Old/New Testament
13 “If there is a prophet among you, or one who claims to foretell the future by dreams, 2 and if his predictions come true but he says, ‘Come, let us worship the gods of the other nations,’ 3 don’t listen to him. For the Lord is testing you to find out whether or not you really love him with all your heart and soul. 4 You must never worship any God but Jehovah; obey only his commands and cling to him.
5 “The prophet who tries to lead you astray must be executed, for he has attempted to foment rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you out of slavery in the land of Egypt. By executing him you will clear out the evil from among you.
6-7 “If your nearest relative or closest friend, even a brother, son, daughter, or beloved wife whispers to you to come and worship these foreign gods, 8 do not consent or listen, and have no pity: Do not spare that person from the penalty; don’t conceal his horrible suggestion. 9 Execute him! Your own hand shall be the first upon him to put him to death, then the hands of all the people. 10 Stone him to death because he has tried to draw you away from the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear about his evil deed and will fear such wickedness as this among you.
12-14 “If you ever hear it said about one of the cities of Israel that some worthless rabble have led their fellow citizens astray with the suggestion that they worship foreign gods, first check the facts to see if the rumor is true. If you find that it is, that it is certain that such a horrible thing is happening among you in one of the cities the Lord has given you, 15 you must without fail declare war against that city and utterly destroy all of its inhabitants, and even all of the cattle. 16 Afterwards you must pile all the booty into the middle of the street and burn it, then put the entire city to the torch, as a burnt offering to Jehovah your God. That city shall forever remain a lifeless mound and may never be rebuilt. 17 Keep none of the booty! Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger and be merciful to you, and have compassion upon you, and make you a great nation just as he promised your ancestors.
18 “Of course, the Lord your God will be merciful only if you have been obedient to him and to his commandments that I am giving you today, and if you have been doing that which is right in the eyes of the Lord.
14 “Since you are the people of God, never cut yourselves as the heathen do when they worship their idols[a] nor shave the front halves of your heads for funerals. 2 You belong exclusively to the Lord your God, and he has chosen you to be his own possession, more so than any other nation on the face of the earth.
3-5 “You are not to eat any animal I have declared to be ceremonially defiled. These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep.
6 “Any animal that has cloven hooves and chews the cud may be eaten, 7 but if the animal doesn’t have both, it may not be eaten. So you may not eat the camel, the hare, or the coney. They chew the cud but do not have cloven hooves. 8 Pigs may not be eaten because, although they have cloven hooves, they don’t chew the cud. You may not even touch the dead bodies of such animals.
9 “Only sea animals with fins and scales may be eaten; 10 all other kinds are ceremonially defiled.
11-18 “You may eat any bird except the following: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, the buzzard, the falcon (any variety), the raven (any variety), the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk (any variety), the screech owl, the great owl, the horned owl, the pelican, the vulture, the cormorant, the stork, the heron (any variety), the hoopoe, the bat.
19-20 “With certain exceptions,[b] insects are a defilement to you and may not be eaten.
21 “Don’t eat anything that has died a natural death. However, a foreigner among you may eat it. You may give it or sell it to him, but don’t eat it yourself, for you are holy to the Lord your God.
“You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
22 “You must tithe all of your crops every year. 23 Bring this tithe to eat before the Lord your God at the place he shall choose as his sanctuary; this applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn of your flocks and herds. The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives. 24 If the place the Lord chooses for his sanctuary is so far away that it isn’t convenient to carry your tithes to that place, 25 then you may sell the tithe portion of your crops and herds and take the money to the Lord’s sanctuary. 26 When you arrive, use the money to buy an ox, a sheep, some wine, or beer, to feast there before the Lord your God, and to rejoice with your household.
27 “Don’t forget to share your income with the Levites in your community, for they have no property or crops as you do.
28 “Every third year you are to use your entire tithe for local welfare programs: 29 Give it to the Levites who have no inheritance among you, or to foreigners, or to widows and orphans within your city, so that they can eat and be satisfied; and then Jehovah your God will bless you and your work.
