Old/New Testament
Rewards for Obeying God
26 “‘Don’t make idols for yourselves. Don’t set up statues or memorials. Don’t put stone statues in your land to bow down to. This is because I am the Lord your God.
2 “‘Remember my Sabbaths, and respect my Holy Place. I am the Lord.
3 “‘Remember my laws and commands, and obey them. 4 If you do these things, I will give you rains at the right season. The land will produce crops. And the trees of the field will produce their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue until the grape harvest. And your grape harvest will continue until it is time to plant. Then you will have plenty to eat. You will live safely in your land. 6 I will give peace to your country. You will lie down in peace. No one will make you afraid. I will keep harmful animals out of your country. And armies will not pass through your country.
7 “‘You will chase your enemies and defeat them. You will kill them with your sword. 8 Five of you will chase 100 men. And 100 of you will chase 10,000 men. You will defeat your enemies and kill them with your sword.
9 “‘Then I will show kindness to you. I will let you have many children. I will keep my agreement with you. 10 You will have enough crops to last for more than a year. You will harvest the new crops. And you will have to throw out the old crops to make room for the new ones. 11 Also I will place my Holy Tent among you. I will not turn away from you. 12 I will walk with you and be your God. And you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God. You were slaves in Egypt. You were bent low from the heavy weights you carried as slaves. But I broke the heavy weights that were on your shoulders. I let you walk proudly again.
Punishment for Not Obeying God
14 “‘But you must obey me. You must obey all my commands. 15 If you refuse to obey all my laws and commands, you have broken our agreement. 16 If you do that, I will cause terrible things to happen to you. I will cause you to have disease and fever. They will destroy your eyes and kill you. You will not have success when you plant your seed. And your enemy will eat your crops. 17 I will be against you, and your enemies will defeat you. These enemies hate you. And they will rule over you. You will run away even when no one is chasing you.
18 “‘If you still do not obey me, I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 19 And I will also break the great cities that make you proud. The skies will not give rain. The earth will not produce crops. 20 You will work hard, but it will not help. Your land will not grow any crops. Your trees will not give their fruit.
21 “‘If you still turn against me and refuse to obey me, I will beat you seven times harder. The more you sin, the more you will be punished. 22 I will send wild animals to attack you. They will take your children away from you. They will destroy your cattle. They will make you so few in number the roads will be empty.
23 “‘If you don’t learn your lesson after all these things, and if you still turn against me, 24 I will also turn against you. I will punish you seven more times for your sins. 25 You broke my agreement, and I will punish you. I will bring armies against you. You will go into your cities for safety. But I will cause diseases to spread among you. Then your enemy will defeat you. 26 There will be very little bread to eat. Ten women will be able to cook all your bread in one oven. They will measure each piece of bread. You will eat, but you will still be hungry.
27 “‘If you still refuse to listen to me, and if you still turn against me, 28 I will really show my anger. I will punish you seven more times for your sins. 29 You will eat the bodies of your sons and daughters. 30 I will destroy your places where false gods are worshiped. I will cut down your incense altars. I will pile your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols. I will hate you. 31 I will destroy your cities. I will make your holy places empty. I will not smell the pleasing smell of your offerings. 32 I will make the land empty. Your enemies who come to live in it will be shocked at it. 33 I will scatter you among the nations. I will pull out my sword and destroy you. Your land will become empty. Your cities will become waste. 34 You will be taken to your enemy’s country. So your land will finally get its rest. It will enjoy its time of rest all the time it lies empty. 35 During the time the land is empty, it will rest. It will have the rest you should have given it while you lived in it.
36 “‘Those who are left alive will lose their courage in the land of their enemies. They will be frightened of everything. They will be frightened by even the sound of a leaf being blown by the wind. They will run as if someone were chasing them with a sword. They will fall even when no one is chasing them. 37 They will run as if someone were chasing them with a sword. They will fall over each other, even though no one is chasing them. You will not be strong enough to stand up against your enemies. 38 You will die among other nations. You will disappear in your enemies’ countries. 39 So those who are left alive will rot away in their enemies’ countries. They will rot away because of their sins and their ancestors’ sins.
