Moses Commands Obedience

4 “Now, O Israel, listen to ^(A)the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and ^[a]possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you. ^2 (B)You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. ³ Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at ^(C)Baal Peor; for the Lord your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor. ⁴ But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you.

⁵ “Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. ⁶ Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is ^(D)your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’

⁷ “For ^(E)what great nation is there that has ^(F)God^[b] so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? ⁸ And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? ⁹ Only take heed to yourself, and diligently ^(G)keep yourself, lest you ^(H)forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And ^(I)teach them to your children and your grandchildren, ¹⁰ especially concerning ^(J)the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’

¹¹ “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. ^12 (K)And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no ^[c]form; ^(L)you only heard a voice. ^13 (M)So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, ^(N)the Ten Commandments; and ^(O)He wrote them on two tablets of stone. ¹⁴ And ^(P)the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might ^[d]observe them in the land which you cross over to possess.

Beware of Idolatry

^15 (Q)“Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no ^(R)form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, ¹⁶ lest you ^(S)act corruptly and ^(T)make for yourselves a carved image in the ^[e]form of any figure: ^(U)the likeness of male or female, ¹⁷ the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, ¹⁸ the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth. ¹⁹ And take heed, lest you ^(V)lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, ^(W)all the host of heaven, you feel driven to ^(X)worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has ^[f]given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage. ²⁰ But the Lord has taken you and ^(Y)brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be ^(Z)His people, an inheritance, as you are this day. ²¹ Furthermore ^(AA)the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that ^(AB)I would not cross over the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. ²² But ^(AC)I must die in this land, ^(AD)I must not cross over the Jordan; but you shall cross over and ^[g]possess ^(AE)that good land. ²³ Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, ^(AF)and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you.

Proclamation Against the King of Tyre

28 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ² “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

⁶ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:

¹² While I was with them ^[a]in the world, ^(A)I kept them in ^[b]Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and ^(B)none of them is ^[c]lost ^(C)except the son of ^[d]perdition, ^(D)that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them Your word; ^(E)and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, ^(F)just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but ^(G)that You should keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ^17 (H)Sanctify^[e] them by Your truth. ^(I)Your word is truth. ^18 (J)As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ^11 (A)Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the ^[a]wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against ^(B)principalities, against powers, against ^(C)the rulers of ^[b]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ^13 (D)Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand ^(E)in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, ^(F)having girded your waist with truth, ^(G)having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ^15 (H)and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking ^(I)the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And ^(J)take the helmet of salvation, and ^(K)the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

Graces of the Heirs of Grace

3 Remind them ^(A)to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, ^(B)to be ready for every good work, ² to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. ³ For ^(C)we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. ⁴ But when ^(D)the kindness and the love of ^(E)God our Savior toward man appeared, ^5 (F)not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through ^(G)the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, ^6 (H)whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ that having been justified by His grace ^(I)we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

^8 (J)This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

Avoid Dissension

⁹ But ^(K)avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. ^10 (L)Reject a divisive man after the first and second ^[a]admonition, ¹¹ knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.

Final Messages

¹² When I send Artemas to you, or ^(M)Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. ¹³ Send Zenas the lawyer and ^(N)Apollos on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing. ¹⁴ And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.

Farewell

¹⁵ All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith.

Grace be with you all. Amen.