15 “At the end of every seventh year there is to be a canceling of all debts! 2 Every creditor shall write ‘Paid in full’ on any promissory note he holds against a fellow Israelite, for the Lord has released everyone from his obligation. 3 (This release does not apply to foreigners.) 4-5 No one will become poor because of this, for the Lord will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you if you obey this command. The only prerequisite for his blessing is that you carefully heed all the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. 6 He will bless you as he has promised. You shall lend money to many nations but will never need to borrow! You shall rule many nations, but they shall not rule over you!
7 “But if, when you arrive in the land the Lord will give you, there are any among you who are poor, you must not shut your heart or hand against them; 8 you must lend them as much as they need. 9 Beware! Don’t refuse a loan because the year of debt cancellation is close at hand! If you refuse to make the loan and the needy man cries out to the Lord, it will be counted against you as a sin. 10 You must lend him what he needs, and don’t moan about it either! For the Lord will prosper you in everything you do because of this! 11 There will always be some among you who are poor; that is why this commandment is necessary. You must lend to them liberally.
12 “If you buy a Hebrew slave, whether a man or woman, you must free him at the end of the sixth year you have owned him, 13 and don’t send him away empty-handed! 14 Give him a large farewell present from your flock, your olive press, and your winepress. Share with him in proportion as the Lord your God has blessed you. 15 Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God rescued you! That is why I am giving you this command.
16 “But if your Hebrew slave doesn’t want to leave—if he says he loves you and enjoys your pleasant home and gets along well with you— 17 then take an awl and pierce his ear into the door, and after that he shall be your slave forever. Do the same with your women slaves. 18 But when you free a slave you must not feel bad, for remember that for six years he has cost you less than half the price of a hired hand! And the Lord your God will prosper all you do because you have released him!
19 “You shall set aside for God all the firstborn males from your flocks and herds. Do not use the firstborn of your herds to work your fields, and do not shear the firstborn of your flocks of sheep and goats. 20 Instead, you and your family shall eat these animals before the Lord your God each year at his sanctuary. 21 However, if this firstborn animal has any defect such as being lame or blind, or if anything else is wrong with it, you shall not sacrifice it. 22 Instead, use it for food for your family at home. Anyone, even if ceremonially defiled at the time, may eat it, just as anyone may eat a gazelle or deer. 23 But don’t eat the blood; pour it out upon the ground like water.
28 One of the teachers of religion who was standing there listening to the discussion realized that Jesus had answered well. So he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 Jesus replied, “The one that says, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only God. 30 And you must love him with all your heart and soul and mind and strength.’
31 “The second is: ‘You must love others as much as yourself.’ No other commandments are greater than these.”
32 The teacher of religion replied, “Sir, you have spoken a true word in saying that there is only one God and no other. 33 And I know it is far more important to love him with all my heart and understanding and strength, and to love others as myself, than to offer all kinds of sacrifices on the altar of the Temple.”
34 Realizing this man’s understanding, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared ask him any more questions.
35 Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple area, he asked them this question:
“Why do your religious teachers claim that the Messiah must be a descendant of King David? 36 For David himself said—and the Holy Spirit was speaking through him when he said it—‘God said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’ 37
(This sort of reasoning delighted the crowd and they listened to him with great interest.)
38 Here are some of the other things he taught them at this time:
“Beware of the teachers of religion! For they love to wear the robes of the rich and scholarly, and to have everyone bow to them as they walk through the markets. 39 They love to sit in the best seats in the synagogues and at the places of honor at banquets— 40 but they shamelessly cheat widows out of their homes and then, to cover up the kind of men they really are, they pretend to be pious by praying long prayers in public. Because of this, their punishment will be the greater.”
41 Then he went over to the collection boxes in the Temple and sat and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Some who were rich put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two pennies.
43-44 He called his disciples to him and remarked, “That poor widow has given more than all those rich men put together! For they gave a little of their extra fat,[a] while she gave up her last penny.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.