Not Because of Righteousness

1 “Hear, O Israel: you are ^vto cross over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations ^wgreater and mightier than you, cities great and fortified up to heaven, 2 a people great and tall, ^xthe sons of the Anakim, ^ywhom you know, and of whom you have heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the sons of Anak?’ 3 Know therefore today that he who ^zgoes over before you ^aas a consuming fire is the Lord your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you. ^bSo you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the Lord has promised you.

4 ^c“Do not say in your heart, after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is ^dbecause of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out before you. 5 ^eNot because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm ^fthe word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

6 “Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are ^ga stubborn people. 7 Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. ^hFrom the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord. 8 Even ⁱat Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath, and the Lord was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you. 9 ^jWhen I went up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord made with you, I remained on the mountain ^kforty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10 And ^lthe Lord gave me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them were all the words that the Lord had spoken with you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire ^mon the day of the assembly. 11 And at the end of forty days and forty nights the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12 Then the Lord said to me, ⁿ‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you have brought from Egypt have acted corruptly. They have ^oturned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them; they have made themselves a metal image.’

The Golden Calf

13 ^p“Furthermore, the Lord said to me, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, it is ^ga stubborn people. 14 ^qLet me alone, that I may destroy them and ^rblot out their name from under heaven. And ^sI will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’ 15 ^tSo I turned and came down from the mountain, and ^uthe mountain was burning with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16 And ^vI looked, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had made yourselves a golden¹ calf. ^wYou had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you. 17 So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes. 18 Then I ^xlay prostrate before the Lord ^yas before, forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all the sin that you had committed, ^zin doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger. 19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure that the Lord bore against you, so that he was ready to destroy you. ^aBut the Lord listened to me that time also. 20 And the Lord was so angry with Aaron that he was ready to destroy him. And I prayed for Aaron also at the same time. 21 Then ^bI took the sinful thing, the calf that you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust. And I threw the dust of it into the brook that ran down from the mountain.

22 “At ^cTaberah also, and at ^dMassah and at ^eKibroth-hattaavah you provoked the Lord to wrath.

Messengers from John the Baptist

1 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

2 ^eNow when John heard ^fin prison about the deeds of ^gthe Christ, he sent word by ^hhis disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you ⁱthe one who is to come, or shall we ^jlook for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 ^kthe blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers¹ are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and ^lthe poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who ^mis not offended by me.”

7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ⁿinto the wilderness to see? ^oA reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man² dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? ^pA prophet?³ Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,

11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 ^rFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,⁴ and the violent take it by force. 13 ^rFor all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is ^sElijah who is to come. 15 ^tHe who has ears to hear,⁵ let him hear.

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

18 For John came ^uneither eating ^vnor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came ^weating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^xa friend of ^ytax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”⁶