Moses Commands Obedience

1 “And now, O Israel, listen to ^wthe statutes and the rules¹ that I am teaching you, and do them, ^xthat you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 ^yYou 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 ^zat 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 ^aKeep them and do them, for ^bthat 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 ^cwhat great nation is there that has ^da 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 ^erighteous as all this law that I set before you today?

9 ^f“Only take care, and ^gkeep 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. ^hMake them known to your children and your children’s children— 10 how on ⁱthe day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, ^j‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, ^kso that they may learn to fear ^lme all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ 11 And ^myou came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while ⁿthe mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. 12 Then ^othe Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, ^pbut saw no form; ^qthere was only a voice. 13 ^rAnd he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, ^sthe Ten Commandments,^{2 t}and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And ^uthe 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 ^v“Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since ^wyou saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 beware ^xlest you act corruptly ^yby making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, ^zthe 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 ^athe sun and the moon and the stars, ^ball 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 ^cbrought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, ^dto be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day. 21 Furthermore, ^ethe 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; ^fI must not go over the Jordan. But you shall go over and take possession of ^gthat good land. 23 ^hTake care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and ⁱmake a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24 For ^jthe Lord your God is a consuming fire, ^ka jealous God.

25 “When you father children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, ^lif you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and ^mby doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to anger, 26 I ⁿcall 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 ^owill scatter you among the peoples, ^pand you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. 28 And ^qthere you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, ^rthat neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29 ^sBut 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 ^tin the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. 31 For the Lord your God is ^ua merciful God. ^vHe 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 ^wask 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 ^xDid 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, ^yby signs, by wonders, and ^zby war, ^aby a mighty hand and ^ban 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, ^cthat you might know that the Lord is God; ^dthere is no other besides him. 36 ^eOut of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and ^xyou heard his words out of the midst of the fire. 37 And because ^fhe loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them³ and brought you out of Egypt ^gwith his own presence, by his great power, 38 ^hdriving 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 ⁱthe Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; ^jthere is no other. 40 ^kTherefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, ^lthat 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 ^mset apart three cities in the east beyond the Jordan, 42 that ⁿthe 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 ^oBezer in the wilderness on the ^ptableland 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 ^qin the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, ^rwhom Moses and the people of Israel defeated when they came out of Egypt. 47 And they took possession of his land and the land ^sof Og, the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who lived to the east beyond the Jordan; 48 ^tfrom Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, as far as Mount ^uSirion⁴ (that is, ^vHermon), 49 together with all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as ^wthe Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.

The Ten Commandments

1 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 ^xThe Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 ^yNot 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 ^zface to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, 5 ^awhile I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For ^byou were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:

6 ^c“‘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 before⁵ 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 ^dthousands⁶ 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 ^ethe 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, ^fthat your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 ^gYou shall remember that you were a slave⁷ in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there ^hwith 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, ⁱthat 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 ^j“‘You shall not murder.⁸

18 ^j“‘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 ^kat 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 ^lhe wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 And ^mas 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 ⁿgreatness, and ^owe have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man ^pstill live. 25 Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. ^qIf we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die. 26 ^pFor 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 ^rspeak 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. ^sThey are right in all that they have spoken. 29 ^tOh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, ^uthat it might go well with them and with their descendants⁹ forever! 30 Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31 But you, stand here by me, and ^vI 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. ^wYou shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 ^xYou shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and ^ythat it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

1 ^sOn a Sabbath,¹ while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples ^tplucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, ^u“Why are you doing ^vwhat is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” 3 And Jesus answered them, ^w“Have you not read ^xwhat David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and took and ate ^ythe bread of the Presence, ^ywhich is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” 5 And he said to them, ^z“The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

6 On another Sabbath, ^ahe entered the synagogue ^band was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees ^cwatched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, ^dso that they might find a reason to accuse him. 8 But ^ehe knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, ^fis it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And ^gafter looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And ^hhe did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with ⁱfury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

The Twelve Apostles

12 In these days ^jhe went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, ^khe called his disciples ^land ^mchose from them twelve, whom he named ⁿapostles: 14 Simon, ^owhom he named Peter, and ^pAndrew his brother, and ^pJames and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and ^qMatthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called ^rthe Zealot, 16 and ^sJudas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Jesus Ministers to a Great Multitude

17 And ^the came down with them and stood on a level place, with ^ua great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of ^vTyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. ^wAnd those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd ^xsought to touch him, for ^ypower came out from him and healed them all.

The Beatitudes

20 And ^zhe lifted up his eyes on his disciples, ^aand said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for ^byours is the kingdom of God.

21 ^c“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.

^d“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

22 “Blessed are you when ^epeople hate you and when they ^fexclude you and revile you and ^gspurn your name as evil, ^hon account of the Son of Man! 23 ⁱRejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for ^jso their fathers did to the prophets.

Jesus Pronounces Woes

24 ^k“But woe to you who are rich, ^lfor you ^mhave received your consolation.

25 “Woe to you who are full now, for ⁿyou shall be hungry.

“Woe to ^oyou who laugh now, ^ofor you shall mourn and weep.

26 “Woe to you, ^pwhen all people speak well of you, for ^qso their fathers did to ^rthe false prophets.

Love Your Enemies

27 “But I say to you who hear, ^sLove your enemies, ^tdo good to those who hate you, 28 ^ubless those who curse you, ^spray for those who abuse you. 29 ^vTo one who ^wstrikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic² either. 30 ^xGive to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And ^yas you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

32 ^z“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And ^aif you ^blend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But ^clove your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and ^dyou will be sons of ^ethe Most High, for ^fhe is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 ^gBe merciful, even as ^hyour Father is merciful.

Judging Others

37 ^ij“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; ^jforgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 ^kgive, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put ^linto your lap. For ^mwith the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

39 He also told them a parable: ⁿ“Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 ^oA disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is ^pfully trained will be like his teacher. 41 ⁱWhy do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but ^qdo 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.