²⁰ “Whoever sacrifices to any god^(A) other than the Lord must be destroyed.^[a](B)

²¹ “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner,^(C) for you were foreigners^(D) in Egypt.

²² “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless.^{(E) 23} If you do and they cry out^(F) to me, I will certainly hear their cry.^{(G) 24} My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.^(H)

²⁵ “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest.^{(I) 26} If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge,^(J) return it by sunset, ²⁷ because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in?^(K) When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.^(L)

²⁸ “Do not blaspheme God^[b](M) or curse^(N) the ruler of your people.^(O)

²⁹ “Do not hold back offerings^(P) from your granaries or your vats.^[c]

“You must give me the firstborn of your sons.^{(Q) 30} Do the same with your cattle and your sheep.^(R) Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.^(S)

³¹ “You are to be my holy people.^(T) So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts;^(U) throw it to the dogs.

Laws of Justice and Mercy

23 “Do not spread false reports.^(V) Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.^(W)

² “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice^(X) by siding with the crowd,^{(Y) 3} and do not show favoritism^(Z) to a poor person in a lawsuit.

⁴ “If you come across your enemy’s^(AA) ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.^{(AB) 5} If you see the donkey^(AC) of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.

⁶ “Do not deny justice^(AD) to your poor people in their lawsuits. ⁷ Have nothing to do with a false charge^(AE) and do not put an innocent^(AF) or honest person to death,^(AG) for I will not acquit the guilty.^(AH)

⁸ “Do not accept a bribe,^(AI) for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.

⁹ “Do not oppress a foreigner;^(AJ) you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.

Sabbath Laws

¹⁰ “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, ¹¹ but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused.^(AK) Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

¹² “Six days do your work,^(AL) but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.^(AM)

¹³ “Be careful^(AN) to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods;^(AO) do not let them be heard on your lips.^(AP)

The Three Annual Festivals

¹⁴ “Three times^(AQ) a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.

¹⁵ “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread;^(AR) for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,^(AS) for in that month you came out of Egypt.

“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.^(AT)

¹⁶ “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest^(AU) with the firstfruits^(AV) of the crops you sow in your field.

“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering^(AW) at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.^(AX)

¹⁷ “Three times^(AY) a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.

⁴¹ At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph,^(A) whose father and mother we know?^(B) How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”^(C)

⁴³ “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. ⁴⁴ “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them,^(D) and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’^[a](E) Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. ⁴⁶ No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God;^(F) only he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.^{(G) 48} I am the bread of life.^{(H) 49} Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.^{(I) 50} But here is the bread that comes down from heaven,^(J) which anyone may eat and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread^(K) that came down from heaven.^(L) Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”^(M)

⁵² Then the Jews^(N) began to argue sharply among themselves,^(O) “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

⁵³ Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh^(P) of the Son of Man^(Q) and drink his blood,^(R) you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.^{(S) 55} For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.^{(T) 57} Just as the living Father sent me^(U) and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”^{(V) 59} He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Many Disciples Desert Jesus

⁶⁰ On hearing it, many of his disciples^(W) said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”^(X)

⁶¹ Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?^{(Y) 62} Then what if you see the Son of Man^(Z) ascend to where he was before!^{(AA) 63} The Spirit gives life;^(AB) the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit^[b] and life. ⁶⁴ Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known^(AC) from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.^{(AD) 65} He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”^(AE)

⁶⁶ From this time many of his disciples^(AF) turned back and no longer followed him.

⁶⁷ “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.^(AG)

⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him,^(AH) “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.^{(AI) 69} We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”^(AJ)

⁷⁰ Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you,^(AK) the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”^{(AL) 71} (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot,^(AM) who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)^(AN)

¹⁸ “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast.^(A)

“The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.^(B)

¹⁹ “Bring the best of the firstfruits^(C) of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.^(D)

God’s Angel to Prepare the Way

²⁰ “See, I am sending an angel^(E) ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.^{(F) 21} Pay attention to him and listen^(G) to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive^(H) your rebellion,^(I) since my Name^(J) is in him. ²² If you listen carefully to what he says and do^(K) all that I say, I will be an enemy^(L) to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. ²³ My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites,^(M) and I will wipe them out. ²⁴ Do not bow down before their gods or worship^(N) them or follow their practices.^(O) You must demolish^(P) them and break their sacred stones^(Q) to pieces. ²⁵ Worship the Lord your God,^(R) and his blessing^(S) will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness^(T) from among you, ²⁶ and none will miscarry or be barren^(U) in your land. I will give you a full life span.^(V)

²⁷ “I will send my terror^(W) ahead of you and throw into confusion^(X) every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.^{(Y) 28} I will send the hornet^(Z) ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites^(AA) out of your way. ²⁹ But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals^(AB) too numerous for you. ³⁰ Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession^(AC) of the land.

³¹ “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea^[a] to the Mediterranean Sea,^[b] and from the desert to the Euphrates River.^(AD) I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out^(AE) before you. ³² Do not make a covenant^(AF) with them or with their gods. ³³ Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare^(AG) to you.”

The Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord^(A) and in his mighty power.^{(B) 11} Put on the full armor of God,^(C) so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,^(D) but against the rulers, against the authorities,^(E) against the powers^(F) of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.^{(G) 13} Therefore put on the full armor of God,^(H) so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,^(I) with the breastplate of righteousness in place,^{(J) 15} and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.^{(K) 16} In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith,^(L) with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.^{(M) 17} Take the helmet of salvation^(N) and the sword of the Spirit,^(O) which is the word of God.^(P)

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit^(Q) on all occasions^(R) with all kinds of prayers and requests.^(S) With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying^(T) for all the Lord’s people. ¹⁹ Pray also for me,^(U) that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly^(V) make known the mystery^(W) of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador^(X) in chains.^(Y) Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Final Greetings

²¹ Tychicus,^(Z) the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. ²² I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are,^(AA) and that he may encourage you.^(AB)

²³ Peace^(AC) to the brothers and sisters,^[a] and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.^[b]