Old/New Testament
Laws Concerning Preservation of Life
22 When you see[a] your neighbor’s[b] ox or sheep going astray, do not ignore it;[c] you must return it without fail[d] to your neighbor. 2 If the owner[e] does not live near[f] you or you do not know who the owner is,[g] then you must corral the animal[h] at your house and let it stay with you until the owner looks for it; then you must return it to him. 3 You shall do the same to his donkey, his clothes, or anything else your neighbor[i] has lost and you have found; you must not refuse to get involved.[j] 4 When you see[k] your neighbor’s donkey or ox fallen along the road, do not ignore it;[l] instead, you must be sure[m] to help him get the animal on its feet again.[n]
5 A woman must not wear men’s clothing,[o] nor should a man dress up in women’s clothing, for anyone who does this is offensive[p] to the Lord your God.
6 If you happen to notice a bird’s nest along the road, whether in a tree or on the ground, and there are chicks or eggs with the mother bird sitting on them,[q] you must not take the mother from the young.[r] 7 You must be sure[s] to let the mother go, but you may take the young for yourself. Do this so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.
8 If you build a new house, you must construct a guardrail[t] around your roof to avoid being culpable[u] in the event someone should fall from it.
Illustrations of the Principle of Purity
9 You must not plant your vineyard with two kinds of seed; otherwise the entire yield, both of the seed you plant and the produce of the vineyard, will be defiled.[v] 10 You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together. 11 You must not wear clothing made with wool and linen meshed together.[w] 12 You shall make yourselves tassels[x] for the four corners of the clothing you wear.
Purity in the Marriage Relationship
13 Suppose a man marries a woman, sleeps with her,[y] and then rejects[z] her, 14 accusing her of impropriety[aa] and defaming her reputation[ab] by saying, “I married this woman but when I approached her for marital relations[ac] I discovered she was not a virgin!” 15 Then the father and mother of the young woman must produce the evidence of virginity[ad] for the elders of the city at the gate. 16 The young woman’s father must say to the elders, “I gave my daughter to this man and he has rejected[ae] her. 17 Moreover, he has raised accusations of impropriety by saying, ‘I discovered your daughter was not a virgin,’ but this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity!” The cloth must then be spread out[af] before the city’s elders. 18 The elders of that city must then seize the man and punish[ag] him. 19 They will fine him 100 shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, for the man who made the accusation[ah] ruined the reputation[ai] of an Israelite virgin. She will then become his wife, and he may never divorce her as long as he lives.
20 But if the accusation is true and the young woman was not a virgin, 21 the men of her city must bring the young woman to the door of her father’s house and stone her to death, for she has done a disgraceful thing[aj] in Israel by behaving like a prostitute while living in her father’s house. In this way you will purge[ak] the evil from among you.
22 If a man is discovered in bed with[al] a married woman,[am] both the man lying in bed with the woman and the woman herself must die; in this way you will purge[an] the evil from Israel.
23 If a virgin is engaged to a man and another man meets[ao] her in the city and goes to bed with[ap] her, 24 you must bring the two of them to the gate of that city and stone them to death, the young woman because she did not cry out though in the city and the man because he violated[aq] his neighbor’s fiancée;[ar] in this way you will purge[as] evil from among you. 25 But if the man came across[at] the engaged woman in the field and overpowered her and raped[au] her, then only the rapist[av] must die. 26 You must not do anything to the young woman—she has done nothing deserving of death. This case is the same as when someone attacks another person[aw] and murders him, 27 for the man[ax] met her in the field and the engaged woman cried out, but there was no one to rescue her.
28 Suppose a man comes across a virgin who is not engaged and takes hold of her[ay] and sleeps with[az] her and they are discovered. 29 The man who has slept with her must pay her father fifty shekels of silver and she must become his wife. Because he has humiliated her, he may never divorce her as long as he lives.
30 (23:1)[ba] A man may not marry[bb] his father’s former[bc] wife and in this way dishonor his father.[bd]
Purity in Public Worship
23 A man with crushed[be] or severed genitals[bf] may not enter the assembly of the Lord.[bg] 2 A person of illegitimate birth[bh] may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation no one related to him may do so.[bi]
3 No Ammonite or Moabite[bj] may enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall ever[bk] do so,[bl] 4 for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired[bm] Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam and changed[bn] the curse to a blessing, for the Lord your God loves[bo] you. 6 You must not seek peace and prosperity for them through all the ages to come. 7 You must not hate an Edomite, for he is your relative;[bp] you must not hate an Egyptian, for you lived as a foreigner[bq] in his land. 8 Children of the third generation born to them[br] may enter the assembly of the Lord.
Purity in Personal Hygiene
9 When you go out as an army against your enemies, guard yourselves against anything impure.[bs] 10 If there is someone among you who is impure because of some nocturnal emission,[bt] he must leave the camp; he may not reenter it immediately. 11 When evening arrives he must wash himself with water, and then at sunset he may reenter the camp.
12 You are to have a place outside the camp to serve as a latrine.[bu] 13 You must have a spade among your other equipment, and when you relieve yourself[bv] outside you must dig a hole with the spade[bw] and then turn and cover your excrement.[bx] 14 For the Lord your God walks about in the middle of your camp to deliver you and defeat[by] your enemies for you. Therefore your camp should be holy, so that he does not see anything indecent[bz] among you and turn away from you.
Purity in the Treatment of the Unprivileged
15 You must not return an escaped slave to his master when he has run away to you.[ca] 16 Indeed, he may live among you in any place he chooses, in whichever of your villages[cb] he prefers; you must not oppress him.
