Old/New Testament
Moses Presents the Privileges of the Covenant
4 “Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and the ordinances that I’m teaching you to observe so you may live and go in to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is about to give you. 2 Do not add or subtract a thing to what I’m commanding you. Observe the commands of the Lord your God.[a] 3 You saw with your own eyes what he did in Baal Peor. The Lord your God exterminated from among you every man who followed Baal of Peor. 4 But all of you who are clinging to the Lord your God are alive today. 5 See! I taught you the statutes and the ordinances, just as the Lord God commanded. Therefore, observe them[b] when you enter the land you are about to possess. 6 Observe them carefully, because this will show your wisdom and discernment in the eyes of people who’ll listen to all these decrees. Then they’ll say: ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people.’ 7 For what great nation has a god so near like the Lord our God whenever we call on him? 8 And what great nation has all the decrees and righteous ordinances like all this teaching that I’m giving you today? 9 Only guard yourselves carefully so you won’t forget the things that you saw and let them slip from your mind for the rest of your life. Tell them to your children and to your grandchildren. 10 The day you stood in the presence of the Lord your God in Horeb, the Lord told me, ‘Gather the people before me so they may hear my words, learn to revere me the whole time that they live in the land, and teach them[c] to their children.’”
Moses Warns against Idolatry
11 “When you approached and stood at the foot of the mountain—a mountain that was blazing with fire at its core[d] while the sky was covered with thick, dark clouds— 12 the Lord your God spoke from the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but you saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 He declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to observe—the Ten Commandments that he wrote on two stone tablets. 14 The Lord commanded me at that time to teach you to observe the statutes and ordinances in the land after you cross over to take possession of it.
15 “Therefore, for your own sake, be very careful, since you did not see any form on the day that the Lord your God spoke to you in Horeb from the midst of the fire. 16 Be careful![e] Otherwise, you will be destroyed when you make carved images for yourself—all sorts of images in the form of man, woman, 17 any animal on earth, any winged bird that flies in the sky, 18 any creeping thing on the ground, or any fish in the sea.[f] 19 Do not gaze toward the heavens and observe the sun, the moon, the stars—the entire array of the sky—with the intent[g] to worship and serve what the Lord your God gave every nation.[h] 20 For the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace—out of Egypt—to be the people of his inheritance, as you are today.
21 “But the Lord was angry with me because of you. So he swore that I’ll never cross the Jordan River to enter the good land that the Lord your God is about to give you as an inheritance. 22 I’m going to die in this land and I won’t cross the Jordan River, but you’re about to cross over to possess that good land. 23 Be careful! Otherwise, you will forget the covenant of the Lord your God, who established that covenant with you. Don’t make carved images of any likeness in violation of everything that you were commanded by the Lord your God. 24 Indeed, the Lord your God is a consuming[i] fire. He is a jealous God.”
Warnings against Angering God
25 “After you’ve borne children and grandchildren, have been there for a long time in the land, have become so corrupted that you make images of any form, and have done evil in the eyes of the Lord your God, you will provoke him to anger. 26 Heaven and earth will testify against what has occurred[j] today: you’ll surely and swiftly be destroyed from the land that you are about to possess by crossing the Jordan River. You won’t live long in it, because you’ll certainly be exterminated. 27 Moreover, the Lord will scatter you among the nations, and you’ll be fewer in number in the nations where the Lord your God will drive you. 28 There you’ll serve gods made by human hands, serving[k] trees and stones that cannot see, hear, eat, nor smell. 29 If from there you will seek the Lord your God, then you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and soul. 30 In your distress, when all these things happen to you in days to come and you return to the Lord your God, then you will hear his voice. 31 For God is compassionate. The Lord your God won’t fail you. He won’t destroy you or forget the covenant that he confirmed with your ancestors.”
Who is Like the Lord?
32 “Indeed, ask from one end of the heavens to the other about days of old, before your time, when God created mankind on the earth. Did we ever have anything as great as this, or ever hear of anything like it? 33 Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the middle of a fire just as you did,[l] and survived it? 34 Or has any god ever taken for himself one nation out from another nation with testings, signs, wonders, wars, awesome power,[m] and magnificent, terrifying deeds[n] as the Lord your God did in Egypt before your eyes?
