⁷ “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey^(A) all the law^(B) my servant Moses^(C) gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left,^(D) that you may be successful wherever you go.^(E)

⁸ But they did not listen or pay attention;^(A) instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.^(B) So I brought on them all the curses^(C) of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.^(D)’”

The Fulfillment of the Law

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.^{(A) 18} For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.^{(B) 19} Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands^(C) and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.^(D)

¹⁹ Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions^(A) until the Seed^(B) to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels^(C) and entrusted to a mediator.^(D)

⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.^(A)