Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 6.

The Greatest Commandment.

1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2 That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
      4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
      10 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, 11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; 12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. 14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; 15 (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
      16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah. 17 Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee. 18 And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, 19 To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.
      20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you? 21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: 22 And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: 23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers. 24 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. 25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

Psalm 89.

I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of the LORD.

 
MASCHIL OF ETHAN THE EZRAHITE

1         I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever:
              with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
2         For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever:
              thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.
3         I have made a covenant with my chosen,
              I have sworn unto David my servant,
4         Thy seed will I establish for ever,
              and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

5         And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD:
              thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.
6         For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD?
              who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD?
7         God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints,
              and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.
8         O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee?
              or to thy faithfulness round about thee?
9         Thou rulest the raging of the sea:
              when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.
10       Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain;
              thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.
11       The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine:
              as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.
12       The north and the south thou hast created them:
              Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.
13       Thou hast a mighty arm:
              strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.
14;       Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne:
              mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
15       Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound:
              they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.
16       In thy name shall they rejoice all the day:
              and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.
17       For thou art the glory of their strength:
              and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.
18       For the LORD is our defence;
              and the Holy One of Israel is our king.

19       Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst,
              I have laid help upon one that is mighty;
              I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
20       I have found David my servant;
              with my holy oil have I anointed him:
21       With whom my hand shall be established:
              mine arm also shall strengthen him.
22       The enemy shall not exact upon him;
              nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23       And I will beat down his foes before his face,
              and plague them that hate him.
24       But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him:
              and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25       I will set his hand also in the sea,
              and his right hand in the rivers.
26       He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father,
              my God, and the rock of my salvation.
27       Also I will make him my firstborn,
              higher than the kings of the earth.
28       My mercy will I keep for him for evermore,
              and my covenant shall stand fast with him.
29       His seed also will I make to endure for ever,
              and his throne as the days of heaven.
30       If his children forsake my law,
             and walk not in my judgments;
31       If they break my statutes,
              and keep not my commandments;
32       Then will I visit their transgression with the rod,
              and their iniquity with stripes.
33       Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him,
              nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
34       My covenant will I not break,
             nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
35       Once have I sworn by my holiness
             that I will not lie unto David.
36       His seed shall endure for ever,
              and his throne as the sun before me.
37       It shall be established for ever as the moon,
              and as a faithful witness in heaven.              Selah

38       But thou hast cast off and abhorred,
              thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.
39       Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant:
              thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
40       Thou hast broken down all his hedges;
              thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin.
41       All that pass by the way spoil him:
              he is a reproach to his neighbours.
42       Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries;
              thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.
43       Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword,
              and hast not made him to stand in the battle.
44       Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground.
45       The days of his youth hast thou shortened:
              thou hast covered him with shame.              Selah.

46       How long, LORD? wilt thou hide thyself for ever?
              shall thy wrath burn like fire?
47       Remember how short my time is:
              wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?
48       What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death?
              shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.

49       Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses,
              which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?
50       Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants;
              how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;
51      Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O LORD;
              wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.

52       Blessed be the LORD for evermore.
              Amen, and Amen. 

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 7.

A Chosen People.

1 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; 2 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them: 3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. 4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. 5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.
      6 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. 7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: 8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; 10 And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face. 11 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.
      12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers: 13 And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 14 Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle. 15 And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee. 16 And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee.
      17 If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them? 18 Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt; 19 The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid. 20 Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed. 21 Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible. 22 And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee. 23 But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed. 24 And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them. 25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God. 26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

Psalm 90.

From Everlasting to Everlasting.

 
A PRAYER OF MOSES THE MAN OF GOD

1        LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
2        Before the mountains were brought forth,
              or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world,
              even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

3        Thou turnest man to destruction;
              and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

4        For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past,
              and as a watch in the night.
5        Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep:
              in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
6        In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up;
              in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
7        For we are consumed by thine anger,
             and by thy wrath are we troubled.
8        Thou hast set our iniquities before thee,
              our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

9        For all our days are passed away in thy wrath:
              we spend our years as a tale that is told.
10       The days of our years are threescore years and ten;
              and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years,
            yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11       Who knoweth the power of thine anger?
              even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

12       So teach us to number our days,
              that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
13       Return, O LORD, how long?
              and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
14       O satisfy us early with thy mercy;
              that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15       Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us,
              and the years wherein we have seen evil.
16       Let thy work appear unto thy servants,
              and thy glory unto their children.
17       And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us:
              and establish thou the work of our hands upon us;
              yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. 

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 8.

Remember the LORD Your God.

1 All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. 2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. 3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. 4 Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years. 5 Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee. 6 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. 7 For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; 8 A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; 9 A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. 10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
      11 Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: 12 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; 13 And when thy herds and thy flocks ultiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; 14 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; 16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; 17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. 18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. 19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. 20 As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God.

Psalm 91.

My Refuge and My Fortress.

 1         He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High
              shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2         I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress:
              my God; in him will I trust.

3         Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler,
              and from the noisome pestilence.
4         He shall cover thee with his feathers,
              and under his wings shalt thou trust:
              his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5         Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night;
              nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6         Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness;
              nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

7         A thousand shall fall at thy side,
              and ten thousand at thy right hand;
              but it shall not come nigh thee.
8         Only with thine eyes
              shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

9         Because thou hast made the LORD,
              which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10       There shall no evil befall thee,
              neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

11       For he shall give his angels charge over thee,
              to keep thee in all thy ways.
12       They shall bear thee up in their hands,
              lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13       Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder:
              the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

14       Because he hath set his love upon me,
              therefore will I deliver him:
              I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15       He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:
              I will be with him in trouble;
              I will deliver him, and honour him.
16       With long life will I satisfy him,
              and show him my salvation.
 

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 9.

Not Because of Righteousness.

1 Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, 2 A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak! 3 Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee.
      4 Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee. 5 Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
      6 Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people. 7 Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD. 8 Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you. 9 When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water: 10 And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. 11 And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant. 12 And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image.

The Golden Calf.

13 Furthermore the LORD spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 14 Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they. 15 So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands. 16 And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you. 17 And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes. 18 And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. 19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also. 20 And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time. 21 And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.
      22 And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath. 23 Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice. 24 Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.
      25 Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because the LORD had said he would destroy you. 26 I prayed therefore unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 27 Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin: 28 Lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say, Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them, and because he hated them, he hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness. 29 Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm.

Psalm 92.

How Great Are Your Works.

A PSALM OR SONG FOR THE SABBATH DAY

1         It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD,
              and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:
2         To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning,
              and thy faithfulness every night
3         Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery;
              upon the harp with a solemn sound.
4         For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work:
              I will triumph in the works of thy hands.

5         O LORD, how great are thy works!
              and thy thoughts are very deep.
6         A brutish man knoweth not;
              neither doth a fool understand this.
7         When the wicked spring as the grass,
              and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish;
              it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:
8         But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore.
9         For, lo, thine enemies, O LORD,
              for, lo, thine enemies shall perish;
              all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.

10        But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn:
              I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
11        Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies,
              and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.

12        The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree:
              he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13        Those that be planted in the house of the LORD
              shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14        They shall still bring forth fruit in old age;
              they shall be fat and flourishing;
15        To show that the LORD is upright: he is my rock,
            and there is no unrighteousness in him.
 

Psalm 93.

The LORD Reigns.

 1         The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty;
              the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself:
            the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.
2         Thy throne is established of old:
              thou art from everlasting.

