Old/New Testament

Obey the Lord

4 Now, Israel, listen to the rules and laws I’m going to teach you. Obey them and you will live. You will go in and take over the land. The Lord was the God of your people of long ago. He’s giving you the land. ² Don’t add to what I’m commanding you. Don’t subtract from it either. Instead, obey the commands of the Lord your God that I’m giving you.

³ Your own eyes saw what the Lord your God did at Baal Peor. He destroyed every one of your people who worshiped the Baal that was worshiped at Peor. ⁴ But all of you who remained true to the Lord your God are still alive today.

⁵ I have taught you rules and laws, just as the Lord my God commanded me. Obey them in the land you are entering to take as your very own. ⁶ Be careful to keep them. That will show the nations how wise and understanding you are. They will hear about all these rules. They’ll say, “That great nation certainly has wise and understanding people.” ⁷ The Lord our God is near us every time we pray to him. What other nation is great enough to have its gods that close to them? ⁸ I’m giving you the laws of the Lord today. What other nation is great enough to have rules and laws as fair as these?

⁹ Don’t be careless. Instead, be very careful. Don’t forget the things your eyes have seen. As long as you live, don’t let them slip from your mind. Teach them to your children and their children after them. ¹⁰ Remember the day you stood at Mount Horeb. The Lord your God was there. He said to me, “Bring the people to me to hear my words. I want them to learn to have respect for me as long as they live in the land. I want them to teach my words to their children.” ¹¹ You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain. It blazed with fire that reached as high as the very heavens. There were black clouds and deep darkness. ¹² Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of his words. But you didn’t see any shape or form. You only heard a voice. ¹³ He announced his covenant to you. That covenant is the Ten Commandments. He commanded you to obey them. Then he wrote them down on two stone tablets. ¹⁴ At that time the Lord directed me to teach you his rules and laws. You must obey them in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to take as your own.

Don’t Make or Worship Statues of Gods

¹⁵ The Lord spoke to you at Mount Horeb out of the fire. But you didn’t see any shape or form that day. So be very careful. ¹⁶ Make sure you don’t commit a horrible sin. Don’t make for yourselves a statue of a god. Don’t make a god that looks like a man or woman or anything else. ¹⁷ Don’t make one that looks like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the sky. ¹⁸ Don’t make a statue that looks like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish that swims in the water. ¹⁹ When you look up at the heavens, you will see the sun and moon. And you will see huge numbers of stars. Don’t let anyone tempt you to bow down to the sun, moon or stars. Don’t worship things the Lord your God has provided for all the nations on earth. ²⁰ Egypt was like a furnace that melts iron down and makes it pure. But the Lord took you and brought you out of Egypt. He wanted you to be his very own people. And that’s exactly what you are.

²¹ The Lord was angry with me because of what you did. He promised that he would never let me go across the Jordan River. He promised that I would never enter that good land. It’s the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own. ²² I’ll die here in this land. I won’t go across the Jordan. But you are about to cross over it. You will take that good land as your own. ²³ Be careful. Don’t forget the covenant the Lord your God made with you. Don’t make for yourselves a statue of any god at all. He has told you not to. So don’t do it. ²⁴ The Lord your God is like a fire that burns everything up. He wants you to worship only him.

²⁵ So don’t make a statue of a god. Don’t commit that horrible sin. Don’t do it even after you have had children and grandchildren. Don’t do it even after you have lived in the land a long time. If you do, that will be an evil thing in the sight of the Lord your God. You will make him angry. ²⁶ Today I’m calling out to the heavens and the earth to be witnesses against you. Suppose you do these things. Then you will quickly die in the land you are going across the Jordan River to take over. You won’t live there very long. You will certainly be destroyed. ²⁷ The Lord will drive you out of your land. He will scatter you among the nations. Only a few of you will remain alive there. ²⁸ There you will worship gods that men have made out of wood and stone. Those gods can’t see, hear, eat or smell. ²⁹ Perhaps while you are there, you will seek the Lord your God. You will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. ³⁰ All the things I’ve told you about might happen to you. And you will be in trouble. But later you will return to the Lord your God. You will obey him. ³¹ The Lord your God is tender and loving. He won’t leave you or destroy you. He won’t forget the covenant he made with your people of long ago. He gave his word when he made it.

