The Greatest Commandment

6 “Now this is ^(A)the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, ^2 (B)that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, ^(C)and that your days may be prolonged. ³ Therefore hear, O Israel, and ^[a]be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may ^(D)multiply greatly ^(E)as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—^(F)‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’

^4 (G)“Hear, O Israel: ^[b]The Lord our God, the Lord is one! ^5 (H)You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, ^(I)with all your soul, and with all your strength.

⁶ “And ^(J)these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. ^7 (K)You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ^8 (L)You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ^9 (M)You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Caution Against Disobedience

¹⁰ “So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He ^[c]swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities ^(N)which you did not build, ¹¹ houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—^(O)when you have eaten and are full— ¹² then beware, lest you forget the ^(P)Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

Irresponsible Shepherds

34 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: ^(A)“Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? ^3 (B)You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you ^(C)slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. ^4 (D)The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor ^(E)sought what was lost; but with ^(F)force and ^[a]cruelty you have ruled them. ^5 (G)So they were ^(H)scattered because there was no shepherd; ^(I)and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. ⁶ My sheep ^(J)wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.”

⁷ ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸ “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock ^(K)became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, ^(L)but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock”— ⁹ therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! ¹⁰ Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am ^(M)against the shepherds, and ^(N)I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall ^(O)feed themselves no more; for I will ^(P)deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”

In Pilate’s Court^(A)

^28 (B)Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. ^(C)But they themselves did not go into the ^[a]Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. ^29 (D)Pilate then went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?”

³⁰ They answered and said to him, “If He were not ^[b]an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you.”

³¹ Then Pilate said to them, “You take Him and judge Him according to your law.”

Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” ^32 (E)that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, ^(F)signifying by what death He would die.

^33 (G)Then Pilate entered the ^[c]Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

³⁴ Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?”

³⁵ Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?”

^36 (H)Jesus answered, ^(I)“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

³⁷ Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”

Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, ^(J)that I should bear ^(K)witness to the truth. Everyone who ^(L)is of the truth ^(M)hears My voice.”

³⁸ Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, ^(N)“I find no fault in Him at all.

Taking the Place of Barabbas^(O)

^39 (P)“But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

^40 (Q)Then they all cried again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” ^(R)Now Barabbas was a robber.

The Son Was Faithful

3 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, ² who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as ^(A)Moses also was faithful in all His house. ³ For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as ^(B)He who built the house has more honor than the house. ⁴ For every house is built by someone, but ^(C)He who built all things is God. ^5 (D)And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as ^(E)a servant, ^(F)for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, ⁶ but Christ as ^(G)a Son over His own house, ^(H)whose house we are ^(I)if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope ^[a]firm to the end.

Be Faithful^(J)

⁷ Therefore, as ^(K)the Holy Spirit says:

¹² Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; ¹³ but ^[b]exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, ¹⁵ while it is said:

Failure of the Wilderness Wanderers

^16 (N)For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? ¹⁷ Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, ^(O)whose corpses fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And ^(P)to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? ¹⁹ So we see that they could not enter in because of ^(Q)unbelief.