¹⁴ “Now fear the Lord^(A) and serve him with all faithfulness.^(B) Throw away the gods^(C) your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt,^(D) and serve the Lord.

²⁴ But be sure to fear^(A) the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart;^(B) consider^(C) what great^(D) things he has done for you.

Fear the Lord

¹² And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you^(A) but to fear^(B) the Lord your God, to walk^(C) in obedience to him, to love him,^(D) to serve the Lord^(E) your God with all your heart^(F) and with all your soul,^(G)

² So Jacob said to his household^(A) and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods^(B) you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.^(C)

Paul’s Change of Plans

¹² Now this is our boast: Our conscience^(A) testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity^[a](B) and godly sincerity.^(C) We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom^(D) but on God’s grace.

Psalm 119^[a]

א Aleph

²³ “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods^(A) that are among you and yield your hearts^(B) to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

¹⁸ I said to their children in the wilderness, “Do not follow the statutes of your parents^(A) or keep their laws or defile yourselves^(B) with their idols.

²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come^(A) when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit^(B) and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit,^(C) and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”