The Lord Is God

³² Ask now about the days of long ago. Find out what happened long before your time. Ask about what has happened since the time God created human beings on the earth. Ask from one end of the world to the other. Has anything as great as this ever happened? Has anything like it ever been heard of? ³³ You heard the voice of God speaking out of fire. And you lived! Has that happened to any other people? ³⁴ Has any god ever tried to take one nation out of another to be his own? Has any god done it by testing his people? Has any god done it with signs and amazing deeds or with war? Has any god reached out his mighty hand and powerful arm? Or has any god shown his people his great and wonderful acts? The Lord your God did all those things for you in Egypt. With your very own eyes you saw him do them.

³⁵ The Lord showed you those things so that you might know he is God. There is no other God except him. ³⁶ From heaven he made you hear his voice. He wanted to teach you. On earth he showed you his great fire. You heard his words coming out of the fire. ³⁷ He loved your people of long ago. He chose their children after them. So he brought you out of Egypt. He used his great strength to do it. ³⁸ He drove out nations to make room for you. They were greater and stronger than you are. He will bring you into their land. He wants to give it to you as your very own. The whole land is as good as yours right now.

³⁹ The Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Today you must agree with that and take it to heart. There is no other God. ⁴⁰ I’m giving you his rules and commands today. Obey them. Then things will go well with you and your children after you. You will live a long time in the land. The Lord your God is giving you the land for all time to come.

Cities to Run to for Safety

⁴¹ Then Moses set apart three cities east of the Jordan River. ⁴² Suppose someone killed a person they didn’t hate and without meaning to do it. That person could run to one of those cities and stay alive. ⁴³ Here are the names of the cities. Bezer was for the people of Reuben. It was in the high plains in the desert. Ramoth was for the people of Gad. It was in Gilead. Golan was for the people of Manasseh. It was in Bashan.

Moses Gives the Law to Israel

⁴⁴ Here is the law Moses gave the Israelites. ⁴⁵ Here are its terms, rules and laws. Moses gave them to the people when they came out of Egypt. ⁴⁶ They were now east of the Jordan River in the valley near Beth Peor. They were in the land of Sihon, the king of the Amorites. He ruled in Heshbon. But Moses and the Israelites won the battle over him after we came out of Egypt. ⁴⁷ They captured his land and made it their own. They also took the land of Og, the king of Bashan. Sihon and Og were the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River. ⁴⁸ Their land reached from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon River valley to Mount Hermon. ⁴⁹ It included the whole Arabah Valley east of the Jordan. It included land all the way to the Dead Sea below the slopes of Pisgah.

The Ten Commandments

5 Moses sent for all the Israelites. Here is what he said to them.

Israel, listen to me. Here are the rules and laws I’m announcing to you today. Learn them well. Be sure to obey them. ² The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Mount Horeb. ³ He didn’t make it only with our people of long ago. He also made it with us. In fact, he made it with all of us who are alive here today. ⁴ The Lord spoke to you face to face. His voice came out of the fire on the mountain. ⁵ At that time I stood between the Lord and you. I announced to you the Lord’s message. I did it because you were afraid of the fire. You didn’t go up the mountain.

The Lord said,

⁶ “I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt. That is the land where you were slaves.

²² These are the commandments the Lord announced in a loud voice to your whole community. He gave them to you there on the mountain. He spoke out of the fire, cloud and deep darkness. He didn’t add anything else. Then he wrote the commandments on two stone tablets. And he gave them to me.

²³ The mountain was blazing with fire. You heard the voice coming out of the darkness. So your elders and all the leaders of your tribes came to me. ²⁴ You said, “The Lord our God has shown us his glory and majesty. We have heard his voice coming out of the fire. Today we have seen that a person can still stay alive even if God speaks with them. ²⁵ But why should we die? This great fire will burn us up. We’ll die if we hear the voice of the Lord our God again. ²⁶ We have heard the voice of the living God. We’ve heard him speaking out of the fire. Has any other human being ever heard him speak like that and stayed alive? ²⁷ Go near and listen to everything the Lord our God says. Then tell us what he tells you. We will listen and obey.”

²⁸ The Lord heard you when you spoke to me. He said to me, “I have heard what these people said to you. Everything they said was good. ²⁹ But I wish they would always have respect for me in their hearts. I wish they would always obey all my commands. Then things would go well with them and their children forever.

³⁰ “Go and tell them to return to their tents. ³¹ But you stay here with me. Then I will give you all my commands, rules and laws. You must teach the people to obey them in the land I am giving them as their very own.”

³² So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you. Don’t turn away from his commands to the right or the left. ³³ Live exactly as the Lord your God has commanded you to live. Then you will enjoy life in the land you will soon own. Things will go well with you there. You will live there for a long time.

