Deuteronomy 10; Deuteronomy 11; Deuteronomy 12; Mark 12:1-27

Deuteronomy 10

1 At that time the LORD said to me, "Cut two [more] stone tablets like the first ones, and come up to me on the mountain. Also make an ark out of wood.

2 I will write on the tablets the same words that were on the first tablets, which you smashed. Then you will put them in the ark."

3 I made an ark out of acacia wood. I cut two [more] stone tablets like the first ones. I carried the two tablets up the mountain.

4 The LORD wrote on these tablets the same words as before, the ten commandments. He had spoken these words to you from the fire on the mountain on the day of the assembly. Then the LORD gave them to me.

5 I came back down the mountain and put the tablets in the ark I had made. They are still there, where the LORD commanded me to put them.

6 The Israelites moved from the wells of the Jaakanites to Moserah. Aaron died there and was buried, and his son Eleazar succeeded him as priest.

7 They moved from there to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land with rivers that don't dry up.

8 At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the LORD's promise, to stand in the LORD's presence when they serve him as priests, and to praise his name, as they still do today.

9 This is why the tribe of Levi has no land of their own as the other tribes have. The LORD your God is their only possession, as he promised them.

10 I stayed on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights as I did the first time. Once again the LORD listened to me and agreed not to destroy you.

11 The LORD said to me, "Lead the people on their journey. They will enter and take possession of the land I will give them, as I swore to their ancestors."

12 Israel, what does the LORD your God want you to do? He wants you to fear him, follow all his directions, love him, and worship him with all your heart and with all your soul.

13 The LORD wants you to obey his commands and laws that I'm giving you today for your own good.

14 Remember that the sky, the highest heaven, the earth and everything it contains belong to the LORD your God.

15 The LORD set his heart on your ancestors and loved them. Because of this, today he chooses you, their descendants, out of all the people of the world.

16 So circumcise your uncircumcised hearts, and don't be impossible to deal with any longer.

17 The LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, powerful, and awe-inspiring God. He never plays favorites and never takes a bribe.

18 He makes sure orphans and widows receive justice. He loves foreigners and gives them food and clothes.

19 So you should love foreigners, because you were foreigners living in Egypt.

20 Fear the LORD your God, worship him, be loyal to him, and take your oaths in his name.

21 He is your glory. He is your God, who did for you these spectacular and awe-inspiring deeds you saw with your own eyes.

22 When your ancestors went to Egypt, there were 70 of them. Now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Deuteronomy 11

1 Love the LORD your God, and do what he wants you to do. Always obey his laws, rules, and commands.

2 Remember today the discipline you learned from the LORD your God. ([I'm not talking] to your children. They didn't see or experience any of this.) You saw and experienced his great power--his mighty hand and powerful arm.

3 You saw the miraculous signs and deeds he did in Egypt to Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) and to his whole country.

4 You saw what he did to the Egyptian army, its horses and chariots. He drowned them in the Red Sea when they pursued you. So the LORD destroyed them forever.

5 You saw what he did for you in the desert until you came here.

6 You also saw what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, from the tribe of Reuben. In the middle of all the Israelites the ground opened up and swallowed them, their families, their tents, and every living creature with them.

7 You saw with your own eyes all these spectacular things that the LORD did.

8 Obey all the commands I'm giving you today. Then you will have the strength to enter and take possession of the land once you've crossed [the Jordan River].

9 Then you will also live for a long time in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors and their descendants--a land flowing with milk and honey.

10 The land you're about to enter and take possession of isn't like the land you left in Egypt. There you used to plant your seed, and you had to water it like a vegetable garden.

11 The land you're about to enter is a land with hills and valleys, watered by rain from the sky.

12 It is a land the LORD your God cares about. He watches over it all year long.

13 If you faithfully obey the commands that I'm giving you today, love the LORD your God, and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

14 I will send rain on your land at the right time, both in the fall and in the spring. Then you will gather your own grain, new wine, and olive oil.

