Deuteronomy 11

New International Version

Love and Obey the Lord

11 Love^(A) the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.^(B) ²Remember today that your children^(C) were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God:^(D) his majesty,^(E) his mighty hand, his outstretched arm;^(F) ³the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country;^(G) ⁴what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots,^(H) how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea^[a]^(I) as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord brought lasting ruin on them. ⁵It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the wilderness until you arrived at this place, ⁶and what he did^(J) to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened^(K) its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them. ⁷But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done.^(L)

⁸Observe therefore all the commands^(M) I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,^(N) ⁹and so that you may live long^(O) in the land the Lord swore^(P) to your ancestors to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.^(Q) ¹⁰The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt,^(R) from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. ¹¹But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys^(S) that drinks rain from heaven.^(T) ¹²It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes^(U) of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.

¹³So if you faithfully obey^(V) the commands I am giving you today—to love^(W) the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul^(X)— ¹⁴then I will send rain^(Y) on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains,^(Z) so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. ¹⁵I will provide grass^(AA) in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.^(AB)

¹⁶Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.^(AC) ¹⁷Then the Lord’s anger^(AD) will burn against you, and he will shut up^(AE) the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce,^(AF) and you will soon perish^(AG) from the good land the Lord is giving you. ¹⁸Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.^(AH) ¹⁹Teach them to your children,^(AI) talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.^(AJ) ²⁰Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates,^(AK) ²¹so that your days and the days of your children may be many^(AL) in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.^(AM)

²²If you carefully observe^(AN) all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love^(AO) the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast^(AP) to him— ²³then the Lord will drive out^(AQ) all these nations^(AR) before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.^(AS) ²⁴Every place where you set your foot will be yours:^(AT) Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River^(AU) to the Mediterranean Sea. ²⁵No one will be able to stand against you. The Lord your God, as he promised you, will put the terror^(AV) and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.^(AW)

²⁶See, I am setting before you today a blessing^(AX) and a curse^(AY)— ²⁷the blessing^(AZ) if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; ²⁸the curse if you disobey^(BA) the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods,^(BB) which you have not known. ²⁹When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim^(BC) the blessings, and on Mount Ebal^(BD) the curses.^(BE) ³⁰As you know, these mountains are across the Jordan, westward, toward the setting sun, near the great trees of Moreh,^(BF) in the territory of those Canaanites living in the Arabah in the vicinity of Gilgal.^(BG) ³¹You are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession^(BH) of the land the Lord your God is giving^(BI) you. When you have taken it over and are living there, ³²be sure that you obey all the decrees and laws I am setting before you today.

Footnotes

Deuteronomy 11:4 Or the Sea of Reeds

Jeremiah 4

New International Version

4 “If you, Israel, will return,^(A)
    then return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“If you put your detestable idols^(B) out of my sight
    and no longer go astray,
²and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
    you swear,^(C) ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’^(D)
then the nations will invoke blessings^(E) by him
    and in him they will boast.^(F)”

³This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:

“Break up your unplowed ground^(G)
    and do not sow among thorns.^(H)
⁴Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
    circumcise your hearts,^(I)
    you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
or my wrath^(J) will flare up and burn like fire^(K)
    because of the evil^(L) you have done—
    burn with no one to quench^(M) it.

Disaster From the North

⁵“Announce in Judah and proclaim^(N) in Jerusalem and say:
    ‘Sound the trumpet^(O) throughout the land!’
Cry aloud and say:
    ‘Gather together!
    Let us flee to the fortified cities!’^(P)
⁶Raise the signal^(Q) to go to Zion!
    Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster^(R) from the north,^(S)
    even terrible destruction.”

⁷A lion^(T) has come out of his lair;^(U)
    a destroyer^(V) of nations has set out.
He has left his place
    to lay waste^(W) your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins^(X)
    without inhabitant.
⁸So put on sackcloth,^(Y)
    lament^(Z) and wail,
for the fierce anger^(AA) of the Lord
    has not turned away from us.

⁹“In that day,” declares the Lord,
“the king and the officials will lose heart,^(AB)
the priests will be horrified,
and the prophets will be appalled.”^(AC)

¹⁰Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely you have deceived^(AD) this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’^(AE) when the sword is at our throats!”

¹¹At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind^(AF) from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; ¹²a wind^(AG) too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments^(AH) against them.”

¹³Look! He advances like the clouds,^(AI)
    his chariots^(AJ) come like a whirlwind,^(AK)
his horses^(AL) are swifter than eagles.^(AM)
    Woe to us! We are ruined!^(AN)
¹⁴Jerusalem, wash^(AO) the evil from your heart and be saved.^(AP)
    How long^(AQ) will you harbor wicked thoughts?
¹⁵A voice is announcing from Dan,^(AR)
    proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.^(AS)
¹⁶“Tell this to the nations,
    proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,^(AT)
    raising a war cry^(AU) against the cities of Judah.^(AV)
¹⁷They surround^(AW) her like men guarding a field,
    because she has rebelled^(AX) against me,’”
declares the Lord.
¹⁸“Your own conduct and actions^(AY)
    have brought this on you.^(AZ)
This is your punishment.
    How bitter^(BA) it is!
    How it pierces to the heart!”

