Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Give the Lord His Share

26 You will enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own. You will take it over. You will make your homes in the land. ² When you do, get some of the first share of everything your soil produces. Put it in a basket. It’s from the land the Lord your God is giving you. Take your gifts and go to the special place he will choose. He will put his Name there. ³ Speak to the priest in office at that time. Tell him, “I announce today to the Lord your God that I have come to this land. It’s the land he promised to give us. He promised it to our people of long ago.” ⁴ The priest will receive the basket from you. He’ll set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. ⁵ Then you will speak while the Lord is listening. You will say, “My father Jacob was a wanderer from the land of Aram. He went down into Egypt with a few people. He lived there and became the father of a great nation. It had huge numbers of people. ⁶ But the people of Egypt treated us badly. They made us suffer. They made us work very hard. ⁷ Then we cried out to the Lord. He is the God of our people who lived long ago. He heard our voice. He saw how much we were suffering. The Egyptians were treating us badly. They were making us work very hard. ⁸ So the Lord used his mighty hand and powerful arm to bring us out of Egypt. He did great and terrifying things. He did signs and amazing things. ⁹ He brought us to this place. He gave us this land. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey. ¹⁰ Now, Lord, I’m bringing you the first share of crops from the soil. After all, you have given them to me.” Place the basket in front of the Lord your God. Bow down to him. ¹¹ Then you and the Levites and the outsiders among you will be full of joy. You will enjoy all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your family.

⁸ But what does it say? “The message is near you. It’s in your mouth and in your heart.” (Deuteronomy 30:14) This means the message about faith that we are preaching. ⁹ Say with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord.” Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved. ¹⁰ With your heart you believe and are made right with God. With your mouth you say what you believe. And so you are saved. ¹¹ Scripture says, “The one who believes in him will never be put to shame.” (Isaiah 28:16) ¹² There is no difference between those who are Jews and those who are not. The same Lord is Lord of all. He richly blesses everyone who calls on him. ¹³ Scripture says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Joel 2:32)

Jesus Is Tempted in the Desert

4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan River. The Spirit led him into the desert. ² There the devil tempted him for 40 days. Jesus ate nothing during that time. At the end of the 40 days, he was hungry.

³ The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man must not live only on bread.’ ” (Deuteronomy 8:3)

⁵ Then the devil led Jesus up to a high place. In an instant, he showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶ He said to Jesus, “I will give you all their authority and glory. It has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. ⁷ If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

⁸ Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you should serve.’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:13)

⁹ Then the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem. He had Jesus stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. ¹⁰ It is written,

¹² Jesus answered, “Scripture says, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:16)

¹³ When the devil finished all this tempting, he left Jesus until a better time.