Repentance and Forgiveness
1 h“And iwhen all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and jyou call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and kreturn to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the Lord your God lwill restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will mgather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 nIf your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. 5 And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. oAnd he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 And pthe Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, qso that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. 7 And the Lord your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. 8 And you shall again obey the voice of the Lord and keep all his commandments that I command you today. 9 rThe Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. sFor the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, 10 when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
The Choice of Life and Death
11 “For this commandment that I command you today tis not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 uIt is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
15 “See, vI have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God1 that I command you today, wby loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules,2 then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if xyour heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 yI declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, zblessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice aand holding fast to him, for bhe is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in cthe land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Teaching About Divorce
1 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from nGalilee and oentered pthe region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And qlarge crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 And Pharisees came up to him and rtested him by asking, s“Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, t“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, u‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and vthe two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. wWhat therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, x“Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your yhardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 zAnd I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”1
10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, a“Not everyone can receive this saying, but only bthose to cwhom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs dfor the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”
Let the Children Come to Me
13 eThen children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples frebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, g“Let the little children hcome to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.
