Old/New Testament
Prosperity Will Follow Repentance
30 When all these things come upon you, both the blessing and the curse that I have given you, and you take them to heart while you are among all the nations to which the Lord your God has banished you, 2 and when you return to the Lord your God and listen to his voice with all your heart and soul, in every way that I am commanding you today, you and your children, 3 then the Lord your God will restore you from your captivity. He will have compassion on you, and he will gather you together again out of all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 Even if your banished people are at the end of the heavens, the Lord your God will gather you together there and take you away from there. 5 The Lord your God will bring you back to the land that your fathers possessed, and then you will possess it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers.
6 The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, with the result that you will live.
7 Then the Lord your God will place all these curses on your enemies and on those who hated you and persecuted you. 8 Once again you will listen to the voice of the Lord, and you will carry out all of his commands that I am giving you today.
9 The Lord your God will cause you to be overflowing with good things from all the work of your hands, in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your animals, and in the fruit of your soil. Once again he will rejoice over your prosperity, just as he rejoiced over your fathers, 10 when you obey the voice of the Lord your God by keeping his commandments and his statutes written in this Book of the Law, when you return to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
11 Certainly, this commandment that I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not far away. 12 It is not up in the heavens, so that you have to say, “Which one of us will go up to the heavens and get it for us so we can listen to it and carry it out?” 13 It is not across the sea, so that you have to say, “Which one of us will cross over to the other side of the sea and get it for us so we can listen to it and carry it out?” 14 Instead, the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so you can obey it.
Life or Death
15 See now, today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and disaster. 16 This is what I am commanding you today: Love the Lord your God, walk in his ways, and keep his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances. Then you will live and increase in number, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are going to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away, and you do not listen, and you are lured away, and you bow down to other gods and serve them, 18 then I declare to you today that you will most certainly perish. You will not live a long life on the land that you are about to enter and possess by crossing over the Jordan.
19 I call the heavens and the earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, a blessing and a curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live 20 by loving the Lord your God, by listening to his voice, and by clinging to him, because that means life for you, and you will live a long life on your land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Joshua Will Follow Moses
31 Moses came and spoke the following words to all Israel. 2 He said to them:
“I am now one hundred twenty years old. I can no longer go out and come back.[a] The Lord has said to me, ‘You will not cross over this Jordan.’
3 “The Lord your God himself will cross over before you. He will destroy those nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua is the one who will cross over before you, as the Lord promised. 4 The Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites, and as he did to their lands when he destroyed them. 5 The Lord will hand them over to you, and you are to deal with them according to the whole set of commands that I gave you.
6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid and do not be terrified before them, because the Lord your God is going with you. He will not abandon you and he will not forsake you.”
7 Moses called Joshua and said to him in the view of all Israel:
“Be strong and courageous, because you will go with this people into the land that the Lord promised to your fathers with an oath, and you will divide it among them as their possession. 8 The Lord himself will go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will not abandon you, and he will not forsake you. Do not be afraid and do not be overwhelmed.”
Reading the Law
9 Then Moses wrote down this law, and he gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi who carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 Moses commanded them:
“At the end of seven years, at the appointed time of the year of the release, at the Festival of Shelters, 11 when all Israel comes to appear in the presence of the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you are to read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Gather the people—the men, the women, the children, and the alien who resides within your gates—so that they may hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God and to be careful to carry out all the words of this law. 13 Their children also, who do not know the law, are to hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God all the time that you live on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
The Transition to Joshua
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The time is approaching for you to die. Summon Joshua and stand at the Tent of Meeting, and I will commission him.”
So Moses and Joshua went and stood at the Tent of Meeting. 15 Then the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance to the tent. 16 The Lord said to Moses:
“You are about to lie down with your fathers, but this people will rise up and prostitute themselves to the foreign gods among them in the land they are about to enter. They will forsake me and break my covenant that I made with them. 17 My anger will burn against them on that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them. They will be on the verge of being devoured, and many evils and distresses will find them. They will say on that day, ‘Haven’t these evil things found us because our God is not among us?’ 18 Yet I will hide my face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods.
19 “So now, write down this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths so this song will be my witness against the people of Israel. 20 When I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey that I promised by oath to their fathers, and they eat and are satisfied and grow fat, and they then turn to other gods and serve them, when they despise me and break my covenant, 21 and many evils and distresses find them, then this song will testify against them as a witness, because it will not be forgotten or gone from the mouths of their descendants. I certainly know the inclination that they are developing today before I bring them to the land that I have promised on oath.”
22 So Moses wrote down this song on that day and taught it to the people of Israel.
23 Then the Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun and said to him:
“Be strong and courageous, because you will bring the people of Israel into the land that I have promised to them with an oath, and I will be with you.”
24 When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book, 25 he gave this command to the Levites, who carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord:
26 “Take this Book of the Law, and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, and let it remain there as a witness against you. 27 I certainly know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Even while I am still alive and among you today, you are rebels against the Lord. So how much more after my death! 28 Assemble all the elders of your tribes and your officials before me, and I will speak all these words in their hearing, and I will call the heavens and the earth to witness against them. 29 I know that after my death you will act corruptly and turn from the way that I have commanded you, and that evil will come on you in future days when you do evil in the sight of the Lord by provoking him to anger by the work of your hands.”
Moses’ Song
30 Then Moses spoke the words of this song in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel, from beginning to end:
Jesus’ Trial in Pilate’s Court
15 As soon as it was morning, the chief priests, along with the elders, the experts in the law, and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 2 Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
He answered him, “It is as you say.”
3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 Pilate questioned him again, “Are you not going to answer anything? See how many charges they are bringing against you!”
5 But Jesus still did not answer anything, so Pilate was amazed.
Barabbas or Jesus?
6 At each Festival, Pilate used to release to the people one prisoner whom they requested. 7 There was one named Barabbas, who was imprisoned with the rebels and had committed murder in the rebellion. 8 The crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9 Pilate replied, “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you?” 10 In fact, he knew that it was because of envy that the chief priests had handed him over.
11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas to them instead.
12 Again, Pilate replied to them, “Then what do you want me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?”
13 “Crucify him!” they shouted back.
14 But Pilate said to them, “Why? What has he done wrong?”
But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Since he wanted to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. After he had Jesus flogged, he handed him over to be crucified.
Soldiers Mock Jesus
16 The soldiers led him away inside the palace, which is the Praetorium, and called together the whole cohort[a] of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, twisted together a crown of thorns, and put it on him. 18 The soldiers began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 They kept hitting him on the head with a reed and spitting on him. They also kneeled down to pay homage to him.
The Crucifixion
20 When they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothing on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
21 A certain man, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), was passing by on his way in from the country. They forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means, “The place of a skull.” 23 They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 They crucified him. And they divided his garments, casting lots for them to decide what each of them would take.
25 Now it was the third hour[b] when they crucified him.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.