Israel’s Past, Present, and Future

29 ^[a]These are the terms of the promise ^[b] that the Lord commanded Moses to give to the Israelites in Moab. This was in addition to the promise the Lord gave them at Mount Horeb.

² Moses summoned all the people of Israel and said to them:

You’ve seen with your own eyes everything that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to his whole country. ³ You also saw those terrible plagues, those miraculous signs, and those spectacular, amazing things. ⁴ But to this day the Lord hasn’t given you a mind that understands, eyes that see, or ears that hear. ⁵ For 40 years I led you through the desert. During that time your clothes and shoes never wore out. ⁶ You ate no bread and drank no wine or liquor. I did this so that you would know that I am the Lord your God.

⁷ When you came to this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out to fight us, but we defeated them. ⁸ We took their land and gave it to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh as their property. ⁹ Faithfully obey the terms of this promise. Then you will be successful in everything you do.

¹⁰ All of you are standing here today in the presence of the Lord your God. The heads of your tribes,^[c] your leaders, your officers, and all the men of Israel are here. ¹¹ Your children, your wives, and the foreigners who cut wood and carry water in your camp are also here. ¹² You are ready to accept the terms and conditions of the promise that the Lord your God is giving you today. ¹³ With this promise the Lord will confirm today that you are his people and that he is your God. This is what he told you, and this is what he promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with an oath. ¹⁴ You aren’t the only people to receive this promise and its conditions. ¹⁵ It is for those of you who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God and also for those who are not here today.

¹⁶ You know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through other countries on our way here. ¹⁷ You saw their disgusting gods and idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold. ¹⁸ Make sure there is no man, woman, family, or tribe among you today who turns from the Lord our God to worship the gods of those nations. Make sure that no one among you is the source of this kind of bitter poison.

¹⁹ Someone may hear the conditions of this promise. He may think that he is so blessed that he can say, “I’ll be safe even if I go my own stubborn way. After all, ⌞the Lord would never⌟ sweep away well-watered ground along with dry ground.” ²⁰ The Lord will never be willing to forgive that person, because the Lord’s burning anger will smolder against him. All the curses described in this book will happen to him. The Lord will erase ⌞every memory of⌟ that person’s name from the earth. ²¹ And the Lord will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster based on all the conditions of the promise written in this Book of the Teachings.

²² Then the next generation of your children and foreigners who come from distant countries will see the plagues that have happened in this land and the diseases the Lord sent here. ²³ They will see all the soil poisoned with sulfur and salt. Nothing will be planted. Nothing will be growing. There will be no plants in sight. It will be as desolate as Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, cities the Lord destroyed in fierce anger. ²⁴ Then all the other nations in the world will ask, “Why has the Lord done this to their land? Why is he so angry?”

²⁵ The answer will be, “Because they abandoned the promise of the Lord God of their ancestors. He made this promise to them when he brought them out of Egypt. ²⁶ They worshiped other gods and bowed down to them. These were gods they never heard of, gods the Lord didn’t permit them to have. ²⁷ So the Lord became angry with this land and brought on it all the curses described in this book. ²⁸ In his fierce anger and fury the Lord uprooted these people from their land and deported them to another country, where they still are today.”

²⁹ Some things are hidden. They belong to the Lord our God. But the things that have been revealed in these teachings belong to us and to our children forever. We must obey every word of these teachings.

Women Who Supported Jesus

8 After this, Jesus traveled from one city and village to another. He spread the Good News about God’s kingdom. The twelve apostles were with him. ² Also, some women were with him. They had been cured from evil spirits and various illnesses. These women were Mary, also called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; ³ Joanna, whose husband Chusa was Herod’s administrator; Susanna; and many other women. They provided financial support for Jesus and his disciples.

A Story about a Farmer^(A)

⁴ When a large crowd had gathered and people had come to Jesus from every city, he used this story as an illustration: ⁵ “A farmer went to plant his seeds. Some seeds were planted along the road, were trampled, and were devoured by birds. ⁶ Others were planted on rocky soil. When the plants came up, they withered because they had no moisture. ⁷ Others were planted among thornbushes. The thornbushes grew up with them and choked them. ⁸ Others were planted on good ground. When they came up, they produced a hundred times as much as was planted.”

After he had said this, he called out, “Let the person who has ears listen!”

⁹ His disciples asked him what this story meant. ¹⁰ Jesus answered, “Knowledge about the mysteries of God’s kingdom has been given ⌞directly⌟ to you. But it is given to others in stories. When they look, they don’t see, and when they hear, they don’t understand.