Love the Lord Your God

6 The Lord your God has directed me to teach you his commands, rules and laws. Obey them in the land you will take over when you go across the Jordan River. ² Then you, your children and their children after them will honor the Lord your God as long as you live. Obey all his rules and commands I’m giving you. If you do, you will enjoy long life. ³ Israel, listen to me. Make sure you obey me. Then things will go well with you. The number of your people will increase greatly in a land that has plenty of milk and honey. That’s what the Lord, the God of your parents, promised you.

⁴ Israel, listen to me. The Lord is our God. The Lord is the one and only God. ⁵ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength. ⁶ The commandments I give you today must be in your hearts. ⁷ Make sure your children learn them. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up. ⁸ Write them down and tie them on your hands as a reminder. Also tie them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses. Also write them on your gates.

¹⁰ The Lord your God will bring you into the land of Canaan. He gave his word. He promised he would give the land to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The land has large, wealthy cities you didn’t build. ¹¹ It has houses filled with all kinds of good things you didn’t provide. The land has wells you didn’t dig. And it has vineyards and groves of olive trees you didn’t plant. You will have plenty to eat. ¹² But be careful that you don’t forget the Lord. Remember that he brought you out of Egypt. That’s the land where you were slaves.

¹³ Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you should serve. When you make promises, do so in his name. ¹⁴ Don’t serve the gods of the nations around you. ¹⁵ The Lord your God is among you. He wants you to worship only him. If you worship other gods, God will be very angry with you. And he will destroy you from the face of the land. ¹⁶ Don’t test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. ¹⁷ Be sure to obey the Lord’s commands. Obey the terms and rules he has given you. ¹⁸ Do what is right and good in the Lord’s eyes. Then things will go well with you. You will go in and take over the land. It’s the good land the Lord promised to your people of long ago. ¹⁹ You will drive out all your enemies to make room for you. That’s what the Lord said would happen.

²⁰ Later on, your child might ask you, “What is the meaning of the terms, rules and laws the Lord our God has commanded you to obey?” ²¹ If they do ask you, tell them, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. But the Lord used his mighty hand to bring us out of Egypt. ²² With our own eyes we saw the Lord send amazing signs. They were great and terrible. He sent them on Egypt and Pharaoh and everyone in his house. ²³ But the Lord brought us out of Egypt. He planned to bring us into the land of Canaan and give it to us. It’s the land he promised to our people of long ago. ²⁴ The Lord our God commanded us to obey all his rules. He commanded us to honor him. If we do, we will always succeed and be kept alive. That’s what is happening today. ²⁵ We must make sure we obey the whole law in the sight of the Lord our God. That’s what he has commanded us to do. If we obey his law, we’ll be doing what he requires of us.”

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

11 As they all approached Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent out two of his disciples. ² He said to them, “Go to the village ahead of you. Just as you enter it, you will find a donkey’s colt tied there. No one has ever ridden it. Untie it and bring it here. ³ Someone may ask you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ If so, say, ‘The Lord needs it. But he will send it back here soon.’ ”

⁴ So they left. They found a colt out in the street. It was tied at a doorway. They untied it. ⁵ Some people standing there asked, “What are you doing? Why are you untying that colt?” ⁶ They answered as Jesus had told them to. So the people let them go. ⁷ They brought the colt to Jesus. They threw their coats over it. Then he sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their coats on the road. Others spread branches they had cut in the fields. ⁹ Those in front and those in back shouted,

¹¹ Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courtyard. He looked around at everything. But it was already late. So he went out to Bethany with the 12 disciples.

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree and Clears Out the Temple Courtyard

¹² The next day as Jesus and his disciples were leaving Bethany, they were hungry. ¹³ Not too far away, he saw a fig tree. It was covered with leaves. He went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves. It was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And his disciples heard him say it.

¹⁵ When Jesus reached Jerusalem, he entered the temple courtyard. He began to drive out those who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables of the people who were exchanging money. He also turned over the benches of those who were selling doves. ¹⁶ He would not allow anyone to carry items for sale through the temple courtyard. ¹⁷ Then he taught them. He told them, “It is written that the Lord said, ‘My house will be called a house where people from all nations can pray.’ (Isaiah 56:7) But you have made it a ‘den for robbers.’ ” (Jeremiah 7:11)

¹⁸ The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard about this. They began looking for a way to kill Jesus. They were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.