Laws of the Sanctuary

12 “These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully ^[a]follow in the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess ^[b](A)as long as you live on the ^[c]earth. ² You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you are going to dispossess serve their gods, on the ^(B)high mountains, on the hills, and under every leafy tree. ³ And ^(C)you shall tear down their altars and smash their memorial stones to pieces, and burn their ^[d]Asherim in the fire, and cut to pieces the carved images of their gods; and you shall ^(D)eliminate their name from that place. ⁴ You shall not act this way toward the Lord your God. ^5 (E)But you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and you shall come there. ⁶ You shall bring there your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, ^(F)your tithes, the ^[e]contribution of your hand, your vowed offerings, your ^[f]voluntary offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. ⁷ There you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God, and ^(G)rejoice in all ^[g]your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you.

⁸ “You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, ^(H)everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes; ⁹ for you have not as yet come to ^(I)the resting place and the ^(J)inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you. ¹⁰ When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and ^(K)He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security, ^11 (L)then it shall come about that the place in which the Lord your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring everything that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the ^[h]contribution of your hand, and all your choice vowed offerings which you will vow to the Lord. ¹² And you shall ^(M)rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the ^(N)Levite who is within your gates, since ^(O)he has no portion or inheritance with you.

¹³ “^(P)Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in any cultic place that you see, ¹⁴ but only in the place which the Lord chooses in one of your tribes: there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do everything that I command you.

¹⁵ “^(Q)However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, ^[i]whatever you desire, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as ^(R)the gazelle and the deer. ^16 (S)Only you shall not eat the blood; ^(T)you are to pour it out on the ground like water. ^17 (U)You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, new wine, or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your vowed offerings which you vow, or your ^[j]voluntary offerings, or the ^[k]contribution of your hand. ¹⁸ But ^(V)you shall eat them before the Lord your God in ^(W)the place which the Lord your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female slaves, and the ^(X)Levite who is within your gates; and you shall ^(Y)rejoice before the Lord your God in all ^[l]your undertakings. ^19 (Z)Be careful that you do not abandon the Levite ^[m]as long as you live in your land.

²⁰ “When the Lord your God extends your border ^(AA)as He has ^[n]promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because ^[o]you desire to eat meat, then you may eat meat, ^[p]whatever you desire. ²¹ If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter animals from your herd and flock which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates ^[q]whatever you desire. ²² Just as a gazelle or a deer is eaten, so you may eat it; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it. ²³ Only be sure ^(AB)not to eat the blood, for the blood is the ^[r]life, and you shall not eat the ^[s]life with the flesh. ²⁴ You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water. ²⁵ You shall not eat it, so that ^(AC)it may go well for you and your sons after you, since ^(AD)you will be doing what is right in the sight of the Lord. ^26 (AE)Only your holy things which you may have and your vowed offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the Lord chooses. ²⁷ And ^(AF)you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, and ^(AG)you shall eat the flesh.

²⁸ “Be careful and listen to all these words which I am commanding you, so that ^(AH)it may go well for you and your sons after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

²⁹ “When ^(AI)the Lord your God cuts off from you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and live in their land, ³⁰ be careful that you are not ensnared ^[t]to follow them, after they are destroyed from your presence, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’ ^31 (AJ)You shall not behave this way toward the Lord your God, because every abominable act which the Lord hates, they have done for their gods; for ^(AK)they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire for their gods.

³² “^[u](AL)Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; ^(AM)you shall not add to nor take anything away from it.

Healing the Beggar Who Was Unable to Walk

3 Now ^(A)Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ^[a]ninth hour, ^(B)the hour of prayer. ² And ^(C)a man who had been unable to walk from ^[b]birth was being carried, whom they ^(D)used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, ^(E)in order for him to beg for charitable gifts from those entering the temple grounds. ³ When he saw ^(F)Peter and John about to go into the temple grounds, he began asking to receive a charitable gift. ⁴ But Peter, along with John, ^(G)looked at him intently and said, “Look at us!” ⁵ And he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. ⁶ But Peter said, “I do not have silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: ^(H)In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!” ⁷ And grasping him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. ⁸ And ^(I)leaping up, he stood and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. ⁹ And ^(J)all the people saw him walking and praising God; ¹⁰ and they recognized him as being the very one who used to ^(K)sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg for charitable gifts, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Peter’s Second Sermon

¹¹ While he was clinging to ^(L)Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the ^[c](M)portico named Solomon’s, completely astonished. ¹² But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why are you staring at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk? ^13 (N)The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ^(O)the God of our fathers, has glorified His ^[d](P)servant Jesus, the one whom ^(Q)you handed over and disowned in the presence of ^(R)Pilate, when he had ^(S)decided to release Him. ¹⁴ But you disowned ^(T)the Holy and Righteous One, and ^(U)asked for a murderer to be granted to you, ¹⁵ but put to death the ^[e](V)Prince of life, whom ^(W)God raised from the dead, ^[f]a fact to which we are ^(X)witnesses. ¹⁶ And on the basis of faith ^(Y)in His name, it is ^[g]the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

¹⁷ “And now, brothers, I know that you acted ^(Z)in ignorance, just as your ^(AA)rulers also did. ¹⁸ But the things which ^(AB)God previously announced by the mouths of all the prophets, ^(AC)that His ^[h]Christ would suffer, He has fulfilled in this way. ¹⁹ Therefore ^(AD)repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that ^(AE)times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; ²⁰ and that He may send Jesus, the ^[i]Christ appointed for you, ^21 (AF)whom heaven must receive until the ^[j]period of ^(AG)restoration of all things, about which ^(AH)God spoke by the mouths of His holy prophets from ancient times. ²² Moses said, ‘^(AI)The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your countrymen; to Him you shall listen regarding everything He says to you. ^23 (AJ)And it shall be that every ^(AK)soul that does not listen to that prophet ^(AL)shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ ²⁴ And likewise, ^(AM)all the prophets who have spoken from Samuel and his successors onward, have also announced these days. ²⁵ It is you who are ^(AN)the sons of the prophets and of the ^(AO)covenant which God ordained with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘^(AP)And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ ²⁶ God ^(AQ)raised up His ^[k]Servant for you ^(AR)first, and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”