Deuteronomy 17 Cross References - MSB

¹ You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep with any defect or serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God. ² If a man or woman among you in one of the towns that the LORD your God gives you is found doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God by transgressing His covenant ³ and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden— ⁴ and if it is reported and you hear about it, you must investigate it thoroughly. If the report is true and such an abomination has happened in Israel, ⁵ you must bring out to your gates the man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you must stone that person to death. ⁶ On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but he shall not be executed on the testimony of a lone witness. ⁷ The hands of the witnesses shall be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. So you must purge the evil from among you. ⁸ If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose. ⁹ You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case. ¹⁰ You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the LORD will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you, ¹¹ according to the terms of law they give and the verdict they proclaim. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from the decision they declare to you. ¹² But the man who acts presumptuously, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, or to the judge, must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel. ¹³ Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will no longer behave arrogantly. ¹⁴ When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” ¹⁵ you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers. ¹⁶ But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’ ¹⁷ He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold. ¹⁸ When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. ¹⁹ It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by carefully observing all the words of this instruction and these statutes. ²⁰ Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, and he will not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left, in order that he and his sons may reign many years over his kingdom in Israel.

³ After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside the well-fed cows on the bank of the river. ⁴ And the cows that were sickly and thin devoured the seven sleek, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up,

¹⁹ After them, seven other cows—sickly, ugly, and thin—came up. I have never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt!

⁵ Your lamb must be an unblemished year-old male, and you may take it from the sheep or the goats.

²⁰ You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf. ²¹ When a man presents a peace offering to the LORD from the herd or flock to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without blemish or defect to be acceptable. ²² You are not to present to the LORD any animal that is blind, injured, or maimed, or anything with a running sore, a festering rash, or a scab; you must not put any of these on the altar as an offering made by fire to the LORD. ²³ You may present as a freewill offering an ox or sheep that has a deformed or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow. ²⁴ You are not to present to the LORD an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut; you are not to sacrifice them in your land. ²⁵ Neither you nor a foreigner shall present food to your God from any such animal. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and flawed.’”

²¹ But if an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.

¹⁸ You must not bring the wages of a prostitute, whether female or male, into the house of the LORD your God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to the LORD your God.

⁴ then the husband who divorced her first may not remarry her after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination to the LORD. You must not bring sin upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

¹⁶ For everyone who behaves dishonestly in regard to these things is detestable to the LORD your God.

¹⁶ There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him:

¹ Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight.

⁸ The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.

¹⁰ Differing weights and unequal measures—both are detestable to the LORD.

⁸ When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present the lame and sick ones, is it not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the LORD of Hosts.

¹³ You also say: ‘Oh, what a nuisance!’ And you turn up your nose at it,” says the LORD of Hosts. “You bring offerings that are stolen, lame, or sick! Should I accept these from your hands?” asks the LORD. ¹⁴ “But cursed is the deceiver who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and My name is to be feared among the nations.

¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify your consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!

¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.

¹⁵ and if you reject My statutes, despise My ordinances, and neglect to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant,

²⁵ And I will bring a sword against you to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

²³ Be careful that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God that He made with you; do not make an idol for yourselves in the form of anything He has forbidden you.

⁶ If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (which neither you nor your fathers have known, ⁷ the gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, whether from one end of the earth or the other), ⁸ you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him. ⁹ Instead, you must surely kill him. Your hand must be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people. ¹⁰ Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ¹¹ Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you. ¹² If, regarding one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you to inhabit, you hear it said ¹³ that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known), ¹⁴ then you must inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. And if it is established with certainty that this abomination has been committed among you, ¹⁵ you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction all its people and livestock. ¹⁶ And you are to gather all its plunder in the middle of the public square, and completely burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. The city must remain a mound of ruins forever, never to be rebuilt. ¹⁷ Nothing devoted to destruction shall cling to your hands, so that the LORD will turn from His fierce anger, grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers, ¹⁸ because you obey the LORD your God, keeping all His commandments I am giving you today and doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD your God.

⁵ you must bring out to your gates the man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you must stone that person to death.

¹⁸ Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Make sure there is no root among you that bears such poisonous and bitter fruit,

²⁵ And the people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned 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.

²⁰ When I have brought them into the land that I swore to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. Then they will turn to other gods and worship them, and they will reject Me and break My covenant.

