Old/New Testament
Various Laws
25 “If there is a controversy between men, and they go to court, and the judges decide [the issue] between them, and they judge in favor of the innocent and condemn the guilty, 2 then it shall be that if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with a [certain] number of stripes in proportion to his offense. 3 He may have him beaten forty times, but no more. He is not to be beaten with more stripes than these and he is not to be degraded [that is, treated like an animal] in your sight.
4 “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing [to prevent him from eating any of the grain].(A)
5 “If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, the widow of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall be intimate with her after taking her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 It shall be that her firstborn [son] will [a]be given the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out of Israel. 7 But if the man does not want to marry his brother’s [widowed] wife, then she shall go up to the gate [of the city, where court is held] to the elders, and say, ‘My brother-in-law refuses to continue his brother’s name in Israel; he is not willing to perform the duty of a husband’s brother.’ 8 Then the elders of his city will summon him and speak to him. And if he stands firm and says, ‘I do not want to marry her,’ 9 then his brother’s widow shall approach him in the presence of the elders, and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face; and she shall answer and say, ‘So it is done to that man who does not build up his brother’s household.’ 10 In Israel his [family] name shall be, ‘The house of him whose sandal was removed.’
11 “If [two] men, a man and his countryman, are fighting and the wife of one approaches to rescue her husband from the man who is striking him, and she reaches out with her hand and grabs the aggressor’s genitals, 12 then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity [for her].
13 “You shall not have in your bag inaccurate weights, a heavy and a light [so you can cheat others]. 14 You shall not have in your house inaccurate measures, a large and a small. 15 You shall have a perfect (full) and just weight, and a perfect and just measure, so that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 16 For everyone who does such things, everyone who acts unjustly [without personal integrity] is utterly repulsive to the Lord your God.
17 “Remember what Amalek did to you along the road when you came from Egypt, 18 how he met you along the road and attacked all the stragglers at your rear when you were tired and weary; and he did not [b]fear God.(B) 19 Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.
Offering First Fruits
26 “Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and live in it, 2 that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the [c]place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His Name (Presence). 3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare this day to the Lord [d]my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 Then the priest will take the basket from you and place it before the altar of the Lord your God. 5 And you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘My father [Jacob] was a wandering Aramean, and he [along with his family] went down to Egypt and [e]lived there [as strangers], few in number; but while there he became a great, mighty and populous nation. 6 And the Egyptians treated us badly and oppressed us, and imposed hard labor on us. 7 Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers for help, and He heard our voice and saw our suffering and our labor and our [cruel] oppression; 8 and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terror [suffered by the Egyptians] and with signs and with wonders; 9 and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land [f]flowing with milk and honey. 10 And now, look, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, O Lord, have given me.’ And you shall place it before the Lord your God, and shall worship before the Lord your God; 11 and you and the Levite and the stranger (resident alien, foreigner) among you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household.
12 “When you have finished [g]paying all the tithe of your produce the third year, [which is] the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat within the gates of your cities and be satisfied. 13 You shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion (the tithe) from my house and also have given it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan, and to the widow, in accordance with all that You have commanded me. I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments. 14 I have not eaten from the tithe while mourning, nor have I removed any of it when I was [ceremonially] unclean [making the tithe ceremonially unclean], nor offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God; I have done everything in accordance with all that You have commanded me. 15 Look down from Your holy dwelling above, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the land which You have given us, as You have sworn to our fathers, a land [of plenty] [h]flowing with milk and honey.’
16 “This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and judgments (precepts). Therefore, you shall be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul (your entire being). 17 Today you have [openly] declared the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk [that is, live each and every day] in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments (precepts), and listen to His voice. 18 Today the Lord has declared that you are His people, His treasured possession, just as He promised you, and that you are to keep all His commandments; 19 and that He will set you high above all the nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor: and that you shall be a holy people [set apart and consecrated] to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.”
