Categories
Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 28

Blessings for Obedience

1 “If you fully obey theLordyour God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, theLordyour God will set you high above all the nations of the world.

2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey theLordyour God:

3 Your towns and your fields

will be blessed.

4 Your children and your crops

will be blessed.

The offspring of your herds and flocks

will be blessed.

5 Your fruit baskets and breadboards

will be blessed.

6 Wherever you go and whatever you do,

you will be blessed.

7 “TheLordwill conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!

8 “TheLordwill guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. TheLordyour God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

9 “If you obey the commands of theLordyour God and walk in his ways, theLordwill establish you as his holy people as he swore he would do.

10 Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by theLord, and they will stand in awe of you.

11 “TheLordwill give you prosperity in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops.

12 TheLordwill send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them.

13 If you listen to these commands of theLordyour God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, theLordwill make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom.

14 You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them.

Curses for Disobedience

15 “But if you refuse to listen to theLordyour God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you:

16 Your towns and your fields

will be cursed.

17 Your fruit baskets and breadboards

will be cursed.

18 Your children and your crops

will be cursed.

The offspring of your herds and flocks

will be cursed.

19 Wherever you go and whatever you do,

you will be cursed.

20 “TheLordhimself will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in everything you do, until at last you are completely destroyed for doing evil and abandoning me.

21 TheLordwill afflict you with diseases until none of you are left in the land you are about to enter and occupy.

22 TheLordwill strike you with wasting diseases, fever, and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew. These disasters will pursue you until you die.

23 The skies above will be as unyielding as bronze, and the earth beneath will be as hard as iron.

24 TheLordwill change the rain that falls on your land into powder, and dust will pour down from the sky until you are destroyed.

25 “TheLordwill cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but you will scatter from them in seven! You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

26 Your corpses will be food for all the scavenging birds and wild animals, and no one will be there to chase them away.

27 “TheLordwill afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, scurvy, and the itch, from which you cannot be cured.

28 TheLordwill strike you with madness, blindness, and panic.

29 You will grope around in broad daylight like a blind person groping in the darkness, but you will not find your way. You will be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will come to save you.

30 “You will be engaged to a woman, but another man will sleep with her. You will build a house, but someone else will live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will never enjoy its fruit.

31 Your ox will be butchered before your eyes, but you will not eat a single bite of the meat. Your donkey will be taken from you, never to be returned. Your sheep and goats will be given to your enemies, and no one will be there to help you.

32 You will watch as your sons and daughters are taken away as slaves. Your heart will break for them, but you won’t be able to help them.

33 A foreign nation you have never heard about will eat the crops you worked so hard to grow. You will suffer under constant oppression and harsh treatment.

34 You will go mad because of all the tragedy you see around you.

35 TheLordwill cover your knees and legs with incurable boils. In fact, you will be covered from head to foot.

36 “TheLordwill exile you and your king to a nation unknown to you and your ancestors. There in exile you will worship gods of wood and stone!

37 You will become an object of horror, ridicule, and mockery among all the nations to which theLordsends you.

38 “You will plant much but harvest little, for locusts will eat your crops.

39 You will plant vineyards and care for them, but you will not drink the wine or eat the grapes, for worms will destroy the vines.

40 You will grow olive trees throughout your land, but you will never use the olive oil, for the fruit will drop before it ripens.

41 You will have sons and daughters, but you will lose them, for they will be led away into captivity.

42 Swarms of insects will destroy your trees and crops.

43 “The foreigners living among you will become stronger and stronger, while you become weaker and weaker.

44 They will lend money to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, and you will be the tail!

45 “If you refuse to listen to theLordyour God and to obey the commands and decrees he has given you, all these curses will pursue and overtake you until you are destroyed.

46 These horrors will serve as a sign and warning among you and your descendants forever.

47 If you do not serve theLordyour God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits you have received,

48 you will serve your enemies whom theLordwill send against you. You will be left hungry, thirsty, naked, and lacking in everything. TheLordwill put an iron yoke on your neck, oppressing you harshly until he has destroyed you.

49 “TheLordwill bring a distant nation against you from the end of the earth, and it will swoop down on you like a vulture. It is a nation whose language you do not understand,

50 a fierce and heartless nation that shows no respect for the old and no pity for the young.

51 Its armies will devour your livestock and crops, and you will be destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine, olive oil, calves, or lambs, and you will starve to death.

