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. ² Do not add^(D) to what I command you and do not subtract^(E) from it, but keep^(F) the commands^(G) of the Lord your God that I give you.

³ You saw with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal Peor.^(H) The Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, ⁴ but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today.

⁵ See, I have taught^(I) you decrees and laws^(J) as the Lord my God commanded^(K) me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering^(L) to take possession of it. ⁶ Observe^(M) them carefully, for this will show your wisdom^(N) and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”^{(O) 7} What other nation is so great^(P) as to have their gods near^(Q) them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? ⁸ And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws^(R) as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

⁹ Only be careful,^(S) and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach^(T) them to your children^(U) and to their children after them. ¹⁰ Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb,^(V) when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn^(W) to revere^(X) me as long as they live in the land^(Y) and may teach^(Z) them to their children.” ¹¹ You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain^(AA) while it blazed with fire^(AB) to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.^{(AC) 12} Then the Lord spoke^(AD) to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form;^(AE) there was only a voice.^{(AF) 13} He declared to you his covenant,^(AG) the Ten Commandments,^(AH) which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. ¹⁴ And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws^(AI) you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

Idolatry Forbidden

¹⁵ You saw no form^(AJ) of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb^(AK) out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully,^{(AL) 16} so that you do not become corrupt^(AM) and make for yourselves an idol,^(AN) an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, ¹⁷ or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air,^{(AO) 18} or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. ¹⁹ And when you look up to the sky and see the sun,^(AP) the moon and the stars^(AQ)—all the heavenly array^(AR)—do not be enticed^(AS) into bowing down to them and worshiping^(AT) things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. ²⁰ But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace,^(AU) out of Egypt,^(AV) to be the people of his inheritance,^(AW) as you now are.

²¹ The Lord was angry with me^(AX) because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance. ²² I will die in this land;^(AY) I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land.^{(AZ) 23} Be careful not to forget the covenant^(BA) of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol^(BB) in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. ²⁴ For the Lord your God is a consuming fire,^(BC) a jealous God.^(BD)

²⁵ After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt^(BE) and make any kind of idol,^(BF) doing evil^(BG) in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, ²⁶ I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses^(BH) against you^(BI) this day that you will quickly perish^(BJ) from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. ²⁷ The Lord will scatter^(BK) you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive^(BL) among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. ²⁸ There you will worship man-made gods^(BM) of wood and stone,^(BN) which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.^{(BO) 29} But if from there you seek^(BP) the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart^(BQ) and with all your soul.^{(BR) 30} When you are in distress^(BS) and all these things have happened to you, then in later days^(BT) you will return^(BU) to the Lord your God and obey him. ³¹ For the Lord your God is a merciful^(BV) God; he will not abandon^(BW) or destroy^(BX) you or forget^(BY) the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

The Lord Is God

³² Ask^(BZ) now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth;^(CA) ask from one end of the heavens to the other.^(CB) Has anything so great^(CC) as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? ³³ Has any other people heard the voice of God^[a] speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?^{(CD) 34} Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation,^(CE) by testings,^(CF) by signs^(CG) and wonders,^(CH) by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,^(CI) or by great and awesome deeds,^(CJ) like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

³⁵ You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.^{(CK) 36} From heaven he made you hear his voice^(CL) to discipline^(CM) you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. ³⁷ Because he loved^(CN) your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength,^{(CO) 38} to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance,^(CP) as it is today.

³⁹ Acknowledge^(CQ) and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.^{(CR) 40} Keep^(CS) his decrees and commands,^(CT) which I am giving you today, so that it may go well^(CU) with you and your children after you and that you may live long^(CV) in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.

Cities of Refuge^(CW)

⁴¹ Then Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan, ⁴² to which anyone who had killed a person could flee if they had unintentionally^(CX) killed a neighbor without malice aforethought. They could flee into one of these cities and save their life. ⁴³ The cities were these: Bezer in the wilderness plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth^(CY) in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.

