, and they will hear, but not understand.

Jesus Explains the Story about a Farmer

(Matthew 13.18-23; Mark 4.13-20)

¹¹ This is what the story means: The seed is God's message, ¹² and the seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message. But the devil comes and snatches the message out of their hearts, so they will not believe and be saved. ¹³ The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it. But they don't have deep roots, and they believe only for a little while. As soon as life gets hard, they give up.

¹⁴ The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they are so eager for riches and pleasures that they never produce anything. ¹⁵ Those seeds that fell on good ground are the people who listen to the message and keep it in good and honest hearts. They last and produce a harvest.

Light

(Mark 4.21-25)

^16 (B) No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl or under a bed. A lamp is always put on a lampstand, so people who come into a house will see the light. ^17 (C) There is nothing hidden that will not be found. There is no secret that will not be well known. ^18 (D) Pay attention to how you listen! Everyone who has something will be given more, but people who have nothing will lose what little they think they have.

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

(Matthew 12.46-50; Mark 3.31-35)

¹⁹ Jesus' mother and brothers went to see him, but because of the crowd they could not get near him. ²⁰ Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you.”

²¹ Jesus answered, “My mother and my brothers are those people who hear and obey God's message.”

A Chosen People

7 “When the ^(A)Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, ^(B)the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations ^(C)more numerous and mightier than you, ^2 (D)and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must ^(E)devote them to complete destruction.^{[a] (F)}You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. ^3 (G)You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, ⁴ for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. ^(H)Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you ^(I)quickly. ⁵ But thus shall you deal with them: ^(J)you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their ^(K)pillars and chop down their ^(L)Asherim and ^(M)burn their carved images with fire.

⁶ “For ^(N)you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be ^(O)a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. ⁷ It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, ⁸ but ^(P)it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping ^(Q)the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹ Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, ^(R)the faithful God ^(S)who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, ¹⁰ and ^(T)repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. ^(U)He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. ^11 (V)You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.

^12 (W)“And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the Lord your God will keep with you ^(X)the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. ¹³ He will ^(Y)love you, bless you, and multiply you. ^(Z)He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. ¹⁴ You shall be blessed above all peoples. ^(AA)There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock. ¹⁵ And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil ^(AB)diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. ¹⁶ And ^(AC)you shall consume all the peoples that the Lord your God will give over to you. ^(AD)Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be ^(AE)a snare to you.

¹⁷ “If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ ^18 (AF)you shall not be afraid of them but you shall ^(AG)remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, ¹⁹ the great trials that your eyes saw, ^(AH)the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So will the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. ²⁰ Moreover, ^(AI)the Lord your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed. ²¹ You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is ^(AJ)in your midst, ^(AK)a great and awesome God. ^22 (AL)The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once,^[b] lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. ^23 (AM)But the Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed. ²⁴ And ^(AN)he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall ^(AO)make their name perish from under heaven. ^(AP)No one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them. ²⁵ The carved images of their gods ^(AQ)you shall burn with fire. You ^(AR)shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be ^(AS)ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. ²⁶ And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destruction^[c] like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, ^(AT)for it is devoted to destruction.

Remember the Lord Your God

8 “The whole commandment that I command you today ^(AU)you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. ² And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you ^(AV)these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, ^(AW)testing you ^(AX)to know what was in your heart, ^(AY)whether you would keep his commandments or not. ³ And he humbled you and ^(AZ)let you hunger and ^(BA)fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that ^(BB)man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word^[d] that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ^4 (BC)Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. ⁵ Know then in your heart that, ^(BD)as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. ⁶ So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. ⁷ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, ^(BE)a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, ⁸ a land of wheat and barley, ^(BF)of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, ⁹ a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. ¹⁰ And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

¹¹ “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, ^12 (BG)lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, ¹³ and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, ^14 (BH)then your heart be lifted up, and you ^(BI)forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, ¹⁵ who ^(BJ)led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, ^(BK)with its fiery serpents and scorpions ^(BL)and thirsty ground where there was no water, ^(BM)who brought you water out of the flinty rock, ¹⁶ who fed you in the wilderness with ^(BN)manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, ^(BO)to do you good in the end. ¹⁷ Beware ^(BP)lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ ¹⁸ You shall remember the Lord your God, for ^(BQ)it is he who gives you power to get wealth, ^(BR)that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. ¹⁹ And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, ^(BS)I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. ²⁰ Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, ^(BT)so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

^36 (A)One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. ^37 (B)And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, ³⁸ and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and ^(C)wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If ^(D)this man were ^(E)a prophet, he ^(F)would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰ And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

⁴¹ “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred ^(G)denarii, and the other fifty. ^42 (H)When they could not pay, he ^(I)cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” ⁴⁴ Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; ^(J)you gave me no water for my feet, but ^(K)she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ^45 (L)You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to ^(M)kiss my feet. ^46 (N)You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷ Therefore I tell you, her sins, ^(O)which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” ⁴⁸ And he said to her, ^(P)“Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹ Then those who were at table with him began to say among^[a] themselves, ^(Q)“Who is this, who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, ^(R)“Your faith has saved you; ^(S)go in peace.”