52 They will attack your cities until all the fortified walls in your land—the walls you trusted to protect you—are knocked down. They will attack all the towns in the land theLordyour God has given you.

53 “The siege and terrible distress of the enemy’s attack will be so severe that you will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters, whom theLordyour God has given you.

54 The most tenderhearted man among you will have no compassion for his own brother, his beloved wife, and his surviving children.

55 He will refuse to share with them the flesh he is devouring—the flesh of one of his own children—because he has nothing else to eat during the siege and terrible distress that your enemy will inflict on all your towns.

56 The most tender and delicate woman among you—so delicate she would not so much as touch the ground with her foot—will be selfish toward the husband she loves and toward her own son or daughter.

57 She will hide from them the afterbirth and the new baby she has borne, so that she herself can secretly eat them. She will have nothing else to eat during the siege and terrible distress that your enemy will inflict on all your towns.

58 “If you refuse to obey all the words of instruction that are written in this book, and if you do not fear the glorious and awesome name of theLordyour God,

59 then theLordwill overwhelm you and your children with indescribable plagues. These plagues will be intense and without relief, making you miserable and unbearably sick.

60 He will afflict you with all the diseases of Egypt that you feared so much, and you will have no relief.

61 TheLordwill afflict you with every sickness and plague there is, even those not mentioned in this Book of Instruction, until you are destroyed.

62 Though you become as numerous as the stars in the sky, few of you will be left because you would not listen to theLordyour God.

63 “Just as theLordhas found great pleasure in causing you to prosper and multiply, theLordwill find pleasure in destroying you. You will be torn from the land you are about to enter and occupy.

64 For theLordwill scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship foreign gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods made of wood and stone!

65 There among those nations you will find no peace or place to rest. And theLordwill cause your heart to tremble, your eyesight to fail, and your soul to despair.

66 Your life will constantly hang in the balance. You will live night and day in fear, unsure if you will survive.

67 In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were night!’ And in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’ For you will be terrified by the awful horrors you see around you.

68 Then theLordwill send you back to Egypt in ships, to a destination I promised you would never see again. There you will offer to sell yourselves to your enemies as slaves, but no one will buy you.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/DEU/28-238e2be02e175d60328a2cc32ad5e8f7.mp3?version_id=116—

Categories
Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 29

1 These are the terms of the covenant theLordcommanded Moses to make with the Israelites while they were in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Mount Sinai.

Moses Reviews the Covenant

2 Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything theLorddid in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to his whole country—

3 all the great tests of strength, the miraculous signs, and the amazing wonders.

4 But to this day theLordhas not given you minds that understand, nor eyes that see, nor ears that hear!

5 For forty years I led you through the wilderness, yet your clothes and sandals did not wear out.

6 You ate no bread and drank no wine or other alcoholic drink, but he provided for you so you would know that he is theLordyour God.

7 “When we came here, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them.

8 We took their land and gave it to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh as their grant of land.

9 “Therefore, obey the terms of this covenant so that you will prosper in everything you do.

10 All of you—tribal leaders, elders, officers, all the men of Israel—are standing today in the presence of theLordyour God.

11 Your little ones and your wives are with you, as well as the foreigners living among you who chop your wood and carry your water.

12 You are standing here today to enter into the covenant of theLordyour God. TheLordis making this covenant, including the curses.

13 By entering into the covenant today, he will establish you as his people and confirm that he is your God, just as he promised you and as he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

14 “But you are not the only ones with whom I am making this covenant with its curses.

15 I am making this covenant both with you who stand here today in the presence of theLordour God, and also with the future generations who are not standing here today.

16 “You remember how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we traveled through the lands of enemy nations as we left.

17 You have seen their detestable practices and their idolsmade of wood, stone, silver, and gold.

18 I am making this covenant with you so that no one among you—no man, woman, clan, or tribe—will turn away from theLordour God to worship these gods of other nations, and so that no root among you bears bitter and poisonous fruit.

19 “Those who hear the warnings of this curse should not congratulate themselves, thinking, ‘I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart.’ This would lead to utter ruin!

20 TheLordwill never pardon such people. Instead his anger and jealousy will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will come down on them, and theLordwill erase their names from under heaven.

21 TheLordwill separate them from all the tribes of Israel, to pour out on them all the curses of the covenant recorded in this Book of Instruction.

22 “Then the generations to come, both your own descendants and the foreigners who come from distant lands, will see the devastation of the land and the diseases theLordinflicts on it.

