Old/New Testament
Israel Is Commanded to Destroy the Canaanites and Their Idols
7 Yahweh your Elohim will bring you to the land you’re about to enter and take possession of. He will force many nations out of your way: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—seven nations larger and more powerful than you. 2 When Yahweh your Elohim gives them to you and you defeat them, destroy every one of them because they have been claimed by the Lord. Don’t make any treaties with them or show them any mercy. 3 Never marry any of them. Never let your daughters marry their sons or your sons marry their daughters. 4 These people will turn your children away from me to worship other gods. Then Yahweh will get very angry with you and will quickly destroy you.
5 But this is what you must do to these people: Tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, and burn their idols. 6 You are a holy people, who belong to Yahweh your Elohim. Yahweh your Elohim chose you to be his own special possession out of all the nations on earth.
7 Yahweh set his heart on you and chose you, even though you didn’t outnumber all the other people. You were the smallest of all nations. 8 You were chosen because Yahweh loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors. So Yahweh used his mighty hand to bring you out. He freed you from slavery under Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). 9 Keep in mind that Yahweh your Elohim is the only Elohim. He is a faithful El, who keeps his promise[a] and is merciful to thousands of generations of those who love him and obey his commands. 10 But he sends destruction to pay back everyone who hates him. He never takes long to pay back anyone who hates him.
11 So obey the commands, laws, and rules I’m giving you today.
12 If you listen to these rules and faithfully obey them, Yahweh your Elohim will keep his promise to you and be merciful to you, as he swore to your ancestors. 13 He will love you, bless you, and increase the number of your descendants. He will bless you with children. He will bless your land with produce: grain, new wine, and olive oil. He will bless your herds with calves, and your flocks with lambs and kids. This will all happen in the land Yahweh will give you, as he swore to your ancestors. 14 You will be blessed more than any other people. Your men and women will be able to have children, and your animals will be able to have offspring. 15 Yahweh will keep you from having any kind of illness. He will not strike you with any of the terrible diseases you experienced in Egypt. Instead, he will strike all those who hate you. 16 You must destroy all the people Yahweh your Elohim hands over to you. Have no pity on them, and never worship their gods, because they will be a trap for you.
17 You may say to yourselves, “These nations outnumber us. How can we force them out?” 18 Don’t be afraid of them. Remember what Yahweh your Elohim did to Pharaoh and all of Egypt. 19 You saw with your own eyes the terrible plagues, the miraculous signs, and the amazing things Yahweh your Elohim did. He used his mighty hand and powerful arm to bring you out. Yahweh your Elohim will do the same thing to all the people you’re afraid of. 20 Yahweh your Elohim will spread panic among them until they all die. There will be no one left—not even those who were hiding from you. 21 Don’t be afraid of them, because Yahweh your Elohim is with you. He is a great and awe-inspiring El. 22 Little by little Yahweh your Elohim will force these nations out of your way. You won’t be able to wipe them out quickly. Otherwise, you would be overrun with wild animals. 23 Yahweh your Elohim will hand these people over to you and will throw them into a great panic until they’re destroyed. 24 He will hand their kings over to you, and no one on earth will even remember their names. No one will be able to stop you. You will destroy them all. 25 Burn their idols. Don’t ever long for the silver and gold on these idols or take any of it for yourselves. It might be a trap for you. Besides, these idols are disgusting to Yahweh your Elohim. 26 Never bring a disgusting idol into your house. If you do, you and the idol will be destroyed. Consider it detestable and disgusting. It must be destroyed.”
Israel Told Never to Forget God
8 Be careful to obey every command I give you today. Then you will live, and your population will increase. You will enter and take possession of the land that Yahweh promised to your ancestors with an oath.
2 Remember that for 40 years Yahweh your Elohim led you on your journey in the desert. He did this in order to humble you and test you. He wanted to know whether or not you would wholeheartedly obey his commands. 3 So he made you suffer from hunger and then fed you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had seen before. He did this to teach you that a person cannot live on bread alone but on every word that Yahweh speaks. 4 Your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t swell these past 40 years. 5 Learn this lesson by heart: Yahweh your Elohim was disciplining you as parents discipline their children. 6 Obey the commands of Yahweh your Elohim. Follow his directions, and fear him.
7 Yahweh your Elohim is bringing you into a good land. It is a land with rivers that don’t dry up. There are springs and underground streams flowing through the valleys and hills. 8 The land has wheat and barley, grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates. The land has honey and olive trees for olive oil. 9 The land will have enough food for you, and you will have everything you need. The land has rocks with iron ore, and you will be able to mine copper ore in the hills. 10 When you have eaten all you want, thank Yahweh your Elohim for the good land he has given you.
11 Be careful that you don’t forget Yahweh your Elohim. Don’t fail to obey his commands, rules, and laws that I’m giving you today. 12 You will eat all you want. You will build nice houses and live in them. 13 Your herds and flocks, silver and gold, and everything else you have will increase. 14 When this happens, be careful that you don’t become arrogant and forget Yahweh your Elohim, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt. 15 He was the one who led you through that vast and dangerous desert—a thirsty and arid land, with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He was the one who made water come out of solid rock for you. 16 He was the one who fed you in the desert with manna, which your ancestors had never seen. He did this in order to humble you and test you. But he also did this so that things would go well for you in the end. 17 You may say to yourselves, “I became wealthy because of my own ability and strength.” 18 But remember Yahweh your Elohim is the one who makes you wealthy. He’s confirming the promise[b] which he swore to your ancestors. It’s still in effect today.
