^21 (A)“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. ^22 (B)You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. ²³ If you do mistreat them, and they ^(C)cry out to me, I will surely ^(D)hear their cry, ²⁴ and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and ^(E)your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

^25 (F)“If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. ^26 (G)If ever you take your neighbor's cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, ²⁷ for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he ^(H)cries to me, I will hear, for I am ^(I)compassionate.

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

Paul's Ministry to the Thessalonians

2 For you yourselves know, brothers,^[a] that our ^(A)coming to you ^(B)was not in vain. ² But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated ^(C)at Philippi, as you know, ^(D)we had boldness in our God ^(E)to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much ^(F)conflict. ³ For ^(G)our appeal does not spring from ^(H)error or ^(I)impurity or ^(J)any attempt to deceive, ⁴ but just as we have been approved by God ^(K)to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not ^(L)to please man, but to please God ^(M)who tests our hearts. ^5 (N)For we never came with words of flattery,^[b] as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—^(O)God is witness. ^6 (P)Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, ^(Q)though we could have made ^(R)demands as ^(S)apostles of Christ. ⁷ But we were ^(T)gentle^[c] among you, ^(U)like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. ⁸ So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God ^(V)but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

The Great Commandment

^34 (A)But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced ^(B)the Sadducees, they gathered together. ^35 (C)And one of them, ^(D)a lawyer, asked him a question ^(E)to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, ^(F)“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And ^(G)a second is like it: ^(H)You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ^40 (I)On these two commandments depend ^(J)all the Law and the Prophets.”

Whose Son Is the Christ?

^41 (K)Now while the Pharisees ^(L)were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, ⁴² saying, “What do you think about ^(M)the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, ^(N)“The son of David.” ⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David, ^(O)in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

⁴⁵ If then David calls him Lord, ^(Q)how is he his son?” ^46 (R)And no one was able to answer him a word, ^(S)nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.