Blessings for Obedience

28 “And ^(A)if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you ^(B)high above all the nations of the earth. ² And all these blessings shall come upon you and ^(C)overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. ³ Blessed shall you be in the city, and ^(D)blessed shall you be in the field. ⁴ Blessed shall be ^(E)the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. ⁵ Blessed shall be your basket and your ^(F)kneading bowl. ⁶ Blessed shall you be ^(G)when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

⁷ “The Lord ^(H)will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. ⁸ The Lord ^(I)will command the blessing on you in your barns and ^(J)in all that you undertake. ^(K)And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. ^9 (L)The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. ¹⁰ And ^(M)all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are ^(N)called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be ^(O)afraid of you. ¹¹ And ^(P)the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in ^(Q)the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. ¹² The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, ^(R)to give the rain to your land in its season and ^(S)to bless all the work of your hands. And ^(T)you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. ¹³ And the Lord will make you ^(U)the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, ^14 (V)and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Curses for Disobedience

¹⁵ “But ^(W)if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and ^(X)overtake you. ¹⁶ Cursed shall you be ^(Y)in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. ¹⁷ Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. ¹⁸ Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. ¹⁹ Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

²⁰ “The Lord ^(Z)will send on you curses, confusion, and ^(AA)frustration in all that you undertake to do, ^(AB)until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. ²¹ The Lord will make ^(AC)the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. ^22 (AD)The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought^[a] and with ^(AE)blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. ²³ And ^(AF)the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. ²⁴ The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

^25 (AG)“The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you ^(AH)shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. ²⁶ And ^(AI)your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and ^(AJ)there shall be no one to frighten them away. ²⁷ The Lord will strike you ^(AK)with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and ^(AL)scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. ²⁸ The Lord will strike you with ^(AM)madness and blindness and confusion of mind, ²⁹ and you shall ^(AN)grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways.^[b] And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you. ^30 (AO)You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. ^(AP)You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. ^(AQ)You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit. ³¹ Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat any of it. Your donkey shall be seized before your face, but shall not be restored to you. Your sheep shall be given to your enemies, but there shall be no one to help you. ^32 (AR)Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all day long, ^(AS)but you shall be helpless. ³³ A nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually, ³⁴ so that you are driven mad ^(AT)by the sights that your eyes see. ³⁵ The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs ^(AU)with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.

³⁶ “The Lord will ^(AV)bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you ^(AW)nor your fathers have known. And ^(AX)there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone. ³⁷ And you shall become ^(AY)a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the Lord will lead you away. ^38 (AZ)You shall carry much seed into the field and shall gather in little, for ^(BA)the locust shall consume it. ^39 (BB)You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them. ⁴⁰ You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you ^(BC)shall not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives shall drop off. ⁴¹ You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours, for ^(BD)they shall go into captivity. ^42 (BE)The cricket^[c] shall possess all your trees and the fruit of your ground. ^43 (BF)The sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. ^44 (BG)He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him. ^(BH)He shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.

^45 (BI)“All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. ⁴⁶ They shall be ^(BJ)a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. ^47 (BK)Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, ⁴⁸ therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he ^(BL)will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you. ^49 (BM)The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, ^(BN)swooping down like the eagle, a nation ^(BO)whose language you do not understand, ⁵⁰ a hard-faced nation ^(BP)who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young. ⁵¹ It shall ^(BQ)eat the offspring of your cattle and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; it also shall not leave you grain, wine, or oil, the increase of your herds or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish.

⁵² “They shall ^(BR)besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout all your land. And they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land, which the Lord your God has given you. ⁵³ And ^(BS)you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you, ^(BT)in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you. ⁵⁴ The man who is the most tender and refined among you will ^(BU)begrudge food to his brother, to ^(BV)the wife he embraces,^[d] and to the last of the children whom he has left, ⁵⁵ so that he will not give to any of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because he has nothing else left, ^(BW)in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your towns. ^56 (BX)The most tender and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because she is so delicate and tender, will begrudge to the husband she embraces,^[e] to her son and to her daughter, ⁵⁷ her afterbirth that comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears, because lacking everything she will eat them secretly, ^(BY)in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in your towns.

