Deuteronomy 19; Deuteronomy 20; Deuteronomy 21; Mark 13:21-37

1 The LORD your God will destroy the nations whose land he is giving you. You will drive them out. And you will settle down in their towns and houses.

2 When you do, set apart for yourselves three cities in the land. It's the land the LORD your God is giving you to take as your own.

3 Build roads to those cities and separate the land into three parts. Then anyone who kills another person can run to one of the cities for safety. They are in the land the LORD your God is giving you as your own.

4 Here is the rule about a person who kills someone. That person can run to one of those cities for safety. The rule applies to all those who kill a neighbor they didn't hate and didn't mean to kill.

5 For example, suppose a man goes into a forest with his neighbor to cut wood. When he swings his ax to chop down a tree, the head of the ax flies off. And it hits his neighbor and kills him. Then that man can run to one of those cities and save his life.

6 If he doesn't go to one of those cities, the dead man's nearest male relative might become very angry. He might chase the man. If the city is too far away, he might catch him and kill him. But he isn't worthy of death, because he didn't hate his neighbor.

7 That's why I command you to set apart for yourselves three cities.

8 The LORD your God will increase the size of your territory. He took an oath and promised your fathers he would do it. He will give you the whole land he promised them.

9 But he'll do it only if you are careful to obey all of the laws I'm commanding you today. I'm commanding you to love the LORD your God. I want you to live always as he wants you to live. When he gives you additional land, you must set apart three more cities.

10 Do it so the blood of those who aren't guilty of murder won't be spilled in your land. It's the land the LORD your God is giving you as your own.

11 But suppose a man hates his neighbor. So he hides and waits for him. Then he attacks him and kills him. And he runs to one of those cities for safety.

12 If he does, the elders of his own town must send for him. He must be brought back from the city and handed over to the dead man's nearest male relative. The relative will kill him.

13 Don't feel sorry for him. He has killed someone who hadn't done anything wrong. Crimes like that must be punished in Israel. Then things will go well with you.

14 Don't move your neighbor's boundary stone. It was set up by people who lived there before you. It marks the border of a field in the land you will receive as your own. The LORD your God is giving you that land. You will take it over.

15 Suppose someone is charged with committing a crime of any kind. Then one witness won't be enough to prove he is guilty. Every matter must be proved by the words of two or three witnesses.

16 Suppose a witness who tells lies goes to court and brings charges against someone. The witness says that person committed a crime.

17 Then the two people in the case must stand in front of the Lord. They must stand in front of the priests and the judges who are in office at that time.

18 The judges must check out the matter carefully. And suppose the witness is proved to be lying. Then he has given false witness against another Israelite.

19 So do to the lying witness what he tried to do to the other person. Get rid of that evil person.

20 The rest of the people will hear about it. And they will be afraid. They won't allow such an evil thing to be done among them again.

21 Don't feel sorry for that evil person. A life must be taken for a life. An eye must be put out for an eye. A tooth must be knocked out for a tooth. A hand must be cut off for a hand and a foot for a foot.

1 When you go to war against your enemies, you might see that they have horses and chariots. They might even have an army that is stronger than yours. But don't be afraid of them. The LORD your God will be with you. After all, he brought you up out of Egypt.

2 Just before you go into battle, the priest will come forward. He'll speak to the army.

3 He'll say, "Men of Israel, listen to me. Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Don't be scared. Don't be afraid. Don't panic. Don't be terrified by them.

4 The LORD your God is going with you. He'll fight for you. He'll help you win the battle over your enemies."

5 The officers will speak to the army. They will say, "Has anyone built a new house and not started to live in it? Let him go home. If he doesn't, he might die in battle. Then someone else will live in his house.

6 Has anyone planted a vineyard and not started to enjoy it? Let him go home. If he doesn't, he might die in battle. Then someone else will enjoy his vineyard.

7 Has anyone promised to get married to a woman but hasn't done it yet? Let him go home. If he doesn't, he might die in battle. Then someone else will marry her."

8 The officers will continue, "Is any man afraid? Is anyone scared? Let him go home. Then the other men won't lose hope too."

9 The officers will finish speaking to the army. When they do, they'll appoint commanders over it.

10 Suppose you march up to attack a city. Before you attack it, offer peace to its people.

11 Suppose they accept your offer and open their gates. Then force all of the people in the city to be your slaves. They will have to work for you.

12 But suppose they refuse your offer of peace and prepare for battle. Then surround that city. Get ready to attack it.

13 The LORD your God will hand it over to you. When he does, kill all of the men with your swords.

14 But you can take the women and children for yourselves. You can also take the livestock and everything else in the city. What you have captured from your enemies you can use for yourselves. The LORD your God has given it to you.

15 That's how you must treat all of the cities that are far away from you. Those cities don't belong to the nations that are nearby.

16 But what about the cities the LORD your God is giving you as your own? Kill everything in those cities that breathes.

17 Completely destroy them. Wipe out the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. That's what the LORD your God commanded you to do.