¹¹ Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these things with their own possessions.

¹⁵ The one who is caught with the things devoted to destruction must be burned, along with all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD and committed an outrage in Israel.’”

¹⁶ If you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from this good land He has given you.”

²⁰ So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed the covenant I laid down for their fathers and has not heeded My voice,

¹² This happened because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD their God, but violated His covenant—all that Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded—and would neither listen nor obey.

³² It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.

³⁸ And I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and those who shed blood; so I will bring upon you the wrath of your bloodshed and jealousy.

⁷ But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there they were unfaithful to Me.

¹ Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because the people have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.

⁹ It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not abide by My covenant, and I disregarded them, declares the Lord. ¹⁰ For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.

¹⁹ When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.

³ For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, and he raised up altars for Baal. He made an Asherah pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done, and he worshiped and served all the host of heaven.

²⁶ if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor, ²⁷ so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,

²² For when I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt, I did not merely command them about burnt offerings and sacrifices, ²³ but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you.

³¹ They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.

² They will be exposed to the sun and moon, and to all the host of heaven which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up or buried, but will become like dung lying on the ground.

⁵ They have built high places to Baal on which to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I never commanded or mentioned, nor did it even enter My mind.

³⁵ They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech—something I never commanded them, nor had it ever entered My mind, that they should commit such an abomination and cause Judah to sin.

¹⁶ So He brought me to the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing to the east in worship of the sun.

¹² If, regarding one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you to inhabit, you hear it said ¹³ that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known), ¹⁴ then you must inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. And if it is established with certainty that this abomination has been committed among you,

¹⁸ The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is proven to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother,

² It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out.

⁵¹ “Does our law convict a man without first hearing from him to determine what he has done?”

¹⁴ “Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then have the whole assembly stone him.

¹⁶ Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD must surely be put to death; the whole assembly must surely stone him, whether he is a foreign resident or native; if he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.

¹⁰ Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ¹¹ Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.

²¹ Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. So you must purge the evil from among you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.

²¹ she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. So you must purge the evil from among you.

²⁴ you must take both of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. So you must purge the evil from among you.

²⁵ “Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.

³⁰ If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death on the testimony of the witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of a lone witness.

¹⁵ A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

¹⁶ But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

¹⁷ Even in your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. ¹⁸ I am One who testifies about Myself, and the Father, who sent Me, also testifies about Me.”

¹ This is the third time I am coming to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”

¹⁹ Do not entertain an accusation against an elder, except on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

⁵ Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you must purge the evil from among you.

⁹ Instead, you must surely kill him. Your hand must be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.

¹² But the man who acts presumptuously, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, or to the judge, must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel.

¹⁹ you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. So you must purge the evil from among you.

⁷ If a man is caught kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. So you must purge the evil from among you.

¹³ Hand over the wicked men of Gibeah so we can put them to death and purge Israel of this evil.” But the Benjamites refused to heed the voice of their fellow Israelites.

⁵⁸ They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ While they were stoning him, Stephen appealed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

¹³ God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

²⁶ And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but any minor issue they would judge themselves.

¹² Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death. ¹³ If, however, he did not lie in wait, but God allowed it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. ¹⁴ But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death.

²⁰ If a man strikes his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and the servant dies by his hand, he shall surely be punished.

²² If men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, but there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands and as the court allows.

²⁸ If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must surely be stoned, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the ox shall not be held responsible.

² If a thief is caught breaking in and is beaten to death, no one shall be guilty of bloodshed.

¹¹ designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.

¹⁶ If, however, anyone strikes a person with an iron object and kills him, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.

¹⁹ The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him. ²⁰ Likewise, if anyone maliciously pushes another or intentionally throws an object at him and kills him, ²¹ or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must surely be put to death; he is a murderer. When the avenger of blood finds the murderer, he is to kill him. ²² But if anyone pushes a person suddenly, without hostility, or throws an object at him unintentionally, ²³ or without looking drops a heavy stone that kills him, but he was not an enemy and did not intend to harm him, ²⁴ then the congregation must judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances. ²⁵ The assembly is to protect the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil. ²⁶ But if the manslayer ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he fled ²⁷ and the avenger of blood finds him outside of his city of refuge and kills him, then the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed ²⁸ because the manslayer must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may he return to the land he owns. ²⁹ This will be a statutory ordinance for you for the generations to come, wherever you live. ³⁰ If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death on the testimony of the witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of a lone witness. ³¹ You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death. ³² Nor should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to a city of refuge and allow him to return and live on his own land before the death of the high priest. ³³ Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. ³⁴ Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell. For I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.”