3         The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
              the floods have lifted up their voice;
              the floods lift up their waves.
4         The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters,
              yea, than the mighty waves of the sea

5         Thy testimonies are very sure:
              holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever. 

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 10.

New Tablets of Stone.

1 At that time the LORD said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. 2 And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark. 3 And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand. 4 And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me. 5 And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.
      6 And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera: there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest's office in his stead. 7 From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters. 8 At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day. 9 Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised him.
      10 And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also, and the LORD would not destroy thee. 11 And the LORD said unto me, Arise, take thy journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give unto them.

Circumcise Your Heart.

12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? 14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD'S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. 15 Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: 18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. 19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. 20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. 21 He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen. 22 Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.

Psalm 94.

The LORD Will Not Forsake His People.

1         O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth;
              O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, show thyself.
2         Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth:
              render a reward to the proud.
3         LORD, how long shall the wicked,
              how long shall the wicked triumph?
4         How long shall they utter and speak hard things?
              and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?
5         They break in pieces thy people,
              O LORD, and afflict thine heritage.
6         They slay the widow and the stranger,
              and murder the fatherless.
7         Yet they say, The LORD shall not see,
              neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.

8         Understand, ye brutish among the people:
              and ye fools, when will ye be wise?
9         He that planted the ear, shall he not hear?
              he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
10       He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct?
              he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?
11       The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man,
              that they are vanity.
12       Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD,
              and teachest him out of thy law;
13       That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity,
              until the pit be digged for the wicked.
14       For the LORD will not cast off his people,
              neither will he forsake his inheritance.
15       But judgment shall return unto righteousness:
              and all the upright in heart shall follow it.

16       Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?
              or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
17       Unless the LORD had been my help,
              my soul had almost dwelt in silence.
18       When I said, My foot slippeth;
              thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.
19       In the multitude of my thoughts
              within me thy comforts delight my soul.
20       Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee,
              which frameth mischief by a law?
21       They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous,
              and condemn the innocent blood.
22       But the LORD is my defence;
              and my God is the rock of my refuge.
23       And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity,
              and shall cut them off in their own wickedness;
              yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 11.

Love and Serve the LORD.

1 Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway. 2 And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm, 3 And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land; 4 And what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD hath destroyed them unto this day; 5 And what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came into this place; 6 And what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the substance that was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel: 7 But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the LORD which he did. <
      8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; 9 And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey. 10 For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: 11 But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: 12 A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.
      13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. 15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. 16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; 17 And then the LORD'S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.
      18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: 21 That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. 22 For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; 23 Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves. 24 Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be. 25 There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you.
      26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; 27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: 28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. 29 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal. 30 Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh? 31 For ye shall pass over Jordan to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein. 32 And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and judgments which I set before you this day.

Psalm 95.

Let Us Sing Songs of Praise.

1         O come, let us sing unto the LORD:
              let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
2         Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving,
              and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
3         For the LORD is a great God,
              and a great King above all gods.
4         In his hand are the deep places of the earth:
              the strength of the hills is his also.
5         The sea is his, and he made it:
              and his hands formed the dry land.

6         O come, let us worship and bow down:
              let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
7         For he is our God;
              and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
              To day if ye will hear his voice,
8         Harden not your heart, as in the provocation,
              and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9         When your fathers tempted me,
              proved me, and saw my work.
10       Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said,
              It is a people that do err in their heart,
              and they have not known my ways:
11       Unto whom I sware in my wrath
              that they should not enter into my rest. .

Psalm 96.

Worship in the Beauty of Holiness.

1         O sing unto the LORD a new song:
              sing unto the LORD, all the earth.
2         Sing unto the LORD, bless his name;
              show forth his salvation from day to day.
3         Declare his glory among the heathen,
              his wonders among all people.
4         For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised:
              he is to be feared above all gods.
5         For all the gods of the nations are idols:
              but the LORD made the heavens.
6         Honour and majesty are before him:
              strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7         Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people,
              give unto the LORD glory and strength.
8         Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name:
              bring an offering, and come into his courts.
9         O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness:
              fear before him, all the earth.

10       Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth:
              the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved:
              he shall judge the people righteously.

11       Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
              let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.
12       Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein:
              then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice
13       Before the LORD: for he cometh,
              for he cometh to judge the earth:
              he shall judge the world with righteousness,
              and the people with his truth.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 12.

The LORD's Chosen Place of Worship.

1 These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth. 2 Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: 3 And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. 4 Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God. 5 But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: 6 And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: 7 And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.
      8 Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. 9 For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you. 10 But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety; 11 Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD: 12 And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you. 13 Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: 14 But in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.
      15 Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart. 16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water. 17 Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand: 18 But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto. 19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.
      20 When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. 21 If the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the LORD hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. 22 Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike. 23 Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. 24 Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water. 25 Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD. 26 Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the LORD shall choose. 27 And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh. 28 Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God.

Warning Against Idolatry.

29 When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land; 30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. 31 Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
        32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

Psalm 97.

The LORD Reigns.

1         The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice;
              let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.
2         Clouds and darkness are round about him:
              righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.
3         A fire goeth before him,
              and burneth up his enemies round about.
4         His lightnings enlightened the world:
              the earth saw, and trembled
5         The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD,
              at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

6         The heavens declare his righteousness,
              and all the people see his glory.
7         Confounded be all they that serve graven images,
              that boast themselves of idols:
              worship him, all ye gods.

8         Zion heard, and was glad;
              and the daughters of Judah rejoiced
              because of thy judgments, O LORD.
9         For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth:
              thou art exalted far above all gods.

10       Ye that love the LORD, hate evil:
              he preserveth the souls of his saints;
              he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
11       Light is sown for the righteous,
              and gladness for the upright in heart.
12       Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous;
              and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. .

Psalm 98.

Make a Joyful Noise to the LORD.

A PSALM

1         O sing unto the LORD a new song;
              for he hath done marvellous things:
              his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
2         The LORD hath made known his salvation:
              his righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the heathen.
3         He hath remembered his mercy and his truth
              toward the house of Israel:
              all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

4         Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth:
              make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
5         Sing unto the LORD with the harp;
              with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.
6         With trumpets and sound of cornet
              make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King.

7         Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof;
              the world, and they that dwell therein.
8         Let the floods clap their hands:
              let the hills be joyful together 9 Before the LORD;
              for he cometh to judge the earth:
            with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 13.

1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. 5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.
      6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; 7 Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; 8 Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: 9 But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10 And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.
      12 If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, 13 Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known; 14 Then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you; 15 Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword. 16 And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again. 17 And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers; 18 When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.

Deuteronomy chapter 14.

Clean and Unclean Food.

1 Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. 2 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
      3 Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing. 4 These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, 5 The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois. 6 And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat. 7 Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you. 8 And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.
      9 These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat: 10 And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.
      11 Of all clean birds ye shall eat. 12 But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the osprey, 13 And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind, 14 And every raven after his kind, 15 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind, 16 The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan, 17 And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant, 18 And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. 19 And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten. 20 But of all clean fowls ye may eat.
      21 Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.

Tithes.

22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. 23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always. 24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: 25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: 26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, 27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
      28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: 29 And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

Psalm 99.

The LORD Our God is Holy.

1         The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble:
              he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.
2         The LORD is great in Zion;
              and he is high above all the people.
3         Let them praise thy great and terrible name;
              for it is holy.
4         The king's strength also loveth judgment;
              thou dost establish equity,
              thou executest judgment
              and righteousness in Jacob.
5         Exalt ye the LORD our God,
              and worship at his footstool;
              for he is holy.

