Love and Serve the Lord

1 ^e“You shall therefore love the Lord your God and ^fkeep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. 2 And consider today (since I am not speaking to ^gyour children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline¹ of the Lord your God, ^hhis greatness, ⁱhis mighty hand and his outstretched arm, 3 ^jhis signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, 4 and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots, ^khow he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you, and how the Lord has destroyed them to this day, 5 and ^lwhat he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place, 6 and ^mwhat he did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, son of Reuben, how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the midst of all Israel. 7 For your eyes have seen ⁿall the great work of the Lord that he did.

8 “You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may ^obe strong, and go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess, 9 and ^pthat you may live long in the land ^qthat the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, ^ra land flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it,² like a garden of vegetables. 11 ^sBut the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, 12 a land that the Lord your God cares for. ^tThe eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.

13 “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, ^uto love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 ^vhe³ will give the rain for your land in its season, ^wthe early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. 15 ^xAnd he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and ^yyou shall eat and be full. 16 Take care ^zlest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and ^aserve other gods and worship them; 17 then ^bthe anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he ^cwill shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and ^dyou will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you.

18 ^e“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and ^fyou shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 20 ^gYou shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 ^hthat your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, ⁱas long as the heavens are above the earth. 22 For if ^jyou will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and ^kholding fast to him, 23 then the Lord ^lwill drive out all these nations before you, and you will ^mdispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 24 ⁿEvery place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be ^ofrom the wilderness to⁴ the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea. 25 ^pNo one shall be able to stand against you. The Lord your God will lay ^qthe fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread, ^ras he promised you.

26 ^s“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 ^tthe blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, 28 and ^uthe curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, ^vto go after other gods that you have not known. 29 And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, you shall set ^wthe blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 30 Are they not beyond the Jordan, west of the road, toward the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the ^xArabah, opposite Gilgal, beside ^ythe oak⁵ of Moreh? 31 For you are ^zto cross over the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you. And when you possess it and live in it, 32 you shall be careful ^ato do all the statutes and the rules that I am setting before you today.

The Lord’s Chosen Place of Worship

1 ^b“These are the statutes and rules that you shall be careful to do in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, ^call the days that you live on the earth. 2 ^dYou shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, ^eon the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3 You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces ^ftheir pillars and burn their ^gAsherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and ^hdestroy their name out of that place. 4 ⁱYou shall not worship the Lord your God in that way. 5 But you shall seek ^jthe place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation⁶ there. There you shall go, 6 and there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, ^kyour tithes and the contribution that you present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the ^lfirstborn of your herd and of your flock. 7 And ^mthere you shall eat before the Lord your God, and ⁿyou shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.

8 “You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, ^oeveryone doing whatever is right in his own eyes, 9 for you have not as yet come to ^pthe rest and to the inheritance that the Lord your God is giving you. 10 But when ^qyou go over the Jordan and live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, ^rand when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety, 11 then to ^jthe place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, ^kyour tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the Lord. 12 And ⁿyou shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male servants and your female servants, and the Levite that is within your towns, since ^she has no portion or inheritance with you. 13 ^tTake care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place that you see, 14 but at ^jthe place that the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I am commanding you.

15 “However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your towns, as much as you desire, ^uaccording to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you. ^vThe unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and as of the deer. 16 ^wOnly you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out on the earth like water. 17 You may not eat within your towns ^kthe tithe of your grain or of your wine or of your oil, or the firstborn of your herd or of your flock, or any of your vow offerings that you vow, or your freewill offerings or the contribution that you present, 18 but ^myou shall eat them before the Lord your God in ^jthe place that the Lord your God will choose, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your towns. And ⁿyou shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all that you undertake. 19 ^xTake care that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land.

20 “When the Lord your God ^yenlarges your territory, ^zas he has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you crave meat, you may eat meat whenever you desire. 21 If ^athe place that the Lord your God will choose to put his name there is too far from you, ^bthen you may kill any of your herd or your flock, which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your towns whenever you desire. 22 Just ^cas the gazelle or the deer is eaten, so you may eat of it. ^cThe unclean and the clean alike may eat of it. 23 ^dOnly be sure that you do not eat the blood, ^efor the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. 24 You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the earth like water. 25 You shall not eat it, ^fthat all may go well with you and with your children after you, ^gwhen you do what is right in the sight of the Lord. 26 But the ^hholy things that are due from you, and ⁱyour vow offerings, you shall take, and you shall go to ^athe place that the Lord will choose, 27 and ^joffer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God. The blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, but the flesh you may eat. 28 Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, ^fthat it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

Warning Against Idolatry

29 “When ^kthe Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, 30 take care ^lthat you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ 31 ^mYou shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every ⁿabominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for ^othey even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.

32 “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. ^pYou shall not add to it or take from it.

Glorious Things of You Are Spoken

A Psalm of ^lthe Sons of Korah. A Song.

Peter and Cornelius

1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of ^wwhat was known as the Italian Cohort, 2 a devout man ^xwho feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. 3 ^yAbout the ninth hour of the day^{1 z}he saw clearly in a vision ^aan angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms ^bhave ascended ^cas a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is lodging ^dwith one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, 8 and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

Peter’s Vision

9 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, ^ePeter went up ^fon the housetop about ^gthe sixth hour² to pray. 10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into ^ha trance 11 and saw ⁱthe heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; ^jfor I have never eaten anything that is ^kcommon or ^lunclean.” 15 And the voice came to him again a second time, ^m“What God has made clean, do not call common.” 16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

17 Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what ⁿthe vision that he had seen might mean, behold, ^othe men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate 18 and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. 19 And while Peter was pondering ⁿthe vision, ^pthe Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 Rise and go down and ^qaccompany them without hesitation,³ for I have sent them.” 21 And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” 22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and ^rGod-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by ^sa holy angel to send for you to come to his house and ^tto hear what you have to say.” 23 So he invited them in to be his guests.

The next day he rose and went away with them, and ^usome of ^vthe brothers from Joppa accompanied him. 24 And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and ^wfell down at his feet and ^xworshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, ^y“Stand up; I too am a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew ^zto associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but ^aGod has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”

30 And Cornelius said, ^b“Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at ^cthe ninth hour,⁴ and behold, ^da man stood before me in bright clothing 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, ^eyour prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

Gentiles Hear the Good News

34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that ^fGod ^gshows no partiality, 35 but ^fin every nation anyone who fears him and ^hdoes what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for ⁱthe word that he sent to Israel, ^jpreaching good news of ^kpeace through Jesus Christ (^lhe is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, ^mbeginning ⁿfrom Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how ^oGod anointed Jesus of Nazareth ^pwith the Holy Spirit and with ^qpower. He went about doing good and healing all ^rwho were oppressed by the devil, ^sfor God was with him. 39 And ^twe are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. ^uThey put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but ^vGod raised him on ^wthe third day and made him to ^xappear, 41 ^ynot to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as ^zwitnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And ^ahe commanded us to preach to the people and to testify ^bthat he is the one appointed by God to be judge ^cof the living and the dead. 43 ^dTo him ^eall the prophets bear witness that ^feveryone who believes in him receives ^gforgiveness of sins ^hthrough his name.”

The Holy Spirit Falls on the Gentiles

44 While Peter was still saying these things, ⁱthe Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among ^jthe circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because ^kthe gift of the Holy Spirit ^lwas poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them ^mspeaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 ⁿ“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit ^ojust as we have?” 48 And he ^pcommanded them ^qto be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.