23 They will exclaim, ‘The whole land is devastated by sulfur and salt. It is a wasteland with nothing planted and nothing growing, not even a blade of grass. It is like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which theLorddestroyed in his intense anger.’

24 “And all the surrounding nations will ask, ‘Why has theLorddone this to this land? Why was he so angry?’

25 “And the answer will be, ‘This happened because the people of the land abandoned the covenant that theLord, the God of their ancestors, made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

26 Instead, they turned away to serve and worship gods they had not known before, gods that were not from theLord.

27 That is why theLord’s anger has burned against this land, bringing down on it every curse recorded in this book.

28 In great anger and fury theLorduprooted his people from their land and banished them to another land, where they still live today!’

29 “TheLordour God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/DEU/29-fc0c88d226e4625a259557a21d9d45c4.mp3?version_id=116—

Categories
Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 30

A Call to Return to the Lord

1 “In the future, when you experience all these blessings and curses I have listed for you, and when you are living among the nations to which theLordyour God has exiled you, take to heart all these instructions.

2 If at that time you and your children return to theLordyour God, and if you obey with all your heart and all your soul all the commands I have given you today,

3 then theLordyour God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you.

4 Even though you are banished to the ends of the earth,theLordyour God will gather you from there and bring you back again.

5 TheLordyour God will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. Then he will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors!

6 “TheLordyour God will change your heartand the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!

7 TheLordyour God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate and persecute you.

8 Then you will again obey theLordand keep all his commands that I am giving you today.

9 “TheLordyour God will then make you successful in everything you do. He will give you many children and numerous livestock, and he will cause your fields to produce abundant harvests, for theLordwill again delight in being good to you as he was to your ancestors.

10 TheLordyour God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this Book of Instruction, and if you turn to theLordyour God with all your heart and soul.

The Choice of Life or Death

11 “This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach.

12 It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’

13 It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’

14 No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.

15 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster.

16 For I command you this day to love theLordyour God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and theLordyour God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.

17 “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods,

18 then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.

19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!

20 You can make this choice by loving theLordyour God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. Thisis the key to your life. And if you love and obey theLord, you will live long in the land theLordswore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/DEU/30-bcab42b52ed7da72231e2245fecba3d8.mp3?version_id=116—

Categories
Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 31

Joshua Becomes Israel’s Leader

1 When Moses had finished giving these instructionsto all the people of Israel,

2 he said, “I am now 120 years old, and I am no longer able to lead you. TheLordhas told me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan River.’

3 But theLordyour God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy the nations living there, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua will lead you across the river, just as theLordpromised.

4 “TheLordwill destroy the nations living in the land, just as he destroyed Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites.

5 TheLordwill hand over to you the people who live there, and you must deal with them as I have commanded you.

6 So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For theLordyour God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

7 Then Moses called for Joshua, and as all Israel watched, he said to him, “Be strong and courageous! For you will lead these people into the land that theLordswore to their ancestors he would give them. You are the one who will divide it among them as their grants of land.

8 Do not be afraid or discouraged, for theLordwill personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

Public Reading of the Book of Instruction

9 So Moses wrote this entire body of instruction in a book and gave it to the priests, who carried the Ark of theLord’s Covenant, and to the elders of Israel.

10 Then Moses gave them this command: “At the end of every seventh year, the Year of Release, during the Festival of Shelters,

11 you must read this Book of Instruction to all the people of Israel when they assemble before theLordyour God at the place he chooses.

12 Call them all together—men, women, children, and the foreigners living in your towns—so they may hear this Book of Instruction and learn to fear theLordyour God and carefully obey all the terms of these instructions.

13 Do this so that your children who have not known these instructions will hear them and will learn to fear theLordyour God. Do this as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.”

Israel’s Disobedience Predicted

14 Then theLordsaid to Moses, “The time has come for you to die. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tabernacle,so that I may commission him there.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tabernacle.

15 And theLordappeared to them in a pillar of cloud that stood at the entrance to the sacred tent.

16 TheLordsaid to Moses, “You are about to die and join your ancestors. After you are gone, these people will begin to worship foreign gods, the gods of the land where they are going. They will abandon me and break my covenant that I have made with them.

17 Then my anger will blaze forth against them. I will abandon them, hiding my face from them, and they will be devoured. Terrible trouble will come down on them, and on that day they will say, ‘These disasters have come down on us because God is no longer among us!’