6         Moses and Aaron among his priests,
              and Samuel among them that call upon his name;
              they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.
7         He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar:
              they kept his testimonies,
              and the ordinance that he gave them.

8         Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God:
              thou wast a God that forgavest them,
              though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions.
9         Exalt the LORD our God,
              and worship at his holy hill;
              for the LORD our God is holy.

Psalm 100.

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever.

A PSALM OF PRAISE

1         Make a joyful noise unto the LORD,
              all ye lands.
2         Serve the LORD with gladness:
              come before his presence with singing.

3         Know ye that the LORD he is God:
              it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
              we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4         Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
              and into his courts with praise:
              be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5         For the LORD is good;
              his mercy is everlasting;
              and his truth endureth to all generations.

Psalm 101.

I Will Walk with Integrity.

A PSALM OF DAVID - A PSALM OR SONG FOR THE SONS OF KORAH

1         I will sing of mercy and judgment:
              unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.
2         I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way.
              O when wilt thou come unto me?
              I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
3         I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes:
              I hate the work of them that turn aside;
              it shall not cleave to me.
4         A froward heart shall depart from me:
              I will not know a wicked person.

5         Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off:
              him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.

6         Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land,
              that they may dwell with me:
              he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.

7         He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house:
              he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.

8         I will early destroy
              all the wicked of the land;
              that I may cut off all wicked doers
              from the city of the LORD.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 15.

The Sabbatical Year.

1 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. 2 And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD'S release. 3 Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release; 4 Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it: 5 Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day. 6 For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.
      7 If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: 8 But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. 9 Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee. 10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. 11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.
      12 And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. 13 And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: 14 Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. 15 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day. 16 And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee; 17 Then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise. 18 It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.
      19 All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep. 20 Thou shalt eat it before the LORD thy God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, thou and thy household. 21 And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God. 22 Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart. 23 Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.

Psalm 102.

Do Not Hide Your Face from Me.

A PRAYER OF THE AFFLICTED, WHEN HE IS OVERWHELMED, AND POURETH OUT HIS COMPLAINT BEFORE THE LORD

1         Hear my prayer, O LORD,
              and let my cry come unto thee.
2         Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble;
              incline thine ear unto me:
              in the day when I call answer me speedily.

3         For my days are consumed like smoke,
              and my bones are burned as an hearth.
4         My heart is smitten, and withered like grass;
              so that I forget to eat my bread.
5         By reason of the voice of my groaning
              my bones cleave to my skin.
6         I am like a pelican of the wilderness:
              I am like an owl of the desert.
7         I watch,
              and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.
8         Mine enemies reproach me all the day;
              and they that are mad against me are sworn against me.
9         For I have eaten ashes like bread,
              and mingled my drink with weeping,
10       Because of thine indignation and thy wrath:
              for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down.
11       My days are like a shadow that declineth;
              and I am withered like grass.

12       But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever;
              and thy remembrance unto all generations.
13       Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion:
              for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.
14       For thy servants take pleasure in her stones,
              and favour the dust thereof.
15       So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD,
              and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
16       When the LORD shall build up Zion,
              he shall appear in his glory.
17       He will regard the prayer of the destitute,
              and not despise their prayer.

18       This shall be written for the generation to come:
              and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.
19       For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary;
              from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
20       To hear the groaning of the prisoner;
              to loose those that are appointed to death;
21       To declare the name of the LORD in Zion,
              and his praise in Jerusalem;
22       When the people are gathered together,
              and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.

23       He weakened my strength in the way;
              he shortened my days.
24       I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days:
              thy years are throughout all generations.

25       Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth:
              and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
26       They shall perish, but thou shalt endure:
              yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment;
            as a vesture shalt thou change them,
              and they shall be changed:
27       But thou art the same,
              and thy years shall have no end.
28       The children of thy servants shall continue,
              and their seed shall be established before thee.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 16.

Passover.

1 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. 2 Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there. 3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction: for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. 4 And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning. 5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee: 6 But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt. 7 And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents. 8 Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work therein.

The Feast of Weeks.

9 Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn. 10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: 11 And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name there. 12 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.

The Feast of Booths.

13 Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine: 14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. 15 Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.
      16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.

Justice.

18 Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment. 19 Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. 20 That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Forbidden Forms of Worship.

21 Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee. 22 Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth.

Psalm 103.

Bless the LORD, O My Soul.

A PSALM OF DAVID

1         Bless the LORD, O my soul:
              and all that is within me,
              bless his holy name.
2         Bless the LORD, O my soul,
              and forget not all his benefits:
3         Who forgiveth all thine iniquities;
              who healeth all thy diseases;
4         Who redeemeth thy life from destruction;
              who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5         Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things;
              so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

6         The LORD executeth righteousness
              and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7         He made known his ways unto Moses,
              his acts unto the children of Israel.
8         The LORD is merciful and gracious,
              slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9         He will not always chide:
              neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10       He hath not dealt with us after our sins;
              nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11       For as the heaven is high above the earth,
              so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12       As far as the east is from the west,
              so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13       Like as a father pitieth his children,
              so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
14       For he knoweth our frame;
              he remembereth that we are dust.
15       As for man, his days are as grass:
              as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16       For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone;
              and the place thereof shall know it no more.
17       But the mercy of the LORD is
              from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him,
              and his righteousness unto children's children;
18       To such as keep his covenant,
              and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
19       The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens;
              and his kingdom ruleth over all.

20       Bless the LORD, ye his angels,
              that excel in strength, that do his commandments,
              hearkening unto the voice of his word.
21       Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts;
              ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22       Bless the LORD, all his works
              in all places of his dominion:
              bless the LORD, O my soul.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 17.

Forbidden Forms of Worship - continued.

1 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God.
      2 If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, 3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and inquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: 5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. 6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. 7 The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.

Legal Decisions by Priests and Judges.

8 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the LORD thy God shall choose; 9 And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall show thee the sentence of judgment: 10 And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the LORD shall choose shall show thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee: 11 According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall show thee, to the right hand, nor to the left. 12 And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel. 13 And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously

Laws Concerning Israel's Kings .

14 When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; 15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. 16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. 17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
      18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

Psalm 104.

O LORD my God, You Are Very Great.

1         Bless the LORD, O my soul.
              O LORD my God, thou art very great;
              thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
2         Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment:
              who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
3         Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters:
              who maketh the clouds his chariot:
              who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
4         Who maketh his angels spirits;
              his ministers a flaming fire:

5         Who laid the foundations of the earth,
              that it should not be removed for ever.
6         Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment:
              the waters stood above the mountains.
7         At thy rebuke they fled;
              at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.
8         They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys
              unto the place which thou hast founded for them.
9         Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over;
              that they turn not again to cover the earth.

10       He sendeth the springs into the valleys,
              which run among the hills.
11       They give drink to every beast of the field:
              the wild asses quench their thirst.
12       By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation,
              which sing among the branches.
13       He watereth the hills from his chambers:
              the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.

14       He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle,
              and herb for the service of man:
              that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
15       And wine that maketh glad the heart of man,
              and oil to make his face to shine,
              and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

16       The trees of the LORD are full of sap;
              the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
17       Where the birds make their nests:
              as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
18       The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats;
              and the rocks for the conies.

