Old/New Testament
Dealing with False Prophets
13 [a]“A prophet or a diviner of dreams may arise among you, give you an omen or a miracle 2 that takes place, and then he may tell you, ‘Let’s follow other gods (whom you have not known) and let’s serve them.’ Even though the sign or portent comes to pass, 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or that diviner of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to make known whether or not you’ll continue to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. 4 You must follow the Lord your God, fear him, observe his commandments, listen to his voice, serve him, and cling to him. 5 That prophet or diviner of dreams must be executed, because he advocated rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and because he lured you from the way in which the Lord your God instructed you to live. Purge the evil from among you.”
Dealing with Idolaters
6 “Your own blood brother,[b] your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your friend who is like your soul mate may entice you quietly. He may tell you, ‘Let’s go and serve other gods’ (whom neither you nor your ancestors have known 7 from the gods of the people that surround you—whether near or far from you—from one end of the earth to the other). 8 You are not to yield to him, listen to him, look with pity on him, show compassion to him, or even cover up for him. 9 Instead, you are surely to execute him. You must be the first to put him to death with your own hand, and then the hands of the whole community. 10 Stone him to death, because he sought to lure you from the Lord your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the land of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear about it, be afraid, and won’t do this evil thing again among you.
12 “You may hear in one of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you to inhabit 13 that worthless men[c] have come from among you to entice those who live in the towns. They may say, ‘Let’s go and serve other gods that you haven’t known.’ 14 You must thoroughly investigate and inquire if it is true that this detestable thing exists among you. If it is so,[d] 15 then put the inhabitants of the town to death by the sword. Devote everything in it to divine destruction—even its livestock—by the sword. 16 Gather whatever you’ve taken as spoils at the public square of the town, then burn the town, along with whatever you’ve taken, as an offering to the Lord your God. It will remain a permanent mound of ruins, never to be rebuilt again. 17 Moreover, you must never take any item from those condemned things, so the Lord may yet relent from his burning anger and extend compassion, have mercy, and cause you to increase in number—as he promised by an oath to your ancestors— 18 if you obey the voice of the Lord your God by observing all his commands that I’m commanding you today. Do what is right in the sight of the Lord your God.”
Refrain from Cutting Yourselves
14 “You are children of the Lord your God. You must not lacerate yourselves or shave your foreheads on account of the dead, 2 because you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord chose to make you his precious possession from among all the nations[e] of the earth.”
Refrain from Unclean Food
3 “You must not eat any detestable food. 4 These are the animals that you may eat: ox, sheep, goat, 5 deer, gazelle, roebuck, wild goat, ibex, antelope, and mountain sheep. 6 You may eat every animal with a divided hoof—those with split cloven hooves—that chews the cud. 7 However, you must not eat these animals that chew the cud or have a divided hoof: the camel, hare, and rock badger. Even though they chew the cud, their hooves are not divided. Therefore, they are unclean for you. 8 And also the pig, because even though its hoof is divided, it does not chew the cud. It is therefore unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or even touch their carcasses.
9 “You may choose to eat from these creatures in the water: you may eat anything with fin and scale, 10 but you may not eat anything without fin and scale, since it is unclean to you.
11 “You may eat all clean birds, 12 but you must not eat any of these: the eagle, vulture, osprey, 13 buzzard, any kind of kite, 14 any kind of raven, 15 the ostrich, night hawk, seagull, any kind of falcon, 16 the little owl, great owl, horned owl, 17 pelican, carrion vulture, cormorant, 18 stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. 19 Any winged, swarming insect is unclean to you—they are not to be eaten. 20 You may eat every bird that is clean.
21 “You must not eat any carcass,[f] but you may give it to the alien in your cities[g] so he may either consume it or sell it to a foreigner, since you are a people that is holy to the Lord your God.
“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
Remember to Tithe
22 “Be sure to tithe annually from everything you plant that yields a harvest in the field. 23 Then in the presence of the Lord your God, in the place where he’ll choose to establish his name, you may consume the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your livestock and flock, so that you’ll learn to revere the Lord your God all your life. 24 Now the way may be distant from you, so that you are unable to transport your tithe because you have been blessed by the Lord your God and the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish his name may be distant from you. 25 In that case, convert it into cash, secure the money,[h] and then bring it to the place where the Lord will choose. 26 You may spend the money to your heart’s content to buy livestock, flocks, wine, strong drink, and whatever you desire. You and your household may eat there and rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God.”
