Firstfruits and Tithes

26 When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, ² take some of the firstfruits^(A) of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name^{(B) 3} and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” ⁴ The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. ⁵ Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering^(C) Aramean,^(D) and he went down into Egypt with a few people^(E) and lived there and became a great nation,^(F) powerful and numerous. ⁶ But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer,^(G) subjecting us to harsh labor.^{(H) 7} Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice^(I) and saw^(J) our misery,^(K) toil and oppression.^{(L) 8} So the Lord brought us out of Egypt^(M) with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,^(N) with great terror and with signs and wonders.^{(O) 9} He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey;^{(P) 10} and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me.^(Q)” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. ¹¹ Then you and the Levites^(R) and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice^(S) in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.

¹² When you have finished setting aside a tenth^(T) of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe,^(U) you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. ¹³ Then say to the Lord your God: “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them.^{(V) 14} I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean,^(W) nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done everything you commanded me. ¹⁵ Look down from heaven,^(X) your holy dwelling place, and bless^(Y) your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Follow the Lord’s Commands

¹⁶ The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.^{(Z) 17} You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws—that you will listen to him.^{(AA) 18} And the Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession^(AB) as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. ¹⁹ He has declared that he will set you in praise,^(AC) fame and honor high above all the nations^(AD) he has made and that you will be a people holy^(AE) to the Lord your God, as he promised.

The Altar on Mount Ebal

27 Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Keep all these commands^(AF) that I give you today. ² When you have crossed the Jordan^(AG) into the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones^(AH) and coat them with plaster.^{(AI) 3} Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey,^(AJ) just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. ⁴ And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal,^(AK) as I command you today, and coat them with plaster. ⁵ Build there an altar^(AL) to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool^(AM) on them. ⁶ Build the altar of the Lord your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. ⁷ Sacrifice fellowship offerings^(AN) there, eating them and rejoicing^(AO) in the presence of the Lord your God.^{(AP) 8} And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones^(AQ) you have set up.”^(AR)

Curses From Mount Ebal

⁹ Then Moses and the Levitical^(AS) priests said to all Israel, “Be silent, Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the Lord your God.^{(AT) 10} Obey the Lord your God and follow his commands and decrees that I give you today.”

¹¹ On the same day Moses commanded the people:

¹² When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim^(AU) to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar,^(AV) Joseph and Benjamin.^{(AW) 13} And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal^(AX) to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.

¹⁴ The Levites shall recite to all the people of Israel in a loud voice:

Jesus Before Pilate^(A)

15 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law^(B) and the whole Sanhedrin,^(C) made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.^(D)

² “Are you the king of the Jews?”^(E) asked Pilate.

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

³ The chief priests accused him of many things. ⁴ So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”

⁵ But Jesus still made no reply,^(F) and Pilate was amazed.

⁶ Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. ⁷ A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. ⁸ The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

⁹ “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?”^(G) asked Pilate, ¹⁰ knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas^(H) instead.

¹² “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.

¹³ “Crucify him!” they shouted.

¹⁴ “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

¹⁵ Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged,^(I) and handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus^(J)

¹⁶ The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace^(K) (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. ¹⁷ They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. ¹⁸ And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!”^{(L) 19} Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. ²⁰ And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out^(M) to crucify him.

The Crucifixion of Jesus^(N)

²¹ A certain man from Cyrene,^(O) Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus,^(P) was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.^{(Q) 22} They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ²³ Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh,^(R) but he did not take it. ²⁴ And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots^(S) to see what each would get.

²⁵ It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶ The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.^(T)