²⁶ Then God said, ^(A)“Let us make man^[a] in our image, ^(B)after our likeness. And ^(C)let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, ^(E)“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Circumcise Your Heart

¹² “And now, Israel, ^(A)what does the Lord your God require of you, but ^(B)to fear the Lord your God, ^(C)to walk in all his ways, ^(D)to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³ and ^(E)to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today ^(F)for your good? ¹⁴ Behold, ^(G)to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, ^(H)the earth with all that is in it. ¹⁵ Yet ^(I)the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. ¹⁶ Circumcise therefore ^(J)the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer ^(K)stubborn. ¹⁷ For the Lord your God is ^(L)God of gods and ^(M)Lord of lords, ^(N)the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is ^(O)not partial and takes no bribe. ^18 (P)He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. ^19 (Q)Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. ^20 (R)You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and ^(S)hold fast to him, and ^(T)by his name you shall swear. ^21 (U)He is your praise. He is your God, ^(V)who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. ²² Your fathers went down to Egypt ^(W)seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you ^(X)as numerous as the stars of heaven.

God's Steadfast Love and Compassion

^12 (A)Put on then, as ^(B)God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, ^(C)compassionate hearts, ^(D)kindness, ^(E)humility, meekness, and patience, ^13 (F)bearing with one another and, ^(G)if one has a complaint against another, ^(H)forgiving each other; ^(I)as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ And above all these put on ^(J)love, which ^(K)binds everything together in ^(L)perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let ^(M)the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called ^(N)in one body. And ^(O)be thankful. ¹⁶ Let ^(P)the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, ^(Q)singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, ^(R)with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And ^(S)whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, ^(T)giving thanks to God the Father through him.