15 I will provide grass in the fields for your animals, and you will be able to eat all you want.

16 Be careful, or you'll be tempted to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.

17 The LORD will become angry with you. He'll shut the sky so that there'll be no rain. Then the ground won't grow any crops, and you'll quickly disappear from this good land the LORD is giving you.

18 Take these words of mine to heart and keep them in mind. [Write them down,] tie them around your wrist, and wear them as headbands as a reminder.

19 Teach them to your children, and talk about them when you're at home or away, when you lie down or get up.

20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

21 Then you and your children will live for a long time in this land that the LORD swore to give to your ancestors--as long as there's a sky above the earth.

22 Faithfully obey all these commands I'm giving you. Love the LORD your God, follow all his directions, and be loyal to him.

23 Then the LORD will force all these people out of your way. Then you will take possession of [the land belonging to] people taller and stronger than you.

24 I will give you every place on which you set foot. Your borders will be from the desert to Lebanon, from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea.

25 No one will be able to stop you. As the LORD your God promised, he will make people terrified of you wherever you go in this land.

26 Today I'm giving you the choice of a blessing or a curse.

27 You'll be blessed if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I'm giving you today.

28 You'll be cursed if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God, if you turn from the way I'm commanding you to live today, and if you worship other gods you never knew.

29 When the LORD your God brings you into the land you're about to enter, recite the blessing from Mount Gerizim and the curse from Mount Ebal.

30 (These mountains are on the west side of the Jordan, beyond the road that goes west, in the region of the Canaanites who live on the plains facing Gilgal, next to the oak trees of Moreh.)

31 You're about to cross the Jordan River to enter and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you. When you take possession of it and live there,

32 be careful to obey all the laws and rules I'm giving you today.

Deuteronomy 12

1 Here are the laws and rules you must faithfully obey in the land that the LORD God of your ancestors is giving you as your own. You must obey them as long as you live in the land.

2 Completely destroy all the worship sites on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every large tree. The people you're forcing out worship their gods in these places.

3 Tear down their altars, crush their sacred stones, burn their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, cut down their idols, and wipe out the names of their gods from those places.

4 Never worship the LORD your God in the way they worship their gods.

5 The LORD your God will choose a place out of all your tribes to live and put his name. Go there and worship him.

6 Bring him your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, one-tenth of your income, your contributions, the offerings you vow to bring, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your cattle, sheep, and goats.

7 There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families will eat and enjoy everything you've worked for, because the LORD your God has blessed you.

8 Never worship in the way that it's being done here today, where everyone does whatever he considers right.

9 Up until now you haven't come to your place of rest, the property the LORD your God is giving you.

10 But you will cross the Jordan River and settle in the land the LORD your God is giving you as your own property. He will give you peace from all your enemies around you so that you will live securely.

11 Then the LORD your God will choose a place where his name will live. You must bring everything I command you to that place. Bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, one-tenth of your income, your contributions, and all the best offerings you vow to bring to the LORD.

12 Enjoy yourselves in the presence of the LORD your God along with your sons, daughters, male and female slaves, and the Levites. (The Levites live in your cities because they have no land of their own as you have.)

13 Be careful that you don't sacrifice your burnt offerings wherever you want.

14 Instead, sacrifice them [only] at the place that the LORD will choose in one of your tribes. There you must do everything I command you.

15 In whatever city you live, you may slaughter and eat as much meat as you want from what the LORD your God has blessed you with. Clean and unclean people may eat it as if they were eating a gazelle or a deer.

16 But never eat the blood. Pour it on the ground like water.

17 You may not eat [the LORD's offerings] in your cities. Those offerings are: one-tenth of your grain, new wine, and olive oil; the firstborn of your cattle, sheep, or goats; the offerings you vow to bring; your freewill offerings; and your contributions.

18 Instead, you, your sons and daughters, male and female slaves, and the Levites who live in your cities must eat these in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose. There in the presence of the LORD your God enjoy everything you've worked for.

