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. 23 And ^fwhen the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Go up and take possession of the land that I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God and ^gdid not believe him or obey his voice. 24 ^hYou have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.

25 ^x“So I lay prostrate before the Lord for these forty days and forty nights, because the Lord had said he would destroy you. 26 ⁱAnd I prayed to the Lord, ‘O Lord God, do not destroy your people and your heritage, whom you have redeemed through your greatness, whom you have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 27 Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do not regard the stubbornness of this people, or their wickedness or their sin, 28 lest the land from which you brought us say, ^j“Because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land that he promised them, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.” 29 ^kFor they are your people and your heritage, whom you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.’

New Tablets of Stone

1 “At that time the Lord said to me, ^l‘Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to me on the mountain and ^mmake an ark of wood. 2 And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets that you broke, and ⁿyou shall put them in the ark.’ 3 So I made an ark ^oof acacia wood, and ^pcut two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4 And ^qhe wrote on the tablets, in the same writing as before, the Ten Commandments^{2 r}that the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire ^son the day of the assembly. And the Lord gave them to me. 5 Then I turned and ^tcame down from the mountain and ^uput the tablets in the ark that I had made. ^vAnd there they are, as the Lord commanded me.”

6 (The people of Israel ^wjourneyed from Beeroth Bene-jaakan³ to Moserah. ^xThere Aaron died, and there he was buried. And his son Eleazar ministered as priest in his place. 7 ^yFrom there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land with brooks of water. 8 At that time ^zthe Lord set apart the tribe of Levi ^ato carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord ^bto stand before the Lord to minister to him and ^cto bless in his name, to this day. 9 ^dTherefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God said to him.)

10 ^e“I myself stayed on the mountain, as at the first time, forty days and forty nights, ^fand the Lord listened to me that time also. The Lord was unwilling to destroy you. 11 ^gAnd the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go on your journey at the head of the people, so that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore to their fathers to give them.’

Circumcise Your Heart

12 “And now, Israel, ^hwhat does the Lord your God require of you, but ⁱto fear the Lord your God, ^jto walk in all his ways, ^kto love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and ^lto keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today ^mfor your good? 14 Behold, ⁿto the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, ^othe earth with all that is in it. 15 Yet ^pthe Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. 16 Circumcise therefore ^qthe foreskin of your heart, and be no longer ^rstubborn. 17 For the Lord your God is ^sGod of gods and ^tLord of lords, ^uthe great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is ^vnot partial and takes no bribe. 18 ^wHe executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. 19 ^xLove the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 20 ⁱYou shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and ^yhold fast to him, and ^zby his name you shall swear. 21 ^aHe is your praise. He is your God, ^bwho has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt ^cseventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you ^das numerous as the stars of heaven.

Great Is Your Steadfast Love

ⁱA Prayer of David.

The Conversion of Saul

1 But Saul, ^bstill ^cbreathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to ^dthe high priest 2 and asked him for letters ^eto the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to ^fthe Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 ^gNow as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ^hme?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, ^hwhom you are persecuting. 6 But ⁱrise and enter the city, and you will be told ^jwhat you are to do.” 7 ^kThe men who were traveling with him stood speechless, ^lhearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, ^mhe saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named ⁿAnanias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, ^o“Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man ^pof Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and ^qlay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, ^rhow much evil he has done to ^syour ^tsaints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from ^uthe chief priests to bind all who ^vcall on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for ^whe is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name ^xbefore the Gentiles and ^ykings and the children of Israel. 16 For ^zI will show him how much ^ahe must suffer ^bfor the sake of my name.” 17 So ^cAnanias departed and entered the house. And ^dlaying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and ^ebe filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and ^fhe regained his sight. Then ^ghe rose and was baptized; 19 and ^htaking food, he was strengthened.

Saul Proclaims Jesus in Synagogues

For ⁱsome days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ^j“He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who ^kmade havoc ^lin Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul ^mincreased all the more in strength, and ⁿconfounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving ^othat Jesus was the Christ.

Saul Escapes from Damascus

23 ^pWhen many days had passed, the Jews¹ plotted to kill him, 24 but their ^qplot became known to Saul. ^rThey were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and ^slet him down through an opening in the wall,² lowering him in a basket.

Saul in Jerusalem

26 And ^twhen he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But ^uBarnabas took him and ^vbrought him to the apostles and declared to them ^whow on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and ^xhow at Damascus he had ^ypreached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went ^zin and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against ^athe Hellenists.³ But ^bthey were seeking to kill him. 30 And when ^cthe brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off ^dto Tarsus.

31 So ^ethe church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And ^fwalking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, ^git multiplied.

The Healing of Aeneas

32 Now ^has Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, ⁱJesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. 35 ^jAnd all the residents of Lydda and ^kSharon saw him, and ^lthey turned to the Lord.

Dorcas Restored to Life

36 Now there was in ^mJoppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas.⁴ She was full of ⁿgood works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in ^oan upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, ^p“Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to ^qthe upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics⁵ and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter ^rput them all outside, and ^sknelt down and prayed; and turning to the body ^the said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and ^umany believed in the Lord. 43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days ^vwith one Simon, a tanner.