18 At that time I will hide my face from them on account of all the evil they commit by worshiping other gods.

19 “So write down the words of this song, and teach it to the people of Israel. Help them learn it, so it may serve as a witness for me against them.

20 For I will bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey. There they will become prosperous, eat all the food they want, and become fat. But they will begin to worship other gods; they will despise me and break my covenant.

21 And when great disasters come down on them, this song will stand as evidence against them, for it will never be forgotten by their descendants. I know the intentions of these people, even now before they have entered the land I swore to give them.”

22 So that very day Moses wrote down the words of the song and taught it to the Israelites.

23 Then theLordcommissioned Joshua son of Nun with these words: “Be strong and courageous, for you must bring the people of Israel into the land I swore to give them. I will be with you.”

24 When Moses had finished writing this entire body of instruction in a book,

25 he gave this command to the Levites who carried the Ark of theLord’s Covenant:

26 “Take this Book of Instruction and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of theLordyour God, so it may remain there as a witness against the people of Israel.

27 For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Even now, while I am still alive and am here with you, you have rebelled against theLord. How much more rebellious will you be after my death!

28 “Now summon all the elders and officials of your tribes, so that I can speak to them directly and call heaven and earth to witness against them.

29 I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and will turn from the way I have commanded you to follow. In the days to come, disaster will come down on you, for you will do what is evil in theLord’s sight, making him very angry with your actions.”

The Song of Moses

30 So Moses recited this entire song publicly to the assembly of Israel:

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/DEU/31-ea8d5378118640d1c1aab0b4e6ada0cd.mp3?version_id=116—

Categories
Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 32

1 “Listen, O heavens, and I will speak!

Hear, O earth, the words that I say!

2 Let my teaching fall on you like rain;

let my speech settle like dew.

Let my words fall like rain on tender grass,

like gentle showers on young plants.

3 I will proclaim the name of theLord;

how glorious is our God!

4 He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect.

Everything he does is just and fair.

He is a faithful God who does no wrong;

how just and upright he is!

5 “But they have acted corruptly toward him;

when they act so perversely,

are they really his children?

They are a deceitful and twisted generation.

6 Is this the way you repay theLord,

you foolish and senseless people?

Isn’t he your Father who created you?

Has he not made you and established you?

7 Remember the days of long ago;

think about the generations past.

Ask your father, and he will inform you.

Inquire of your elders, and they will tell you.

8 When the Most High assigned lands to the nations,

when he divided up the human race,

he established the boundaries of the peoples

according to the number in his heavenly court.

9 “For the people of Israel belong to theLord;

Jacob is his special possession.

10 He found them in a desert land,

in an empty, howling wasteland.

He surrounded them and watched over them;

he guarded them as he would guard his own eyes.

11 Like an eagle that rouses her chicks

and hovers over her young,

so he spread his wings to take them up

and carried them safely on his pinions.

12 TheLordalone guided them;

they followed no foreign gods.

13 He let them ride over the highlands

and feast on the crops of the fields.

He nourished them with honey from the rock

and olive oil from the stony ground.

14 He fed them yogurt from the herd

and milk from the flock,

together with the fat of lambs.

He gave them choice rams from Bashan, and goats,

together with the choicest wheat.

You drank the finest wine,

made from the juice of grapes.

15 “But Israelsoon became fat and unruly;

the people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed!

Then they abandoned the God who had made them;

they made light of the Rock of their salvation.

16 They stirred up his jealousy by worshiping foreign gods;

they provoked his fury with detestable deeds.

17 They offered sacrifices to demons, which are not God,

to gods they had not known before,

to new gods only recently arrived,

to gods their ancestors had never feared.

18 You neglected the Rock who had fathered you;

you forgot the God who had given you birth.

19 “TheLordsaw this and drew back,

provoked to anger by his own sons and daughters.

20 He said, ‘I will abandon them;

then see what becomes of them.

For they are a twisted generation,

children without integrity.

21 They have roused my jealousy by worshiping things that are not God;

they have provoked my anger with their useless idols.

Now I will rouse their jealousy through people who are not even a people;

I will provoke their anger through the foolish Gentiles.

22 For my anger blazes forth like fire

and burns to the depths of the grave.

It devours the earth and all its crops

and ignites the foundations of the mountains.

23 I will heap disasters upon them

and shoot them down with my arrows.

24 I will weaken them with famine,

burning fever, and deadly disease.