19       He appointed the moon for seasons:
              the sun knoweth his going down.
20       Thou makest darkness, and it is night:
              wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
21       The young lions roar after their prey,
              and seek their meat from God.
22       The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together,
              and lay them down in their dens.
23       Man goeth forth unto his work
              and to his labour until the evening.

24       O LORD, how manifold are thy works!
              in wisdom hast thou made them all:
              the earth is full of thy riches.
25      So is this great and wide sea,
              wherein are things creeping innumerable,
              both small and great beasts.
26       There go the ships:
              there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.

27       These wait all upon thee;
              that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
28       That thou givest them they gather:
              thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
29       Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled:
              thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
30       Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created:
              and thou renewest the face of the earth.

31       The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever:
              the LORD shall rejoice in his works.
32       He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth:
              he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
33       I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live:
              I will sing praise to my God while I have my being
34       My meditation of him shall be sweet:
              I will be glad in the LORD.
35       Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth,
              and let the wicked be no more.
          Bless thou the LORD, O my soul.
              Praise ye the LORD.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 18.

1 The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and his inheritance. 2 Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the LORD is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them. 3 And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep; and they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw. 4 The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him. 5 For the LORD thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for ever. 6 And if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourned, and come with all the desire of his mind unto the place which the LORD shall choose; 7 Then he shall minister in the name of the LORD his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, which stand there before the LORD. 8 They shall have like portions to eat, beside that which cometh of the sale of his patrimony.

Abominable Practices.

9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. 13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. 14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.

A New Prophet like Moses.

15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; 16 According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. 17 And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. 18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. 20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? 22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

Psalm 105.

Tell of All His Wondrous Works.

1         O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name:
              make known his deeds among the people.
2         Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him:
              talk ye of all his wondrous works.
3         Glory ye in his holy name:
              let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.
4         Seek the LORD, and his strength:
              seek his face evermore.
5         Remember his marvellous works that he hath done;
              his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;
6         O ye seed of Abraham his servant,
              ye children of Jacob his chosen.

7         He is the LORD our God:
              his judgments are in all the earth.
8         He hath remembered his covenant for ever,
              the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
9         Which covenant he made with Abraham,
              and his oath unto Isaac;
10       And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law,
              and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
11       Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan,
              the lot of your inheritance:

12       When they were but a few men in number;
              yea, very few, and strangers in it.
13       When they went from one nation to another,
              from one kingdom to another people;
14       He suffered no man to do them wrong:
              yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;
15       Saying, Touch not mine anointed,
              and do my prophets no harm.

16       Moreover he called for a famine upon the land:
              he brake the whole staff of bread.
17       He sent a man before them, even Joseph,
              who was sold for a servant:
18       Whose feet they hurt with fetters:
              he was laid in iron:
19       Until the time that his word came:
              the word of the LORD tried him.
20       The king sent and loosed him;
              even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.
21       He made him lord of his house,
              and ruler of all his substance:
22       To bind his princes at his pleasure;
              and teach his senators wisdom.

23       Israel also came into Egypt;
              and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24       And he increased his people greatly;
              and made them stronger than their enemies.
25       He turned their heart to hate his people,
              to deal subtly with his servants.

26       He sent Moses his servant;
              and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27       They showed his signs among them,
              and wonders in the land of Ham.
28       He sent darkness, and made it dark;
              and they rebelled not against his word.
29       He turned their waters into blood,
              and slew their fish.
30       Their land brought forth frogs in abundance,
              in the chambers of their kings.
31       He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies,
              and lice in all their coasts.
32       He gave them hail for rain,
              and flaming fire in their land.
33       He smote their vines also and their fig trees;
              and brake the trees of their coasts.
34       He spake, and the locusts came,
              and caterpillars, and that without number,
35       And did eat up all the herbs in their land,
              and devoured the fruit of their ground.
36       He smote also all the firstborn in their land,
              the chief of all their strength.

37       He brought them forth also with silver and gold:
              and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.
38       Egypt was glad when they departed:
              for the fear of them fell upon them.

39       He spread a cloud for a covering;
              and fire to give light in the night.
40       The people asked, and he brought quails,
              and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
41       He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out;
              they ran in the dry places like a river.
42       For he remembered his holy promise,
              and Abraham his servant.

43       And he brought forth his people with joy,
              and his chosen with gladness:
44       And gave them the lands of the heathen:
              and they inherited the labour of the people
45       That they might observe his statutes,
              and keep his laws.
              Praise ye the LORD.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 19.

Laws Concerning Cities of Refuge.

1 When the LORD thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses; 2 Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it. 3 Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither.
      4 And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past; 5 As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live: 6 Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past. 7 Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee. 8 And if the LORD thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers; 9 If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three: 10 That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.
      11 But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities: 12 Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

Property Boundries.

14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.

Laws Concerning Witnesses.

15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. 16 If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; 17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; 18 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; 19 Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. 20 And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. 21 And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Psalm 106.

Give Thanks to the LORD, for He is Good.

1        Praise ye the LORD.
              O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good:
              for his mercy endureth for ever.
2        Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD?
              who can show forth all his praise?
3        Blessed are they that keep judgment,
              and he that doeth righteousness at all times.

4        Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people:
              O visit me with thy salvation;
5        That I may see the good of thy chosen,
              that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation,
              that I may glory with thine inheritance.
6        We have sinned with our fathers,
              we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
7        Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt;
              they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies;
            but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.
8        Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake,
              that he might make his mighty power to be known.
9        He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up:
              so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
10       And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them,
              and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11       And the waters covered their enemies:
              there was not one of them left.
12       Then believed they his words;
              they sang his praise.

13       They soon forgat his works;
              they waited not for his counsel:
14       But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness,
              and tempted God in the desert.
15       And he gave them their request;
              but sent leanness into their soul.

16       They envied Moses also in the camp,
              and Aaron the saint of the LORD.
17       The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
              and covered the company of Abiram.
18       And a fire was kindled in their company;
              the flame burned up the wicked.

19       They made a calf in Horeb,
              and worshipped the molten image.
20       Thus they changed their glory
              into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.
21       They forgat God their saviour,
              which had done great things in Egypt;
22       Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.
23       Therefore he said that he would destroy them,
              had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach,
            to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.

24       Yea, they despised the pleasant land,
              they believed not his word:
25       But murmured in their tents,
              and hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD.
26       Therefore he lifted up his hand against them,
              to overthrow them in the wilderness:
27       To overthrow their seed also among the nations,
              and to scatter them in the lands.

28       They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor,
              and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
29       Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions:
              and the plague brake in upon them.
30       Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment:
              and so the plague was stayed.
31       And that was counted unto him for righteousness
              unto all generations for evermore.

32       They angered him also at the waters of strife,
              so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes:
33       Because they provoked his spirit,
              so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.

34       They did not destroy the nations,
              concerning whom the LORD commanded them:
35       But were mingled among the heathen,
              and learned their works.
36       And they served their idols:
              which were a snare unto them.
37       Yea, they sacrificed their sons
              and their daughters unto devils,
38       And shed innocent blood,
              even the blood of their sons and of their daughters,
              whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan:
            and the land was polluted with blood.
39       Thus were they defiled with their own works,
              and went a whoring with their own inventions.

40       Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people,
              insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.
41       And he gave them into the hand of the heathen;
              and they that hated them ruled over them.
42       Their enemies also oppressed them,
              and they were brought into subjection under their hand.
43       Many times did he deliver them;
              but they provoked him with their counsel,
              and were brought low for their iniquity.