35 “You have been shown this in order to know that ‘the Lord is God’ and there is no one like him. 36 You have been made to hear his voice from heaven so you may be instructed.[o] And he showed you his great fire here on earth, and you heard his voice from the middle of that fire. 37 Moreover, he loved your ancestors, chose their descendants after them, and brought you out of Egypt, accompanied by his presence and great power, 38 in order to drive out nations that are stronger and more powerful than you, to bring you into this land,[p] and to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is today.
39 “May you acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in the heavens above and over the earth below—there is no other God.[q] 40 May you observe his statutes and keep his commands that I’m giving you today, so that life may go well for you and for your descendants after you. That way, you’ll live a long life in the land that the Lord your God is about to give you permanently.”[r]
Cities of Refuge
41 Then Moses designated three cities on the east side of the Jordan, 42 where a person who accidentally killed someone could flee, if he killed his neighbor without having enmity toward him in the past. He may flee to one of these cities and live: 43 Bezer in the desert plain for the descendants of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead for the descendants of Gad, and Golan in Bashan for the descendants of Manasseh.
Moses Reviews the Law
44 This is the Law that Moses reviewed in the presence of the Israelis. 45 These are the instructions, decrees, and ordinances that Moses declared to the Israelis when they came out of Egypt. 46 He did this[s] east of the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and whom Moses and the Israelis defeated after leaving Egypt. 47 So they took possession of his land, as well as the land of King Og of Bashan. Both Amorite kings lived east of the Jordan— 48 from Aroer on the edge of the Wadi[t] Arnon as far as Mount Sirion,[u] which is also called Hermon, 49 and all the Arabah east of the Jordan as far as the Dead Sea[v] below the slopes of Pisgah.
The Ten Commandments(A)
5 Moses called all of Israel together and told them: “Listen, Israel! Today I’m going to announce God’s laws and regulations so that you will learn them and take care to obey them. 2 When the Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb, 3 it was not with our ancestors that the Lord made this covenant, but with us—we who are here today—all of us who are now living. 4 The Lord spoke to you face to face on the mountain from the fire. 5 I stood at that time as mediator[w] between the Lord and you to declare his[x] message to you, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain. He said:
| א[y] | 6 “‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt—from the house of slavery. 7 You are to have no other gods as a substitute for me.[z] |
| ב | 8 “‘You are not to craft for yourselves an idol resembling what is in the skies above, or on earth beneath, or in the water sources under the earth. 9 You are not to bow down to them in worship or serve them, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the guilt of parents[aa] on children, to the third and fourth generation[ab] of those who hate me, 10 but showing gracious love to the thousands of those who love me and keep my[ac] commandments. |
| ג | 11 “‘You are not to misuse the name of the Lord your God,[ad] because the Lord will not leave unpunished the one who misuses his name.[ae] |
| ד | 12 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, maintaining its holiness,[af] just as the Lord your God commanded. 13 Six days you are to labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You are not to do any work—neither you, your son, nor your daughter,[ag] your male and female servants, your oxen and donkeys, nor any of your livestock, nor any foreigner who lives among you—[ah] so that your male and female servants may rest as you do. 15 You are to remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, but the Lord your God brought you out from there with great power and a show of force.[ai] Therefore, the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. |
| ה | 16 “‘Honor your father and your mother, just as the Lord your God commanded you, so that you will live long and things will go well for you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. |
| ו | 17 “‘You are not to commit murder. |
| ז | 18 “‘You are not to commit adultery. |
| ח | 19 “‘You are not to steal. |
| ט | 20 “‘You are not to give false testimony against your neighbor. |
| י | 21 “‘You are not to desire[aj] your neighbor’s wife nor crave your neighbor’s house,[ak] his fields, his male and female servants, his ox, his donkey, nor anything else that pertains to your neighbor.’” |
Moses Recalls God’s Warnings
22 “The Lord declared these commands in a loud voice to your entire assembly on the mountain from out of the fire[al] and dark clouds,[am] and nothing more was added. He inscribed them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 When you heard the voice from the darkness while the mountain was blazing, all the leaders and elders of your tribes came to me and said: 24 ‘The Lord our God truly has displayed his glory and power, for we heard him[an] from out of the fire today. We have witnessed how God spoke to human beings, yet they lived. 25 Now therefore, why should we die? This great fire will consume us. If we continue to listen to the voice of the Lord our God any longer, we’ll die. 26 For what mortal man[ao] has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the fire like we did, and lived? 27 As for you, go near and listen to everything that the Lord our God will say to you, then repeat it[ap] to us, and we’ll listen and obey.’
