Old/New Testament
The Covenant Setting
1 This is what[a] Moses said to all of Israel in the Transjordanian[b] wilderness, the arid rift valley opposite[c] Suph,[d] between[e] Paran[f] and Tophel,[g] Laban,[h] Hazeroth,[i] and Di Zahab.[j] 2 Now it is ordinarily an eleven-day journey[k] from Horeb[l] to Kadesh Barnea[m] by way of Mount Seir.[n] 3 However, it was not until[o] the first day of the eleventh month[p] of the fortieth year[q] that Moses addressed the Israelites just as[r] the Lord had instructed him to do. 4 This took place after the defeat[s] of King Sihon[t] of the Amorites, whose capital was[u] in Heshbon,[v] and King Og of Bashan, whose capital was[w] in Ashtaroth,[x] specifically in Edrei.[y] 5 So it was in the Transjordan, in Moab, that Moses began to deliver these words:[z]
Events at Horeb
6 The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb and said, “You have stayed[aa] in the area of this mountain long enough. 7 Head out[ab] and resume your journey. Enter the Amorite hill country, and all its neighboring areas, including the rift valley,[ac] the hill country, the foothills,[ad] the Negev,[ae] and the coastal plain—all of Canaan and Lebanon as far as the Great River, that is, the Euphrates. 8 Look! I have already given the land to you.[af] Go, occupy the territory that I,[ag] the Lord, promised[ah] to give to your ancestors[ai] Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants.”[aj] 9 I also said to you at that time, “I am no longer able to sustain you by myself. 10 The Lord your God has increased your population[ak] to the point that you are now as numerous as the very stars of the sky.[al] 11 Indeed, may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, make you a thousand times more numerous than you are now, blessing you[am] just as he said he would! 12 But how can I alone bear up under the burden of your hardship and strife? 13 Select wise and practical[an] men, those known among your tribes, whom I may appoint as your leaders.” 14 You replied to me that what I had said to you was good. 15 So I chose[ao] as your tribal leaders wise and well-known men, placing them over you as administrators of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as other tribal officials. 16 I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they[ap] should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens[aq] and judge fairly,[ar] whether between one person and a native Israelite[as] or a resident foreigner.[at] 17 They[au] must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly[av] and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.
Instructions at Kadesh Barnea
18 So I instructed you at that time regarding everything you should do. 19 Then we left Horeb and passed through all that immense, forbidding wilderness that you saw on the way to the Amorite hill country as the Lord our God had commanded us to do, finally arriving at Kadesh Barnea. 20 Then I said to you, “You have come to the Amorite hill country, which the Lord our God is about to give[aw] us. 21 Look, he[ax] has placed the land in front of you![ay] Go up, take possession of it, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to do. Do not be afraid or discouraged!” 22 So all of you approached me and said, “Let’s send some men ahead of us to scout out the land and bring us back word as to how we should attack it and what the cities are like there.” 23 I thought this was a good idea,[az] so I sent[ba] twelve men from among you, one from each tribe. 24 They left and went up to the hill country, coming to the Eshcol Valley,[bb] which they scouted out. 25 Then they took[bc] some of the produce of the land and carried it back down to us. They also brought a report to us, saying, “The land that the Lord our God is about to give us is good.”
Disobedience at Kadesh Barnea
26 You were not willing to go up, however, but instead rebelled against the Lord your God.[bd] 27 You complained among yourselves privately[be] and said, “Because the Lord hates us he brought us from Egypt to deliver us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us! 28 What is going to happen to us? Our brothers have drained away our courage[bf] by describing people who are more numerous[bg] and taller than we are, and great cities whose defenses appear to be as high as heaven[bh] itself! Moreover, they said they saw[bi] Anakites[bj] there.” 29 So I responded to you, “Do not be terrified[bk] of them! 30 The Lord your God is about to go[bl] ahead of you; he will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt[bm] 31 and in the wilderness, where you saw him[bn] carrying you along like a man carries his son. This he did everywhere you went until you came to this very place.” 32 However, through all this you did not have confidence in the Lord your God, 33 who would go before you on the way to find places for you to camp, appearing in a fire at night and in a cloud by day to show you the way you ought to go.