44       Nevertheless he regarded their affliction,
              when he heard their cry:
45       And he remembered for them his covenant,
              and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.
46       He made them also to be pitied
              of all those that carried them captives.
47       Save us, O LORD our God,
              and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name,
              and to triumph in thy praise.

48       Blessed be the LORD God of Israel
              from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen.
              Praise ye the LORD.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 20.

Laws Concerning Warfare.

1 When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 2 And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, 3 And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; 4 For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. 5 And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. 6 And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it. 7 And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her. 8 And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart faint as well as his heart. 9 And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.
      10 When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. 11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. 12 And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it: 13 And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: 14 But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee. 15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations. 16 But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: 17 But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee: 18 That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.
      19 When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an ax against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the siege: 20 Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.

PSALMS BOOK FIVE.

Psalm 107.

Let the Redeemed of the LORD Say So.

1         O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good:
              for his mercy endureth for ever.
2         Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
              whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
3         And gathered them out of the lands,
              from the east, and from the west,
              from the north, and from the south.

4         They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way;
              they found no city to dwell in.
5         Hungry and thirsty,
              their soul fainted in them.
6         Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble,
              and he delivered them out of their distresses.
7         And he led them forth by the right way,
              that they might go to a city of habitation.
8         Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness,
              and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
9         For he satisfieth the longing soul,
              and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

10       Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
              being bound in affliction and iron;
11       Because they rebelled against the words of God,
              and contemned the counsel of the most High:
12       Therefore he brought down their heart with labour;
              they fell down, and there was none to help.
3       Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble,
              and he saved them out of their distresses.
14       He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
              and brake their bands in sunder.
15       Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness,
              and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
16       For he hath broken the gates of brass,
              and cut the bars of iron in sunder.

17       Fools because of their transgression,
              and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
18       Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat;
              and they draw near unto the gates of death.
19       Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble,
              and he saveth them out of their distresses.
20       He sent his word, and healed them,
              and delivered them from their destructions.
21       Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness,
              and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
22       And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
              and declare his works with rejoicing.

23       They that go down to the sea in ships,
              that do business in great waters;
24       These see the works of the LORD,
              and his wonders in the deep.
25       For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind,
              which lifteth up the waves thereof.
26       They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths:
              their soul is melted because of trouble.
27       They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
              and are at their wit's end.
28       Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble,
              and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
29       He maketh the storm a calm,
              so that the waves thereof are still.
30       Then are they glad because they be quiet;
              so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
31       Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness,
              and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
32       Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people,
              and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

33       He turneth rivers into a wilderness,
              and the watersprings into dry ground;
34       A fruitful land into barrenness,
              for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
35       He turneth the wilderness into a standing water,
              and dry ground into watersprings.
36       And there he maketh the hungry to dwell,
              that they may prepare a city for habitation;
37       And sow the fields, and plant vineyards,
              which may yield fruits of increase.
38       He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly;
              and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.

39       Again, they are minished and brought low
              through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.
40       He poureth contempt upon princes,
              and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
41       Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction,
              and maketh him families like a flock.
42       The righteous shall see it, and rejoice:
              and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.
43       Whoso is wise, and will observe these things,
              even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 21.

Atonement for Unsolved Murders.

1 If one be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him: 2 Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain: 3 And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke; 4 And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley: 5 And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried: 6 And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley: 7 And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. 8 Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them. 9 So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.

Marrying Female Captives.

10 When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, 11 And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife; 12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; 13 And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. 14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her

Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn.

15 If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated: 16 Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn: 17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

A Rebellious Son.

18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: 19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; 20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
      22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: 23 His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

Psalm 108.

With God We Shall Do Valiantly.

A SONG OR PSALM OF DAVID

1        O God, my heart is fixed;
              I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
2        Awake, psaltery and harp:
              I myself will awake early.
3        I will praise thee, O LORD,
              among the people:
              and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.
4        For thy mercy is great above the heavens:
              and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.

5        Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens:
              and thy glory above all the earth;
6        That thy beloved may be delivered:
              save with thy right hand, and answer me.

7        God hath spoken in his holiness;
              I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem,
              and mete out the valley of Succoth.
8        Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
              Ephraim also is the strength of mine head;
              Judah is my lawgiver;
9        Moab is my washpot;
              over Edom will I cast out my shoe;
              over Philistia will I triumph.

10       Who will bring me into the strong city?
              who will lead me into Edom?
11       Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off?
              and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?
12       Give us help from trouble:
              for vain is the help of man.
         Through God we shall do valiantly:
              for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

Psalm 109.

TO THE CHIEF MUSICIAN, A PSALM OF DAVID

1        Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
2        For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me:
              they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
3        They compassed me about also with words of hatred;
              and fought against me without a cause.
4        For my love they are my adversaries:
              but I give myself unto prayer.
5        And they have rewarded me evil for good,
              and hatred for my love.

6        Set thou a wicked man over him:
              and let Satan stand at his right hand.
7        When he shall be judged, let him be condemned:
              and let his prayer become sin.
8        Let his days be few;
              and let another take his office.
9        Let his children be fatherless,
              and his wife a widow.
10       Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg:
              let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
11       Let the extortioner catch all that he hath;
              and let the strangers spoil his labour.
12       Let there be none to extend mercy unto him:
              neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.
13       Let his posterity be cut off;
              and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
14       Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD;
              and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15       Let them be before the LORD continually,
              that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.

16       Because that he remembered not to show mercy,
              but persecuted the poor and needy man,
              that he might even slay the broken in heart.
17       As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him:
              as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
18       As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment,
              so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones.
19       Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him,
              and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
20       Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD,
              and of them that speak evil against my soul.

21      But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord,
              for thy name's sake:
              because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.
22       For I am poor and needy,
              and my heart is wounded within me.
23       I am gone like the shadow when it declineth:
              I am tossed up and down as the locust.
24       My knees are weak through fasting;
              and my flesh faileth of fatness.
25       I became also a reproach unto them:
              when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.

26       Help me, O LORD my God:
              O save me according to thy mercy:
27       That they may know that this is thy hand;
              that thou, LORD, hast done it.
28       Let them curse, but bless thou:
              when they arise, let them be ashamed;
              but let thy servant rejoice.
29       Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame,
              and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.

30       I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth;
              yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
31       For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor,
              to save him from those that condemn his soul.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 22.

Various Laws.

1 Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother. 2 And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again. 3 In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment; and with all lost thing of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise: thou mayest not hide thyself. 4 Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.
      5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
      6 If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young: 7 But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.
      8 When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.
      9 Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled. 10 Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. 11 Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together.
      12 Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.

Laws Concerning Sexual Immorality.

13 If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, 14 And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid: 15 Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate: 16 And the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her; 17 And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. 18 And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him; 19 And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days. 20 But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: 21 Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.
      22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.
      23 If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; 24 Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.
      25 But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die: 26 But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter: 27 For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.
        28 If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; 29 Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.
      30 A man shall not take his father's wife, nor discover his father's skirt.

Psalm 110.

Sit at My Right Hand.

A PSALM OF DAVID - A PSALM OR SONG FOR THE SONS OF KORAH

1         The LORD said unto my Lord,
              Sit thou at my right hand,
              until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

2         The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion:
              rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
3         Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power,
              in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning:
              thou hast the dew of thy youth.
4         The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent,
              Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

5         The Lord at thy right hand
              shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
6         He shall judge among the heathen,
              he shall fill the places with the dead bodies;
              he shall wound the heads over many countries.
7         He shall drink of the brook in the way:
              therefore shall he lift up the head.