Women Accompanying Jesus

8 Soon afterward he went on ^(T)through cities and villages, proclaiming and ^(U)bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, ² and also ^(V)some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: ^(W)Mary, called Magdalene, ^(X)from whom seven demons had gone out, ³ and ^(Y)Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them^[b] out of their means.

Save Me, O God

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Lilies. Of David.

The Ten Commandments

5 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. ^2 (A)The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. ^3 (B)Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. ⁴ The Lord spoke with you ^(C)face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, ^5 (D)while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For ^(E)you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:

^6 (F)“‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

⁷ “‘You shall have no other gods before^[a] me.

⁸ “‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁹ You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ¹⁰ but showing steadfast love to ^(G)thousands^[b] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

¹¹ “‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

¹² “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. ¹³ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁴ but ^(H)the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, ^(I)that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. ^15 (J)You shall remember that you were a slave^[c] in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there ^(K)with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

¹⁶ “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, ^(L)that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

^17 (M)“‘You shall not murder.^[d]

^18 (N)“‘And you shall not commit adultery.

¹⁹ “‘And you shall not steal.

²⁰ “‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

²¹ “‘And you shall not covet your neighbor's wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.’

²² “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly ^(O)at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And ^(P)he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. ²³ And ^(Q)as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. ²⁴ And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and ^(R)greatness, and ^(S)we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man ^(T)still live. ²⁵ Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. ^(U)If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die. ^26 (V)For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? ²⁷ Go near and hear all that the Lord our God will say, and ^(W)speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’

²⁸ “And the Lord heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. ^(X)They are right in all that they have spoken. ^29 (Y)Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, ^(Z)that it might go well with them and with their descendants^[e] forever! ³⁰ Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” ³¹ But you, stand here by me, and ^(AA)I will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.’ ³² You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. ^(AB)You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. ^33 (AC)You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and ^(AD)that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

The Greatest Commandment

6 “Now this is ^(AE)the commandment—the statutes and the rules^[f]—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, ² that ^(AF)you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and ^(AG)that your days may be long. ³ Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, ^(AH)as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

⁴ “Hear, O Israel: ^(AI)The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^{[g] 5} You ^(AJ)shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶ And ^(AK)these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ^7 (AL)You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. ^8 (AM)You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ^9 (AN)You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

¹⁰ “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities ^(AO)that you did not build, ¹¹ and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, ^12 (AP)then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ¹³ It is ^(AQ)the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and ^(AR)by his name you shall swear. ¹⁴ You shall not ^(AS)go after other gods, ^(AT)the gods of the peoples who are around you— ¹⁵ for ^(AU)the Lord your God in your midst ^(AV)is a jealous God—^(AW)lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.

^16 (AX)“You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, ^(AY)as you tested him at Massah. ¹⁷ You shall ^(AZ)diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. ^18 (BA)And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers ^19 (BB)by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised.

^20 (BC)“When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ ²¹ then you shall say to your son, ^(BD)‘We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. ²² And ^(BE)the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. ²³ And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. ²⁴ And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, ^(BF)to fear the Lord our God, ^(BG)for our good always, that ^(BH)he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. ²⁵ And ^(BI)it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’

Jesus Raises a Widow's Son

¹¹ Soon afterward^[a] he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. ¹² As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, ^(A)the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ And when the Lord saw her, ^(B)he had compassion on her and ^(C)said to her, “Do not weep.” ¹⁴ Then he came up and touched ^(D)the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, ^(E)arise.” ¹⁵ And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus^{[b] (F)}gave him to his mother. ¹⁶ Fear seized them all, and ^(G)they glorified God, saying, ^(H)“A great prophet has arisen among us!” and ^(I)“God has visited his people!” ¹⁷ And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Messengers from John the Baptist

^18 (J)(K)The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, ¹⁹ calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one ^(L)who is to come, or ^(M)shall we look for another?” ²⁰ And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one ^(N)who is to come, or ^(O)shall we look for another?’” ²¹ In that hour ^(P)he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and ^(Q)on many who were blind he bestowed sight. ²² And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: ^(R)the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, ^(S)lepers^[c] are cleansed, and ^(T)the deaf hear, ^(U)the dead are raised up, ^(V)the poor have good news preached to them. ²³ And blessed is the one who is ^(W)not offended by me.”

²⁴ When John's messengers had gone, Jesus^[d] began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ^(X)into the wilderness to see? ^(Y)A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵ What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts. ²⁶ What then did you go out to see? ^(Z)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is he of whom it is written,

²⁸ I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” ²⁹ (^(AB)When all the people heard this, and ^(AC)the tax collectors too, they declared God just,^{[e] (AD)}having been baptized with ^(AE)the baptism of John, ^30 (AF)but the Pharisees and ^(AG)the lawyers ^(AH)rejected ^(AI)the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

³¹ “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,

³³ For John the Baptist has come ^(AJ)eating no bread and ^(AK)drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come ^(AL)eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^(AM)a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵ Yet ^(AN)wisdom is justified by all her children.”

