Obedience Commanded

4 Now, Israel, hear the decrees^(A) and laws I am about to teach^(B) you. Follow them so that you may live^(C) and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. ² Do not add^(D) to what I command you and do not subtract^(E) from it, but keep^(F) the commands^(G) of the Lord your God that I give you.

³ You saw with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal Peor.^(H) The Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, ⁴ but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today.

⁵ See, I have taught^(I) you decrees and laws^(J) as the Lord my God commanded^(K) me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering^(L) to take possession of it. ⁶ Observe^(M) them carefully, for this will show your wisdom^(N) and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”^{(O) 7} What other nation is so great^(P) as to have their gods near^(Q) them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? ⁸ And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws^(R) as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

⁹ Only be careful,^(S) and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach^(T) them to your children^(U) and to their children after them. ¹⁰ Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb,^(V) when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn^(W) to revere^(X) me as long as they live in the land^(Y) and may teach^(Z) them to their children.” ¹¹ You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain^(AA) while it blazed with fire^(AB) to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.^{(AC) 12} Then the Lord spoke^(AD) to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form;^(AE) there was only a voice.^{(AF) 13} He declared to you his covenant,^(AG) the Ten Commandments,^(AH) which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. ¹⁴ And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws^(AI) you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

Idolatry Forbidden

¹⁵ You saw no form^(AJ) of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb^(AK) out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully,^{(AL) 16} so that you do not become corrupt^(AM) and make for yourselves an idol,^(AN) an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, ¹⁷ or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air,^{(AO) 18} or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. ¹⁹ And when you look up to the sky and see the sun,^(AP) the moon and the stars^(AQ)—all the heavenly array^(AR)—do not be enticed^(AS) into bowing down to them and worshiping^(AT) things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. ²⁰ But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace,^(AU) out of Egypt,^(AV) to be the people of his inheritance,^(AW) as you now are.

²¹ The Lord was angry with me^(AX) because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance. ²² I will die in this land;^(AY) I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land.^{(AZ) 23} Be careful not to forget the covenant^(BA) of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol^(BB) in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. ²⁴ For the Lord your God is a consuming fire,^(BC) a jealous God.^(BD)

²⁵ After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt^(BE) and make any kind of idol,^(BF) doing evil^(BG) in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, ²⁶ I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses^(BH) against you^(BI) this day that you will quickly perish^(BJ) from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. ²⁷ The Lord will scatter^(BK) you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive^(BL) among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. ²⁸ There you will worship man-made gods^(BM) of wood and stone,^(BN) which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.^{(BO) 29} But if from there you seek^(BP) the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart^(BQ) and with all your soul.^{(BR) 30} When you are in distress^(BS) and all these things have happened to you, then in later days^(BT) you will return^(BU) to the Lord your God and obey him. ³¹ For the Lord your God is a merciful^(BV) God; he will not abandon^(BW) or destroy^(BX) you or forget^(BY) the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

The Lord Is God

³² Ask^(BZ) now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth;^(CA) ask from one end of the heavens to the other.^(CB) Has anything so great^(CC) as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? ³³ Has any other people heard the voice of God^[a] speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?^{(CD) 34} Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation,^(CE) by testings,^(CF) by signs^(CG) and wonders,^(CH) by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,^(CI) or by great and awesome deeds,^(CJ) like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

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

³⁹ Acknowledge^(CQ) and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.^{(CR) 40} Keep^(CS) his decrees and commands,^(CT) which I am giving you today, so that it may go well^(CU) with you and your children after you and that you may live long^(CV) in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.

Cities of Refuge^(CW)

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

Introduction to the Law

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

³⁹ He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit?^{(A) 40} The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.^(B)

⁴¹ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

A Tree and Its Fruit^(C)

⁴³ “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.^(D) People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. ⁴⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.^(E)

The Wise and Foolish Builders^(F)

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’^(G) and do not do what I say?^{(H) 47} As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice,^(I) I will show you what they are like. ⁴⁸ They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

The Faith of the Centurion^(J)

7 When Jesus had finished saying all this^(K) to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. ² There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. ³ The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. ⁴ When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, ⁵ because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” ⁶ So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. ⁷ That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.^{(L) 8} For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

⁹ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” ¹⁰ Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Psalm 68^[a]

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. A song.