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Covenant Renewal, Oaths, Restoration, Charges to the Nation
29 [a] These are the words of the covenant that Yahweh commanded Moses to make with the Israelites[b] in the land of Moab besides[c] the covenant that he made with them at Horeb.
2 And Moses summoned all of Israel and said to them, “You saw all that Yahweh did before your eyes in the land of Egypt and to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land; 3 that is, the great trials that your eyes saw, and those great signs and wonders. 4 But Yahweh has not given to you a heart to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear, even to this day.[d] 5 And I have led you forty years[e] in the desert; your clothes have not worn out on you,[f] and your sandal has not worn out on your foot.[g] 6 You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine and strong drink, so that you may know that I am Yahweh your God. 7 And when you came to this place then Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out to meet you for battle, and we defeated them. 8 And we took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites[h] and to the Gadites[i] and to the half-tribe of Manasseh. 9 And you must diligently observe the words of this covenant,[j] so that you may succeed in all that you do.
10 “You are standing today,[k] all of you, before[l] Yahweh your God, your leaders, your tribes, your elders, and your officials, all the men of Israel, 11 your little children, your women and your aliens[m] who are in the midst of your camp, from the choppers[n] of your wood to the drawers[o] of your water, 12 in order for you to enter into the covenant of Yahweh your God,[p] and into[q] his oath that Yahweh your God is making with you[r] today,[s] 13 in order to establish you today[t] to himself[u] as a people and so that he may be for you as God, just as he promised[v] to you and just as[w] he swore to your ancestors,[x] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
14 “Now I am not making this covenant[y] and this oath with you alone.[z] 15 But with whoever is standing here[aa] with us today[ab] before[ac] Yahweh our God, and with whoever is not standing here[ad] with us today.[ae] 16 For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we traveled through the midst of the nations that you traveled[af] through. 17 And you have seen their detestable things and their idols of wood and stone, silver, and gold that were among them, 18 so that there is not[ag] among you a man or a woman or a clan or a tribe whose heart[ah] turns today[ai] from being with Yahweh our God to go to serve the gods of these nations, so that there is not among you a root sprouting poison and wormwood. 19 And then when he hears the words of this oath, then[aj] he will assure himself[ak] in his heart, saying,[al] ‘Safety shall be mine even though I go in the stubbornness of my heart,’[am] thereby destroying the well-watered land along with the parched.[an] 20 Yahweh will not be willing to forgive him, for by then the anger of Yahweh will smoke, and his passion against that man and all the curses written in this scroll will descend on him, and Yahweh will blot out his name from under heaven. 21 And Yahweh will single him out for calamity out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant written in the scroll of this law.
22 “And the next generation, that is, your children who will rise up after you, and the foreigner who will come from a distant land, when[ao] they will see the plagues of that land and its diseases that Yahweh has inflicted upon it, will say, 23 ‘All its land is brimstone and salt left by fire, none of its land will be sown,[ap] and it will not make plants sprout out and it will not grow any vegetation; it is as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Adman and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overturned in his anger and in his wrath.’ 24 And all the nations will say, ‘Why[aq] has Yahweh done such a thing[ar] to this land? What caused the fierceness of this great anger?’ 25 And they will say,[as] ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors,[at] which he made[au] with them when he brought them out[av] from the land of Egypt. 26 And they went and served other gods and bowed down to them, gods whom they did not know them and he[aw] had not allotted to them. 27 So the anger of Yahweh was kindled[ax] against that land to bring upon it all the curses written in this scroll, 28 and Yahweh uprooted them from their land in anger and in wrath and in great fury, and he cast them into another land, just as it is today.’[ay]
29 “The hidden things belong to Yahweh[az] our God, but the revealed things belong to us[ba] to know and to our children forever,[bb] in order to do all the words of this law.”
30 “And then when all of these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse that I have set before you[bc] and you call them to mind[bd] among the nations there where Yahweh your God has scattered you, 2 and you return to Yahweh and you listen to his voice according to all that I am commanding you today,[be] both you and your children,[bf] with all your heart and with all your inner self,[bg] 3 and Yahweh your God will restore your fortunes, and he will have compassion upon you, and he will again gather you together[bh] from all the peoples where Yahweh your God scattered you there.