The Levitical Tithe
27 “But you must not forget the descendant of Levi in your town,[i] because there is no tribal allotment[j] for him as there is for you. 28 Every third year, bring all the tithes of your produce of that year and store them in your cities 29 so the descendants of Levi—who have no tribal allotment as you do—foreigners, orphans, and widows who live in your cities may come, eat, and be satisfied. That way, the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.”[k]
The Lord’s Remission
15 “You must cancel your debts at the end of every seventh year. 2 This is the way to conduct remission: every creditor must cancel the loan that his friend borrowed, and he must not pressure his friend or brother to repay it,[l] because remission to the Lord will be proclaimed. 3 You may exact payment from a foreigner, but cancel whatever your brother owes you. 4 Moreover, there will be no poor person among you, for the Lord will surely bless you in the land that he[m] is about to give you to possess. 5 Only be certain to obey the voice of the Lord your God. Carefully observe all of these commands that I’m commanding you today, 6 because the Lord your God will bless you just as he promised. You are to lend to many nations, but not to borrow. Also, you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.”
Care for the Poor
7 “If there should be a poor man among your relatives[n] in one of the cities of the land that the Lord your God is about to give you, don’t be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your poor relative.[o] 8 Instead, be sure to open your hand to him and lend him enough to lessen his need. 9 Be careful not to think this wicked thought to yourselves: ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is drawing near…’ and you show ill will[p] toward your poor relative[q] and not give to him. He may then call to the Lord on account of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 10 You must certainly give to him and not feel regret for doing so.[r] Because of this, the Lord your God will bless all your works and everything you do. 11 Since poor people won’t cease to exist in the land, I’m commanding you: Be sure to display generosity[s] to your poor and needy relatives in your land.”
Releasing Slaves
12 “When a fellow Hebrew male or female slave is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you are to set them[t] free. 13 But when you set them free, don’t send them away empty-handed. 14 Provide for them liberally from your flock, threshing floor, and wine vat. As the Lord your God has blessed you, so give to them. 15 Don’t ever forget that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, yet the Lord your God redeemed you. Therefore, I’m giving you these commands today.
16 “If that slave[u] should say to you, ‘I won’t leave you,’ because he loves you and your household, and it was good for him to be with you, 17 then take an awl and pierce through his earlobe into the door. He then will be your slave forever. You are to do the same for your female slaves. 18 Don’t view this as a hardship for yourself when you set him free, for he will have served you for six years—twice the time of a paid worker. Then the Lord will bless you in all that you do.”
Offering the Firstborn Male Animals
19 “Set apart for the Lord your God every firstborn male among your herd and flock. You are not to put the firstborn of your ox to work or shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 Instead, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your household are to eat them every year at the place the Lord will choose. 21 If it has a blemish—lameness, blindness, or any kind of defect—you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22 In your cities,[v] both the unclean and the clean together are to eat it together,[w] as the gazelle and the deer, 23 but you are not to eat its blood. Pour it on the ground like water.”
The Greatest Commandment(A)
28 Then one of the scribes came near and heard the Sadducees[a] arguing with one another. He saw how well Jesus[b] answered them, so he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of them all?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord[c] our God is one Lord,[d] 30 and you must love the Lord[e] your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’[f] 31 The second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’[g] No other commandment is greater than these.”
32 Then the scribe told him, “Well said,[h] Teacher! You have told the truth that ‘God[i] is one, and there is no other besides him.’[j] 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw how wisely the man[k] answered, he told him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one dared to ask him another question.
A Question about David’s Son(B)
35 While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he asked, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah[l] is David’s son? 36 David himself said by the Holy Spirit,
37 David himself calls him ‘Lord,’ so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd kept listening to him with delight.
Jesus Denounces the Scribes(C)
38 As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes, to be greeted in the marketplaces, 39 and to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses[o] and say long prayers to cover it up. They will receive greater condemnation!”
The Widow’s Offering(D)
41 As Jesus[p] sat facing the offering box, he watched how the crowd was dropping their money into it.[q] Many rich people were dropping in large amounts. 42 Then a destitute widow came and dropped in two small copper coins,[r] worth about a cent.[s] 43 He called his disciples and told them, “I tell all of you[t] with certainty, this destitute widow has dropped in more than everyone who is contributing to the offering box, 44 because all of them contributed out of their surplus, but out of her poverty she has given everything she had to live on.”
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