There Is Always Hope
40 “‘But maybe the people will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors. Maybe they will admit they turned against me and sinned against me. 41 That made me turn against them. So I sent them into the land of their enemies. These disobedient people might be sorry for what they did. They might accept punishment for their sin. 42 If they do, I will remember my agreement with Jacob. I will remember my agreement with Isaac and Abraham. And I will remember the land. 43 The land will be empty. It will enjoy its time of rest. Then those who are left alive will accept the punishment for their sins. They will learn that they were punished because they hated my laws. And they refused to obey my rules. 44 They truly sinned. But if they come to me for help, I will not turn away from them. I will listen to them even in the land of their enemies. I will not completely destroy them. I will not break my agreement with them. This is because I am the Lord their God. 45 For their good I will remember the agreement with their ancestors. I brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt. I did it so I could become their God. The other nations saw these things. I am the Lord.’”
46 These are the laws, rules and teachings the Lord gave the people of Israel. He gave these laws to the Israelites through Moses. This was at Mount Sinai.
Promises Are Important
27 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people of Israel: ‘Someone might make a special promise to the Lord. He might promise to give himself or another person as a servant to the Lord. That person will then begin to serve the Lord in a special way. The priest must set a certain price for that person. That is the price that would have to be paid to free the person from his special promise to the Lord. 3 The price for a man 20 to 60 years old is about 1¼ pounds of silver. (You must use the measure as set by the Holy Place.) 4 The price for a woman 20 to 60 years old is about 12 ounces of silver. 5 The price for a man 5 to 20 years old is about 8 ounces of silver. The price for a woman 5 to 20 years old is about 4 ounces of silver. 6 The price for a baby boy 1 month to 5 years old is about 2 ounces of silver. For a baby girl the price is about 1½ ounces of silver. 7 The price for a man 60 years old or older is about 6 ounces of silver. The price for a woman 60 years old or older is about 4 ounces of silver.
8 “‘A person might be too poor to pay the price. If he is, bring him to the priest. The priest will decide how much money the person can afford to pay.
Gifts to the Lord
9 “‘Some animals may be used as sacrifices to the Lord. If someone promises to bring one of these animals, it will become holy. 10 That person must not try to put another animal in its place. He must not try to exchange it for something else. He must not try to exchange a good animal for a bad animal. And he must not exchange a bad animal for a good animal. If he tries to exchange animals, both animals will become holy.
11 “‘Unclean animals cannot be offered as sacrifices to the Lord. Someone might bring one of them to the Lord. If he does, that animal must be brought to the priest. 12 The priest will decide a price for the animal. The price will be according to whether the animal is good or bad. If the priest decides a price, that is the price for the animal. 13 If the person wants to buy back the animal, he must add an additional one-fifth to the price.
Value of a House
14 “‘A person might give his house as holy to the Lord. If he does, the priest must decide its value. The price will be according to whether the house is good or bad. If the priest decides a price, that is the price for the house. 15 But the person who gives the house might want to buy it back. If he does, he must add an additional one-fifth to the price. Then the house will belong to him again.
Value of Land
16 “‘A person might give part of his fields to the Lord. The value of those fields will depend on how much seed is needed to plant them. It will cost about one and one-fourth pounds of silver for each six bushels of barley seed needed. 17 The person might give his field at the year of Jubilee. Then its value will be what the priest decides. 18 But he might give his field after the Jubilee. If he does, the priest must decide the exact price. He must count the number of years to the next year of Jubilee. Then he will use that number to decide the exact price. 19 The person who gave the field might want to buy it back. If he does, he must add one-fifth to that price. Then the field will belong to him again.
20 “‘If he does not buy back the field, it will always belong to the priest. If it is sold to someone else, the first person cannot buy it back. 21 But the person might not buy back the land. If he doesn’t, at the year of Jubilee, it will remain holy to the Lord. It will belong to the priest forever. It will become the property of the priests.
22 “‘Someone may give a field he has bought to the Lord. But it may not be a part of his family land. 23 If he gives a field, the priest must count the years to the next Jubilee. He must decide the price for the land. Then that land will belong to the Lord. 24 At the year of Jubilee, the land will go back to its first owner. It will go back to the family who sold the land.