19 I warn you today that if you forget Yahweh your Elohim and follow other gods, and if you serve them and bow down to them, you will certainly be destroyed. 20 Yahweh is going to destroy other nations as you enter the land. You will be destroyed like them if you don’t obey Yahweh your Elohim.
Israel Has Been Given Canaan because of God’s Mercy
9 Listen, Israel, you’re about to cross the Jordan River. You’ll be forcing out nations that are larger and stronger than you, with big cities that have sky-high walls. 2 Their people are tall and strong. They’re descendants of Anak. You know all about them. You’ve also heard it said, “Who can oppose the descendants of Anak?” 3 Realize today that Yahweh your Elohim is the one who is going ahead of you like Esh Oklah. He will wipe them out and will use you to crush their power. You will take possession of their land and will quickly destroy them as Yahweh promised you.
4 When Yahweh your Elohim expels these people in front of you, don’t say to yourselves, “Because we’ve been living right, Yahweh brought us here to take possession of this land.” No, it’s because these nations are so wicked that Yahweh is forcing them out of your way. 5 It’s not because you’ve been living right or because you’re so honest that you’re entering to take possession of their land. It’s because these people are so wicked that Yahweh your Elohim is forcing them out of your way. It’s also because Yahweh wants to confirm the promise he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6 So understand this: It’s not because you’ve been living right that Yahweh your Elohim is giving you this good land to possess. You are impossible to deal with!
7 Never forget how you made Yahweh your Elohim angry in the desert. You’ve rebelled against Yahweh from the day you left Egypt until you came here. 8 Even at Mount Horeb you made Yahweh so angry that Yahweh wanted to destroy you. 9 When I went up on the mountain to get the stone tablets, the tablets of the promise that Yahweh made to you, I stayed on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights without food or water. 10 Then Yahweh gave me the two stone tablets inscribed by Elohim himself. On them were written all the words that Yahweh spoke to you from the fire on the mountain on the day of the assembly.
11 At the end of the 40 days and 40 nights, Yahweh gave me the two stone tablets with his promise on them. 12 Yahweh told me, “Leave right away. Your people whom you brought out of Egypt have ruined everything. They’ve quickly turned from the way I commanded them to live. They’ve made an idol for themselves.”
13 Yahweh also said to me, “I’ve seen these people, and they are impossible to deal with. 14 Leave me alone! I’ll destroy them and wipe their name off the earth. Then I’ll make you into a nation larger and stronger than they are.”
15 So I turned and went down the mountain while it was still burning with fire. I was carrying the two tablets with the promise on them. 16 Then I saw that you had sinned against Yahweh your Elohim. You had made a statue of a calf for yourselves. You had quickly turned from the way Yahweh commanded you to live. 17 I took the two tablets, threw them down, and smashed them in front of you.
18 Once again I threw myself down in front of Yahweh. I went without food and water for 40 days and 40 nights because of the sin you committed. You did what Yahweh considered evil and made him furious. 19 I was terrified of Yahweh’s anger and fury. He was so angry he wanted to destroy you. But once more Yahweh listened to me.
20 Yahweh also became very angry with Aaron and wanted to destroy him. But at that time I prayed for Aaron, too.
21 I took that sinful calf you made and burned it. I crushed it, grinding it thoroughly until it was as fine as powder. Then I threw the powder into the river that flowed down the mountain.
22 You also made Yahweh angry at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth Hattaavah.
23 When Yahweh sent you from Kadesh Barnea, he said, “Go and take possession of the land I’m giving you.” But you rebelled against the word of Yahweh your Elohim. You didn’t believe him or obey him. 24 You’ve rebelled against Yahweh as long as I’ve known you.
25 I threw myself down in front of Yahweh for 40 days and 40 nights because Yahweh said he would destroy you. 26 I prayed to Yahweh and said, “Adonay Yahweh, don’t destroy your people. They belong to you. You saved them by your great power and used your mighty hand to bring them out of Egypt. 27 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Disregard the stubbornness, wickedness, and sin of these people. 28 Otherwise, the country we left will say, “Yahweh wasn’t able to bring them to the land he promised them. He hated them. That’s why he brought them out—to let them die in the desert.” 29 They are your people. They belong to you. You used your great strength and powerful arm to bring them out of Egypt.
19 (Every evening Yeshua and his disciples would leave the city.)
The Fig Tree Dries Up(A)
20 While Yeshua and his disciples were walking early in the morning, they saw that the fig tree had dried up. 21 Peter remembered what Yeshua had said, so he said to Yeshua, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has dried up.”
22 Yeshua said to them, “Have faith in God! 23 I can guarantee this truth: This is what will be done for someone who doesn’t doubt but believes what he says will happen: He can say to this mountain, ‘Be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it will be done for him. 24 That’s why I tell you to have faith that you have already received whatever you pray for, and it will be yours. 25 Whenever you pray, forgive anything you have against anyone. Then your Father in heaven will forgive your failures.”[a]
Jesus’ Authority Challenged(B)
27 Yeshua and his disciples returned to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple courtyard, the chief priests, the experts in Moses’ Teachings, and the leaders came to him. 28 They asked him, “What gives you the right to do these things? Who told you that you could do this?”
29 Yeshua said to them, “I’ll ask you a question. Answer me, and then I’ll tell you why I have the right to do these things. 30 Did John’s right to baptize come from heaven or from humans? Answer me!”
31 They discussed this among themselves. They said, “If we say, ‘from heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘from humans,’ then what will happen?” They were afraid of the people. All the people thought of John as a true prophet. 33 So they answered Yeshua, “We don’t know.”
Yeshua told them, “Then I won’t tell you why I have the right to do these things.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.