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The Covenant in Moab
29 [a](A)These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the (B)covenant which He had made with them at Horeb.
2 [b]And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his servants and all his land; 3 (C)the great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders. 4 Yet to this day (D)the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear. 5 I have led you forty years in the wilderness; (E)your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot. 6 (F)You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the Lord your God. 7 (G)When you [c]reached this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out to meet us for battle, but we [d]defeated them; 8 and we took their land and (H)gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. 9 (I)So keep the words of this covenant to do them, (J)that you may prosper in all that you do.
10 “You stand today, all of you, before the Lord your God: your chiefs, your tribes, your elders and your officers, even all the men of Israel, 11 your little ones, your wives, and the alien who is within your camps, from (K)the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, 12 that you may enter into the covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath which the Lord your God is making with you today, 13 in order that He may establish you today as His people and that (L)He may be your God, just as He spoke to you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
14 “Now not with you alone am I (M)making this covenant and this oath, 15 (N)but both with those who stand here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God and with those who are not with us here today 16 (for you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed; 17 moreover, you have seen their abominations and their idols of (O)wood, stone, silver, and gold, which they had with them); 18 (P)so that there will not be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of those nations; that there will not be among you (Q)a root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood. 19 It shall be when he hears the words of this curse, that he will [e]boast, saying, ‘I have peace though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order [f]to destroy the watered land with the dry.’ 20 The Lord shall never be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and (R)His jealousy will [g](S)burn against that man, and every curse which is written in this book will [h]rest on him, and the Lord will (T)blot out his name from under heaven. 21 Then the Lord will single him out for [i]adversity from all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant (U)which are written in this book of the law.
22 “Now the generation to come, your sons who rise up after you and (V)the foreigner who comes from a distant land, when they see the plagues of the land and the diseases with which the Lord has [j]afflicted it, will say, 23 ‘All its land is (W)brimstone and salt, (X)a burning waste, [k]unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows in it, like the overthrow of (Y)Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.’ 24 All the nations will say, ‘(Z)Why has the Lord done thus to this land? Why this great [l]outburst of anger?’ 25 Then men will say, ‘(AA)Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. 26 They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they have not known and whom He had not [m]allotted to them. 27 Therefore, the anger of the Lord burned against that land, (AB)to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book; 28 and (AC)the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger and in fury and in great wrath, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.’
29 “(AD)The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but (AE)the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.
Restoration Promised
30 “So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, (AF)the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you [n]call them to mind (AG)in all nations where the Lord your God has banished you, 2 and you (AH)return to the Lord your God and [o]obey Him (AI)with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons, 3 then the Lord your God will (AJ)restore [p]you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and (AK)will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has (AL)scattered you. 4 If your outcasts are at the ends of the [q]earth, (AM)from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will [r]bring you back. 5 (AN)The Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and (AO)multiply you more than your fathers.
6 “Moreover (AP)the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your [s]descendants, (AQ)to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. 7 (AR)The Lord your God will [t]inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. 8 And you shall again [u]obey the Lord, and observe all His commandments which I command you today. 9 (AS)Then the Lord your God will [v]prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the [w]offspring of your [x]body and in the [y]offspring of your cattle and in the [z]produce of your ground, for (AT)the Lord will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; 10 [aa]if you [ab]obey the Lord your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which (AU)are written in this book of the law, [ac]if you turn to the Lord your God (AV)with all your heart and soul.
11 “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it [ad]out of reach. 12 It is not in heaven, [ae]that you should say, ‘(AW)Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, [af]that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.
Choose Life
15 “See, (AX)I have set before you today life and [ag]prosperity, and death and [ah]adversity; 16 in that I command you today (AY)to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you (AZ)may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. 17 But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that (BA)you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter [ai]and possess it. 19 (BB)I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, (BC)the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your [aj]descendants, 20 (BD)by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and (BE)by holding fast to Him; (BF)for [ak]this is your life and the length of your days, [al]that you may live in (BG)the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Woes upon the Pharisees
37 Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee *asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in, and reclined at the table. 38 When the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that He had not first [a](A)ceremonially washed before the [b]meal. 39 But (B)the Lord said to him, “Now (C)you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but [c]inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness. 40 (D)You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But (E)give that which is within as charity, and [d]then all things are (F)clean for you.
