Offerings of Firstfruits and Tithes
1 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, 2 wyou shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall xgo to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there. 3 And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come into the land ythat the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God.
5 “And you shall make response before the Lord your God, ‘A zwandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, afew in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 And bthe Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor. 7 Then cwe cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 And dthe Lord brought us out of Egypt ewith a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror,1 with signs and wonders. 9 And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, fa land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O Lord, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God. 11 And gyou shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.
12 “When you have finished paying all hthe tithe of your produce in the third year, which is ithe year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, 13 then you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, jnor have I forgotten them. 14 kI have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it lto the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. 15 mLook down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.’
16 “This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 nYou have declared today that the Lord is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice. 18 And the Lord has declared today that you are oa people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, 19 and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor phigh above all nations qthat he has made, and that you shall be ra people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.”
The Altar on Mount Ebal
1 Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep the whole commandment that I command you today. 2 And on the day syou cross over the Jordan to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster. 3 tAnd you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over to enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, ua land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you. 4 And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, von Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster. 5 And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. wYou shall wield no iron tool on them; 6 you shall build an altar to the Lord your God of uncut2 stones. And you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God, 7 and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and xshall eat there, and you xshall rejoice before the Lord your God. 8 And yyou shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.”
Curses from Mount Ebal
9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel: zthis day you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 You shall therefore obey the voice of the Lord your God, keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today.”
11 That day Moses charged the people, saying, 12 “When you have crossed over the Jordan, athese shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 And bthe Levites shall declare to all the men of Israel in a loud voice:
15 c“‘Cursed be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image, an abomination to the Lord, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ dAnd all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’
16 e“‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
17 f“‘Cursed be anyone who moves his neighbor’s landmark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
18 g“‘Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
19 h“‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
20 i“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his father’s wife, because he has juncovered his father’s nakedness.’3 And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
21 k“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with any kind of animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
22 l“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
23 m“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
24 n“‘Cursed be anyone who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
25 o“‘Cursed be anyone who takes a bribe to shed innocent blood.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
26 p“‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant
1 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, bhe entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant1 who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion2 heard about Jesus, che 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, d“He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us eour synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, fdo 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 gsay 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, hhe marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such ifaith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
11 Soon afterward3 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, jthe 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, khe had compassion on her and lsaid to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched mthe bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, narise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus4 ogave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and pthey glorified God, saying, q“A great prophet has arisen among us!” and r“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 stThe 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 uwho is to come, or vshall 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 uwho is to come, or vshall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour whe healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and xon many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: ythe blind receive their sight, the lame walk, zlepers5 are cleansed, and athe deaf hear, bthe dead are raised up, cthe poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is dnot offended by me.”
24 When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus6 began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out einto the wilderness to see? fA 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? gA prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,
h“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
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 (iWhen all the people heard this, and jthe tax collectors too, they declared God just,7 jhaving been baptized with kthe baptism of John, 30 lbut the Pharisees and mthe lawyers nrejected othe purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
