The Covenant in Moab

29 ^[a](A)These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the ^(B)covenant which He had made with them at Horeb.

^2 [b]And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his servants, and to all his land; ^3 (C)the great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders. ⁴ Yet to this day ^(D)the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear. ⁵ And I have led you in the wilderness for forty years; ^(E)your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot. ^6 (F)You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or other strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the Lord your God. ^7 (G)When you ^[c]reached this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out to meet us for battle, but we ^[d]defeated them; ⁸ and we took their land and ^(H)gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. ^9 (I)So you will keep the words of this covenant and do them, ^(J)in order that you may be successful in everything that you do.

¹⁰ “You stand today, all of you, before the Lord your God: your heads, your tribes, your elders and your officers, that is, all the men of Israel, ¹¹ your little ones, your wives, and the stranger who is within your camps, from ^(K)the one who gathers your firewood to the one who draws your water, ¹² so that you may enter into the covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath which the Lord your God is making with you today, ¹³ in order that He may establish you today as His people, and that ^(L)He may be your God, just as He spoke to you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

¹⁴ “Now it is not with you alone that I am ^(M)making this covenant and this oath, ^15 (N)but both with those who stand here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God, and with those who are not with us here today ¹⁶ (for you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we passed through the midst of the nations through which you passed; ¹⁷ moreover, you have seen their abominations and their idols made of ^(O)wood and stone, silver and gold, which they had with them); ^18 (P)so that there will not be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; that there will not be among you ^(Q)a root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood. ¹⁹ And it shall be when he hears the words of this curse, that he will consider himself fortunate in his heart, saying, ‘I will do well though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order ^[e]to destroy the watered land along with the dry.’ ²⁰ The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and ^(R)His wrath will ^[f](S)burn against that person, and every curse that is written in this book will lie upon him, and the Lord will ^(T)wipe out his name from under heaven. ²¹ Then the Lord will single him out for disaster from all the tribes of Israel, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant ^(U)which is written in this Book of the Law.

²² “Now the future generation, your sons who rise up after you and ^(V)the foreigner who comes from a distant land, when they see the plagues of that land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it, will say, ²³ ‘All its land is ^(W)brimstone and salt, ^(X)burned debris, ^[g]unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows on it, like the overthrow of ^(Y)Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.’ ²⁴ All the nations will say, ‘^(Z)Why has the Lord done all this to this land? Why this great ^[h]outburst of anger?’ ²⁵ Then people will say, ‘It is ^(AA)because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. ²⁶ And they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they have not known and whom He had not ^[i]assigned to them. ²⁷ Therefore, the anger of the Lord burned against that land, ^(AB)to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book; ²⁸ and ^(AC)the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, fury, and in great wrath, and hurled them into another land, as it is this day.’

²⁹ “^(AD)The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but ^(AE)the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, so that we may ^[j]follow all the words of this Law.

Restoration Promised

30 “So it will be when all of these things have come upon you, ^(AF)the blessing and the curse which I have placed before you, and you ^[k]call them to mind ^(AG)in all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you, ² and you ^(AH)return to the Lord your God and ^[l]obey Him ^(AI)with all your heart and soul in accordance with everything that I am commanding you today, you and your sons, ³ then the Lord your God will ^(AJ)restore ^[m]you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and ^(AK)will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has ^(AL)scattered you. ⁴ If any of your scattered countrymen are at the ^[n]ends of the earth, ^(AM)from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will ^[o]bring you back. ^5 (AN)The Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will be good to you and ^(AO)make you more numerous than your fathers.

⁶ “Moreover, ^(AP)the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your ^[p]descendants, ^(AQ)to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, so that you may live. ^7 (AR)And the Lord your God will ^[q]inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. ⁸ And you will again ^[r]obey the Lord, and ^[s]follow all His commandments which I am commanding you today. ^9 (AS)Then the Lord your God will prosper you ^[t]abundantly in every work of your hand, in the ^[u]children of your womb, the ^[v]offspring of your cattle, and in the ^[w]produce of your ground, for ^(AT)the Lord will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; ^10 [x]if you ^[y]obey the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which ^(AU)are written in this Book of the Law, ^[z]if you turn to the Lord your God ^(AV)with all your heart and soul.

¹¹ “For this commandment which I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far away. ¹² It is not in heaven, ^[aa]that you could say, ‘^(AW)Who will go up to heaven for us and get it for us, and proclaim it to us, so that we may ^[ab]follow it?’ ¹³ Nor is it beyond the sea, ^[ac]that you could say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us and get it for us and proclaim it to us, so that we may ^[ad]follow it?’ ¹⁴ On the contrary, the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may ^[ae]follow it.

Choose Life

¹⁵ “See, ^(AX)I have placed before you today life and ^[af]happiness, and death and ^[ag]adversity, ¹⁶ in that I am commanding you today ^(AY)to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, so that you ^(AZ)may live and become numerous, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to take possession of it. ¹⁷ But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but allow yourself to be led astray and you worship other gods and serve them, ¹⁸ I declare to you today that ^(BA)you will certainly perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter ^[ah]and take possession of it. ^19 (BB)I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, ^(BC)the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your ^[ai]descendants, ^20 (BD)by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and ^(BE)by holding close to Him; ^(BF)for ^[aj]this is your life and the length of your days, ^[ak]so that you may live in ^(BG)the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Praise for God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.

For the music director. A Song. A Psalm.