42 “(G)But woe to you Pharisees! For you (H)pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you (I)love the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places. 44 (J)Woe to you! For you are like [e]concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”
45 One of the [f](K)lawyers *said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say this, You insult us too.” 46 But He said, “Woe to you (L)lawyers as well! For (M)you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, [g]while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 (N)Woe to you! For you build the [h]tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. 48 So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 For this reason also (O)the wisdom of God said, ‘(P)I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will [i]persecute, 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed (Q)since the foundation of the world, may be [j]charged against this generation, 51 from (R)the blood of Abel to (S)the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be [k]charged against this generation.’ 52 Woe to you [l](T)lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; (U)you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”
53 When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects, 54 (V)plotting against Him (W)to catch [m]Him in something He might say.
God Knows and Cares
12 Under these circumstances, after [n]so many thousands of [o]people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “(X)Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 (Y)But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 3 Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have [p]whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon (Z)the housetops.
4 “I say to you, (AA)My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will [q]warn you whom to fear: (AB)fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into [r](AC)hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! 6 Are not (AD)five sparrows sold for two [s]cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 (AE)Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
God’s Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
78 (A)Listen, O my people, to my [b]instruction;
(B)Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will (C)open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter (D)dark sayings of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And (E)our fathers have told us.
4 We will (F)not conceal them from their children,
But (G)tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His (H)wondrous works that He has done.
5 For He established a (I)testimony in Jacob
And appointed a (J)law in Israel,
Which He (K)commanded our fathers
That they should [c](L)teach them to their children,
6 (M)That the generation to come might know, even (N)the children yet to be born,
That they may arise and (O)tell them to their children,
7 That they should put their confidence in God
And (P)not forget the works of God,
But (Q)keep His commandments,
8 And (R)not be like their fathers,
A (S)stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that (T)did not [d]prepare its heart
And whose spirit was not (U)faithful to God.
9 The sons of Ephraim [e]were (V)archers equipped with bows,
Yet (W)they turned back in the day of battle.
10 They (X)did not keep the covenant of God
And refused to (Y)walk in His law;
11 They (Z)forgot His deeds
And His [f]miracles that He had shown them.
12 (AA)He wrought wonders before their fathers
In the land of Egypt, in the (AB)field of Zoan.
13 He (AC)divided the sea and caused them to pass through,
And He made the waters stand (AD)up like a heap.
14 Then He led them with the cloud by (AE)day
And all the night with a (AF)light of fire.
15 He (AG)split the rocks in the wilderness
And gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths.
16 He (AH)brought forth streams also from the rock
And caused waters to run down like rivers.
17 Yet they still continued to sin against Him,
To (AI)rebel against the Most High in the desert.
18 And in their heart they (AJ)put God to the test
By asking (AK)food according to their desire.
19 Then they spoke against God;
They said, “(AL)Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 “Behold, He (AM)struck the rock so that waters gushed out,
And streams were overflowing;
Can He give bread also?
Will He provide [g](AN)meat for His people?”
21 Therefore the Lord heard and [h]was (AO)full of wrath;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob
And anger also mounted against Israel,
22 Because they (AP)did not believe in God
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He commanded the clouds above
And (AQ)opened the doors of heaven;
24 He (AR)rained down manna upon them to eat
And gave them [i](AS)food from heaven.
25 Man did eat the bread of [j]angels;
He sent them [k]food [l](AT)in abundance.
26 He (AU)caused the east wind to blow in the heavens
And by His [m]power He directed the south wind.
27 When He rained [n]meat upon them like the dust,
Even (AV)winged fowl like the sand of the seas,
28 Then He let them fall in the midst of [o]their camp,
Round about their dwellings.
29 So they (AW)ate and were well filled,
And their desire He gave to them.
30 [p]Before they had satisfied their desire,
(AX)While their food was in their mouths,
31 The (AY)anger of God rose against them
And killed [q]some of their (AZ)stoutest ones,
And [r]subdued the choice men of Israel.
19 Truthful lips will be established forever,
But a (A)lying tongue is only for a moment.
20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,
But counselors of peace have joy.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.