Deuteronomy 4; Deuteronomy 5; Deuteronomy 6; Mark 11:1-18

Deuteronomy 4

1 Then Moses said to the people, "Obey all the laws that I am teaching you, and you will live and occupy the land which the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.

2 Do not add anything to what I command you, and do not take anything away. Obey the commands of the Lord your God that I have given you.

3 You yourselves saw what the Lord did at Mount Peor. He destroyed everyone who worshiped Baal there,

4 but those of you who were faithful to the Lord your God are still alive today.

5 "I have taught you all the laws, as the Lord my God told me to do. Obey them in the land that you are about to invade and occupy.

6 Obey them faithfully, and this will show the people of other nations how wise you are. When they hear of all these laws, they will say, "What wisdom and understanding this great nation has!'

7 "No other nation, no matter how great, has a god who is so near when they need him as the Lord our God is to us. He answers us whenever we call for help.

8 No other nation, no matter how great, has laws so just as those that I have taught you today.

9 Be on your guard! Make certain that you do not forget, as long as you live, what you have seen with your own eyes. Tell your children and your grandchildren

10 about the day you stood in the presence of the Lord your God at Mount Sinai, when he said to me, "Assemble the people. I want them to hear what I have to say, so that they will learn to obey me as long as they live and so that they will teach their children to do the same.'

11 "Tell your children how you went and stood at the foot of the mountain which was covered with thick clouds of dark smoke and fire blazing up to the sky.

12 Tell them how the Lord spoke to you from the fire, how you heard him speaking but did not see him in any form at all.

13 He told you what you must do to keep the covenant he made with you - you must obey the Ten Commandments, which he wrote on two stone tablets.

14 The Lord told me to teach you all the laws that you are to obey in the land that you are about to invade and occupy.

15 "When the Lord spoke to you from the fire on Mount Sinai, you did not see any form. For your own good, then, make certain

16 that you do not sin by making for yourselves an idol in any form at all - whether man or woman,

17 animal or bird,

18 reptile or fish.

19 Do not be tempted to worship and serve what you see in the sky - the sun, the moon, and the stars. The Lord your God has given these to all other peoples for them to worship.

20 But you are the people he rescued from Egypt, that blazing furnace. He brought you out to make you his own people, as you are today.

21 Because of you the Lord your God was angry with me and solemnly declared that I would not cross the Jordan River to enter the fertile land which he is giving you.

22 I will die in this land and never cross the river, but you are about to go across and occupy that fertile land.

23 Be certain that you do not forget the covenant that the Lord your God made with you. Obey his command not to make yourselves any kind of idol,

24 because the Lord your God is like a flaming fire; he tolerates no rivals.

25 "Even when you have been in the land a long time and have children and grandchildren, do not sin by making for yourselves an idol in any form at all. This is evil in the Lord's sight, and it will make him angry.

26 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that, if you disobey me, you will soon disappear from the land. You will not live very long in the land across the Jordan that you are about to occupy. You will be completely destroyed.

27 The Lord will scatter you among other nations, where only a few of you will survive.

28 There you will serve gods made by human hands, gods of wood and stone, gods that cannot see or hear, eat or smell.

29 There you will look for the Lord your God, and if you search for him with all your heart, you will find him.

30 When you are in trouble and all those things happen to you, then you will finally turn to the Lord and obey him.

31 He is a merciful God. He will not abandon you or destroy you, and he will not forget the covenant that he himself made with your ancestors.

32 "Search the past, the time before you were born, all the way back to the time when God created human beings on the earth. Search the entire earth. Has anything as great as this ever happened before? Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?

33 Have any people ever lived after hearing a god speak to them from a fire, as you have?

34 Has any god ever dared to go and take a people from another nation and make them his own, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt? Before your very eyes he used his great power and strength; he brought plagues and war, worked miracles and wonders, and caused terrifying things to happen.

35 The Lord has shown you this, to prove to you that he alone is God and that there is no other.

36 He let you hear his voice from heaven so that he could instruct you; and here on earth he let you see his holy fire, and he spoke to you from it.