Preparing the Passover

22 ^(A)Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the ^(B)Passover, was approaching. ² And the chief priests and the scribes ^(C)were trying to find ^[a]a way to put Him to death, since they were afraid of the people.

^3 (D)And ^(E)Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, ^[b]who belonged to the number of the twelve. ⁴ And he left and discussed with the chief priests and ^(F)officers how he was to betray Him to them. ⁵ And they were delighted, and agreed to give him money. ⁶ And so he consented, and began looking for a good opportunity to betray Him to them ^[c]away from the crowd.

^7 (G)Now the first day of Unleavened Bread came, on which ^(H)the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. ⁸ And so Jesus sent ^(I)Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.” ⁹ They said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare it?” ¹⁰ And He said to them, “When you have entered the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him into the house that he enters. ¹¹ And you shall say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ ¹² And he will show you a large, furnished upstairs room; prepare it there.” ¹³ And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

The Lord’s Supper

^14 (J)When the hour came, He reclined at the table, and ^(K)the apostles with Him. ¹⁵ And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶ for I say to you, I shall not eat it again ^(L)until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ^17 (M)And when He had taken a cup and ^(N)given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; ¹⁸ for ^(O)I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ And when He had taken some bread and ^(P)given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁰ And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is ^(Q)poured out for you, is the ^(R)new covenant in My blood. ^21 (S)But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with ^[d]Mine on the table. ²² For indeed, the Son of Man is going ^(T)as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” ²³ And they began to debate among themselves which one of them it was who was going to do this.

Who Is Greatest

²⁴ And ^(U)a dispute also developed among them as to which one of them was regarded as being the greatest. ^25 (V)And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles domineer over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ ²⁶ But it is not this way for you; ^(W)rather, the one who is the greatest among you must become like ^(X)the youngest, and the leader like the servant. ²⁷ For ^(Y)who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But ^(Z)I am among you as the one who serves.

²⁸ “You are the ones who have stood by Me in My ^(AA)trials; ²⁹ and just as My Father has granted Me a ^(AB)kingdom, I grant you ³⁰ that you may ^(AC)eat and drink at My table in My ^(AD)kingdom, and ^(AE)you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

³¹ “Simon, Simon, behold, ^(AF)Satan has ^[e]demanded to ^(AG)sift you men like wheat; ³² but I ^(AH)have prayed for ^[f]you, that ^[g]your faith will not fail; and ^[h]you, when you have ^[i]turned back, ^(AI)strengthen your brothers.” ^33 (AJ)But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death!” ³⁴ But He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”

³⁵ And He said to them, “^(AK)When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They said, “No, nothing.” ³⁶ And He said to them, “But now, ^[j]whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and ^[k]whoever has no sword is to sell his ^[l]cloak and buy one. ³⁷ For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me: ‘^(AL)And He was counted with wrongdoers’; for ^(AM)that which refers to Me has its ^[m]fulfillment.” ³⁸ They said, “Lord, look, here are two ^(AN)swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”

The Garden of Gethsemane

^39 (AO)And He came out and went, ^(AP)as was His habit, to ^(AQ)the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. ^40 (AR)Now when He arrived at the place, He said to them, “^(AS)Pray that you do not come into temptation.” ⁴¹ And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He ^(AT)knelt down and began to pray, ⁴² saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this ^(AU)cup from Me; ^(AV)yet not My will, but Yours be done.” ⁴³ [^[n]Now an ^(AW)angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. ⁴⁴ And ^(AX)being in agony, He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground]. ⁴⁵ When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, ⁴⁶ and He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and ^(AY)pray that you do not come into temptation.”

Jesus Betrayed by Judas

^47 (AZ)While He was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading the way for them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. ⁴⁸ But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” ⁴⁹ When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the ^(BA)sword?” ⁵⁰ And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. ⁵¹ But Jesus responded and said, “^[o]Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him. ⁵² And Jesus said to the chief priests and ^(BB)officers of the temple and elders who had come against Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs ^(BC)as you would against a man inciting a revolt? ⁵³ While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but ^[p]this hour and the power of darkness are yours.”

Jesus’ Arrest

^54 (BD)Now they arrested Him and led Him away, and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but ^(BE)Peter was following at a distance. ^55 (BF)After they kindled a fire in the middle of ^(BG)the courtyard and sat down together, Peter was sitting among them. ⁵⁶ And a slave woman, seeing him as he sat in the firelight, and staring at him, said, “This man was with Him as well.” ⁵⁷ But he denied it, saying, “I do not know Him, woman!” ⁵⁸ And a little later, ^(BH)another person saw him and said, “You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” ⁵⁹ And after about an hour had passed, some other man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, ^(BI)for he, too, is a Galilean.” ⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” And immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. ⁶¹ And then ^(BJ)the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “^(BK)Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” ⁶² And he went out and wept bitterly.

^63 (BL)The men who were holding ^[q]Jesus in custody began mocking Him and beating Him, ⁶⁴ and they blindfolded Him and repeatedly asked Him, saying, “^(BM)Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?” ⁶⁵ And they were saying many other things against Him, ^(BN)blaspheming.

Jesus before the Sanhedrin

^66 (BO)When it was day, ^(BP)the ^[r]Council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their ^(BQ)council chamber, saying, ⁶⁷ “^(BR)If You are the ^[s]Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; ⁶⁸ and if I ask a question, you will not answer. ^69 (BS)But from now on ^(BT)the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” ⁷⁰ And they all said, “So You are ^(BU)the Son of God?” And He said to them, “^(BV)You say correctly that I am.” ⁷¹ And then they said, “What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth!”