Deuteronomy 4:25-5:33

New International Version

²⁵After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt^(A) and make any kind of idol,^(B) doing evil^(C) in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, ²⁶I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses^(D) against you^(E) this day that you will quickly perish^(F) from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. ²⁷The Lord will scatter^(G) you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive^(H) among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. ²⁸There you will worship man-made gods^(I) of wood and stone,^(J) which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.^(K) ²⁹But if from there you seek^(L) the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart^(M) and with all your soul.^(N) ³⁰When you are in distress^(O) and all these things have happened to you, then in later days^(P) you will return^(Q) to the Lord your God and obey him. ³¹For the Lord your God is a merciful^(R) God; he will not abandon^(S) or destroy^(T) you or forget^(U) the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

The Lord Is God

³²Ask^(V) now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth;^(W) ask from one end of the heavens to the other.^(X) Has anything so great^(Y) as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? ³³Has any other people heard the voice of God^[a] speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?^(Z) ³⁴Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation,^(AA) by testings,^(AB) by signs^(AC) and wonders,^(AD) by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,^(AE) or by great and awesome deeds,^(AF) like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

³⁵You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.^(AG) ³⁶From heaven he made you hear his voice^(AH) to discipline^(AI) you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. ³⁷Because he loved^(AJ) your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength,^(AK) ³⁸to 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,^(AL) as it is today.

³⁹Acknowledge^(AM) and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.^(AN) ⁴⁰Keep^(AO) his decrees and commands,^(AP) which I am giving you today, so that it may go well^(AQ) with you and your children after you and that you may live long^(AR) in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.

Cities of Refuge^(AS)

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

Introduction to the Law

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

The Ten Commandments^(AZ)

5 Moses summoned all Israel and said:

Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws^(BA) I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. ²The Lord our God made a covenant^(BB) with us at Horeb.^(BC) ³It was not with our ancestors^[d] that the Lord made this covenant, but with us,^(BD) with all of us who are alive here today.^(BE) ⁴The Lord spoke^(BF) to you face to face^(BG) out of the fire^(BH) on the mountain. ⁵(At that time I stood between^(BI) the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid^(BJ) of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:

⁶“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt,^(BK) out of the land of slavery.^(BL)

⁷“You shall have no other gods before^[e] me.

⁸“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.^(BM) ⁹You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents^(BN) to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,^(BO) ¹⁰but showing love to a thousand^(BP) generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.^(BQ)

¹¹“You shall not misuse the name^(BR) of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.^(BS)

¹²“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,^(BT) as the Lord your God has commanded you. ¹³Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁴but the seventh day^(BU) is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant,^(BV) nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do.^(BW) ¹⁵Remember that you were slaves^(BX) in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand^(BY) and an outstretched arm.^(BZ) Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

¹⁶“Honor your father^(CA) and your mother,^(CB) as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long^(CC) and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

¹⁷“You shall not murder.^(CD)

¹⁸“You shall not commit adultery.^(CE)

¹⁹“You shall not steal.^(CF)

²⁰“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.^(CG)

²¹“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”^(CH)

²²These 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;^(CI) and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets^(CJ) and gave them to me.

²³When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leaders of your tribes and your elders^(CK) came to me. ²⁴And you said, “The Lord our God has shown us^(CL) his glory and his majesty,^(CM) and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks with them.^(CN) ²⁵But 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.^(CO) ²⁶For what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived?^(CP) ²⁷Go near and listen to all that the Lord our God says.^(CQ) Then tell us whatever the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey.”^(CR)

²⁸The 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.^(CS) ²⁹Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me^(CT) and keep all my commands^(CU) always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!^(CV)

³⁰“Go, tell them to return to their tents. ³¹But you stay here^(CW) 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.”