The Altar at Mount Ebal
27 Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep (remember, obey) all the commandments which I am commanding you today. 2 So it shall be on the day when you cross the Jordan to [enter] the land which the Lord your God gives you, that you shall set up for yourself large stones and coat them with plaster (lime, whitewash). 3 You shall write on the stones all the words of this law when you cross over, so that you may go into the land which the Lord your God gives you, a land [of plenty] [i]flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers has promised you. 4 Now when you cross the Jordan you shall set up these stones on Mount Ebal, just as I am commanding you today and coat them with plaster. 5 There you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you shall not use an iron tool on them. 6 You shall build the altar of the Lord your God with whole [uncut] stones, and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God; 7 and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and shall eat there, and shall rejoice before the Lord your God. 8 And you shall write very clearly on the stones all the words of this law.”
9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Be silent and listen, O Israel! This day you have become a people for the Lord your God. 10 So you shall obey the voice of the Lord your God, and do His commandments and statutes which I am commanding you today.”
The Curses of Mount Ebal
11 Moses also commanded the people that day, saying, 12 “These [tribes] shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people when you have crossed the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, [j]Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 These [tribes] shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce the curse [for disobedience]: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 The Levites shall answer with a loud voice to all the men of Israel:
15 ‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved or cast image (idol), a repulsive thing to the Lord, the work of the hands of the artisan, and sets it up in secret.’ All the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’
16 ‘Cursed is he who dishonors (treats with contempt) his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
17 ‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary mark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
18 ‘Cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
19 ‘Cursed is he who distorts (perverts) the justice due to a stranger, an orphan, and a widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
20 ‘Cursed is he who is intimate with his father’s [former] wife, because he has [k]violated what belongs to his father.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
21 ‘Cursed is he who is intimate with any animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
22 ‘Cursed is he who is intimate with his [half] sister, whether his father’s or his mother’s daughter.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
23 ‘Cursed is he who is intimate with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
24 ‘Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
25 ‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
26 ‘Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them [keeping them, taking them to heart as the rule of his life].’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
27 Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away [and be ashamed and be afraid to be associated with Me as disciples], because it is written, ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’(A) 28 But after I have been raised [from the dead], I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” 29 But Peter said to Him, “Even if they all fall away [and desert You, ashamed and afraid of being associated with You], yet I will not [do so]!” 30 Jesus said to him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you will deny [that you even know] Me three times.”(B) 31 But Peter kept saying insistently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing as well.
Jesus in Gethsemane
32 Then they went to a place called Gethsemane; and Jesus said to His disciples, “Sit down here until I have prayed.”(C) 33 He took Peter and James and John with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and troubled [extremely anguished at the prospect of what was to come]. 34 And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved and overwhelmed with sorrow, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” 35 After going a little farther, He fell to the ground [distressed by the weight of His spiritual burden] and began to pray that if it were possible [in the Father’s will], the hour [of suffering and death for the sins of mankind] might pass from Him. 36 He was saying, “[a]Abba, Father! All things are possible for You; take this cup [of judgment] away from Me; but not what I will, but what You will.” 37 And He came back and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Were you unable to keep watch for one hour? 38 Keep [actively] watching and praying so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the [b]body is weak.” 39 He went away again and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And again He came back and found them sleeping, because their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know how to answer Him. 41 He came back a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough [of that]! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Get up, let us go. Look, my betrayer is near!”
Betrayal and Arrest
43 And at once, while He was still speaking, Judas [Iscariot], one of the twelve [disciples], came up, and with him a crowd of men with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders [of the Sanhedrin].(D) 44 Now the betrayer had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away safely [under guard].” 45 When Judas came, immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Rabbi (Master)!” and he [c]kissed Him [forcefully]. 46 They laid hands on Him and seized Him. 47 But one of the bystanders [Simon Peter] drew his sword and struck [Malchus] the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.(E) 48 Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a robber? 49 Day after day I was with you, teaching in the [courts and porches of the] temple, and you did not seize Me; but this has happened so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.” 50 Then all of His disciples abandoned Him and fled.
51 A young [d]man was following Him, wearing [only] a linen sheet over his naked body; and some men seized him. 52 But pulling free of the linen sheet, he escaped [from them] naked.
Jesus before His Accusers
53 They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) gathered together.(F)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.