28 “The Lord heard what you said. He told me: ‘I’ve heard what this people said. Everything they said was good. 29 If only they would commit[aq] to fear me and keep all my commands, then it will go well with them and their children forever. 30 Go and tell them to return to their tents, 31 but you stand here with me and I’ll speak to you all the commands, decrees, and laws that you must teach them to observe in the land that I’m giving you to possess. 32 You must be careful to do what the Lord your God commanded you, turning neither to the left nor to the right. 33 You are to walk in every pathway that the Lord your God commanded you, so that life[ar] may go well for you, and so that you will prolong your days in the land that you will possess.’”
The Covenant of Love
6 “Now these are the commands, decrees, and ordinances that the Lord commanded me[as] to teach you. Obey them in the land you are entering to possess, 2 so that you, your children, and your grandchildren may fear the Lord your God. Keep all his decrees and commandments that I’m giving you every day of your life, so you may live a long time. 3 Listen, Israel! Be careful to obey, so that life[at] may go well for you and that you may increase greatly. Just as the Lord God of your ancestors told you, you’ll have a land flowing with milk and honey.
4 “Listen, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.[au] 5 You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 Let these words that I’m commanding you today be always[av] on your heart. 7 Teach them repeatedly to your children. Talk about them while sitting in your house or walking on the road, and as you lie down or get up. 8 Tie them as reminders[aw] on your forearm, bind them on your forehead,[ax] 9 and write them on the door frames of your house and on your gates.”
Serve the Lord Only
10 “When the Lord your God brings you to the land that he promised to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he will give you large and beautiful cities that you didn’t build, 11 houses filled with every good thing that you didn’t supply, wells that you didn’t dig, and vineyards and olive groves that you didn’t plant. When you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful not to forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and slavery.[ay] 13 Fear the Lord your God, serve him, and make your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods from the gods of the nations[az] around you, 15 because the Lord your God who is among you is a jealous God. He will turn his anger against you and destroy you from the surface of the land.”
Do What is Right
16 “Don’t test the Lord your God like you did in Massah. 17 Be sure to observe the commands of the Lord your God, his testimonies, and his decrees that he gave you. 18 Do what is good and right in the Lord’s sight so it may go well with you. Then you’ll enter and possess the good land that the Lord your God promised to your ancestors, 19 expelling all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.”
Remember What the Lord has Done
20 “When your son asks you in the future, ‘What is the meaning of the instructions, decrees, and ordinances that the Lord our God commanded you?’ 21 tell him, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with great power. 22 Before our very eyes, the Lord did great and terrible signs and wonders in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to his entire household. 23 But as for us, he brought us out from there to bring us into the land and give it to us, as he promised our ancestors. 24 Then the Lord commanded us to observe all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God for our own good, so that he may keep us alive as we are today. 25 It will be credited as[ba] righteousness for us if we’re careful to obey the entire Law in the presence of the Lord our God, as he commanded.’”
The King Enters Jerusalem(A)
11 When they came near Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, Jesus[a] sent two of his disciples on ahead 2 and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you go into it, you will find a colt tied up that no one has ever ridden. Untie it, and bring it along. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?,’ say, ‘The Lord needs it,’ and he will send it back here at once.”
4 So they went and found the colt outside in the street tied up next to a doorway. While they were untying it, 5 some men standing there asked them, “What are you doing untying that colt?” 6 The disciples[b] told them what Jesus had said, and the men[c] let them go.
7 They brought the colt to Jesus, threw their coats on it, and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their coats on the road, while others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed him were shouting,
“Hosanna![d]
How blessed is the one who comes
in the name of the Lord![e]
10 How blessed is the coming kingdom[f]
of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”[g]
11 Then Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the Temple and looked around at everything. Since it was already late, he went out with the Twelve to Bethany.
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree(B)
12 The next day, as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus[h] became hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree covered with leaves, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing except leaves because it wasn’t the season for figs. 14 So he told it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” Now his disciples were listening to this.
Confrontation in the Temple over Money(C)
15 When they came to Jerusalem, he went into the Temple and began to throw out those who were selling and those who were buying in the Temple. He overturned the moneychangers’ tables and the chairs of those who sold doves. 16 He wouldn’t even let anyone carry a vessel through the Temple. 17 Then he began to teach them: “It is written, is it not, ‘My house is to be called a house of prayer for all nations’?[i] But you’ve turned it into a hideout[j] for bandits!” 18 When the high priests and elders heard this, they began to look for a way to kill him, because they were afraid of him, since the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.
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