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

Footnotes

Deuteronomy 4:33 Or of a god
Deuteronomy 4:48 Syriac (see also 3:9); Hebrew Siyon
Deuteronomy 4:49 Hebrew the Sea of the Arabah
Deuteronomy 5:3 Or not only with our parents
Deuteronomy 5:7 Or besides

Psalm 89:19-52

New International Version

¹⁹Once you spoke in a vision,
    to your faithful people you said:
“I have bestowed strength on a warrior;
    I have raised up a young man from among the people.
²⁰I have found David^(A) my servant;^(B)
    with my sacred oil^(C) I have anointed^(D) him.
²¹My hand will sustain him;
    surely my arm will strengthen him.^(E)
²²The enemy will not get the better of him;^(F)
    the wicked will not oppress^(G) him.
²³I will crush his foes before him^(H)
    and strike down his adversaries.^(I)
²⁴My faithful love will be with him,^(J)
    and through my name his horn^[a] will be exalted.
²⁵I will set his hand over the sea,
    his right hand over the rivers.^(K)
²⁶He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,^(L)
    my God, the Rock^(M) my Savior.’^(N)
²⁷And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,^(O)
    the most exalted^(P) of the kings^(Q) of the earth.
²⁸I will maintain my love to him forever,
    and my covenant with him will never fail.^(R)
²⁹I will establish his line forever,
    his throne as long as the heavens endure.^(S)

³⁰“If his sons forsake my law
    and do not follow my statutes,
³¹if they violate my decrees
    and fail to keep my commands,
³²I will punish their sin with the rod,
    their iniquity with flogging;^(T)
³³but I will not take my love from him,^(U)
    nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
³⁴I will not violate my covenant
    or alter what my lips have uttered.^(V)
³⁵Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
    and I will not lie to David—
³⁶that his line will continue forever
    and his throne endure before me like the sun;^(W)
³⁷it will be established forever like the moon,
    the faithful witness in the sky.”^(X)

³⁸But you have rejected,^(Y) you have spurned,
    you have been very angry with your anointed one.
³⁹You have renounced the covenant with your servant
    and have defiled his crown in the dust.^(Z)
⁴⁰You have broken through all his walls^(AA)
    and reduced his strongholds^(AB) to ruins.
⁴¹All who pass by have plundered^(AC) him;
    he has become the scorn of his neighbors.^(AD)
⁴²You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
    you have made all his enemies rejoice.^(AE)
⁴³Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword
    and have not supported him in battle.^(AF)
⁴⁴You have put an end to his splendor
    and cast his throne to the ground.
⁴⁵You have cut short^(AG) the days of his youth;
    you have covered him with a mantle of shame.^(AH)

⁴⁶How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your wrath burn like fire?^(AI)
⁴⁷Remember how fleeting is my life.^(AJ)
    For what futility you have created all humanity!
⁴⁸Who can live and not see death,
    or who can escape the power of the grave?^(AK)
⁴⁹Lord, where is your former great love,
    which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
⁵⁰Remember, Lord, how your servant has^[b] been mocked,^(AL)
    how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations,
⁵¹the taunts with which your enemies, Lord, have mocked,
    with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.^(AM)

⁵²Praise be to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.^(AN)

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Footnotes

Psalm 89:24 Horn here symbolizes strength.
Psalm 89:50 Or your servants have

Acts 21:1-16

New International Version

On to Jerusalem

21 After we^(A) had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. ²We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia,^(B) went on board and set sail. ³After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria.^(C) We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. ⁴We sought out the disciples^(D) there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit^(E) they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray.^(F) ⁶After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.

⁷We continued our voyage from Tyre^(G) and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters^(H) and stayed with them for a day. ⁸Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea^(I) and stayed at the house of Philip^(J) the evangelist,^(K) one of the Seven. ⁹He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.^(L)

¹⁰After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus^(M) came down from Judea. ¹¹Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says,^(N) ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind^(O) the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”^(P)

¹²When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die^(Q) in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”^(R) ¹⁴When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up^(S) and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”^(T)

¹⁵After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem.^(U) ¹⁶Some of the disciples from Caesarea^(V) accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus^(W) and one of the early disciples.

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