⁵⁸ “If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, ^(BZ)the Lord your God, ⁵⁹ then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting. ⁶⁰ And he will bring upon you again all ^(CA)the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. ⁶¹ Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the Lord will bring upon you, until you are destroyed. ⁶² Whereas ^(CB)you were as numerous ^(CC)as the stars of heaven, you shall be left few in number, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God. ⁶³ And as the Lord ^(CD)took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will ^(CE)take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

⁶⁴ “And the Lord ^(CF)will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and ^(CG)there you shall serve other gods ^(CH)of wood and stone, ^(CI)which neither you nor your fathers have known. ⁶⁵ And ^(CJ)among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but ^(CK)the Lord will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and ^(CL)a languishing soul. ⁶⁶ Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life. ^67 (CM)In the morning you shall say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and at evening you shall say, ‘If only it were morning!’ because of the dread that your heart shall feel, and ^(CN)the sights that your eyes shall see. ⁶⁸ And the Lord ^(CO)will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey that I promised that ^(CP)you should never make again; and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”

The Covenant Renewed in Moab

29 ^[f] These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel ^(CQ)in the land of Moab, besides ^(CR)the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb.

^2 [g] And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: ^(CS)“You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, ³ the great ^(CT)trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. ⁴ But to this day ^(CU)the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. ^5 (CV)I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet. ^6 (CW)You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. ⁷ And when you came to this place, ^(CX)Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out against us to battle, but we defeated them. ⁸ We took their land and ^(CY)gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. ^9 (CZ)Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper^[h] in all that you do.

¹⁰ “You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God: the heads of your tribes,^[i] your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, ¹¹ your little ones, your wives, and the ^(DA)sojourner who is in your camp, from ^(DB)the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, ¹² so that you may enter into the ^(DC)sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today, ¹³ that he may ^(DD)establish you today as his people, and that ^(DE)he may be your God, as he promised you, and ^(DF)as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. ¹⁴ It is not with you alone ^(DG)that I am making this sworn covenant, ¹⁵ but with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God, ^(DH)and with whoever is not here with us today.

¹⁶ “You know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed. ¹⁷ And you have seen their detestable things, their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, which were among them. ¹⁸ Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you ^(DI)a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, ¹⁹ one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. ²⁰ The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather ^(DJ)the anger of the Lord and ^(DK)his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the Lord ^(DL)will blot out his name from under heaven. ²¹ And the Lord will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for calamity, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law. ²² And the next generation, your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, ^(DM)will say, when they see the afflictions of that land and the sicknesses with which the Lord has made it sick— ²³ the whole land burned out with brimstone and ^(DN)salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, ^(DO)an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, ^(DP)Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath— ²⁴ all the nations ^(DQ)will say, ^(DR)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ ²⁵ Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, ²⁶ and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them. ²⁷ Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, ^(DS)bringing upon it all the curses written in this book, ²⁸ and the Lord ^(DT)uprooted them from their land in anger and fury and great wrath, and ^(DU)cast them into another land, as they are this day.’

²⁹ “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

14 ^(A)It was now two days before ^(B)the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes ^(C)were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, ² for they said, “Not during the feast, ^(D)lest there be an uproar from the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

^3 (E)And while he was at ^(F)Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,^[a] as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. ⁴ There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? ⁵ For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii^[b] and ^(G)given to the poor.” And they ^(H)scolded her. ⁶ But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ For ^(I)you always have the poor with you, and whenever ^(J)you want, you can do good for them. But ^(K)you will not always have me. ^8 (L)She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand ^(M)for burial. ⁹ And truly, I say to you, wherever ^(N)the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told ^(O)in memory of her.”

Judas to Betray Jesus

^10 (P)Then ^(Q)Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, ^(R)went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. ¹¹ And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to ^(S)betray him.

