Deuteronomy 32
1 Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;
hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
2 My teaching will drop like the rain,
my sayings will drip like the dew,
as rain drops upon the grass,
and showers upon new growth.
3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;
you must acknowledge the greatness of our God.
4 As for the Rock, his work is perfect,
for all his ways are just.
He is a reliable God who is never unjust,
he is fair and upright.
5 His people have been unfaithful to him;
they have not acted like his children—this is their sin.
They are a perverse and deceitful generation.
6 Is this how you repay the Lord,
you foolish, unwise people?
Is he not your father, your Creator?
He has made you and established you.
7 Remember the ancient days;
bear in mind the years of past generations.
Ask your father and he will inform you,
your elders, and they will tell you.
8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
when he divided up humankind,
he set the boundaries of the peoples,
according to the number of the heavenly assembly.
9 For the Lord’s allotment is his people,
Jacob is his special possession.
10 The Lord found him in a desolate land,
in an empty wasteland where animals howl.
He continually guarded him and taught him;
he continually protected him like the pupil of his eye.
11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
that hovers over its young,
so the Lord spread out his wings and took him,
he lifted him up on his pinions.
12 The Lord alone was guiding him,
no foreign god was with him.
13 He enabled him to travel over the high terrain of the land,
and he ate of the produce of the fields.
He provided honey for him from the cliffs,
and olive oil from the hardest of rocks,
14 butter from the herd
and milk from the flock,
along with the fat of lambs,
rams and goats of Bashan,
along with the best of the kernels of wheat;
and from the juice of grapes you drank wine.
15 But Jeshurun became fat and kicked;
you got fat, thick, and stuffed!
Then he deserted the God who made him,
and treated the Rock who saved him with contempt.
16 They made him jealous with other gods,
they enraged him with abhorrent idols.
17 They sacrificed to demons, not God,
to gods they had not known;
to new gods who had recently come along,
gods your ancestors had not known about.
18 You forgot the Rock who fathered you,
and put out of mind the God who gave you birth.
19 But the Lord took note and despised them
because his sons and daughters enraged him.
20 He said, “I will reject them.
I will see what will happen to them;
for they are a perverse generation,
children who show no loyalty.
21 They have made me jealous with false gods,
enraging me with their worthless gods;
so I will make them jealous with a people they do not recognize,
with a nation slow to learn I will enrage them.
22 For a fire has been kindled by my anger,
and it burns to lowest Sheol;
it consumes the earth and its produce,
and ignites the foundations of the mountains.
23 I will increase their disasters;
I will use up my arrows on them.
24 They will be starved by famine,
eaten by plague, and bitterly stung;
I will send the teeth of wild animals against them,
along with the poison of creatures that crawl in the dust.
25 The sword will make people childless outside,
and terror will do so inside;
they will destroy both the young man and the virgin,
the infant and the gray-haired man.
26 “I said, ‘I want to cut them in pieces.
I want to make people forget they ever existed.
27 But I fear the reaction of their enemies,
for their adversaries would misunderstand
and say, “Our power is great,
and the Lord has not done all this!”’
28 They are a nation devoid of wisdom,
and there is no understanding among them.
29 I wish that they were wise and could understand this,
and that they could comprehend what will happen to them.”
30 How can one man chase a thousand of them,
and two pursue ten thousand,
unless their Rock had delivered them up—
and the Lord had handed them over?
31 For our enemies’ rock is not like our Rock,
as even our enemies concede.
32 For their vine is from the stock of Sodom,
and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes contain venom;
their clusters of grapes are bitter.
33 Their wine is snakes’ poison,
the deadly venom of cobras.
34 “Is this not stored up with me?” says the Lord,
“Is it not sealed up in my storehouses?
35 I will get revenge and pay them back
at the time their foot slips;
for the day of their disaster is near,
and the impending judgment is rushing upon them!”
36 The Lord will judge his people,
and will change his plans concerning his servants;
when he sees that their power has disappeared,
and that no one is left, whether confined or set free.
37 He will say, “Where are their gods,
the rock in whom they sought security,
38 who ate the best of their sacrifices,
and drank the wine of their drink offerings?
Let them rise and help you;
let them be your refuge!
39 “See now that I, indeed I, am he!” says the Lord,
“and there is no other god besides me.
I kill and give life,
I smash and I heal,
and none can resist my power.
40 For I raise up my hand to heaven,
and say, ‘As surely as I live forever,
41 I will sharpen my lightning-like sword,
and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment;
I will execute vengeance on my foes,
and repay those who hate me!
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword will devour flesh—
the blood of the slaughtered and captured,
the chief of the enemy’s leaders.’”
43 Cry out, O nations, with his people,
for he will avenge his servants’ blood;
he will take vengeance against his enemies,
and make atonement for his land and people.