19 Don't forget to take care of the Levites as long as you live in your land.

20 The LORD your God will expand your [country's] borders as he promised. You will say, "I'm hungry for meat." Then eat as much meat as you want.

21 If the place the LORD your God chooses to put his name is too far away from you, you may slaughter an animal from the herds or flocks that the LORD has given you. Eat as much as you want in your city. I have commanded you to do this.

22 Eat it as you would eat a gazelle or a deer: Clean and unclean people may eat it together.

23 However, be sure you never eat blood, because blood contains life. Never eat the life with the meat.

24 Never eat blood. Pour it on the ground like water.

25 If you don't eat blood, things will go well for you and your descendants. You will be doing what the LORD considers right.

26 Take the holy things and the offerings you have vowed to bring, and go to the place the LORD will choose.

27 Sacrifice the meat and the blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD your God. The blood of your sacrifices is to be poured out beside the altar of the LORD your God, but you may eat the meat.

28 Be sure you obey all these instructions I'm giving you. Then things will always go well for you and your descendants because you will be doing what the LORD your God considers good and right.

29 The LORD your God will destroy the nations where you're going and force them out of your way. You will take possession of their land and live there.

30 After they've been destroyed, be careful you aren't tempted to follow their customs. Don't even ask about their gods and say, "How did these people worship their gods? We want to do what they did."

31 Never worship the LORD your God in the way they worship their gods, because everything they do for their gods is disgusting to the LORD. He hates it! They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods.

32 Be sure to do everything I command you. Never add anything to it or take anything away from it.

Mark 12:1-27

1 Then, using this illustration, Jesus spoke to them. He said, "A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, made a vat for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to vineyard workers and went on a trip.

2 "At the right time he sent a servant to the workers to collect from them a share of the grapes from the vineyard.

3 The workers took the servant, beat him, and sent him back with nothing.

4 So the man sent another servant to them. They hit the servant on the head and treated him shamefully.

5 The man sent another, and they killed that servant. Then he sent many other servants. Some of these they beat, and others they killed.

6 "He had one more person to send. That person was his son, whom he loved. Finally, he sent his son to them. He thought, 'They will respect my son.'

7 "But those workers said to one another, 'This is the heir. Let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'

8 So they took him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

9 "What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the workers and give the vineyard to others.

10 Have you never read the Scripture passage: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

11 The Lord has done this, and it is amazing for us to see'?"

12 They wanted to arrest him but were afraid of the crowd. They knew that he had directed this illustration at them. So they left him alone and went away.

13 The leaders sent some of the Pharisees and some of Herod's followers to Jesus. They wanted to trap him into saying the wrong thing.

14 When they came to him, they said, "Teacher, we know that you tell the truth. You don't favor individuals because of who they are. Rather, you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it right to pay taxes to the emperor or not? Should we pay taxes or not?"

15 Jesus recognized their hypocrisy, so he asked them, "Why do you test me? Bring me a coin so that I can look at it."

16 They brought a coin. He said to them, "Whose face and name is this?" They told him, "The emperor's."

17 Jesus said to them, "Give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and give God what belongs to God." They were surprised at his reply.

18 Some Sadducees, who say that people will never come back to life, came to Jesus. They asked him,

19 "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, 'If a man dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother should marry his widow and have children for his brother.'

20 There were seven brothers. The first got married and died without having children.

21 The second married her and died without having children. So did the third.

22 None of the seven brothers had any children. Last of all, the woman died.

23 When the dead come back to life, whose wife will she be? The seven brothers had married her."

24 Jesus said to them, "Aren't you mistaken because you don't know the Scriptures or God's power?

25 When the dead come back to life, they don't marry. Rather, they are like the angels in heaven.

26 Haven't you read in the book of Moses that the dead come back to life? It's in the passage about the bush, where God said, 'I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.'

27 He's not the God of the dead but of the living. You're badly mistaken!"