37 Because he loved your ancestors, he chose you, and by his great power he himself brought you out of Egypt.

38 As you advanced, he drove out nations greater and more powerful than you, so that he might bring you in and give you their land, the land which still belongs to you.

39 So remember today and never forget: the Lord is God in heaven and on earth. There is no other god.

40 Obey all his laws that I have given you today, and all will go well with you and your descendants. You will continue to live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to be yours forever."

41 Then Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan River

42 to which a man could escape and be safe if he had accidentally killed someone who had not been his enemy. He could escape to one of these cities and not be put to death.

43 For the tribe of Reuben there was the city of Bezer, on the desert plateau; for the tribe of Gad there was Ramoth, in the territory of Gilead; and for the tribe of Manasseh there was Golan, in the territory of Bashan.

44 Moses gave God's laws and teachings to the people of Israel.

45 It was after they had come out of Egypt and were in the valley east of the Jordan River, opposite the town of Bethpeor, that he gave them these laws. This was in the territory that had belonged to King Sihon of the Amorites, who had ruled in the town of Heshbon. Moses and the people of Israel defeated him when they came out of Egypt.

47 They occupied his land and the land of King Og of Bashan, the other Amorite king who lived east of the Jordan.

48 This land extended from the town of Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon River, all the way north to Mount Sirion, that is, Mount Hermon.

49 It also included all the region east of the Jordan River as far south as the Dead Sea and east to the foot of Mount Pisgah.

Deuteronomy 5

1 Moses called together all the people of Israel and said to them, "People of Israel, listen to all the laws that I am giving you today. Learn them and be sure that you obey them.

2 At Mount Sinai the Lord our God made a covenant,

3 not only with our fathers, but with all of us who are living today.

4 There on the mountain the Lord spoke to you face-to-face from the fire.

5 I stood between you and the Lord at that time to tell you what he said, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain. "The Lord said,

6 "I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves.

7 " "Worship no god but me.

8 " "Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth.

9 Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, for I am the Lord your God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generation.

10 But I show my love to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my laws.

11 " "Do not use my name for evil purposes, for I, the Lord your God, will punish anyone who misuses my name.

12 " "Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy, as I, the Lord your God, have commanded you.

13 You have six days in which to do your work,

14 but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me. On that day no one is to work - neither you, your children, your slaves, your animals, nor the foreigners who live in your country. Your slaves must rest just as you do.

15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and that I, the Lord your God, rescued you by my great power and strength. That is why I command you to observe the Sabbath.

16 " "Respect your father and your mother, as I, the Lord your God, command you, so that all may go well with you and so that you may live a long time in the land that I am giving you.

17 " "Do not commit murder.

18 " "Do not commit adultery.

19 " "Do not steal.

20 " "Do not accuse anyone falsely.

21 " "Do not desire another man's wife; do not desire his house, his land, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns.'

22 "These are the commandments the Lord gave to all of you when you were gathered at the mountain. When he spoke with a mighty voice from the fire and from the thick clouds, he gave these commandments and no others. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

23 "When the whole mountain was on fire and you heard the voice from the darkness, your leaders and the chiefs of your tribes came to me

24 and said, "The Lord our God showed us his greatness and his glory when we heard him speak from the fire! Today we have seen that it is possible for people to continue to live, even though God has spoken to them.

25 But why should we risk death again? That terrible fire will destroy us. We are sure to die if we hear the Lord our God speak again.

26 Has any human being ever lived after hearing the living God speak from a fire?

27 Go back, Moses, and listen to everything that the Lord our God says. Then return and tell us what he said to you. We will listen and obey.'

28 "When the Lord heard this, he said to me, "I have heard what these people said, and they are right.

29 If only they would always feel this way! If only they would always honor me and obey all my commands, so that everything would go well with them and their descendants forever.

30 Go and tell them to return to their tents.

31 But you, Moses, stay here with me, and I will give you all my laws and commands. Teach them to the people, so that they will obey them in the land that I am giving them.'