44 Then Moses went with Joshua son of Nun and recited all the words of this song to the people. 45 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel 46 he said to them, “Keep in mind all the words I am solemnly proclaiming to you today; you must command your children to observe carefully all the words of this law. 47 For this is no idle word for you—it is your life! By this word you will live a long time in the land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.”
48 Then the Lord said to Moses that same day, 49 “Go up to this Abarim hill country, to Mount Nebo (which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho), and look at the land of Canaan that I am giving to the Israelites as a possession. 50 You will die on the mountain that you ascend and join your deceased ancestors, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and joined his deceased ancestors, 51 for both of you rebelled against me among the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin when you did not show me proper respect among the Israelites. 52 You will see the land before you, but you will not enter the land that I am giving to the Israelites.”
Psalms 119:121-144
121 I do what is fair and right.
Do not abandon me to my oppressors.
122 Guarantee the welfare of your servant.
Do not let the arrogant oppress me.
123 My eyes grow tired as I wait for your deliverance,
for your reliable promise to be fulfilled.
124 Show your servant your loyal love.
Teach me your statutes.
125 I am your servant. Give me insight,
so that I can understand your rules.
126 It is time for the Lord to act—
they break your law.
127 For this reason I love your commands
more than gold, even purest gold.
128 For this reason I carefully follow all your precepts.
I hate all deceitful actions.
129 Your rules are marvelous.
Therefore I observe them.
130 Your instructions are a doorway through which light shines.
They give insight to the untrained.
131 I open my mouth and pant,
because I long for your commands.
132 Turn toward me and extend mercy to me,
as you typically do to your loyal followers.
133 Direct my steps by your word.
Do not let any sin dominate me.
134 Deliver me from oppressive men,
so that I can keep your precepts.
135 Smile on your servant.
Teach me your statutes!
136 Tears stream down from my eyes,
because people do not keep your law.
137 You are just, O Lord,
and your judgments are fair.
138 The rules you impose are just,
and absolutely reliable.
139 My zeal consumes me,
for my enemies forget your instructions.
140 Your word is absolutely pure,
and your servant loves it.
141 I am insignificant and despised,
yet I do not forget your precepts.
142 Your justice endures,
and your law is reliable.
143 Distress and hardship confront me,
yet I find delight in your commands.
144 Your rules remain just.
Give me insight so that I can live.
Isaiah 59
1 Look, the Lord’s hand is not too weak to deliver you;
his ear is not too deaf to hear you.
2 But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God;
your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers.
3 For your hands are stained with blood
and your fingers with sin;
your lips speak lies,
your tongue utters malicious words.
4 No one is concerned about justice;
no one sets forth his case truthfully.
They depend on false words and tell lies;
they conceive of oppression
and give birth to sin.
5 They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
a poisonous snake is hatched.
6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are sinful;
they commit violent crimes.
7 They are eager to do evil,
quick to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are sinful;
they crush and destroy.
8 They are unfamiliar with peace;
their deeds are unjust.
They use deceitful methods,
and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace.
9 For this reason deliverance is far from us
and salvation does not reach us.
We wait for light, but see only darkness;
we wait for a bright light, but live in deep darkness.
10 We grope along the wall like the blind,
we grope like those who cannot see;
we stumble at noontime as if it were evening.
Though others are strong, we are like dead men.
11 We all growl like bears,
we coo mournfully like doves;
we wait for deliverance, but there is none,
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For you are aware of our many rebellious deeds,
and our sins testify against us;
indeed, we are aware of our rebellious deeds;
we know our sins all too well.
13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;
we turned back from following our God.
We stir up oppression and rebellion;
we tell lies we concocted in our minds.
14 Justice is driven back;
godliness stands far off.
Indeed, honesty stumbles in the city square
and morality is not even able to enter.
15 Honesty has disappeared;
the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.
The Lord watches and is displeased,
for there is no justice.
16 He sees there is no advocate;
he is shocked that no one intervenes.
So he takes matters into his own hands;
his desire for justice drives him on.
17 He wears his desire for justice like body armor,
and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head.
He puts on the garments of vengeance
and wears zeal like a robe.
18 He repays them for what they have done,
dispensing angry judgment to his adversaries
and punishing his enemies.
He repays the coastlands.
19 In the west, people respect the Lord’s reputation;
in the east they recognize his splendor.
For he comes like a rushing stream
driven on by wind sent from the Lord.
20 “A protector comes to Zion,
to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds,” says the Lord.
21 “As for me, this is my promise to them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,” says the Lord.
Matthew 7
1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2 For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive. 3 Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own? 5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 6 Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces.
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Is there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you, for this fulfills the law and the prophets.
13 “Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it!
15 “Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they? 17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will recognize them by their fruit.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven—only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many powerful deeds in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’
24 “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because its foundation had been laid on rock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed—it was utterly destroyed!”
28 When Jesus finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed by his teaching, 29 because he taught them like one who had authority, not like their experts in the law.
