Deuteronomy 21:1-17
English Standard Version
Atonement for Unsolved Murders
21 “If in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess someone is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him, 2 then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance to the surrounding cities. 3 And the elders of the city that is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer (A)that has never been worked and that has not pulled in a yoke. 4 And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley. 5 Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the Lord your God has chosen (B)them to minister to him and to bless in the name of the Lord, and (C)by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled. 6 And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man (D)shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, 7 and they shall testify, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed. 8 Accept atonement, O Lord, for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and (E)do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for.’ 9 So (F)you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.
Marrying Female Captives
10 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive, 11 and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire to take her to be your wife, 12 and you bring her home to your house, she shall shave her head and pare her nails. 13 And she shall take off the clothes in which she was captured and shall remain in your house and (G)lament her father and her mother a full month. After that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 But if you no longer delight in her, you shall (H)let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you (I)treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.
Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn
15 “If a man has two wives, (J)the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,[a] 16 then on the day when (K)he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, 17 but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is (L)the firstfruits of his strength. (M)The right of the firstborn is his.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Deuteronomy 21:15 Or hated; also verses 16, 17
Nehemiah 5
English Standard Version
Nehemiah Stops Oppression of the Poor
5 Now there arose (A)a great outcry of the people and of their wives (B)against their Jewish brothers. 2 For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.” 3 There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.” 4 And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for (C)the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards. 5 Now (D)our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet (E)we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.”
6 I was very angry when I heard (F)their outcry and these words. 7 I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, (G)“You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them 8 and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, (H)have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say. 9 So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk (I)in the fear of our God (J)to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? 10 Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest. 11 Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.” 12 Then they said, “We will restore these and (K)require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and (L)made them swear (M)to do as they had promised. 13 (N)I also shook out the fold[a] of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” (O)And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.
Nehemiah's Generosity
14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from (P)the twentieth year to (Q)the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, (R)neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. 15 The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration[b] forty shekels[c] of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, (S)because of the fear of God. 16 I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. 17 Moreover, there were (T)at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. 18 (U)Now what was prepared at my expense[d] for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this (V)I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people. 19 (W)Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Nehemiah 5:13 Hebrew bosom
- Nehemiah 5:15 Compare Vulgate; Hebrew took from them for food and wine after
- Nehemiah 5:15 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
- Nehemiah 5:18 Or prepared for me
Habakkuk 3:2-19
English Standard Version
2 O Lord, (A)I have heard the report of you,
and (B)your work, O Lord, do I fear.
In the midst of the years (C)revive it;
in the midst of the years make it known;
(D)in wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from (E)Teman,
(F)and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His splendor covered the heavens,
and the earth was full of his praise.
4 (G)His brightness was like the light;
rays flashed from his hand;
and there he veiled his power.
5 (H)Before him went pestilence,
and plague followed (I)at his heels.[a]
6 He stood (J)and measured the earth;
he looked and shook the nations;
then the (K)eternal mountains (L)were scattered;
the everlasting hills sank low.
His were (M)the everlasting ways.
7 I saw the tents of (N)Cushan in affliction;
(O)the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
8 (P)Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?
Was your anger against the rivers,
(Q)or your indignation against the sea,
(R)when you rode on your horses,
(S)on your chariot of salvation?
9 You stripped the sheath from your bow,
calling for many arrows.[b] Selah
(T)You split the earth with rivers.
10 (U)The mountains saw you and writhed;
the raging waters swept on;
(V)the deep gave forth its voice;
(W)it lifted its hands on high.
11 (X)The sun and moon stood still in their place
(Y)at the light of your arrows as they sped,
at the flash of your glittering spear.
12 (Z)You marched through the earth in fury;
(AA)you threshed the nations in anger.
13 (AB)You went out for the salvation of your people,
for the salvation of (AC)your anointed.
(AD)You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from thigh to neck.[c] Selah
14 You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors,
who came like a whirlwind to scatter me,
rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.
15 (AE)You trampled the sea with your horses,
the surging of mighty waters.
16 (AF)I hear, and (AG)my body trembles;
my lips quiver at the sound;
(AH)rottenness enters into my bones;
my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet (AI)I will quietly wait for the day of trouble
to come upon people who invade us.
Habakkuk Rejoices in the Lord
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 (AJ)yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
(AK)I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 God, the Lord, is my strength;
(AL)he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me (AM)tread on my (AN)high places.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 3:5 Hebrew feet
- Habakkuk 3:9 The meaning of the Hebrew line is uncertain
- Habakkuk 3:13 The meaning of the Hebrew line is uncertain
- Habakkuk 3:19 Hebrew my stringed
Ecclesiastes 1
English Standard Version
All Is Vanity
1 The words of (A)the Preacher,[a] the son of David, (B)king in Jerusalem.
2 (C)Vanity[b] of vanities, says (D)the Preacher,
(E)vanity of vanities! (F)All is vanity.
3 (G)What (H)does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but (I)the earth remains forever.
5 (J)The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens[c] to the place where it rises.
6 (K)The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
7 All (L)streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8 All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
(M)the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 (N)What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been (O)already
in the ages before us.
11 There is no (P)remembrance of former things,[d]
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things[e] yet to be
among those who come after.
The Vanity of Wisdom
12 I (Q)the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I (R)applied my heart[f] to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy (S)business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is (T)vanity[g] and a striving after wind.[h]
15 (U)What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great (V)wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I (W)applied my heart to know wisdom and to know (X)madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but (Y)a striving after wind.
18 For (Z)in much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or Convener, or Collector; Hebrew Qoheleth (so throughout Ecclesiastes)
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 The Hebrew term hebel, translated vanity or vain, refers concretely to a “mist,” “vapor,” or “mere breath,” and metaphorically to something that is fleeting or elusive (with different nuances depending on the context). It appears five times in this verse and in 29 other verses in Ecclesiastes
- Ecclesiastes 1:5 Or and returns panting
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or former people
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or later people
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 The Hebrew term denotes the center of one's inner life, including mind, will, and emotions
- Ecclesiastes 1:14 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)
- Ecclesiastes 1:14 Or a feeding on wind; compare Hosea 12:1 (also in Ecclesiastes 1:17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16; 6:9)
John 13:31-38
English Standard Version
A New Commandment
31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, (A)“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and (B)God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, (C)God will also glorify him in himself, and (D)glorify him at once. 33 Little children, (E)yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just (F)as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ 34 (G)A new commandment (H)I give to you, (I)that you love one another: (J)just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 (K)By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial
36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” (L)Jesus answered him, “Where I am going (M)you cannot follow me now, (N)but you will follow afterward.” 37 (O)Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, (P)the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.
Read full chapter
John 13:31-38
English Standard Version
A New Commandment
31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, (A)“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and (B)God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, (C)God will also glorify him in himself, and (D)glorify him at once. 33 Little children, (E)yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just (F)as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ 34 (G)A new commandment (H)I give to you, (I)that you love one another: (J)just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 (K)By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial
36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” (L)Jesus answered him, “Where I am going (M)you cannot follow me now, (N)but you will follow afterward.” 37 (O)Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, (P)the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.
Read full chapterThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Bible Gateway Recommends
