Old/New Testament
25 “When two people have an argument, they should go to the court. The judges will decide which person is right and which is wrong. 2 If the judge decides a person must be beaten with a whip, the judge must make that person lie face down. Someone will beat the guilty person while the judge watches. The number of times he must be hit depends on the crime. 3 Don’t hit anyone more than 40 times during punishment, because more than that means that their life is not important to you.
4 “When an animal is being used to separate grain, you must not cover its mouth to stop it from eating.
5 “If two brothers live together, and one of them dies without a son, the wife of the dead man must not marry a stranger outside the family. Her husband’s brother must take her as his wife and have sexual relations with her. He must do the duty of a husband’s brother for her. 6 Then the first son she has will be considered the dead man’s son in order to keep the dead man’s name alive in Israel. 7 If the man does not want to take his brother’s wife, she must go to the town meeting place and tell the leaders, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to keep his brother’s name alive in Israel. He will not do the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’ 8 Then the leaders of the city must call the man and talk to him. If the man is stubborn and says, ‘I don’t want to take her,’ 9 then his brother’s wife must come to him in front of the leaders. She must take his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. She must say, ‘This is being done to the man who will not give his brother a son!’ 10 From then on, the brother’s family will be known in Israel as, ‘the family of the man whose sandal was removed.’
11 “Two men might be fighting against each other. One man’s wife might come to help her husband, but she must not grab the other man’s private parts. 12 If she does that, cut off her hand. Don’t feel sorry for her.
13 “Don’t use weights that are too heavy or too light. 14 Don’t keep measures in your house that are too large or too small. 15 You must use weights and measures that are correct and accurate. Then you will live a long time in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 16 The Lord your God hates people who cheat with false weights and measures. Yes, he hates all people who do wrong.
The Amalekites Must Be Destroyed
17 “Remember what the Amalekites did to you when you were coming from Egypt. 18 The Amalekites did not respect God. They attacked you when you were weak and tired. They killed all your people who were slow and walking behind everyone else. 19 That is why you must destroy the memory of the Amalekites from the world. You will do this when you enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you. There he will give you rest from all the enemies around you. But do not forget to destroy the Amalekites!
The First Harvest
26 “You will soon enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You will take that land and live there. 2 You will gather the crops that grow in the land the Lord your God is giving you. You must take some of the first crops you gather and put them in baskets. Then take that part of your harvest to the place that the Lord your God chooses to be the home for his name. 3 Go to the priest who is serving at that time. Tell him, ‘The Lord promised our ancestors that he would give us some land. Today I come to announce to the Lord your God that I have come to that land.’
4 “Then the priest will take the basket from you. He will put it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. 5 Then there before the Lord your God you will say: ‘My ancestor was a wandering Aramean.[a] He went down into Egypt and stayed there. When he went there, he had only a few people in his family. But in Egypt he became a great nation—a powerful nation with many people. 6 The Egyptians treated us badly. They made us slaves. They hurt us and forced us to work very hard. 7 Then we prayed to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and complained about them. And the Lord heard us. He saw our trouble, our hard work, and our suffering. 8 Then the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his great power and strength. He used great miracles and wonders and did amazing things. 9 So he brought us to this place. He gave us this land—a land filled with many good things.[b] 10 Now, Lord, I bring you the first harvest from the land that you gave me.’
“Then you must put the harvest down before the Lord your God and bow down to worship him. 11 Then you must have a meal together and enjoy all the good things that the Lord your God has given to you and your family. You must share them with the Levites and the foreigners living among you.
12 “Every third year is the Year of Tithes. In that year, you must give one-tenth of your harvest to the Levites, to the foreigners living in your country, and to the widows and orphans. Then they will have plenty to eat in every city. 13 You must say to the Lord your God, ‘I have taken out of my house the holy part of my harvest. I have given it to the Levites, to the foreigners, and to the orphans and widows. I have followed all the commands you gave me. I have not refused to obey any of your commands. I have not forgotten them. 14 I have not eaten this food when I was sad.[c] I was not unclean when I collected this food.[d] I have not offered any of this food for dead people. I have obeyed you, Lord my God. I have done everything you commanded me. 15 Look down from your holy home, from heaven, and bless your people Israel. And bless the land that you gave us. You promised our ancestors to give us this land—a land filled with many good things.’
Obey the Lord’s Commands
16 “Today the Lord your God commands you to obey all these laws and rules. Be careful to follow them with all your heart and soul. 17 Today you have said that the Lord is your God. You have promised to live the way he wants. You promised to follow his teachings and to obey his laws and commands. You said you would do everything he tells you to do. 18 And today the Lord has accepted you to be his own people. He has promised you this. The Lord also said that you must obey all his commands. 19 The Lord will make you greater than all the nations he made. He will give you praise, fame, and honor. And you will be his own special people, as he promised.”