Psalm 111.

Great Are the LORD's Works.

1         Praise ye the LORD.
              I will praise the LORD with my whole heart,
              in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.
2         The works of the LORD are great,
              sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
3         His work is honourable and glorious:
              and his righteousness endureth for ever.
4         He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered:
              the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.
5         He hath given meat unto them that fear him:
              he will ever be mindful of his covenant.
6         He hath showed his people the power of his works,
              that he may give them the heritage of the heathen.
7         The works of his hands are verity and judgment;
              all his commandments are sure.
8         They stand fast for ever and ever,
              and are done in truth and uprightness.
9         He sent redemption unto his people:
              he hath commanded his covenant for ever:
              holy and reverend is his name.
10       The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom:
              a good understanding have all they that do his commandments:
              his praise endureth for ever.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 23.

Those Excluded from the Assembly.

1 He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
      2 A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
      3 An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: 4 Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. 5 Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee. 6 Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.
      7 Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land. 8 The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation

Uncleanness in the Camp.

9 When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing.
      10 If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp: 11 But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.
      12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad: 13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee: 14 For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee

Miscellaneous Laws.

15 Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee: 16 He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
      17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. 18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
      19 Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury: 20 Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
      21 When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. 22 But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. 23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
      24 When thou comest into thy neighbour's vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel. 25 When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn.

Psalm 112.

The Righteous Will Never Be Moved.

1         Praise ye the LORD.
              Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD,
              that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
2         His seed shall be mighty upon earth:
              the generation of the upright shall be blessed.
3         Wealth and riches shall be in his house:
              and his righteousness endureth for ever.
4         Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness:
              he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
5         A good man showeth favour, and lendeth:
              he will guide his affairs with discretion.
6         Surely he shall not be moved for ever:
              the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
7         He shall not be afraid of evil tidings:
              his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.
8         His heart is established, he shall not be afraid,
              until he see his desire upon his enemies.
9         He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor;
              his righteousness endureth for ever;
              his horn shall be exalted with honour.
10        The wicked shall see it, and be grieved;
              he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away:
              the desire of the wicked shall perish.

Psalm 113.

1         Praise ye the LORD.
              Praise, O ye servants of the LORD,
              praise the name of the LORD.

2         Blessed be the name of the LORD
              from this time forth and for evermore.
3         From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same
              the LORD's name is to be praised.

4         The LORD is high above all nations,
              and his glory above the heavens.
5         Who is like unto the LORD our God,
              who dwelleth on high,
6         Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!
7         He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,
              and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
8         That he may set him with princes,
              even with the princes of his people.
9         He maketh the barren woman to keep house,
              and to be a joyful mother of children.
              Praise ye the LORD.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 24.

Laws Concerning Divorce.

1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife. 3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; 4 Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

Miscellaneous Laws.

5 When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.
      6 No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man's life to pledge.
      7 If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you.
      8 Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do. 9 Remember what the LORD thy God did unto Miriam by the way, after that ye were come forth out of Egypt.
      10 When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. 11 Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee. 12 And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge: 13 In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.
      14 Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates: 15 At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.
      16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
      17 Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's raiment to pledge: 18 But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
      19 When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. 20 When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 21 When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 22 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.

Psalm 114.

Tremble at the Presence of the LORD.

1         When Israel went out of Egypt,
              the house of Jacob from a people of strange language;
2         Judah was his sanctuary,
              and Israel his dominion.

3         The sea saw it, and fled:
              Jordan was driven back.
4         The mountains skipped like rams,
              and the little hills like lambs.

5         What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest?
              thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?
6         Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams;
              and ye little hills, like lambs?

7         Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord,
              at the presence of the God of Jacob;
8         Which turned the rock into a standing water,
              the flint into a fountain of waters.

Psalm 115.

To Your Name Give Glory.

1      Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory,
              for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.

2         Wherefore should the heathen say,
              Where is now their God?
3         But our God is in the heavens:
              he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

4         Their idols are silver and gold,
              the work of men's hands.
5         They have mouths, but they speak not:
              eyes have they, but they see not:
6         They have ears, but they hear not:
              noses have they, but they smell not:
7         They have hands, but they handle not:
              feet have they, but they walk not:
              neither speak they through their throat.
8         They that make them are like unto them;
              so is every one that trusteth in them.

9         O Israel, trust thou in the LORD:
              he is their help and their shield.
10       O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD:
              he is their help and their shield.
11       Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD:
              he is their help and their shield.

12       The LORD hath been mindful of us:
              he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel;
              he will bless the house of Aaron.
13       He will bless them that fear the LORD,
              both small and great.

14       The LORD shall increase you more and more,
              you and your children.
15       Ye are blessed of the LORD
              which made heaven and earth.

16       The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's:
              but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
17       The dead praise not the LORD,
              neither any that go down into silence.
18       But we will bless the LORD
              from this time forth and for evermore.
              Praise the LORD.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 25.

Miscellaneous Laws - continued.

1 If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked. 2 And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number. 3 Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.
      4 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.

Laws Concerning Levirate Marriage.

5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her. 6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. 7 And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother. 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her; 9 Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house. 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.

Miscellaneous Laws.

11 When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets: 12 Then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall not pity her.
      13 Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. 14 Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. 15 But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 16 For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God.
      17 Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; 18 How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. 19 Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.

Psalm 116.

I Love the LORD.

1         I love the LORD, because he hath heard
              my voice and my supplications.
2         Because he hath inclined his ear unto me,
              therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
3         The sorrows of death compassed me,
              and the pains of hell gat hold upon me:
              I found trouble and sorrow.
4         Then called I upon the name of the LORD;
              O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.

5         Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
              yea, our God is merciful.
6         The LORD preserveth the simple:
              I was brought low, and he helped me.
7         Return unto thy rest, O my soul;
              for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.

8         For thou hast delivered my soul from death,
              mine eyes from tears,
              and my feet from falling.
9         I will walk before the LORD
              in the land of the living.

10       I believed, therefore have I spoken:
              I was greatly afflicted:
11       I said in my haste,
              All men are liars.

12       What shall I render unto the LORD
              for all his benefits toward me?
13       I will take the cup of salvation,
              and call upon the name of the LORD.
14       I will pay my vows unto the LORD
              now in the presence of all his people.

15       Precious in the sight of the LORD
              is the death of his saints.
16       O LORD, truly I am thy servant;
              I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid:
              thou hast loosed my bonds.
17       I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
              and will call upon the name of the LORD.
18       I will pay my vows unto the LORD
              now in the presence of all his people,
19       In the courts of the LORD's house,
              in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem.
              Praise ye the LORD.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 26.

Offerings of Firstfruits and Tithes.

1 And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein; 2 That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there. 3 And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us. 4 And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God.
      5 And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: 6 And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: 7 And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression: 8 And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: 9 And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. 10 And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God: 11 And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.
      12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; 13 Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them: 14 I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. 15 Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
      16 This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. 17 Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice: 18 And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; 19 And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.

Psalm 117.

The LORD's Endures Forever.

1         O Praise the LORD, all ye nations:
              praise him, all ye people.
2         For his merciful kindness is great toward us:
              and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever.
              Praise ye the LORD.

Psalm 118.

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever.

