Miscellaneous Laws

15 ^v“You shall not give up to his master a slave¹ who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.

17 “None of the ^wdaughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none ^xof the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute. 18 You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a dog² into the house of the Lord your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.

19 ^y“You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, ^zinterest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. 20 ^aYou may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, ^bthat the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

21 ^c“If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. 23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.

24 “If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. 25 If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, ^dyou may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.

Laws Concerning Divorce

1 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and ^ehe writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, 2 and if she goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, 4 then ^fher former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

Miscellaneous Laws

5 ^g“When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year ^hto be happy with his wife³ whom he has taken.

6 “No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge.

7 ⁱ“If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he ^jtreats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. ^kSo you shall purge the evil from your midst.

8 “Take care, in ^la case of leprous⁴ disease, to be very careful to do according to all that the Levitical priests shall direct you. As I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to ^mMiriam ⁿon the way as you came out of Egypt.

10 “When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge. 11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. 12 And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge. 13 ^oYou shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and ^pbless you. And ^qit shall be righteousness for you before the Lord your God.

14 “You shall not ^roppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. 15 ^sYou shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), ^tlest he cry against you to the Lord, and you be guilty of sin.

16 ^u“Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.

17 ^v“You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, ^wor take a widow’s garment in pledge, 18 but ^xyou shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.

19 ^y“When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, ^zthat the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 ^xYou shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.

1 “If there is a ^adispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, ^bacquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty, 2 then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense. 3 ^cForty stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight.

4 ^d“You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.

Book Two

Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

To the choirmaster. A Maskil¹ of ^sthe Sons of Korah.

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

1 And again Jesus ^ospoke to them in parables, saying, 2 ^p“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave ^qa wedding feast for his son, 3 and ^rsent his servants¹ to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 ^sAgain he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my ^tdinner, ^umy oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But ^vthey paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, ^wtreated them shamefully, and ^xkilled them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and ^ydestroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not ^zworthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and ^bgathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there ^ca man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ^d‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and ^ecast him into the outer darkness. In that place ^ethere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are ^fcalled, but few are ^fchosen.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

15 ^gThen the Pharisees went and plotted how ^hto entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent ⁱtheir disciples to him, along with ^jthe Herodians, saying, “Teacher, ^kwe know that you are true and teach ^lthe way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for ^myou are not swayed by appearances.² 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay ⁿtaxes to ^oCaesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why ^pput me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.³ 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, ^q“Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they ^rleft him and went away.

Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

23 The same day ^sSadducees came to him, ^twho say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ^u‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. 26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh. 27 After them all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”

29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, ^vbecause you know neither the Scriptures nor ^wthe power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither ^xmarry nor ^xare given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, ^yhave you not read what was said to you by God: 32 ^z‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the crowd heard it, ^athey were astonished at his teaching.

The Great Commandment

34 ^bBut when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced ^cthe Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 ^dAnd one of them, ^ea lawyer, asked him a question ^fto test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, ^g“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And ^ha second is like it: ⁱYou shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 ^jOn these two commandments depend ^kall the Law and the Prophets.”

Whose Son Is the Christ?

41 ^lNow while the Pharisees ^mwere gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about ⁿthe Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, ⁿ“The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, ^oin the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

45 If then David calls him Lord, ^qhow is he his son?” 46 ^rAnd no one was able to answer him a word, ^snor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

1 Then Jesus ^tsaid to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 ^u“The scribes and the Pharisees ^vsit on Moses’ seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, ^wbut not the works they do. ^xFor they preach, but do not practice. 4 ^yThey tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,⁴ and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5 ^tThey do all their deeds ^zto be seen by others. For they make ^atheir phylacteries broad and ^btheir fringes long, 6 and they ^clove the place of honor at feasts and ^dthe best seats in the synagogues 7 and ^dgreetings in ^ethe marketplaces and being called ^frabbi⁵ by others. 8 ^gBut you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are ^hall brothers.⁶ 9 ⁱAnd call no man your father on earth, for ^jyou have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, ^kthe Christ. 11 ^lThe greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 ^mWhoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

13 “But woe ⁿto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you ^oshut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you ^pneither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.⁷ 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single ^qproselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a ^rchild of ^shell⁸ as yourselves.

16 “Woe to ^tyou, ^ublind guides, who say, ^v‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or ^wthe temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by ^xthe gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or ^ythe altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by ^zhim who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by ^aheaven swears by ^bthe throne of God and by ^chim who sits upon it.

23 ^d“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^eyou tithe mint and dill and ^fcumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: ^gjustice and mercy and faithfulness. ^hThese you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing ⁱa camel!

25 ^j“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^kyou clean the outside of ^lthe cup and the plate, but inside they are full of ^mgreed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of ^lthe cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

27 ⁿ“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like ^owhitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and ^pall uncleanness. 28 So you also ^qoutwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of ^rhypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 ^s“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are ^tsons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 ^uFill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, ^vyou brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to ^whell? 34 ^xTherefore ^yI send you ^zprophets and wise men and ^ascribes, ^bsome of whom you will kill and crucify, and ^bsome you will ^cflog in your synagogues and ^dpersecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all ^ethe righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^fAbel to the blood of ^gZechariah the son of Barachiah,⁹ whom you murdered between ^hthe sanctuary and ⁱthe altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, ^jall these things will come upon this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

37 ^k“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that ^lkills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have ^mgathered ⁿyour children together ^oas a hen gathers her brood ^punder her wings, and ^qyou were not willing! 38 See, ^ryour house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ^s‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

1 ^tJesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, ^uthere will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

3 As he sat on ^vthe Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him ^wprivately, saying, “Tell us, ^xwhen will these things be, and what will be the sign of your ^ycoming and of ^zthe end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, ^a“See that no one leads you astray. 5 For ^bmany will come in my name, saying, ‘I am ^cthe Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you ^dare not alarmed, for this ^emust take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For ^fnation will rise against nation, and ^gkingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^hfamines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of ⁱthe birth pains.

9 “Then ^jthey will deliver you up ^kto tribulation and ^lput you to death, and ^myou will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away¹⁰ and ⁿbetray one another and hate one another. 11 And many ^ofalse prophets will arise ^pand lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, ^qthe love of many will grow cold. 13 ^rBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom ^swill be proclaimed throughout the whole world ^tas a testimony ^uto all nations, and ^vthen the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation ^wspoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in ^xthe holy place (^ylet the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 ^zLet the one who is on ^athe housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And ^balas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be ^cgreat tribulation, ^dsuch as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for ^ethe sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 ^fThen if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For ^gfalse christs and ^hfalse prophets will arise and ⁱperform great signs and wonders, ^hso as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, ^jI have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, ^khe is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 ^lFor as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be ^mthe coming of the Son of Man. 28 ⁿWherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.