Judgment at Kadesh Barnea
34 When the Lord heard you, he became angry and made this vow:[bo] 35 “Not a single person[bp] of this evil generation will see the good land that I promised to give to your ancestors! 36 The exception is Caleb son of Jephunneh;[bq] he will see it and I will give him and his descendants the territory on which he has walked, because he has wholeheartedly followed me.”[br] 37 As for me, the Lord was also angry with me on your account. He said, “You also will not be able to go there. 38 However, Joshua son of Nun, your assistant,[bs] will go. Encourage him, because he will enable Israel to inherit the land.[bt] 39 Also, your infants, who you thought would die on the way,[bu] and your children, who as yet do not know good from bad,[bv] will go there; I will give them the land and they will possess it. 40 But as for you,[bw] turn back and head for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”[bx]
Unsuccessful Conquest of Canaan
41 Then you responded to me and admitted, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will now go up and fight as the Lord our God has told us to do.” So you each put on your battle gear and prepared to go up to the hill country. 42 But the Lord told me: “Tell them this: ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you and you will be defeated by your enemies.’” 43 I spoke to you, but you did not listen. Instead you rebelled against the Lord[by] and recklessly went up to the hill country. 44 The Amorite inhabitants of that area[bz] confronted[ca] you and chased you like a swarm of bees, striking you down from Seir as far as Hormah.[cb] 45 Then you came back and wept before the Lord, but he[cc] paid no attention to you whatsoever.[cd] 46 Therefore, you remained at Kadesh for a long time—indeed, for the full time.[ce]
The Journey from Kadesh Barnea to Moab
2 Then we turned and set out toward the wilderness on the way to the Red Sea[cf] just as the Lord told me to do, detouring around Mount Seir for a long time. 2 At this point the Lord said to me, 3 “You have circled around this mountain long enough; now turn north. 4 Instruct[cg] these people as follows: ‘You are about to cross the border of your relatives[ch] the descendants of Esau,[ci] who inhabit Seir. They will be afraid of you, so watch yourselves carefully. 5 Do not be hostile toward them, because I am not giving you any of their land, not even a footprint, for I have given Mount Seir[cj] as an inheritance for Esau. 6 You may purchase[ck] food to eat and water to drink from them. 7 All along the way I, the Lord your God,[cl] have blessed your every effort.[cm] I have[cn] been attentive to[co] your travels through this great wilderness. These forty years I have[cp] been with you; you have lacked nothing.’”
8 So we turned away from our relatives[cq] the descendants of Esau, the inhabitants of Seir, turning from the route of the rift valley[cr] which comes up from[cs] Elat[ct] and Ezion Geber,[cu] and traveling the way of the wilderness of Moab. 9 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass Moab and provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as your territory. This is because I have given Ar[cv] to the descendants of Lot[cw] as their possession. 10 (The Emites[cx] used to live there, a people as powerful, numerous, and tall as the Anakites. 11 These people, as well as the Anakites, are also considered Rephaites;[cy] the Moabites call them Emites. 12 Previously the Horites[cz] lived in Seir, but the descendants of Esau dispossessed and destroyed them and settled in their place, just as Israel did to the land it came to possess, the land the Lord gave them.)[da] 13 Now, get up and cross the Wadi Zered.”[db] So we did so.[dc] 14 Now the length of time it took for us to go from Kadesh Barnea to the crossing of Wadi Zered was thirty-eight years, time for all the military men of that generation to die, just as the Lord had vowed to them. 15 Indeed, it was the very hand of the Lord that eliminated them from within[dd] the camp until they were all gone.