1         O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good:
              because his mercy endureth for ever.

2        Let Israel now say,
              that his mercy endureth for ever.
3        Let the house of Aaron now say,
              that his mercy endureth for ever.
4        Let them now that fear the LORD say,
              that his mercy endureth for ever.

5        I called upon the LORD in distress:
              the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.
6        The LORD is on my side; I will not fear:
              what can man do unto me?
7        The LORD taketh my part with them that help me:
              therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.

8        It is better to trust in the LORD
              than to put confidence in man.
9        It is better to trust in the LORD
              than to put confidence in princes.

10       All nations compassed me about:
              but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.
11       They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about:
              but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
12       They compassed me about like bees;
              they are quenched as the fire of thorns:
              for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
13       Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall:
              but the LORD helped me.

14       The LORD is my strength and song,
              and is become my salvation.
15       The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous:
              the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
16       The right hand of the LORD is exalted:
              the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.

17       I shall not die, but live,
              and declare the works of the LORD.
18       The LORD hath chastened me sore:
              but he hath not given me over unto death.

19       Open to me the gates of righteousness:
              I will go into them,
              and I will praise the LORD:
20       This gate of the LORD,
              into which the righteous shall enter.
21       I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me,
              and art become my salvation.
22       The stone which the builders refused
              is become the head stone of the corner.
23       This is the LORD'S doing;
              it is marvellous in our eyes.
24       This is the day which the LORD hath made;
              we will rejoice and be glad in it.

25       Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD:
              O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
26       Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD:
              we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
27       God is the LORD,
              which hath showed us light:
              bind the sacrifice with cords,
              even unto the horns of the altar.

28       Thou art my God, and I will praise thee:
              thou art my God, I will exalt thee.
29       O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good:
              for his mercy endureth for ever.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 27.

The Altar on Mount Ebal.

1 And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day. 2 And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster: 3 And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee. 4 Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster. 5 And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them. 6 Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD thy God: 7 And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the LORD thy God. 8 And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.

Curses from Mount Ebal.

9 And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the LORD thy God. 10 Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the LORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day.
      11 And Moses charged the people the same day, saying, 12 These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin: 13 And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice,
      15 Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.
      16 Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
      17 Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.
      18 Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen.
      19 Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
      20 Cursed be he that lieth with his father's wife; because he uncovereth his father's skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen.
      21 Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.
      22 Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
      23 Cursed be he that lieth with his mother in law. And all the people shall say, Amen.
      24 Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen.
      25 Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.
      26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Deuteronomy chapter 28:1-19.

Blessings for Obedience.

1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. 3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. 6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
      7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. 8 The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 9 The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. 10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11 And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. 13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: 14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Curses for Disobedience.

15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: 16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. 17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 19 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.

Psalm 119:1-24.

Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet.

 ALEPH
1        Blessed are the undefiled in the way,
              who walk in the law of the LORD.
2        Blessed are they that keep his testimonies,
              and that seek him with the whole heart.
3        They also do no iniquity:
              they walk in his ways.
4        Thou hast commanded us
              to keep thy precepts diligently.
5        O that my ways were directed
              to keep thy statutes!
6        Then shall I not be ashamed,
              when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
7        I will praise thee with uprightness of heart,
              when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
8        I will keep thy statutes:
              O forsake me not utterly.

                                         BETH
9        Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?
              by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
10       With my whole heart have I sought thee:
              O let me not wander from thy commandments.
11       Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
              that I might not sin against thee.
12       Blessed art thou, O LORD:
              teach me thy statutes.
13       With my lips have I declared
              all the judgments of thy mouth.
14       I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies,
              as much as in all riches.
15       I will meditate in thy precepts,
              and have respect unto thy ways.
16       I will delight myself in thy statutes:
              I will not forget thy word.

                                         GIMEL
17       Deal bountifully with thy servant,
              that I may live, and keep thy word.
18       Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
              wondrous things out of thy law.
19       I am a stranger in the earth:
              hide not thy commandments from me.
20       My soul breaketh for the longing
              that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.
21       Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed,
              which do err from thy commandments.
22       Remove from me reproach and contempt;
              for I have kept thy testimonies.
23       Princes also did sit and speak against me:
              but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.
24       Thy testimonies also are my delight
              and my counsellors.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 28:20-68.

Curses for Disobedience - continued.

20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. 21 The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. 22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. 23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. 24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
      25 The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. 27 The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. 28 The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: 29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee. 30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof. 31 Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them. 32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand. 33 The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway: 34 So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 35 The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.
      36 The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. 37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee. 38 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it. 39 Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. 40 Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit. 41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity. 42 All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume. 43 The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. 44 He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
      45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: 46 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. 47 Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; 48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. 49 The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; 50 A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favour to the young: 51 And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.
      52 And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee. 53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: 54 So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave: 55 So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. 56 The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, 57 And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.
      58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; 59 Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. 60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. 61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. 62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God. 63 And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.
      64 And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. 65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: 66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: 67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 68 And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.

Psalm 119:25-48.

Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet- continued.

                                         DALETH
25       My soul cleaveth unto the dust:
              quicken thou me according to thy word.
26       I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me:
              teach me thy statutes.
27       Make me to understand the way of thy precepts:
              so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.
28       My soul melteth for heaviness:
              strengthen thou me according unto thy word.
29       Remove from me the way of lying:
              and grant me thy law graciously.
30       I have chosen the way of truth:
              thy judgments have I laid before me.
31       I have stuck unto thy testimonies:
              O LORD, put me not to shame.
32       I will run the way of thy commandments,
              when thou shalt enlarge my heart.

                                         HE
33       Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes;
              and I shall keep it unto the end.
34       Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law;
              yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
35       Make me to go in the path of thy commandments;
              for therein do I delight.
36       Incline my heart unto thy testimonies,
              and not to covetousness.
37       Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity;
              and quicken thou me in thy way.
38       Stablish thy word unto thy servant,
              who is devoted to thy fear.
39       Turn away my reproach which I fear:
              for thy judgments are good.
40       Behold, I have longed after thy precepts:
              quicken me in thy righteousness.

                                         VAU
41       Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD,
              even thy salvation, according to thy word.
42       So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me:
              for I trust in thy word.
43       And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth;
              for I have hoped in thy judgments.
44       So shall I keep thy law continually
              for ever and ever.
45       And I will walk at liberty:
              for I seek thy precepts.
46       I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings,
              and will not be ashamed.
47       And I will delight myself in thy commandments,
              which I have loved.
48       My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved;
              and I will meditate in thy statutes.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 29.

The Covenant Renewed in Moab.

1 These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.
      2 And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; 3 The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles: 4 Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. 5 And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. 6 Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God. 7 And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them: 8 And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh. 9 Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.
      10 Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, 11 Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water: 12 That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day: 13 That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 14 Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; 15 But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:
        16 (For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by; 17 And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:) 18 Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood; 19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: 20 The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven. 21 And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law: 22 So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it; 23 And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath: 24 Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger? 25 Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt: 26 For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them: 27 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book: 28 And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.
      29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Psalm 119:49-72.

Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet - continued.

 ZAIN
49       Remember the word unto thy servant,
              upon which thou hast caused me to hope.
50       This is my comfort in my affliction:
              for thy word hath quickened me.
51       The proud have had me greatly in derision:
              yet have I not declined from thy law.
52       I remembered thy judgments of old, O LORD;
              and have comforted myself.
53       Horror hath taken hold upon me
              because of the wicked that forsake thy law.
54       Thy statutes have been my songs
              in the house of my pilgrimage.
55       I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law.
56       This I had,
              because I kept thy precepts.