¹⁷ Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.”

⁵ Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.

⁴ Now this is the situation regarding the manslayer who flees to one of these cities to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally, without intending to harm him:

¹⁰ Thus innocent blood will not be shed in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed. ¹¹ If, however, a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait, attacks him and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities,

¹⁷ both parties to the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD, before the priests and judges who are in office at that time.

¹⁶ At that time two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. ¹⁷ One woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth while she was in the house. ¹⁸ On the third day after I gave birth, this woman also had a baby. We were alone, with no one in the house but the two of us. ¹⁹ During the night this woman’s son died because she rolled over on him. ²⁰ So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I was asleep. She laid him in her bosom and put her dead son at my bosom. ²¹ The next morning, when I got up to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. But when I examined him, I realized that he was not the son I had borne.” ²² “No,” said the other woman, “the living one is my son and the dead one is your son.” But the first woman insisted, “No, the dead one is yours and the living one is mine.” So they argued before the king. ²³ Then the king replied, “This woman says, ‘My son is alive and yours is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead and mine is alive.’” ²⁴ The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought him a sword, ²⁵ and the king declared, “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.” ²⁶ Then the woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she yearned with compassion for her son. “Please, my lord,” she said, “give her the living baby. Do not kill him!” But the other woman said, “He will be neither mine nor yours. Cut him in two!” ²⁷ Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. By no means should you kill him; she is his mother.” ²⁸ When all Israel heard of the judgment the king had given, they stood in awe of him, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

⁸ Moreover, Jehoshaphat appointed in Jerusalem some of the Levites, priests, and heads of the Israelite families to judge on behalf of the LORD and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem. ⁹ He commanded them, saying, “You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the LORD. ¹⁰ For every dispute that comes before you from your brothers who dwell in their cities—whether it regards bloodshed or some other violation of law, commandments, statutes, or ordinances—you are to warn them, so that they will not incur guilt before the LORD and wrath will not come upon you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not incur guilt.

⁴ where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, as a testimony for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD. ⁵ For there the thrones of judgment stand, the thrones of the house of David.

¹¹ “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Ask the priests for a ruling.

⁷ For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.

¹⁷ both parties to the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD, before the priests and judges who are in office at that time. ¹⁸ The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is proven to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother, ¹⁹ you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. So you must purge the evil from among you. ²⁰ Then the rest of the people will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything so evil among you. ²¹ You must show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.

¹⁸ Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”

²⁴ In any dispute, they shall officiate as judges and judge according to My ordinances. They must keep My laws and statutes regarding all My appointed feasts, and they must keep My Sabbaths holy.

² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come.

³² So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left.

²⁰ Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, and he will not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left, in order that he and his sons may reign many years over his kingdom in Israel.

¹ If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court to be judged, so that the innocent may be acquitted and the guilty condemned.

¹⁴ Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from any of the words I command you today, and do not go after other gods to serve them.

⁷ Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go.

⁶ Be very strong, then, so that you can keep and obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, not turning aside from it to the right or to the left.

¹⁹ So the king asked, “Is the hand of Joab behind all this?” The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king says. Yes, your servant Joab is the one who gave me orders; he told your maidservant exactly what to say.

²⁷ Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil.

⁸ But you have departed from the way, and your instruction has caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Hosts. ⁹ “So I in turn have made you despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not kept My ways, but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”

¹ Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God. ² Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval. ⁴ For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience. ⁶ This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work.

¹ Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,

¹³ Therefore submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority, ¹⁴ or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. ¹⁵ For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.

¹⁰ Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.

⁸ Yet in the same way these dreamers defile their bodies, reject authority, and slander glorious beings.

³⁰ But the person who sins defiantly, whether a native or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD. That person shall be cut off from among his people.

⁸ At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name, as they do to this day.

¹¹ Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.

⁷ The hands of the witnesses shall be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. So you must purge the evil from among you.

⁵ For the LORD your God has chosen Levi and his sons out of all your tribes to stand and minister in His name for all time.

⁷ then he shall serve in the name of the LORD his God like all his fellow Levites who stand there before the LORD.