Stone Memorials for the People
27 Moses and the elders of Israel spoke to the people. Moses said, “Obey all the commands that I give you today. 2 You will soon go across the Jordan River into the land that the Lord your God is giving you. On that day you must put up large stones. Cover them with plaster. 3 Then write on the stones all these commands and teachings. You must do this when you go across the Jordan River. Then you may go into the land that the Lord your God is giving you—a land filled with many good things.[e] The Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised to give you this land.
4 “After you go across the Jordan River, you must do what I command you today. You must set up the stones on Mount Ebal. You must cover these stones with plaster. 5 Also, use some stones there to build an altar to the Lord your God. Don’t use iron tools to cut the stones. 6 You must not use cut stones to build the altar for the Lord your God. Offer burnt offerings on this altar to the Lord your God. 7 And you must sacrifice and eat fellowship offerings there. Eat and enjoy yourselves there together with the Lord your God. 8 You must write all these teachings on the stones that you set up. Write clearly so that they are easy to read.”
The People Must Agree to God’s Rules
9 Moses and the Levite priests spoke to all the Israelites. Moses said, “Be quiet and listen, Israel! Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 So you must do everything that the Lord your God tells you. You must obey his commands and his laws that I am giving you today.”
11 That day Moses also told the people, 12 “After you have gone across the Jordan River, these tribes will stand on Mount Gerizim to read the blessings to the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 And these tribes will stand on Mount Ebal to read the curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
14 “And the Levites will say to all the Israelites in a loud voice:
15 “‘Cursed is the one who makes a false god and puts it in its secret place. These false gods are only statues that some worker makes from wood, stone or metal. The Lord hates these things!’
“Then all the people will answer, ‘Amen!’
16 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who does not show respect to their father or their mother!’
“Then all the people will answer, ‘Amen!’
17 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who moves a neighbor’s landmark[f]!’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
18 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who tricks a blind man into going the wrong way!’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
19 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who does not give fair judgment for the foreigners, orphans, and widows!’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
20 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who shames his father by having sexual relations with his father’s wife.’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
21 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with any kind of animal!’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
22 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his sister or half sister!’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
23 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his mother-in-law!’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
24 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who kills anyone, even if he is not caught!’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
25 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who takes money to kill an innocent person!’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
26 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who does not support this law and agree to obey it.’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
Jesus Says His Followers Will Leave Him(A)
27 Then Jesus told the followers, “You will all lose your faith. The Scriptures say,
‘I will kill the shepherd,
and the sheep will run away.’ (B)
28 But after I am killed, I will rise from death. Then I will go to Galilee. I will be there before you come.”
29 Peter said, “All the other followers may lose their faith. But my faith will never be shaken.”
30 Jesus answered, “The truth is, tonight you will say you don’t know me. You will say it three times before the rooster crows twice.”
31 But Peter strongly protested, “I will never say I don’t know you! I will even die with you!” And all the other followers said the same thing.
Jesus Prays Alone(C)
32 Jesus and his followers went to a place named Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 But he told Peter, James, and John to come with him. He began to be very distressed and troubled, 34 and he said to them, “My heart is so heavy with grief, I feel as if I am dying. Wait here and stay awake.”
35 Jesus went on a little farther away from them, fell to the ground, and prayed. He asked that, if possible, he would not have this time of suffering. 36 He said, “ Abba,[a] Father! You can do all things. Don’t make me drink from this cup.[b] But do what you want, not what I want.”
37 Then he went back to his followers and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “Simon, why are you sleeping? Could you not stay awake with me for one hour? 38 Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. Your spirit wants to do what is right, but your body is weak.”
39 Again Jesus went away and prayed the same thing. 40 Then he went back to the followers and again found them sleeping. They could not stay awake. They did not know what they should say to him.
41 After Jesus prayed a third time, he went back to his followers. He said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? That’s enough! The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to the control of sinful men. 42 Stand up! We must go. Here comes the man who is handing me over to them.”
Jesus Is Arrested(D)
43 While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve apostles, came there. He had a big crowd of people with him, all carrying swords and clubs. They had been sent from the leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the older Jewish leaders.
44 Judas[c] planned to do something to show them which one was Jesus. He said, “The one I kiss will be Jesus. Arrest him and guard him while you lead him away.” 45 So Judas went over to Jesus and said, “Teacher!” Then he kissed him. 46 The men grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 47 One of the followers standing near Jesus grabbed his sword and pulled it out. He swung it at the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
48 Then Jesus said, “Why do you come to get me with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal? 49 Every day I was with you teaching in the Temple area. You did not arrest me there. But all these things have happened to show the full meaning of what the Scriptures said.” 50 Then all of Jesus’ followers left him and ran away.
51 One of those following Jesus was a young man wearing only a linen cloth. When the people tried to grab him, 52 he left the cloth in their hands and ran away naked.
Jesus Before the Jewish Leaders(E)
53 Those who arrested Jesus led him to the house of the high priest. All the leading priests, the older Jewish leaders, and the teachers of the law were gathered there.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International