Obedience Commanded

4 Now, Israel, hear the decrees^(A) and laws I am about to teach^(B) you. Follow them so that you may live^(C) and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.

¹³ “‘Yet the people of Israel rebelled^(A) against me in the wilderness. They did not follow my decrees but rejected my laws^(B)—by which the person who obeys them will live—and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths.^(C) So I said I would pour out my wrath^(D) on them and destroy^(E) them in the wilderness.^(F)

²¹ “‘But the children rebelled against me: They did not follow my decrees, they were not careful to keep my laws,^(A) of which I said, “The person who obeys them will live by them,” and they desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger^(B) against them in the wilderness.^(C)

²⁵ So I gave^(A) them other statutes that were not good and laws through which they could not live;^(B)

¹² “Therefore, son of man, say to your people,^(A) ‘If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.’^(B)

¹⁰ I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life^(A) actually brought death.

²¹ For to me, to live is Christ^(A) and to die is gain.