6 Now this is the instruction, the laws, and the precepts which the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land to which you go to possess it,

² That you may [reverently] fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, and keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.

³ Hear therefore, O Israel, and be watchful to do them, that it may be well with you and that you may increase exceedingly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

⁴ Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord [the only Lord].

⁵ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being and with all your might.

⁶ And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be [first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then]

⁷ You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.

⁸ And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets (forehead bands) between your eyes.

⁹ And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

¹⁰ And when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you, with great and goodly cities which you did not build,

¹¹ And houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and cisterns hewn out which you did not hew, and vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and when you eat and are full,

¹² Then beware lest you forget the Lord, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

²⁸ Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium (judgment hall, governor’s palace). And it was early. They themselves did not enter the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled (become ceremonially unclean), but might be fit to eat the Passover [supper].

²⁹ So Pilate went out to them and said, What accusation do you bring against this ^[a]Man?

³⁰ They retorted, If He were not an evildoer (criminal), we would not have handed Him over to you.

³¹ Pilate said to them, Take Him yourselves and judge and sentence and punish Him according to your [own] law. The Jews answered, It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.

³² This was to fulfill the word which Jesus had spoken to show (indicate, predict) by what manner of death He was to die.^(A)

³³ So Pilate went back again into the judgment hall and called Jesus and asked Him, Are You the King of the Jews?

³⁴ Jesus replied, Are you saying this of yourself [on your own initiative], or have others told you about Me?

³⁵ Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Your [own] people and nation and their chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?

³⁶ Jesus answered, My kingdom (kingship, royal power) belongs not to this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My followers would have been fighting to keep Me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, My kingdom is not from here (this world); [it has no such origin or source].

³⁷ Pilate said to Him, Then You are a King? Jesus answered, You say it! [You speak correctly!] For I am a King. [Certainly I am a King!] This is why I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the Truth. Everyone who is of the Truth [who is a friend of the Truth, who belongs to the Truth] hears and listens to My voice.

³⁸ Pilate said to Him, What is Truth? On saying this he went out to the Jews again and told them, I find no fault in Him.

³⁹ But it is your custom that I release one [prisoner] for you at the Passover. So shall I release for you the King of the Jews?

⁴⁰ Then they all shouted back again, Not Him [not this Man], but Barabbas! Now Barabbas was a robber.

13 Let love for your fellow believers continue and be a fixed practice with you [never let it fail].

² Do not forget or neglect or refuse to extend hospitality to strangers [in the brotherhood—being friendly, cordial, and gracious, sharing the comforts of your home and doing your part generously], for through it some have entertained angels without knowing it.^(A)

³ Remember those who are in prison as if you were their fellow prisoner, and those who are ill-treated, since you also are liable to bodily sufferings.

⁴ Let marriage be held in honor (esteemed worthy, precious, of great price, and especially dear) in all things. And thus let the marriage bed be undefiled (kept undishonored); for God will judge and punish the unchaste [all guilty of sexual vice] and adulterous.

⁵ Let your ^[a]character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] ^[b]Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor ^[c]give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, ^[d][I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor ^[e]let [you] down (^[f]relax My hold on you)! [^[g]Assuredly not!]^(B)

⁶ So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?^(C)

⁷ Remember your leaders and superiors in authority [for it was they] who brought to you the Word of God. Observe attentively and consider their manner of living (the outcome of their well-spent lives) and imitate their faith (^[h]their conviction that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of all things, the Provider and Bestower of eternal salvation through Christ, and their ^[i]leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness).

⁸ Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is [always] the same, yesterday, today, [yes] and forever (to the ages).

⁹ Do not be carried about by different and varied and alien teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established and ennobled and strengthened by means of grace (God’s favor and spiritual blessing) and not [to be devoted to] foods [rules of diet and ritualistic meals], which bring no [spiritual] benefit or profit to those who observe them.

¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who serve and ^[j]worship in the tabernacle have no right to eat.

¹¹ For when the blood of animals is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin, the victims’ bodies are burned outside the limits of the camp.^(D)

¹² Therefore Jesus also suffered and died outside the [city’s] gate in order that He might purify and consecrate the people through [the shedding of] His own blood and set them apart as holy [for God].

¹³ Let us then go forth [from all that would prevent us] to Him outside the camp [at Calvary], bearing the contempt and abuse and shame with Him.^(E)

¹⁴ For here we have no permanent city, but we are looking for the one which is to come.

¹⁵ Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name.^(F)

¹⁶ Do not forget or neglect to do kindness and good, to be generous and distribute and contribute to the needy [of the church ^[k]as embodiment and proof of fellowship], for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

¹⁷ Obey your spiritual leaders and submit to them [continually recognizing their authority over you], for they are constantly keeping watch over your souls and guarding your spiritual welfare, as men who will have to render an account [of their trust]. [Do your part to] let them do this with gladness and not with sighing and groaning, for that would not be profitable to you [either].

¹⁸ Keep praying for us, for we are convinced that we have a good (clear) conscience, that we want to walk uprightly and live a noble life, acting honorably and in complete honesty in all things.

¹⁹ And I beg of you [to pray for us] the more earnestly, in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.