32 "People of Israel, be sure that you do everything that the Lord your God has commanded you. Do not disobey any of his laws.

33 Obey them all, so that everything will go well with you and so that you will continue to live in the land that you are going to occupy.

Deuteronomy 6

1 "These are all the laws that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. Obey them in the land that you are about to enter and occupy.

2 As long as you live, you and your descendants are to honor the Lord your God and obey all his laws that I am giving you, so that you may live in that land a long time.

3 Listen to them, people of Israel, and obey them! Then all will go well with you, and you will become a mighty nation and live in that rich and fertile land, just as the Lord, the God of our ancestors, has promised.

4 "Israel, remember this! The Lord - and the Lord alone - is our God.

5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

6 Never forget these commands that I am giving you today.

7 Teach them to your children. Repeat them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working.

8 Tie them on your arms and wear them on your foreheads as a reminder.

9 Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

10 "Just as the Lord your God promised your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he will give you a land with large and prosperous cities which you did not build.

11 The houses will be full of good things which you did not put in them, and there will be wells that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant. When the Lord brings you into this land and you have all you want to eat,

12 make certain that you do not forget the Lord who rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves.

13 Honor the Lord your God, worship only him, and make your promises in his name alone.

14 Do not worship other gods, any of the gods of the peoples around you.

15 If you do worship other gods, the Lord's anger will come against you like fire and will destroy you completely, because the Lord your God, who is present with you, tolerates no rivals.

16 "Do not put the Lord your God to the test, as you did at Massah.

17 Be sure that you obey all the laws that he has given you.

18 Do what the Lord says is right and good, and all will go well with you. You will be able to take possession of the fertile land that the Lord promised your ancestors,

19 and you will drive out your enemies, as he promised.

20 "In times to come your children will ask you, "Why did the Lord our God command us to obey all these laws?'

21 Then tell them, "We were slaves of the king of Egypt, and the Lord rescued us by his great power.

22 With our own eyes we saw him work miracles and do terrifying things to the Egyptians and to their king and to all his officials.

23 He freed us from Egypt to bring us here and give us this land, as he had promised our ancestors he would.

24 Then the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these laws and to honor him. If we do, he will always watch over our nation and keep it prosperous.

25 If we faithfully obey everything that God has commanded us, he will be pleased with us.'

Mark 11:1-18

1 As they approached Jerusalem, near the towns of Bethphage and Bethany, they came to the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of his disciples on ahead

2 with these instructions: "Go to the village there ahead of you. As soon as you get there, you will find a colt tied up that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.

3 And if someone asks you why you are doing that, say that the Master needs it and will send it back at once."

4 So they went and found a colt out in the street, tied to the door of a house. As they were untying it,

5 some of the bystanders asked them, "What are you doing, untying that colt?"

6 They answered just as Jesus had told them, and the crowd let them go.

7 They brought the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks over the animal, and Jesus got on.

8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches in the field and spread them on the road.

9 The people who were in front and those who followed behind began to shout, "Praise God! God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord!

10 God bless the coming kingdom of King David, our father! Praise be to God!"

11 Jesus entered Jerusalem, went into the Temple, and looked around at everything. But since it was already late in the day, he went out to Bethany with the twelve disciples.

12 The next day, as they were coming back from Bethany, Jesus was hungry.

13 He saw in the distance a fig tree covered with leaves, so he went to see if he could find any figs on it. But when he came to it, he found only leaves, because it was not the right time for figs.

14 Jesus said to the fig tree, "No one shall ever eat figs from you again!" And his disciples heard him.

15 When they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus went to the Temple and began to drive out all those who were buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the stools of those who sold pigeons,

16 and he would not let anyone carry anything through the Temple courtyards.

17 He then taught the people: "It is written in the Scriptures that God said, "My Temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations.' But you have turned it into a hideout for thieves!"

18 The chief priests and the teachers of the Law heard of this, so they began looking for some way to kill Jesus. They were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.