Idolatry Forbidden

^15 (A)“Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since ^(B)you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, ¹⁶ beware ^(C)lest you act corruptly ^(D)by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, ^(E)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 ^(F)the sun and the moon and the stars, ^(G)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 ^(H)brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, ^(I)to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day. ²¹ Furthermore, ^(J)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; ^(K)I must not go over the Jordan. But you shall go over and take possession of ^(L)that good land. ^23 (M)Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and ^(N)make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. ²⁴ For ^(O)the Lord your God is a consuming fire, ^(P)a jealous God.

²⁵ “When you father children and children's children, and have grown old in the land, ^(Q)if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and ^(R)by doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to anger, ²⁶ I ^(S)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 ^(T)will scatter you among the peoples, ^(U)and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. ²⁸ And ^(V)there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, ^(W)that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. ^29 (X)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 ^(Y)in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. ³¹ For the Lord your God is ^(Z)a merciful God. ^(AA)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 ^(AB)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 (AC)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, ^(AD)by signs, by wonders, and ^(AE)by war, ^(AF)by a mighty hand and ^(AG)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, ^(AH)that you might know that the Lord is God; ^(AI)there is no other besides him. ^36 (AJ)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 ^(AK)you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. ³⁷ And because ^(AL)he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them^[a] and brought you out of Egypt ^(AM)with his own presence, by his great power, ^38 (AN)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 ^(AO)the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; ^(AP)there is no other. ^40 (AQ)Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, ^(AR)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.”

The Lord Delivers Jerusalem

²⁰ Then Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed because of this and cried to heaven. ²¹ And the Lord sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with ^(A)shame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword. ²² So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all his enemies, and he provided for them on every side. ²³ And many ^(B)brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from that time onward.

Hezekiah's Pride and Achievements

^24 (C)In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death, and he prayed to the Lord, and he answered him and gave him a sign. ²⁵ But Hezekiah ^(D)did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for ^(E)his heart was proud. Therefore ^(F)wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶ But Hezekiah ^(G)humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

²⁷ And Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made for himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of ^(H)costly vessels; ²⁸ storehouses also for the yield of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and sheepfolds. ²⁹ He likewise provided cities for himself, and flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very great possessions. ³⁰ This same Hezekiah ^(I)closed the upper outlet of the waters of ^(J)Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. ³¹ And so in the matter of the envoys of the princes of Babylon, ^(K)who had been sent to him to inquire about ^(L)the sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, ^(M)in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart.

³² Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his good deeds, behold, they are written ^(N)in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, ^(O)in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ³³ And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the ^(P)upper part of the tombs of the sons of David, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

Judgment on Judah

⁴ Thus says the Lord:

Judgment on Israel

⁶ Thus says the Lord:

²¹ So he said to them again, ^(A)“I am going away, and ^(B)you will seek me, and ^(C)you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” ²² So the Jews said, ^(D)“Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” ²³ He said to them, ^(E)“You are from below; I am from above. ^(F)You are of this world; ^(G)I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you ^(H)would die in your sins, for ^(I)unless you believe that ^(J)I am he you will die in your sins.” ²⁵ So they said to him, ^(K)“Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. ²⁶ I have much to say about you and much to judge, but ^(L)he who sent me is true, and I declare ^(M)to the world ^(N)what I have heard from him.” ²⁷ They did not understand that ^(O)he had been speaking to them about the Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said to them, “When you have ^(P)lifted up the Son of Man, ^(Q)then you will know that ^(R)I am he, and that ^(S)I do nothing on my own authority, but ^(T)speak just as the Father taught me. ²⁹ And ^(U)he who sent me is with me. ^(V)He has not left me alone, for ^(W)I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” ³⁰ As he was saying these things, ^(X)many believed in him.

Instructions for the Church

5 ^(A)Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, ^(B)younger men as brothers, ² older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

³ Honor widows ^(C)who are truly widows. ⁴ But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn ^(D)to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for ^(E)this is pleasing in the sight of God. ⁵ She ^(F)who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and ^(G)continues in supplications and prayers night and day, ⁶ but ^(H)she who is self-indulgent is ^(I)dead even while she lives. ^7 (J)Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. ⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for ^(K)members of his household, he has ^(L)denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹ Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been ^(M)the wife of one husband,^{[a] 10} and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has ^(N)shown hospitality, ^(O)has washed the feet of the saints, has ^(P)cared for the afflicted, and has ^(Q)devoted herself to every good work. ¹¹ But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when ^(R)their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry ¹² and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. ¹³ Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also ^(S)gossips and ^(T)busybodies, saying what they should not. ¹⁴ So I would have ^(U)younger widows marry, bear children, ^(V)manage their households, and ^(W)give the adversary no occasion for slander. ^15 (X)For some have already strayed after Satan. ¹⁶ If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it may care for those ^(Y)who are truly widows.