I will send the fangs of wild beasts

and poisonous snakes that glide in the dust.

25 Outside, the sword will bring death,

and inside, terror will strike

both young men and young women,

both infants and the aged.

26 I would have annihilated them,

wiping out even the memory of them.

27 But I feared the taunt of Israel’s enemy,

who might misunderstand and say,

“Our own power has triumphed!

TheLordhad nothing to do with this!”’

28 “But Israel is a senseless nation;

the people are foolish, without understanding.

29 Oh, that they were wise and could understand this!

Oh, that they might know their fate!

30 How could one person chase a thousand of them,

and two people put ten thousand to flight,

unless their Rock had sold them,

unless theLordhad given them up?

31 But the rock of our enemies is not like our Rock,

as even they recognize.

32 Their vine grows from the vine of Sodom,

from the vineyards of Gomorrah.

Their grapes are poison,

and their clusters are bitter.

33 Their wine is the venom of serpents,

the deadly poison of cobras.

34 “TheLordsays, ‘Am I not storing up these things,

sealing them away in my treasury?

35 I will take revenge; I will pay them back.

In due time their feet will slip.

Their day of disaster will arrive,

and their destiny will overtake them.’

36 “Indeed, theLordwill give justice to his people,

and he will change his mind abouthis servants,

when he sees their strength is gone

and no one is left, slave or free.

37 Then he will ask, ‘Where are their gods,

the rocks they fled to for refuge?

38 Where now are those gods,

who ate the fat of their sacrifices

and drank the wine of their offerings?

Let those gods arise and help you!

Let them provide you with shelter!

39 Look now; I myself am he!

There is no other god but me!

I am the one who kills and gives life;

I am the one who wounds and heals;

no one can be rescued from my powerful hand!

40 Now I raise my hand to heaven

and declare, “As surely as I live,

41 when I sharpen my flashing sword

and begin to carry out justice,

I will take revenge on my enemies

and repay those who reject me.

42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,

and my sword will devour flesh—

the blood of the slaughtered and the captives,

and the heads of the enemy leaders.”’

43 “Rejoice with him, you heavens,

and let all of God’s angels worship him.

Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles,

and let all the angels be strengthened in him.

For he will avenge the blood of his children;

he will take revenge against his enemies.

He will repay those who hate him

and cleanse his people’s land.”

44 So Moses came with Joshuason of Nun and recited all the words of this song to the people.

45 When Moses had finished reciting all these words to the people of Israel,

46 he added: “Take to heart all the words of warning I have given you today. Pass them on as a command to your children so they will obey every word of these instructions.

47 These instructions are not empty words—they are your life! By obeying them you will enjoy a long life in the land you will occupy when you cross the Jordan River.”

Moses’ Death Foretold

48 That same day theLordsaid to Moses,

49 “Go to Moab, to the mountains east of the river,and climb Mount Nebo, which is across from Jericho. Look out across the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the people of Israel as their own special possession.

50 Then you will die there on the mountain. You will join your ancestors, just as Aaron, your brother, died on Mount Hor and joined his ancestors.

51 For both of you betrayed me with the Israelites at the waters of Meribah at Kadeshin the wilderness of Zin. You failed to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel there.

52 So you will see the land from a distance, but you may not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/DEU/32-04ccffb73878d56aef3083c095396b66.mp3?version_id=116—

Categories
Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 33

Moses Blesses the People

1 This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave to the people of Israel before his death:

2 “TheLordcame from Mount Sinai

and dawned upon usfrom Mount Seir;

he shone forth from Mount Paran

and came from Meribah-kadesh

with flaming fire at his right hand.

3 Indeed, he loves his people;

all his holy ones are in his hands.

They follow in his steps

and accept his teaching.

4 Moses gave us theLord’s instruction,

the special possession of the people of Israel.

5 TheLordbecame king in Israel—

when the leaders of the people assembled,

when the tribes of Israel gathered as one.”

6 Moses said this about the tribe of Reuben:

“Let the tribe of Reuben live and not die out,

though they are few in number.”

7 Moses said this about the tribe of Judah:

“OLord, hear the cry of Judah

and bring them together as a people.

Give them strength to defend their cause;

help them against their enemies!”

8 Moses said this about the tribe of Levi:

“OLord, you have given your Thummim and Urim—the sacred lots—

to your faithful servants the Levites.

You put them to the test at Massah

and struggled with them at the waters of Meribah.