¹⁹Oh, my anguish, my anguish!^(BB)
    I writhe in pain.^(BC)
Oh, the agony of my heart!
    My heart pounds^(BD) within me,
    I cannot keep silent.^(BE)
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;^(BF)
    I have heard the battle cry.^(BG)
²⁰Disaster follows disaster;^(BH)
    the whole land lies in ruins.^(BI)
In an instant my tents^(BJ) are destroyed,
    my shelter in a moment.
²¹How long must I see the battle standard^(BK)
    and hear the sound of the trumpet?^(BL)

²²“My people are fools;^(BM)
    they do not know me.^(BN)
They are senseless children;
    they have no understanding.^(BO)
They are skilled in doing evil;^(BP)
    they know not how to do good.”^(BQ)

²³I looked at the earth,
    and it was formless and empty;^(BR)
and at the heavens,
    and their light^(BS) was gone.
²⁴I looked at the mountains,
    and they were quaking;^(BT)
    all the hills were swaying.
²⁵I looked, and there were no people;
    every bird in the sky had flown away.^(BU)
²⁶I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;^(BV)
    all its towns lay in ruins^(BW)
    before the Lord, before his fierce anger.^(BX)

²⁷This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,^(BY)
    though I will not destroy^(BZ) it completely.
²⁸Therefore the earth will mourn^(CA)
    and the heavens above grow dark,^(CB)
because I have spoken and will not relent,^(CC)
    I have decided and will not turn back.^(CD)”

²⁹At the sound of horsemen and archers^(CE)
    every town takes to flight.^(CF)
Some go into the thickets;
    some climb up among the rocks.^(CG)
All the towns are deserted;^(CH)
    no one lives in them.

³⁰What are you doing,^(CI) you devastated one?
    Why dress yourself in scarlet
    and put on jewels^(CJ) of gold?
Why highlight your eyes with makeup?^(CK)
    You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers^(CL) despise you;
    they want to kill you.^(CM)

³¹I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,^(CN)
    a groan as of one bearing her first child—
the cry of Daughter Zion^(CO) gasping for breath,^(CP)
    stretching out her hands^(CQ) and saying,
“Alas! I am fainting;
    my life is given over to murderers.”^(CR)

1 Corinthians 10

New International Version

Warnings From Israel’s History

10 For I do not want you to be ignorant^(A) of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud^(B) and that they all passed through the sea.^(C) ²They were all baptized into^(D) Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ³They all ate the same spiritual food^(E) ⁴and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock^(F) that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. ⁵Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.^(G)

⁶Now these things occurred as examples^(H) to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. ⁷Do not be idolaters,^(I) as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”^[a]^(J) ⁸We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.^(K) ⁹We should not test Christ,^[b]^(L) as some of them did—and were killed by snakes.^(M) ¹⁰And do not grumble, as some of them did^(N)—and were killed^(O) by the destroying angel.^(P)

¹¹These things happened to them as examples^(Q) and were written down as warnings for us,^(R) on whom the culmination of the ages has come.^(S) ¹²So, if you think you are standing firm,^(T) be careful that you don’t fall! ¹³No temptation^[c] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful;^(U) he will not let you be tempted^[d] beyond what you can bear.^(V) But when you are tempted,^[e] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Idol Feasts and the Lord’s Supper

¹⁴Therefore, my dear friends,^(W) flee from idolatry.^(X) ¹⁵I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. ¹⁶Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break^(Y) a participation in the body of Christ?^(Z) ¹⁷Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body,^(AA) for we all share the one loaf.

¹⁸Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices^(AB) participate in the altar? ¹⁹Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?^(AC) ²⁰No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons,^(AD) not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. ²¹You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.^(AE) ²²Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy?^(AF) Are we stronger than he?^(AG)

The Believer’s Freedom

²³“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial.^(AH) “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. ²⁴No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.^(AI)

²⁵Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,^(AJ) ²⁶for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”^[f]^(AK)

²⁷If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you^(AL) without raising questions of conscience. ²⁸But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience.^(AM) ²⁹I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom^(AN) being judged by another’s conscience? ³⁰If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?^(AO)

³¹So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.^(AP) ³²Do not cause anyone to stumble,^(AQ) whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God^(AR)— ³³even as I try to please everyone in every way.^(AS) For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many,^(AT) so that they may be saved.^(AU)

Footnotes

1 Corinthians 10:7 Exodus 32:6
1 Corinthians 10:9 Some manuscripts test the Lord
1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.
1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.
1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.
1 Corinthians 10:26 Psalm 24:1