²⁰ But if any prophet dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or to speak in the name of other gods, that prophet must be put to death.”

⁸ Whoever failed to appear within three days would forfeit all his property, according to the counsel of the leaders and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of the exiles.

¹³ Keep Your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless and cleansed of great transgression.

¹¹ When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom; and when a wise man is instructed, he acquires knowledge.

³ “From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—twenty-three years—the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. ⁴ And the LORD has sent all His servants the prophets to you again and again, but you have not listened or inclined your ear to hear. ⁵ The prophets told you, ‘Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and deeds, and you can dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. ⁶ Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’ ⁷ ‘But to your own harm, you have not listened to Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘so you have provoked Me to anger with the works of your hands.’ ⁸ Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, ⁹ behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation. ¹⁰ Moreover, I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. ¹¹ And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. ¹² But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it an everlasting desolation. ¹³ I will bring upon that land all the words I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. ¹⁴ For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.’”

⁴ But let no man contend; let no man offer reproof; for your people are like those who contend with a priest.

¹⁴ And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.

¹⁶ Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

⁴⁸ There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not receive My words: The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

²³ If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”

² For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

⁸ Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who has given you His Holy Spirit.

²⁰ Those who persist in sin should be rebuked in front of everyone, so that the others will stand in fear of sin.

²⁶ If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

³⁰ But the person who sins defiantly, whether a native or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD. That person shall be cut off from among his people. ³¹ He shall certainly be cut off, because he has despised the word of the LORD and broken His commandment; his guilt remains on him.”

²⁰ Then the rest of the people will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything so evil among you.

³⁴ “When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a contamination of mildew into a house in that land,

¹ When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you—

³¹ For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you. When you take possession of it and settle in it,

⁹ For you have not yet come to the resting place and the inheritance that the LORD your God is giving you. ¹⁰ When you cross the Jordan and live in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and He gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you dwell securely,

⁹ When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.

¹ When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and settle in it,

⁹ And He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

¹³ “Remember what Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you when he said, ‘The LORD your God will give you rest, and He will give you this land.’

⁵ “Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.” ⁶ But when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” their demand was displeasing in the sight of Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. ⁷ And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.

¹⁹ Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us. ²⁰ Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to judge us, to go out before us, and to fight our battles.”

¹⁹ They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of asking for a king.”

¹⁵ Now on the day before Saul’s arrival, the LORD had revealed to Samuel, ¹⁶ “At this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him leader over My people Israel; he will save them from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.” ¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke; he shall rule over My people.”

²⁴ Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

¹² So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him in. He was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him, for he is the one.” ¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

² Even in times past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And to you the LORD said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ruler over them.’”

²³ Now these are the numbers of men armed for battle who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him, in accordance with the word of the LORD:

¹⁰ He is the one who will build a house for My Name. He will be My son, and I will be his Father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

⁵ And of all my sons—for the LORD has given me many sons—He has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.

² The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One:

⁶ “I have installed My King on Zion, upon My holy mountain.”

²⁵ You should have kept your feet from going bare and your throat from being thirsty. But you said, ‘It is hopeless! For I love foreign gods, and I must go after them.’

²¹ Their leader will be one of their own, and their ruler will arise from their midst. And I will bring him near, and he will approach Me, for who would dare on his own to approach Me?” declares the LORD.

¹⁷ So tell us what You think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

¹⁷ When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, though it was shorter. For God said, “If the people face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”

¹³ But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.

³ Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”

⁶⁸ The LORD will return you to Egypt in ships by a route that I said you should never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”

¹¹ He said, “This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them to his own chariots and horses, to run in front of his chariots.

⁴ David captured from him a thousand chariots, seven thousand charioteers, and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and he hamstrung all the horses except a hundred he kept for the chariots.

⁵ At that time Adonijah, David’s son by Haggith, began to exalt himself, saying, “I will be king!” And he acquired chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run ahead of him.

²⁶ Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses.

²⁶ Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. ²⁷ The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills. ²⁸ Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.

²⁵ Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.

⁷ Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

¹ Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD. ² Yet He too is wise and brings disaster; He does not call back His words. He will rise up against the house of the wicked and against the allies of evildoers. ³ But the Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, the helper will stumble, and the one he helps will fall; both will perish together.

⁸ Now, therefore, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them! ⁹ For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?