¹¹ “This is what the story illustrates: The seed is God’s word. ¹² Some people are like seeds that were planted along the road. They hear the word, but then the devil comes. He takes the word away from them so that they don’t believe and become saved. ¹³ Some people are like seeds on rocky soil. They welcome the word with joy whenever they hear it, but they don’t develop any roots. They believe for a while, but when their faith is tested, they abandon it. ¹⁴ The seeds that were planted among thornbushes are people who hear the word, but as life goes on the worries, riches, and pleasures of life choke them. So they don’t produce anything good. ¹⁵ The seeds that were planted on good ground are people who also hear the word. But they keep it in their good and honest hearts and produce what is good despite what life may bring.

¹⁶ “No one lights a lamp and hides it under a bowl or puts it under a bed. Instead, everyone who lights a lamp puts it on a lamp stand so that those who come in will see the light. ¹⁷ There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. There is nothing kept secret that will not come to light.

¹⁸ “So pay attention to how you listen! Those who understand ⌞these mysteries⌟ will be given ⌞more knowledge⌟. However, some people don’t understand ⌞these mysteries⌟. Even what they think they understand will be taken away from them.”

The True Family of Jesus^(B)

¹⁹ His mother and his brothers came to see him. But they couldn’t meet with him because of the crowd. ²⁰ Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside. They want to see you.”

²¹ He answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear and do what God’s word says.”

Jesus Calms the Sea^(C)

²² One day Jesus and his disciples got into a boat. He said to them, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they started out. ²³ As they were sailing along, Jesus fell asleep.

A violent storm came across the lake. The boat was taking on water, and they were in danger. ²⁴ They went to him, woke him up, and said, “Master! Master! We’re going to die!”

Then he got up and ordered the wind and the waves to stop. The wind stopped, and the sea became calm. ²⁵ He asked them, “Where is your faith?”

Frightened and amazed, they asked each other, “Who is this man? He gives orders to the wind and the water, and they obey him!”

Jesus Cures a Demon-Possessed Man^(D)

²⁶ They landed in the region of the Gerasenes across from Galilee. ²⁷ When Jesus stepped out on the shore, a certain man from the city met him. The man was possessed by demons and had not worn clothes for a long time. He would not stay in a house but lived in the tombs. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he shouted, fell in front of him, and said in a loud voice, “Why are you bothering me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you not to torture me!” ²⁹ Jesus ordered the evil spirit to come out of the man. (The evil spirit had controlled the man for a long time. People had kept him under guard. He was chained hand and foot. But he would break the chains. Then the demon would force him to go into the desert.)

³⁰ Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

He answered, “Legion [Six Thousand].” (Many demons had entered him.) ³¹ The demons begged Jesus not to order them to go into the bottomless pit.

³² A large herd of pigs was feeding on a mountainside. The demons begged Jesus to let them enter those pigs. So he let them do this. ³³ The demons came out of the man and went into the pigs. Then the herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned.

³⁴ When those who had taken care of the pigs saw what had happened, they ran away. They reported everything in the city and countryside. ³⁵ The people went to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out. Dressed and in his right mind, he was sitting at Jesus’ feet. The people were frightened. ³⁶ Those who had seen this told the people how Jesus had restored the demon-possessed man to health.

³⁷ Then all the people from the surrounding region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave because they were terrified.

Jesus got into a boat and started back. ³⁸ The man from whom the demons had gone out begged him, “Let me go with you.”

But Jesus sent the man away and told him, ³⁹ “Go home to your family, and tell them how much God has done for you.” So the man left. He went through the whole city and told people how much Jesus had done for him.

Jairus’ Daughter and a Woman with Chronic Bleeding^(E)

⁴⁰ When Jesus came back, a crowd welcomed him. Everyone was expecting him.

⁴¹ A man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, arrived and quickly bowed down in front of Jesus. He begged Jesus to come to his home. ⁴² His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went, the people were crowding around him.

⁴³ A woman who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years was in the crowd. No one could cure her. ⁴⁴ She came up behind Jesus, touched the edge of his clothes, and her bleeding stopped at once.

⁴⁵ Jesus asked, “Who touched me?”

After everyone denied touching him, Peter said, “Teacher, the people are crowding you and pressing against you.”

⁴⁶ Jesus said, “Someone touched me. I know power has gone out of me.”

⁴⁷ The woman saw that she couldn’t hide. Trembling, she quickly bowed in front of him. There, in front of all the people, she told why she touched him and how she was cured at once.

⁴⁸ Jesus told her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace!”

⁴⁹ While Jesus was still speaking to her, someone came from the synagogue leader’s home. He said, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”

⁵⁰ When Jesus heard this, he told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid! Just believe, and she will get well.”

⁵¹ Jesus went into the house. He allowed no one to go with him except Peter, John, James, and the child’s parents. ⁵² Everyone was crying and showing how sad they were. Jesus said, “Don’t cry! She’s not dead. She’s just sleeping.”

⁵³ They laughed at him because they knew she was dead. ⁵⁴ But Jesus took her hand and called out, “Child, get up!” ⁵⁵ She came back to life and got up at once. He ordered her parents to give her something to eat. ⁵⁶ They were amazed. Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.