9 The Levites obeyed your word

and guarded your covenant.

They were more loyal to you

than to their own parents.

They ignored their relatives

and did not acknowledge their own children.

10 They teach your regulations to Jacob;

they give your instructions to Israel.

They present incense before you

and offer whole burnt offerings on the altar.

11 Bless the ministry of the Levites, OLord,

and accept all the work of their hands.

Hit their enemies where it hurts the most;

strike down their foes so they never rise again.”

12 Moses said this about the tribe of Benjamin:

“The people of Benjamin are loved by theLord

and live in safety beside him.

He surrounds them continuously

and preserves them from every harm.”

13 Moses said this about the tribes of Joseph:

“May their land be blessed by theLord

with the precious gift of dew from the heavens

and water from beneath the earth;

14 with the rich fruit that grows in the sun,

and the rich harvest produced each month;

15 with the finest crops of the ancient mountains,

and the abundance from the everlasting hills;

16 with the best gifts of the earth and its bounty,

and the favor of the one who appeared in the burning bush.

May these blessings rest on Joseph’s head,

crowning the brow of the prince among his brothers.

17 Joseph has the majesty of a young bull;

he has the horns of a wild ox.

He will gore distant nations,

even to the ends of the earth.

This is my blessing for the multitudes of Ephraim

and the thousands of Manasseh.”

18 Moses said this about the tribes of Zebulun and Issachar:

“May the people of Zebulun prosper in their travels.

May the people of Issachar prosper at home in their tents.

19 They summon the people to the mountain

to offer proper sacrifices there.

They benefit from the riches of the sea

and the hidden treasures in the sand.”

20 Moses said this about the tribe of Gad:

“Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad’s territory!

Gad is poised there like a lion

to tear off an arm or a head.

21 The people of Gad took the best land for themselves;

a leader’s share was assigned to them.

When the leaders of the people were assembled,

they carried out theLord’s justice

and obeyed his regulations for Israel.”

22 Moses said this about the tribe of Dan:

“Dan is a lion’s cub,

leaping out from Bashan.”

23 Moses said this about the tribe of Naphtali:

“O Naphtali, you are rich in favor

and full of theLord’s blessings;

may you possess the west and the south.”

24 Moses said this about the tribe of Asher:

“May Asher be blessed above other sons;

may he be esteemed by his brothers;

may he bathe his feet in olive oil.

25 May the bolts of your gates be of iron and bronze;

may you be secure all your days.”

26 “There is no one like the God of Israel.

He rides across the heavens to help you,

across the skies in majestic splendor.

27 The eternal God is your refuge,

and his everlasting arms are under you.

He drives out the enemy before you;

he cries out, ‘Destroy them!’

28 So Israel will live in safety,

prosperous Jacob in security,

in a land of grain and new wine,

while the heavens drop down dew.

29 How blessed you are, O Israel!

Who else is like you, a people saved by theLord?

He is your protecting shield

and your triumphant sword!

Your enemies will cringe before you,

and you will stomp on their backs!”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/DEU/33-c6cfb154e07bd357e9b4a2566304e2a2.mp3?version_id=116—

Categories
Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 34

The Death of Moses

1 Then Moses went up to Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab and climbed Pisgah Peak, which is across from Jericho. And theLordshowed him the whole land, from Gilead as far as Dan;

2 all the land of Naphtali; the land of Ephraim and Manasseh; all the land of Judah, extending to the Mediterranean Sea;

3 the Negev; the Jordan Valley with Jericho—the city of palms—as far as Zoar.

4 Then theLordsaid to Moses, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have now allowed you to see it with your own eyes, but you will not enter the land.”

5 So Moses, the servant of theLord, died there in the land of Moab, just as theLordhad said.

6 TheLordburied himin a valley near Beth-peor in Moab, but to this day no one knows the exact place.

7 Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was clear, and he was as strong as ever.

8 The people of Israel mourned for Moses on the plains of Moab for thirty days, until the customary period of mourning was over.

9 Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him, doing just as theLordhad commanded Moses.

10 There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom theLordknew face to face.

11 TheLordsent him to perform all the miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, and all his servants, and his entire land.

12 With mighty power, Moses performed terrifying acts in the sight of all Israel.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/DEU/34-ec8ee006734d78ed89447f2fd07b8eb9.mp3?version_id=116—

Categories
Joshua

Joshua 1

The Lord’s Charge to Joshua

1 After the death of Moses theLord’s servant, theLordspoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said,

2 “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them.