4 “Even if you are outcasts[bi] at the end of the heavens, even from there Yahweh your God shall gather you, and from there he shall bring you back.[bj] 5 And Yahweh your God will bring you to the land that your ancestors[bk] had taken possession of,[bl] and he will make you successful, and he will make you more numerous than your ancestors.[bm]
6 “And Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring to love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your inner self[bn] so that you may live.[bo] 7 And Yahweh your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you,[bp] on those who harassed you.[bq] 8 And you will again listen[br] to the voice of Yahweh, and you will do all his commandments that I am commanding you today.[bs] 9 And Yahweh your God will make you prosperous in all your undertakings,[bt] and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground abundantly,[bu] for Yahweh will again rejoice[bv] over you, just as he rejoiced over your ancestors.[bw] 10 He will do this if you listen to[bx] the voice of Yahweh your God by keeping his commandment and his statutes written in the scroll of this law and if you return to Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your inner self.[by]
11 “For this commandment that I am commanding you today[bz] is not too wonderful for you,[ca] and it is not too far from you. 12 It is not in the heavens so that you might say,[cb] ‘Who will go up for us to the heavens and get it for us and cause us to hear it, so that we may do it?’ 13 And it is not beyond the sea,[cc] so that you might say,[cd] ‘Who will cross for us to the other side of the sea and take it for us and cause us to hear it, so that we may do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, even in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may do it.[ce]
15 “See, I am setting before you[cf] today[cg] life and prosperity and death and disaster; 16 what I am commanding you today[ch] is to love Yahweh your God by going[ci] in his ways and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his regulations, and then you will live, and you will become numerous, and Yahweh your God will bless you in the land where you are going.[cj] 17 However, if your heart turns aside and you do not listen and you are lured away and you bow down to other gods and you serve them, 18 I declare to you today[ck] that you will certainly perish; you will not extend your time[cl] on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to go there to take possession of it. 19 I invoke as a witness against you today[cm] the heaven and the earth: life and death I have set before you,[cn] blessing and curse. So choose life, so that you may live, you and your offspring,[co] 20 by loving Yahweh your God by listening to his voice and by clinging to him, for he is your life and the length of your days in order for you to live on the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors,[cp] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them.”
Pharisees and Legal Experts Denounced
37 And as he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to have a meal[a] with him, and he went in and[b] reclined at table. 38 And the Pharisee, when he[c] saw it,[d] was astonished that he did not first wash before the meal. 39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but your inside is full of greediness and wickedness. 40 Fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give as charitable giving the things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.
42 “But woe to you, Pharisees, because you pay a tenth of mint and rue and every garden herb, and neglect justice and love for God! But it was necessary to do these things without neglecting those things also. 43 Woe to you, Pharisees, because you love the best seat in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces! 44 Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, and the people who walk over them[e] do not know it![f]
45 And one of the legal experts answered and[g] said to him, “Teacher, when you[h] say these things, you insult us also!” 46 So he said, “Woe to you also, legal experts, because you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers! 47 Woe to you, because you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them! 48 As a result you are witnesses, and you approve of the deeds of your fathers, because they killed them and you build their tombs![i] 49 For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that the blood of all the prophets that has been shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the temple building.[j] Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation! 52 Woe to you, legal experts, because you have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering!”
53 And when[k] he departed from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be terribly hostile, and to question him closely about many things, 54 plotting to catch him with reference to something he might say.[l]
Warning Against Hypocrisy
12 During this time[m] when[n] a crowd of many thousands had gathered together, so that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware for yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 But nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, and secret that will not be made known. 3 Therefore everything that you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered[o] in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.
Fear God Rather Than People
4 “And I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after these things do not have anything more to do. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: fear the one who has authority, after the killing, to throw you[p] into hell! Yes, I tell you, fear this one! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God. 7 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered! Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
God’s Faithfulness in Israel’s History
A maskil of Asaph.[a]
78 Listen, O my people, to my teaching.
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will offer[b] a parable with my mouth.
I will pour out riddles from long ago,
3 that we have heard and known,
and our ancestors[c] have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children,[d]
telling the next generation the praises of Yahweh,
and his power and his wonders that he has done.
5 For he established a testimony in Jacob,
and appointed a law[e] in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors[f]
to teach to their children,
6 so that the next generation might know—
children yet to be born—
that they might rise up and tell their children,
7 that they might set their confidence in God,
and not forget the deeds of God,
but keep his commandments,
8 and not be like their ancestors,[g]
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation that did not make ready its heart,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The sons of Ephraim, armed with archers,[h]
turned back on the day of battle.
10 They did not keep the covenant of God
and refused to go in his law.[i]
11 They also forgot his deeds,
and his wonders that he had shown them.
12 In front of their ancestors[j] he did a wonder,
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13 He split the sea and caused them to go over,
and he caused waters to stand like a heap.
14 And he led them with the cloud by day,
and all night with a fiery light.
15 He caused rocks to split in the wilderness
and provided drink abundantly as from the depths.
16 And he brought streams out of the rock
and caused water to flow down like rivers.
17 But they sinned still further against him
by rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 And they tested God in their heart
by asking food for their craving.[k]
19 And they spoke against God.
They said, “Is God able
to prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Yes, he struck the rock and water flowed
and streams gushed out,
but can he also give food
or provide meat for his people?”
21 Therefore Yahweh heard
and he was very angry,
and a fire was kindled against Jacob,
and his anger also rose up against Israel,
22 because they did not believe God,
and they did not trust his salvation.
23 Nevertheless, he commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven,
24 and rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Humankind ate the bread of angels.[l]
He sent them food enough to be satisfied.
26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens
and drove along the south wind by his strength.
27 Then he rained meat on them like dust,
even winged birds[m] like the sand of the seas.
28 He caused them to fall in the midst of his camp,
all around his dwellings.
29 So they ate and were well filled,
and he brought about what they craved.
30 They had not yet turned aside from their craving,
while their food was still in their mouth,
31 the anger of God rose against them,
and he killed some of the stoutest of them,
even the young men of Israel he caused to bow down in death.
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