25 “‘You must use the measure as set by the Holy Place in paying these prices. It weighs two-fifths of an ounce.
Value of Animals
26 “‘People may give cattle and sheep to the Lord. But if an animal is the first one born to its parent, it already belongs to the Lord. So people may not give these animals again. 27 If the animal is unclean, the person must buy it back. The priest will decide the price of the animal. And the person must add one-fifth to that price. If he does not buy it back, the priest must sell it. He will sell it for the price he had decided.
28 “‘There is a special kind of gift that people give to the Lord. It may be a person, animal or field from the family property. That gift cannot be bought back or sold. It is most holy to the Lord.
29 “‘If a person is given for the purpose of being destroyed, he cannot be bought back. He must be put to death.
30 “‘One-tenth of all crops belongs to the Lord. This includes the crops from fields and the fruit from trees. That one-tenth belongs to the Lord. 31 A person might want to get back his tenth. If he does, he must add one-fifth to its price and buy it back.
32 “‘The priest will take every tenth animal from a person’s cattle or sheep. It will belong to the Lord. 33 The owner should not pick out the good animals from the bad. He should not exchange one animal for another. If he does exchange it, both animals will become holy. They cannot be bought back.’”
34 These are the commands the Lord commanded at Mount Sinai. They are for the people of Israel.
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man
2 A few days later, Jesus came back to Capernaum. The news spread that he was home. 2 So many people gathered to hear him preach that the house was full. There was no place to stand, not even outside the door. Jesus was teaching them. 3 Some people came, bringing a paralyzed man to Jesus. Four of them were carrying the paralyzed man. 4 But they could not get to Jesus because of the crowd. So they went to the roof above Jesus and made a hole in the roof. Then they lowered the mat with the paralyzed man on it. 5 Jesus saw that these men had great faith. So he said to the paralyzed man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Some of the teachers of the law were sitting there. They saw what Jesus did, and they said to themselves, 7 “Why does this man say things like that? He is saying things that are against God. Only God can forgive sins.”
8 At once Jesus knew what these teachers of the law were thinking. So he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to tell this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up. Take your mat and walk’? 10 But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, 11 “I tell you, stand up. Take your mat and go home.” 12 Immediately the paralyzed man stood up. He took his mat and walked out while everyone was watching him.
The people were amazed and praised God. They said, “We have never seen anything like this!”
13 Jesus went to the lake again. A crowd followed him there, and he taught them. 14 While he was walking beside the lake, he saw a tax collector named Levi son of Alphaeus. Levi was sitting in the tax office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And Levi stood up and followed Jesus.
15 Later that day, Jesus ate at Levi’s house. There were many tax collectors and “sinners” eating there with Jesus and his followers. Many people like this followed Jesus. 16 The teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with the tax collectors and “sinners.” They asked his followers, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 Jesus heard this and said to them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor. It is the sick who need a doctor. I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners.”
Jesus’ Followers Are Criticized
18 One day the followers of John[a] and the Pharisees were giving up eating.[b] Some people came to Jesus and said, “John’s followers and the followers of the Pharisees give up eating. But your followers don’t. Why?”
19 Jesus answered, “When there is a wedding, the friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. They do not give up eating while the bridegroom is still there. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will leave them. Then the friends will be sad and will give up eating.
21 “When a person sews a patch over a hole on an old coat, he never uses a piece of cloth that is not yet shrunk. If he does, the patch will shrink and pull away from the coat. Then the hole will be worse. 22 Also, no one ever pours new wine into old leather bags for holding wine. If he does, the new wine will break the bags, and the wine will be ruined along with the bags for the wine. People always put new wine into new leather bags.”
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
23 On the Sabbath day, Jesus was walking through some grainfields. His followers were with him and picked some grain to eat. 24 The Pharisees saw this and said to Jesus, “Why are your followers doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
25 Jesus answered, “You have read what David did when he and those with him were hungry and needed food. 26 It was during the time of Abiathar the high priest. David went into God’s house and ate the bread that was made holy for God. The law of Moses says that only priests may eat that bread. But David also gave some of the bread to those who were with him.”
27 Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, “The Sabbath day was made to help people. They were not made to be ruled by the Sabbath day. 28 The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.