3 I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you—

4 from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Seain the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’

5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.

6 “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them.

7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do.

8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For theLordyour God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua’s Charge to the Israelites

10 Joshua then commanded the officers of Israel,

11 “Go through the camp and tell the people to get their provisions ready. In three days you will cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land theLordyour God is giving you.”

12 Then Joshua called together the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He told them,

13 “Remember what Moses, the servant of theLord, commanded you: ‘TheLordyour God is giving you a place of rest. He has given you this land.’

14 Your wives, children, and livestock may remain here in the land Moses assigned to you on the east side of the Jordan River. But your strong warriors, fully armed, must lead the other tribes across the Jordan to help them conquer their territory. Stay with them

15 until theLordgives them rest, as he has given you rest, and until they, too, possess the land theLordyour God is giving them. Only then may you return and settle here on the east side of the Jordan River in the land that Moses, the servant of theLord, assigned to you.”

16 They answered Joshua, “We will do whatever you command us, and we will go wherever you send us.

17 We will obey you just as we obeyed Moses. And may theLordyour God be with you as he was with Moses.

18 Anyone who rebels against your orders and does not obey your words and everything you command will be put to death. So be strong and courageous!”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOS/1-5a9f635c67113a9ff4bea58a1071cfef.mp3?version_id=116—

Categories
Joshua

Joshua 2

Rahab Protects the Spies

1 Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove.He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.

2 But someone told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.”

3 So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: “Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land.”

4 Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from.

5 They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.”

6 (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.)

7 So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut.

8 Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them.

9 “I know theLordhas given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror.

10 For we have heard how theLordmade a dry path for you through the Red Seawhen you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed.

11 No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For theLordyour God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.

12 “Now swear to me by theLordthat you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that

13 when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.”

14 “We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety,” the men agreed. “If you don’t betray us, we will keep our promise and be kind to you when theLordgives us the land.”

15 Then, since Rahab’s house was built into the town wall, she let them down by a rope through the window.

16 “Escape to the hill country,” she told them. “Hide there for three days from the men searching for you. Then, when they have returned, you can go on your way.”

17 Before they left, the men told her, “We will be bound by the oath we have taken only if you follow these instructions.

18 When we come into the land, you must leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window through which you let us down. And all your family members—your father, mother, brothers, and all your relatives—must be here inside the house.

19 If they go out into the street and are killed, it will not be our fault. But if anyone lays a hand on people inside this house, we will accept the responsibility for their death.

20 If you betray us, however, we are not bound by this oath in any way.”

21 “I accept your terms,” she replied. And she sent them on their way, leaving the scarlet rope hanging from the window.

22 The spies went up into the hill country and stayed there three days. The men who were chasing them searched everywhere along the road, but they finally returned without success.

23 Then the two spies came down from the hill country, crossed the Jordan River, and reported to Joshua all that had happened to them.

24 “TheLordhas given us the whole land,” they said, “for all the people in the land are terrified of us.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOS/2-2eb36509c6d797c641e944d2ab629db5.mp3?version_id=116—

Categories
Joshua

Joshua 3

The Israelites Cross the Jordan

1 Early the next morning Joshua and all the Israelites left Acacia Groveand arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped before crossing.

2 Three days later the Israelite officers went through the camp,

3 giving these instructions to the people: “When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of theLordyour God, move out from your positions and follow them.

4 Since you have never traveled this way before, they will guide you. Stay about half a milebehind them, keeping a clear distance between you and the Ark. Make sure you don’t come any closer.”

5 Then Joshua told the people, “Purify yourselves, for tomorrow theLordwill do great wonders among you.”

6 In the morning Joshua said to the priests, “Lift up the Ark of the Covenant and lead the people across the river.” And so they started out and went ahead of the people.

7 TheLordtold Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses.

8 Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.’”

9 So Joshua told the Israelites, “Come and listen to what theLordyour God says.

10 Today you will know that the living God is among you. He will surely drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites ahead of you.

11 Look, the Ark of the Covenant, which belongs to the Lord of the whole earth, will lead you across the Jordan River!

12 Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.

13 The priests will carry the Ark of theLord, the Lord of all the earth. As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall.”

14 So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them.

15 It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge,

16 the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Seauntil the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho.

17 Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of theLord’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/6/32k/JOS/3-3a116dafaaed5f10924fb0306b5a6937.mp3?version_id=116—