Moses Commands Obedience

4 “And now, O Israel, listen to ^(A)the statutes and the rules^[a] that I am teaching you, and do them, ^(B)that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. ^2 (C)You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you. ³ Your eyes have seen what the Lord did ^(D)at Baal-peor, for the Lord your God destroyed from among you all the men who followed the Baal of Peor. ⁴ But you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today. ⁵ See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. ^6 (E)Keep them and do them, for ^(F)that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ ⁷ For ^(G)what great nation is there that has ^(H)a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? ⁸ And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so ^(I)righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

^9 (J)“Only take care, and ^(K)keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. ^(L)Make them known to your children and your children's children— ¹⁰ how on ^(M)the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, ^(N)‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, ^(O)so that they may learn to fear ^(P)me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ ¹¹ And ^(Q)you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while ^(R)the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. ¹² Then ^(S)the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, ^(T)but saw no form; ^(U)there was only a voice. ^13 (V)And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, ^(W)the Ten Commandments,^{[b] (X)}and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. ¹⁴ And ^(Y)the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to possess.

Idolatry Forbidden

^15 (Z)“Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since ^(AA)you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, ¹⁶ beware ^(AB)lest you act corruptly ^(AC)by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, ^(AD)the likeness of male or female, ¹⁷ the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, ¹⁸ the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. ¹⁹ And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see ^(AE)the sun and the moon and the stars, ^(AF)all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. ²⁰ But the Lord has taken you and ^(AG)brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, ^(AH)to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day. ²¹ Furthermore, ^(AI)the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he swore that I should not cross the Jordan, and that I should not enter the good land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance. ²² For I must die in this land; ^(AJ)I must not go over the Jordan. But you shall go over and take possession of ^(AK)that good land. ^23 (AL)Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and ^(AM)make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. ²⁴ For ^(AN)the Lord your God is a consuming fire, ^(AO)a jealous God.

²⁵ “When you father children and children's children, and have grown old in the land, ^(AP)if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and ^(AQ)by doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to anger, ²⁶ I ^(AR)call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. ²⁷ And the Lord ^(AS)will scatter you among the peoples, ^(AT)and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. ²⁸ And ^(AU)there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, ^(AV)that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. ^29 (AW)But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. ³⁰ When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you ^(AX)in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. ³¹ For the Lord your God is ^(AY)a merciful God. ^(AZ)He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

The Lord Alone Is God

³² “For ^(BA)ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. ^33 (BB)Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? ³⁴ Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, ^(BC)by signs, by wonders, and ^(BD)by war, ^(BE)by a mighty hand and ^(BF)an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? ³⁵ To you it was shown, ^(BG)that you might know that the Lord is God; ^(BH)there is no other besides him. ^36 (BI)Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and ^(BJ)you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. ³⁷ And because ^(BK)he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them^[c] and brought you out of Egypt ^(BL)with his own presence, by his great power, ^38 (BM)driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, ³⁹ know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that ^(BN)the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; ^(BO)there is no other. ^40 (BP)Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, ^(BQ)that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

Cities of Refuge

⁴¹ Then Moses ^(BR)set apart three cities in the east beyond the Jordan, ⁴² that ^(BS)the manslayer might flee there, anyone who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without being at enmity with him in time past; he may flee to one of these cities and save his life: ^43 (BT)Bezer in the wilderness on the ^(BU)tableland for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

Introduction to the Law

⁴⁴ This is the law that Moses set before the people of Israel. ⁴⁵ These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the rules, which Moses spoke to the people of Israel when they came out of Egypt, ⁴⁶ beyond the Jordan ^(BV)in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, ^(BW)whom Moses and the people of Israel defeated when they came out of Egypt. ⁴⁷ And they took possession of his land and the land ^(BX)of Og, the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who lived to the east beyond the Jordan; ^48 (BY)from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, as far as Mount ^(BZ)Sirion^[d] (that is, ^(CA)Hermon), ⁴⁹ together with all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as ^(CB)the Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.

³⁹ He also told them a parable: ^(A)“Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? ^40 (B)A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is ^(C)fully trained will be like his teacher. ^41 (D)Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but ^(E)do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

A Tree and Its Fruit

⁴³ “For ^(F)no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, ⁴⁴ for ^(G)each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. ^45 (H)The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces ^(I)evil, ^(J)for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Build Your House on the Rock

^46 (K)“Why ^(L)do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? ^47 (M)Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.^{[a] 49 (N)}But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and ^(O)the ruin of that house was great.”

Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant

7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, ^(P)he entered Capernaum. ² Now a centurion had a servant^[b] who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. ³ When the centurion^[c] heard about Jesus, ^(Q)he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. ⁴ And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, ^(R)“He is worthy to have you do this for him, ⁵ for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us ^(S)our synagogue.” ⁶ And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, ^(T)do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. ⁷ Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But ^(U)say the word, and let my servant be healed. ⁸ For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ⁹ When Jesus heard these things, ^(V)he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such ^(W)faith.” ¹⁰ And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

God Shall Scatter His Enemies

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.