Cultic Prostitution Banned
17 There must never be a sacred prostitute[cc] among the young women[cd] of Israel nor a sacred male prostitute[ce] among the young men[cf] of Israel. 18 You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute[cg] or the wage of a male prostitute[ch] into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.
Respect for Others’ Property
19 You must not charge interest on a loan to your fellow Israelite,[ci] whether on money, food, or anything else that has been loaned with interest. 20 You may lend with interest to a foreigner, but not to your fellow Israelite; if you keep this command the Lord your God will bless you in all you undertake in the land you are about to enter to possess. 21 When you make a vow to the Lord your God you must not delay in fulfilling it, for otherwise he[cj] will surely[ck] hold you accountable as a sinner.[cl] 22 If you refrain from making a vow, it will not be sinful. 23 Whatever you vow, you must be careful to do what you have promised, such as what you have vowed to the Lord your God as a freewill offering. 24 When you enter the vineyard of your neighbor you may eat as many grapes as you please,[cm] but you must not take away any in a container.[cn] 25 When you go into the ripe grain fields of your neighbor you may pluck off the kernels with your hand,[co] but you must not use a sickle on your neighbor’s ripe grain.
24 If a man marries a woman and she does not please him because he has found something indecent[cp] in her, then he may draw up a divorce document, give it to her, and evict her from his house. 2 When she has left him[cq] she may go and become someone else’s wife. 3 If the second husband rejects[cr] her and then divorces her,[cs] gives her the papers, and evicts her from his house, or if the second husband who married her dies, 4 her first husband who divorced her is not permitted to remarry[ct] her after she has become ritually impure, for that is offensive to the Lord.[cu] You must not bring guilt on the land[cv] that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
5 When a man is newly married, he need not go into[cw] the army nor be obligated in any way; he must be free to stay at home for a full year and bring joy to[cx] the wife he has married.
6 One must not take either lower or upper millstones as security on a loan, for that is like taking a life itself as security.[cy]
7 If a man is found kidnapping a person from among his fellow Israelites,[cz] and regards him as mere property[da] and sells him, that kidnapper[db] must die. In this way you will purge[dc] the evil from among you.
Respect for Human Dignity
8 Be careful during an outbreak of leprosy to follow precisely[dd] all that the Levitical priests instruct you; as I have commanded them, so you should do. 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam[de] along the way after you left Egypt.
10 When you make any kind of loan to your neighbor, you may not go into his house to claim what he is offering as security.[df] 11 You must stand outside and the person to whom you are making the loan will bring out to you what he is offering as security.[dg] 12 If the person is poor you may not use what he gives you as security for a covering.[dh] 13 You must by all means[di] return to him at sunset the item he gave you as security so that he may sleep in his outer garment and bless you for it; it will be considered a just deed[dj] by the Lord your God.
14 You must not oppress a lowly and poor servant, whether one from among your fellow Israelites[dk] or from the resident foreigners who are living in your land and villages.[dl] 15 You must pay his wage that very day before the sun sets, for he is poor and his life depends on it. Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
16 Fathers must not be put to death for what their children[dm] do, nor children for what their fathers do; each must be put to death for his own sin.
17 You must not pervert justice[dn] due a resident foreigner or an orphan, or take a widow’s garment as security for a loan. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do all this. 19 Whenever you reap your harvest in your field and leave some unraked grain there,[do] you must not return to get it; it should go to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow so that the Lord your God may bless all the work you do.[dp] 20 When you beat your olive tree you must not repeat the procedure;[dq] the remaining olives belong to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard you must not do so a second time;[dr] they should go to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow. 22 Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt; therefore, I am commanding you to do all this.
The Plot Against Jesus
14 Two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the chief priests and the experts in the law[a] were trying to find a way[b] to arrest Jesus[c] by stealth and kill him. 2 For they said, “Not during the feast, so there won’t be a riot among the people.”[d]
Jesus’ Anointing
3 Now[e] while Jesus[f] was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper,[g] reclining at the table,[h] a woman came with an alabaster jar[i] of costly aromatic oil[j] from pure nard. After breaking open the jar, she poured it on his head. 4 But some who were present indignantly said to one another, “Why this waste of expensive[k] ointment? 5 It[l] could have been sold for more than 300 silver coins[m] and the money[n] given to the poor!” So[o] they spoke angrily to her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a good service for me. 7 For you will always have the poor with you, and you can do good for them whenever you want. But you will not always have me![p] 8 She did what she could. She anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 I tell you the truth,[q] wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
The Plan to Betray Jesus
10 Then[r] Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus into their hands.[s] 11 When they heard this, they were delighted[t] and promised to give him money.[u] So[v] Judas[w] began looking for an opportunity to betray him.
The Passover
12 Now[x] on the first day of the feast of[y] Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed,[z] Jesus’[aa] disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?”[ab] 13 He sent two of his disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar[ac] of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Wherever he enters, tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” 16 So[ad] the disciples left, went[ae] into the city, and found things just as he had told them,[af] and they prepared the Passover.
17 Then,[ag] when it was evening, he came to the house[ah] with the twelve. 18 While they were at the table[ai] eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth,[aj] one of you eating with me will betray me.”[ak] 19 They were distressed, and one by one said to him, “Surely not I?” 20 He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who dips his hand[al] with me into the bowl.[am] 21 For the Son of Man will go as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for him if he had never been born.”
The Lord’s Supper
22 While they were eating, he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it. This is my body.” 23 And after taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 He said to them, “This is my blood, the blood[an] of the covenant,[ao] that is poured out for many. 25 I tell you the truth,[ap] I will no longer drink of the fruit[aq] of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”[ar] 26 After singing a hymn,[as] they went out to the Mount of Olives.
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