18 If you don't destroy them, they'll teach you to follow all of the things the LORD hates. He hates the way they worship their gods. If you do those things, you will sin against the LORD your God.

19 Suppose you surround a city and get ready to attack it. And suppose you fight against it for a long time in order to capture it. Then don't chop its trees down and destroy them. You can eat their fruit. So don't cut them down. The trees of the field aren't people. So why should you attack them?

20 But you can cut down trees that you know aren't fruit trees. You can build war machines out of their wood. You can use them until you capture the city you are fighting against.

1 Suppose you find someone who has been killed. The body is lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you to take as your own. But no one knows who the killer was.

2 Then your elders and judges will go out and measure how far it is from the body to the nearby towns.

3 The elders from the town that is nearest to the body will get a young cow. It must never have been used for work. It must never have pulled a load.

4 The elders must lead it down into a valley. The valley must not have been farmed. There must be a stream flowing through it. There in the valley the elders must break the cow's neck.

5 The priests, who are sons of Levi, will step forward. The LORD your God has chosen them to serve him. He wants them to bless the people in his name. He wants them to decide all cases that have to do with people arguing and attacking others.

6 Then all of the elders from the town that is nearest to the body will wash their hands. They will wash them over the young cow whose neck they broke in the valley.

7 They'll say to the Lord, "We didn't kill that person. We didn't see it happen.

8 Accept this payment for the sin of your people Israel. Lord, you have set your people free. Don't hold them guilty for spilling the blood of someone who hasn't done anything wrong." That will pay for the death of that person.

9 So you will get rid of the guilt of killing someone who didn't do anything wrong. That's because you have done what is right in the LORD's eyes.

10 Suppose you go to war against your enemies. And the LORD your God hands them over to you and you take them as prisoners.

11 Then you notice a beautiful woman among them. If you like her, you can get married to her.

12 Bring her home. Have her shave her head. Have her cut her nails.

13 Have her throw away the clothes she was wearing when she was captured. Let her live in your house and sob over her parents for a full month. Then you can go to her and be her husband. And she will be your wife.

14 But suppose you aren't pleased with her. Then let her go where she wants to. You must not sell her. You must not treat her as a slave. You have already brought shame on her.

15 Suppose a man has two wives. He loves one but not the other. And both of them have sons by him. But the oldest son is the son of the wife the man doesn't love.

16 Someday he'll leave his property to his sons. When he does, he must not give the rights of the oldest son to the son of the wife he loves. He must give those rights to his oldest son. He must do it even though his oldest son is the son of the wife he doesn't love.

17 He must recognize the full rights of the oldest son, even though that son is the son of the wife he doesn't love. He must give that son a double share of everything he has. That son is the first sign of his father's strength. So the rights of the oldest son belong to him.

18 Suppose someone has a very stubborn son. He doesn't obey his father and mother. And he won't listen to them when they try to correct him.

19 Then his parents will take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town.

20 They will say to the elders, "This son of ours is very stubborn. He won't obey us. He wastes his money. He's always getting drunk."

21 Then all of the people in his town will put him to death by throwing stones at him. Get rid of that evil person. All of the people of Israel will hear about it. And they will be afraid to disobey their parents.

22 Suppose a man is put to death for a crime that is worthy of death. And a pole is stuck through his body and set up where people can see it.

23 Then you must not leave the body on the pole all night. Make sure you bury it that same day. Everyone who is hung on a pole is under God's curse. You must not make the land "unclean." The LORD your God is giving it to you as your own.

21 "At that time someone may say to you, 'Look! Here is the Christ!' Or, 'Look! There he is!' Do not believe it.

22 False Christs and false prophets will appear. They will do signs and miracles. They will try to fool God's chosen people if possible.

23 Keep watch! I have told you everything ahead of time.

24 "So in those days there will be terrible suffering. After that, Scripture says, " 'The sun will be darkened. The moon will not shine.

25 The stars will fall from the sky. The heavenly bodies will be shaken.' (Isaiah 13:10; 34:4)

26 "At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds. He will come with great power and glory.

27 He will send his angels. He will gather his chosen people from all four directions. He will bring them from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

28 "Learn a lesson from the fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.

29 In the same way, when you see those things happening, you know that the end is near. It is right at the door.

30 What I'm about to tell you is true. The people living at that time will certainly not pass away until all those things have happened.

31 Heaven and earth will pass away. But my words will never pass away.

32 "No one knows about that day or hour. Not even the angels in heaven know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows.

33 "Keep watch! Stay awake! You do not know when that time will come.

34 It's like a man going away. He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge. Each one is given a task to do. He tells the one at the door to keep watch.

35 "So keep watch! You do not know when the owner of the house will come back. It may be in the evening or at midnight. It may be when the rooster crows or at dawn.

36 He may come suddenly. So do not let him find you sleeping.

37 "What I say to you, I say to everyone. 'Watch!' "