Instructions Concerning Ammon
16 So it was that after all the military men had been eliminated from the community,[de] 17 the Lord said to me, 18 “Today you are going to cross the border of Moab, that is, of Ar.[df] 19 But when you come close to the Ammonites, do not harass or provoke them because I am not giving you any of the Ammonites’ land as your possession; I have already given it to Lot’s descendants[dg] as their possession.”
20 (That also is considered to be a land of the Rephaites.[dh] The Rephaites lived there originally; the Ammonites call them Zamzummites.[di] 21 They are a people as powerful, numerous, and tall as the Anakites. But the Lord destroyed the Rephaites[dj] in advance of the Ammonites,[dk] so they dispossessed them and settled down in their place. 22 This is exactly what he did for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir when he destroyed the Horites before them so that they could dispossess them and settle in their area to this very day. 23 As for the Avvites[dl] who lived in settlements as far west as Gaza, Caphtorites[dm] who came from Crete[dn] destroyed them and settled down in their place.)
24 “Get up, make your way across Wadi Arnon. Look, I have already delivered over to you Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon,[do] and his land. Go ahead—take it! Engage him in war! 25 This very day I will begin to fill all the people of the earth[dp] with dread and to terrify them when they hear about you. They will shiver and shake in anticipation of your approach.”[dq]
Defeat of Sihon, King of Heshbon
26 Then I sent messengers from the Kedemoth[dr] wilderness to King Sihon of Heshbon with an offer of peace: 27 “Let me pass through your land; I will keep strictly to the roadway.[ds] I will not turn aside to the right or the left. 28 Sell me food for cash[dt] so that I can eat and sell me water to drink.[du] Just allow me to go through on foot, 29 just as the descendants of Esau who live at Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I cross the Jordan to the land the Lord our God is giving us.” 30 But King Sihon of Heshbon was unwilling to allow us to pass near him because the Lord our[dv] God had made him obstinate[dw] and stubborn[dx] so that he might deliver him over to you[dy] this very day. 31 The Lord said to me, “Look! I have already begun to give over Sihon and his land to you. Start right now to take his land as your possession.” 32 When Sihon and all his troops[dz] emerged to encounter us in battle at Jahaz,[ea] 33 the Lord our God delivered him over to us and we struck him down, along with his sons[eb] and everyone else.[ec] 34 At that time we seized all his cities and put every one of them[ed] under divine judgment,[ee] including even the women and children; we left no survivors. 35 We kept only the livestock and plunder from the cities for ourselves. 36 From Aroer,[ef] which is at the edge of Wadi Arnon (it is the city in the wadi),[eg] all the way to Gilead there was not a town able to resist us—the Lord our God gave them all to us. 37 However, you did not approach the land of the Ammonites, the Wadi Jabbok,[eh] the cities of the hill country, or any place else forbidden by the Lord our God.
Defeat of King Og of Bashan
3 Next we set out on[ei] the route to Bashan,[ej] but King Og of Bashan and his whole army[ek] came out to meet us in battle at Edrei.[el] 2 The Lord, however, said to me, “Don’t be afraid of him because I have already given him, his whole army,[em] and his land to you. You will do to him exactly what you did to King Sihon of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon.” 3 So the Lord our God did indeed give over to us King Og of Bashan and his whole army, and we struck them down until not a single survivor was left.[en] 4 We captured all his cities at that time—there was not a town we did not take from them—sixty cities, all the region of Argob,[eo] the dominion of Og in Bashan. 5 All of these cities were fortified by high walls, gates, and locking bars;[ep] in addition there were a great many open villages.[eq] 6 We put all of these under divine judgment[er] just as we had done to King Sihon of Heshbon—every occupied city,[es] including women and children. 7 But all the livestock and plunder from the cities we kept for ourselves. 8 So at that time we took the land of the two Amorite kings in the Transjordan from Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon[et] 9 (the Sidonians[eu] call Hermon Sirion[ev] and the Amorites call it Senir),[ew] 10 all the cities of the plateau, all of Gilead and Bashan as far as Salecah[ex] and Edrei,[ey] cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 11 Only King Og of Bashan was left of the remaining Rephaites. (It is noteworthy[ez] that his sarcophagus[fa] was made of iron.[fb] Does it not, indeed, still remain in Rabbath[fc] of the Ammonites? It is 13½ feet[fd] long and 6 feet[fe] wide according to standard measure.)[ff]