Introduction to the Law

⁴⁴ This is the law Moses set before the Israelites. ⁴⁵ These are the stipulations, decrees and laws Moses gave them when they came out of Egypt ⁴⁶ and were in the valley near Beth Peor east of the Jordan, in the land of Sihon^(CZ) king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites as they came out of Egypt. ⁴⁷ They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. ⁴⁸ This land extended from Aroer^(DA) on the rim of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Sirion^[b](DB) (that is, Hermon^(DC)), ⁴⁹ and included all the Arabah east of the Jordan, as far as the Dead Sea,^[c] below the slopes of Pisgah.

The Ten Commandments^(A)

5 Moses summoned all Israel and said:

Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws^(B) I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. ² The Lord our God made a covenant^(C) with us at Horeb.^{(D) 3} It was not with our ancestors^[a] that the Lord made this covenant, but with us,^(E) with all of us who are alive here today.^{(F) 4} The Lord spoke^(G) to you face to face^(H) out of the fire^(I) on the mountain. ⁵ (At that time I stood between^(J) the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid^(K) of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:

²² These are the commandments the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness;^(AJ) and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets^(AK) and gave them to me.

²³ When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leaders of your tribes and your elders^(AL) came to me. ²⁴ And you said, “The Lord our God has shown us^(AM) his glory and his majesty,^(AN) and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks with them.^{(AO) 25} But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer.^{(AP) 26} For what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived?^{(AQ) 27} Go near and listen to all that the Lord our God says.^(AR) Then tell us whatever the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey.”^(AS)

²⁸ The Lord heard you when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, “I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good.^{(AT) 29} Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me^(AU) and keep all my commands^(AV) always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!^(AW)

³⁰ “Go, tell them to return to their tents. ³¹ But you stay here^(AX) with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess.”

³² So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you;^(AY) do not turn aside to the right or to the left.^{(AZ) 33} Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you,^(BA) so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days^(BB) in the land that you will possess.

Jesus Has Risen^(A)

24 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared^(B) and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.^{(C) 4} While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning^(D) stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:^{(E) 7} ‘The Son of Man^(F) must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”^{(G) 8} Then they remembered his words.^(H)

⁹ When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. ¹⁰ It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them^(I) who told this to the apostles.^{(J) 11} But they did not believe^(K) the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. ¹² Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves,^(L) and he went away,^(M) wondering to himself what had happened.

On the Road to Emmaus

¹³ Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles^[a] from Jerusalem.^{(N) 14} They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵ As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;^{(O) 16} but they were kept from recognizing him.^(P)

¹⁷ He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸ One of them, named Cleopas,^(Q) asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

¹⁹ “What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,”^(R) they replied. “He was a prophet,^(S) powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰ The chief priests and our rulers^(T) handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹ but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.^(U) And what is more, it is the third day^(V) since all this took place. ²² In addition, some of our women amazed us.^(W) They went to the tomb early this morning ²³ but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴ Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”^(X)

²⁵ He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”^{(Y) 27} And beginning with Moses^(Z) and all the Prophets,^(AA) he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.^(AB)

²⁸ As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it^(AC) and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him,^(AD) and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us^(AE) while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures^(AF) to us?”

³³ They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together ³⁴ and saying, “It is true! The Lord^(AG) has risen and has appeared to Simon.”^{(AH) 35} Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.^(AI)

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

³⁶ While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”^(AJ)

³⁷ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.^{(AK) 38} He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see;^(AL) a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

⁴⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹ And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and he took it and ate it in their presence.^(AM)

⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you:^(AN) Everything must be fulfilled^(AO) that is written about me in the Law of Moses,^(AP) the Prophets^(AQ) and the Psalms.”^(AR)

⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer^(AS) and rise from the dead on the third day,^{(AT) 47} and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name^(AU) to all nations,^(AV) beginning at Jerusalem.^{(AW) 48} You are witnesses^(AX) of these things. ⁴⁹ I am going to send you what my Father has promised;^(AY) but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

The Ascension of Jesus

⁵⁰ When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany,^(AZ) he lifted up his hands and blessed them. ⁵¹ While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.^{(BA) 52} Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. ⁵³ And they stayed continually at the temple,^(BB) praising God.