¹⁴ and if you say, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt and live there, where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram’s horn or hunger for bread,’ ¹⁵ then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah! This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and reside there, ¹⁶ then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow on your heels into Egypt, and you will die there.

¹⁵ But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and yet escape?’

⁵ Will they not return to the land of Egypt and be ruled by Assyria because they refused to repent?

³ Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.”

²⁴ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

² And sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel; ³ his second was Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; his third was Absalom, the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; ⁴ his fourth was Adonijah, the son of Haggith; his fifth was Shephatiah, the son of Abital; ⁵ and his sixth was Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah. These sons were born to David in Hebron.

²¹ All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.

¹ King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. ² These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love. ³ He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines—and his wives turned his heart away. ⁴ For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.

²⁶ Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin.

¹⁰ Place no trust in extortion, or false hope in stolen goods. If your riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.

⁸ Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion. ⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.

¹⁵ Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

¹⁹ Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

²² The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

⁵ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?

²³ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

¹⁵ And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

⁹ Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

¹⁷ Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in the living God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.

⁹ So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel.

²⁴ When Moses had finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, ²⁵ he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD: ²⁶ “Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, so that it may remain there as a witness against you.

¹² Then Jehoiada brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, presented him with the Testimony, and proclaimed him king. They anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and declared, “Long live the king!”

⁸ Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD!” And he gave it to Shaphan, who read it.

¹⁵ And Hilkiah said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD!” And he gave it to Shaphan.

¹⁰ The day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, “Gather the people before Me to hear My words, so that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach them to their children.”

⁶ These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

¹⁸ Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

⁸ This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.

² But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.

⁹⁷ Oh, how I love Your law! All day long it is my meditation. ⁹⁸ Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are always with me. ⁹⁹ I have more insight than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation. ¹⁰⁰ I discern more than the elders, for I obey Your precepts.

³⁹ You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me,

¹⁵ From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.

² You must not add to or subtract from what I command you, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you.

² Remember that these forty years the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments.

¹³ and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all that you have is multiplied, ¹⁴ then your heart will become proud, and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

²⁵ Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD.

²⁸ Be careful to obey all these things I command you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God.

³² See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.

¹¹ according to the terms of law they give and the verdict they proclaim. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from the decision they declare to you.

¹³ “You have acted foolishly,” Samuel declared. “You have not kept the command that the LORD your God gave you; if you had, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the LORD.”

²³ For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”

¹² Nevertheless, for the sake of your father David, I will not do it during your lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. ¹³ Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

³⁴ Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David My servant, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and statutes.

³⁶ I will give one tribe to his son, so that My servant David will always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put My Name.

⁵ For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not turned aside from anything the LORD commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

³⁰ Nevertheless, the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in My sight and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel.”

¹⁰ You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has become proud. Glory in that and stay at home. Why should you stir up trouble so that you fall—you and Judah with you?”

¹⁹ You have said, ‘Look, I have defeated Edom,’ and your heart has become proud and boastful. Now stay at home. Why should you stir up trouble so that you fall—you and Judah with you?”

¹⁶ But when Uzziah grew powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.

²⁵ But because his heart was proud, Hezekiah did not repay the favor shown to him. Therefore wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶ Then Hezekiah humbled the pride of his heart—he and the people of Jerusalem—so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah.

¹² And in his distress, Manasseh sought the favor of the LORD his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his fathers.

¹⁹ His prayer and how God received his plea, as well as all his sin and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself, they are indeed written in the Records of the Seers.

²³ but he did not humble himself before the LORD as his father Manasseh had done; instead, Amon increased his guilt.

²⁷ because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its people, and because you have humbled yourself before Me and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I have heard you,’ declares the LORD.

¹¹ By them indeed Your servant is warned; in keeping them is great reward.

¹ A song of ascents. Of David. My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty. I do not aspire to great things or matters too lofty for me. ² Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

¹² If your sons keep My covenant and the testimony I will teach them, then their sons will also sit on your throne forever and ever.”

²⁷ The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be cut short.

²⁴ for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to every generation.

¹³ Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.

¹² For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled—

²⁰ But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him. ²¹ He was driven away from mankind, and his mind was like that of a beast. He lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he acknowledged that the Most High God rules over the kingdom of mankind, setting over it whom He wishes. ²² But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this. ²³ Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.

⁴ Look at the proud one; his soul is not upright—but the righteous will live by faith—

⁷ or because of these surpassingly great revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

⁵ Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility, being subject to one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”