Distribution of the Transjordanian Allotments
12 This is the land we brought under our control at that time: The territory extending from Aroer[fg] by the Wadi Arnon and half the Gilead hill country with its cities I gave to the Reubenites and Gadites.[fh] 13 The rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh.[fi] (All the region of Argob,[fj] that is, all Bashan, is called the land of Rephaim. 14 Jair, son of Manasseh, took all the Argob region as far as the border with the Geshurites[fk] and Maacathites[fl]—namely Bashan—and called it by his name, Havvoth Jair,[fm] which it retains to this very day.) 15 I gave Gilead to Machir.[fn] 16 To the Reubenites and Gadites I allocated the territory extending from Gilead as far as Wadi Arnon (the exact middle of the wadi was a boundary) all the way to the Wadi Jabbok, the Ammonite border. 17 The rift valley[fo] and the Jordan River[fp] were also a border, from the Sea of Kinnereth[fq] to the sea of the rift valley (that is, the Salt Sea),[fr] beneath the slopes[fs] of Pisgah[ft] to the east.
Instructions to the Transjordanian Tribes
18 At that time I instructed you as follows: “The Lord your God has given you this land for your possession. You warriors are to cross over equipped for battle before your fellow Israelites.[fu] 19 But your wives, children, and livestock (of which I know you have many) may remain in the cities I have given you. 20 You must fight[fv] until the Lord gives your countrymen victory[fw] as he did you and they take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them on the other side of the Jordan River. Then each of you may return to his own territory that I have given you.” 21 I also commanded Joshua at the same time, “You have seen everything the Lord your God did to these two kings; he[fx] will do the same to all the kingdoms where you are going.[fy] 22 Do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God will personally fight for you.”
Denial to Moses of the Promised Land
23 Moreover, at that time I pleaded with the Lord, 24 “O, Sovereign Lord,[fz] you have begun to show me[ga] your greatness and strength.[gb] (What god in heaven or earth can rival your works and mighty deeds?) 25 Let me please cross over to see the good land on the other side of the Jordan River—this good hill country and the Lebanon!”[gc] 26 But the Lord was angry at me because of you and would not listen to me. Instead, he[gd] said to me, “Enough of that![ge] Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and take a good look to the west, north, south, and east,[gf] for you will not be allowed to cross the Jordan. 28 Commission[gg] Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, because he will lead these people over and will enable them to inherit the land you will see.” 29 So we settled down in the valley opposite Beth Peor.[gh]
Third Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
32 They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem. Jesus was going ahead of them, and they were amazed, but those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was going to happen to him. 33 “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and experts in the law.[a] They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles. 34 They will mock him, spit on him, flog[b] him severely, and kill him. Yet[c] after three days,[d] he will rise again.”
The Request of James and John
35 Then[e] James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” 36 He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 They said to him, “Permit one of us to sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I experience?”[f] 39 They said to him, “We are able.”[g] Then Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I experience, 40 but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give. It is for those for whom it has been prepared.”[h]
41 Now[i] when the other ten[j] heard this,[k] they became angry with James and John. 42 Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. 43 But it is not this way among you. Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave[l] of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom[m] for many.”
Healing Blind Bartimaeus
46 They came to Jericho. As Jesus[n] and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to shout,[o] “Jesus, Son of David,[p] have mercy[q] on me!” 48 Many scolded[r] him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So[s] they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up! He is calling you.” 50 He threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus. 51 Then[t] Jesus said to him,[u] “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied, “Rabbi,[v] let me see again.”[w] 52 Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has healed you.” Immediately he regained[x] his sight and followed him on the road.
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