The Passover with the Disciples

^12 (T)And on ^(U)the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they ^(V)sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ¹³ And he sent ^(W)two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, ¹⁴ and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ^(X)‘The Teacher says, Where is ^(Y)my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹⁵ And he will show you ^(Z)a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” ¹⁶ And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

^17 (AA)And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. ¹⁸ And as they were reclining at table and eating, ^(AB)Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, ^(AC)one who is eating with me.” ¹⁹ They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” ²⁰ He said to them, “It is ^(AD)one of the twelve, ^(AE)one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. ²¹ For the Son of Man goes ^(AF)as it is written of him, but ^(AG)woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! ^(AH)It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

Institution of the Lord's Supper

^22 (AI)And as they were eating, he took bread, and after ^(AJ)blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; ^(AK)this is my body.” ²³ And he took a cup, and when he had ^(AL)given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. ²⁴ And he said to them, ^(AM)“This is my ^(AN)blood of the^[c] covenant, which is poured out for ^(AO)many. ²⁵ Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

^26 (AP)And when they had sung a hymn, ^(AQ)they went out to ^(AR)the Mount of Olives. ²⁷ And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will ^(AS)strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ ²⁸ But after I am raised up, ^(AT)I will go before you to Galilee.” ^29 (AU)Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” ³⁰ And ^(AV)Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before ^(AW)the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” ³¹ But ^(AX)he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

^32 (AY)And they went ^(AZ)to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³ And he took with him ^(BA)Peter and James and John, and began ^(BB)to be greatly distressed and troubled. ³⁴ And he said to them, ^(BC)“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and ^(BD)watch.”^{[d] 35} And going a little farther, he fell on the ground ^(BE)and prayed that, if it were possible, ^(BF)the hour might pass from him. ³⁶ And he said, ^(BG)“Abba, Father, ^(BH)all things are possible for you. Remove ^(BI)this cup from me. ^(BJ)Yet not what I will, but what you will.” ³⁷ And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? ^38 (BK)Watch and ^(BL)pray that you may not ^(BM)enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ³⁹ And again he went away and prayed, ^(BN)saying the same words. ⁴⁰ And again he came and found them sleeping, for ^(BO)their eyes were very heavy, and ^(BP)they did not know what to answer him. ⁴¹ And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? ^(BQ)It is enough; ^(BR)the hour has come. ^(BS)The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

^43 (BT)And immediately, while he was still speaking, ^(BU)Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. ⁴⁴ Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” ⁴⁵ And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, ^(BV)“Rabbi!” And he ^(BW)kissed him. ⁴⁶ And they laid hands on him and seized him. ⁴⁷ But one of those who stood by drew his ^(BX)sword and struck the servant^[e] of the high priest and cut off his ear. ⁴⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? ^49 (BY)Day after day I was with you in the temple ^(BZ)teaching, and you did not seize me. But ^(CA)let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” ^50 (CB)And they all left him and fled.

A Young Man Flees

⁵¹ And a young man followed him, with nothing but ^(CC)a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, ⁵² but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

Jesus Before the Council

^53 (CD)And ^(CE)they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. ^54 (CF)And ^(CG)Peter had followed him at a distance, ^(CH)right into ^(CI)the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with ^(CJ)the guards and ^(CK)warming himself at the fire. ⁵⁵ Now the chief priests and the whole council^[f] were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. ^56 (CL)For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony ^(CM)did not agree. ⁵⁷ And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, ^58 (CN)“We heard him say, ^(CO)‘I will destroy this temple ^(CP)that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, ^(CQ)not made with hands.’” ⁵⁹ Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. ⁶⁰ And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”^{[g] 61} But ^(CR)he remained silent and made no answer. ^(CS)Again the high priest asked him, “Are you ^(CT)the Christ, the Son of ^(CU)the Blessed?” ⁶² And Jesus said, “I am, and ^(CV)you will see the Son of Man ^(CW)seated at the right hand of Power, and ^(CX)coming with the clouds of heaven.” ⁶³ And the high priest ^(CY)tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? ⁶⁴ You have heard ^(CZ)his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they ^(DA)all condemned him as ^(DB)deserving death. ^65 (DC)And some began ^(DD)to spit on him and ^(DE)to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him ^(DF)with blows.

Peter Denies Jesus

^66 (DG)And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, ⁶⁷ and seeing Peter ^(DH)warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” ⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway^[h] and ^(DI)the rooster crowed.^{[i] 69} And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” ⁷⁰ But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” ⁷¹ But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” ⁷² And immediately the rooster crowed ^(DJ)a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, ^(DK)“Before the rooster crows twice, you will ^(DL)deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.^[j]