Moses Commands Obedience

4 “And now, O Israel, listen to ^(A)the statutes and the rules^[a] that I am teaching you, and do them, ^(B)that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. ^2 (C)You 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.

^6 (A)Keep them and do them, for ^(B)that 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 ^(C)what great nation is there that has ^(D)a 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 ^(E)righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

^9 (F)“Only take care, and ^(G)keep 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. ^(H)Make them known to your children and your children's children—

The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, ^(A)be strong in the Lord and in ^(B)the strength of his might. ^11 (C)Put on ^(D)the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against ^(E)the schemes of the devil. ¹² For ^(F)we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against ^(G)the rulers, against the authorities, against ^(H)the cosmic powers over ^(I)this present darkness, against ^(J)the spiritual forces of evil ^(K)in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore ^(L)take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in ^(M)the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, ^(N)having fastened on the belt of truth, and ^(O)having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, ^(P)as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up ^(Q)the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all ^(R)the flaming darts of ^(S)the evil one; ¹⁷ and take ^(T)the helmet of salvation, and ^(U)the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying ^(V)at all times ^(W)in the Spirit, ^(X)with all prayer and supplication. To that end, ^(Y)keep alert with all perseverance, making ^(Z)supplication for all the saints, ¹⁹ and ^(AA)also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth ^(AB)boldly to proclaim ^(AC)the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I ^(AD)am an ambassador ^(AE)in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

What Defiles a Person

¹⁴ And he called the people to him again and said to them, ^(A)“Hear me, all of you, and understand: ^15 (B)There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”^{[a] 17} And when he had entered ^(C)the house and left the people, ^(D)his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ And he said to them, “Then ^(E)are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ since it enters not his heart ^(F)but his stomach, and is expelled?”^[b] (^(G)Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And he said, ^(H)“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, ^(I)murder, adultery, ²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, ^(J)sensuality, ^(K)envy, ^(L)slander, ^(M)pride, ^(N)foolishness. ^23 (O)All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”