Joy in Forgiveness of Israel’s Sins

²¹ Furthermore ^(A)the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that ^(B)I would not cross over the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. ²² But ^(C)I must die in this land, ^(D)I must not cross over the Jordan; but you shall cross over and ^[a]possess ^(E)that good land. ²³ Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, ^(F)and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you. ²⁴ For ^(G)the Lord your God is a consuming fire, ^(H)a jealous God.

²⁵ “When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and ^(I)do evil in the sight of the Lord your God to provoke Him to anger, ^26 (J)I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not ^[b]prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed. ²⁷ And the Lord ^(K)will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. ²⁸ And ^(L)there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, ^(M)which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. ^29 (N)But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. ³⁰ When you are in ^[c]distress, and all these things come upon you in the ^(O)latter days, when you ^(P)turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice ³¹ (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor ^(Q)destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.

³² “For ^(R)ask now concerning the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask ^(S)from one end of heaven to the other, whether any great thing like this has happened, or anything like it has been heard. ^33 (T)Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live? ³⁴ Or did God ever try to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, ^(U)by trials, ^(V)by signs, by wonders, by war, ^(W)by a mighty hand and ^(X)an outstretched arm, ^(Y)and by great ^[d]terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? ³⁵ To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; ^(Z)there is none other besides Him. ^36 (AA)Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire. ³⁷ And because ^(AB)He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their ^[e]descendants after them; and ^(AC)He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power, ^38 (AD)driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day. ³⁹ Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that ^(AE)the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. ^40 (AF)You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that ^[f]it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may ^[g]prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

⁹ He said to them, “All too well ^(A)you ^[a]reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. ¹⁰ For Moses said, ^(B)‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ^(C)‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ ¹¹ But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, ^(D)“Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God), ¹² then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, ¹³ making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

^14 (E)When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and ^(F)understand: ¹⁵ There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that ^(G)defile a man. ^16 (H)If^[b] anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”

^17 (I)When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. ¹⁸ So He said to them, ^(J)“Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, ^[c]thus purifying all foods?” ²⁰ And He said, ^(K)“What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. ^21 (L)For from within, out of the heart of men, ^(M)proceed evil thoughts, ^(N)adulteries, ^(O)fornications, murders, ²² thefts, ^(P)covetousness, wickedness, ^(Q)deceit, ^(R)lewdness, an evil eye, ^(S)blasphemy, ^(T)pride, foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”