                                         CHETH
57       Thou art my portion, O LORD:
              I have said that I would keep thy words.
58       I entreated thy favour with my whole heart:
              be merciful unto me according to thy word.
59       I thought on my ways,
              and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.
60       I made haste, and delayed not
              to keep thy commandments.
61       The bands of the wicked have robbed me:
              but I have not forgotten thy law.
62       At midnight I will rise to give thanks
              unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.
63       I am a companion of all them that fear thee,
              and of them that keep thy precepts.
64       The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy:
              teach me thy statutes.

                                         TETH
65       Thou hast dealt well with thy servant,
              O LORD, according unto thy word.
66       Teach me good judgment and knowledge:
              for I have believed thy commandments.
67       Before I was afflicted I went astray:
              but now have I kept thy word.
68       Thou art good, and doest good;
              teach me thy statutes.
69       The proud have forged a lie against me:
              but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.
70       Their heart is as fat as grease;
              but I delight in thy law.
71       It is good for me that I have been afflicted;
              that I might learn thy statutes.
72       The law of thy mouth is better unto me
              than thousands of gold and silver.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 30.

Repentance and Forgiveness.

1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, 2 And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; 3 That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. 4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: 5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. 6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. 7 And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee. 8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day. 9 And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: 10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

The Choice of Life and Death.

11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
      15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; 16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. 17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. 19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

Psalm 119:73-96.

Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet- continued.

                                        JOD
73         Thy hands have made me and fashioned me:
              give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.
74       They that fear thee will be glad when they see me;
              because I have hoped in thy word.
75       I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right,
              and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
76       Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort,
              according to thy word unto thy servant.
77       Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live:
              for thy law is my delight.
78       Let the proud be ashamed;
              for they dealt perversely with me without a cause:
              but I will meditate in thy precepts.
79;       Let those that fear thee turn unto me,
              and those that have known thy testimonies.
80       Let my heart be sound in thy statutes;
              that I be not ashamed.

                                         CAPH
81       My soul fainteth for thy salvation:
              but I hope in thy word.
82       Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying,
              When wilt thou comfort me?
83       For I am become like a bottle in the smoke;
              yet do I not forget thy statutes.
84       How many are the days of thy servant?
              when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?
85       The proud have digged pits for me,
              which are not after thy law.
86       All thy commandments are faithful:
              they persecute me wrongfully;
              help thou me.
88       Quicken me after thy lovingkindness;
              so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.

                                         LAMED
89       For ever, O LORD, thy word
              is settled in heaven.
90       hy faithfulness is unto all generations:
              thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
91       They continue this day according to thine ordinances:
              for all are thy servants.
92       Unless thy law had been my delights,
              I should then have perished in mine affliction.
93       I will never forget thy precepts:
              for with them thou hast quickened me.
94       I am thine, save me;
              for I have sought thy precepts.
95       The wicked have waited for me to destroy me:
              but I will consider thy testimonies.
96       I have seen an end of all perfection:
              but thy commandment is exceeding broad.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 31.

Joshua to Succeed Moses.

1 And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel. 2 And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan. 3 The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said. 4 And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed. 5 And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
      7 And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. 8 And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

The Reading of the Law.

9 And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, 11 When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: 13 And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

Joshua Commissioned to Lead Israel.

14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation. 15 And the LORD appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.
      16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? 18 And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.
      19 Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. 20 For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant. 21 And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware. 22 Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.
      23 And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.
      24 And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, 25 That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, 26 Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee. 27 For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death? 28 Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them. 29 For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

The Song of Moses.

30 And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.

Psalm 119:97-120.

Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet- continued.

                                         MEM
97       O how love I thy law!
              it is my meditation all the day.
98       Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies:
              for they are ever with me.
99       I have more understanding than all my teachers:
              for thy testimonies are my meditation.
100     I understand more than the ancients,
              because I keep thy precepts.
101     I have refrained my feet from every evil way,
              that I might keep thy word.
102     I have not departed from thy judgments:
              for thou hast taught me.
103     How sweet are thy words unto my taste!
              yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104     Through thy precepts I get understanding:
              therefore I hate every false way.

                                         NUN
105     Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
              and a light unto my path.
106     I have sworn, and I will perform it,
              that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
107     I am afflicted very much:
              quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word.
108     Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD,
              and teach me thy judgments.
109     My soul is continually in my hand:
              yet do I not forget thy law.
110     The wicked have laid a snare for me:
              yet I erred not from thy precepts
111     Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever:
              for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
112     I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes
              alway, even unto the end.

                                         SAMECH
113     I hate vain thoughts:
              but thy law do I love.
114     Thou art my hiding place and my shield:
              I hope in thy word.
115     Depart from me, ye evildoers:
              for I will keep the commandments of my God.
116     Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live:
              and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
117     Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe:
              and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.
118     Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes:
              for their deceit is falsehood.
119     Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross:
              therefore I love thy testimonies.
120     My flesh trembleth for fear of thee;
              and I am afraid of thy judgments.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 32.

The Song of Moses - continued.

1         Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
2         My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
3         Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

4         He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
5         They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.
6         Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee?
            hath he not made thee, and established thee?
7         Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will show thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.
8         When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam,
            he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
9         For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

10       He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
11       As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:
12       So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him
13       He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock,
            and oil out of the flinty rock;
14       Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat;
            and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.

15       But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness;
            then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
16       They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.
17       They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
18       Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.

19       And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.
20       And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.
21       They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities:
            and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
22       For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase,
            and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

23       I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.
24       They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them,
            with the poison of serpents of the dust
25       The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.
26       I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:
27       Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say,
            Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this.

28       For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.
29       O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
30       How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?
31       For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.
32       For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:
33       Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.

34       Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?
35       To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand,
            and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
36       For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
37       And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,
38       Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.

39       See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal:
            neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
40       For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.
41       If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.
42       I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives,
            from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.

43       Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries,
            and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.

44 And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun. 45 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel: 46 And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. 47 For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

Moses Death Fortold.

48 And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying, 49 Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession: 50 And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people: 51 Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. 52 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.

Psalm 119:121-144.

Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet- continued.

                                         AIN
121     I have done judgment and justice:
              leave me not to mine oppressors.
122     Be surety for thy servant for good:
              let not the proud oppress me.
123     Mine eyes fail for thy salvation,
              and for the word of thy righteousness.
124       Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy,
              and teach me thy statutes.
125       I am thy servant; give me understanding,
              that I may know thy testimonies.
126       It is time for thee, LORD, to work:
              for they have made void thy law.
127       Therefore I love thy commandments above gold;
              yea, above fine gold.
128       Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right;
              and I hate every false way.

                                         PE
129       Thy testimonies are wonderful:
              therefore doth my soul keep them.
130       The entrance of thy words giveth light;
              it giveth understanding unto the simple.
131       I opened my mouth, and panted:
              for I longed for thy commandments.
132       Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me,
              as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
133       Order my steps in thy word:
              and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
134       Deliver me from the oppression of man:
              so will I keep thy precepts.
135       Make thy face to shine upon thy servant;
              and teach me thy statutes.
136       Rivers of waters run down mine eyes,
              because they keep not thy law.


                                         TZADDI
137       Righteous art thou, O LORD,
              and upright are thy judgments.
138       Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous
              and very faithful.
139       My zeal hath consumed me,
              because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.
140       Thy word is very pure:
              therefore thy servant loveth it.
141       I am small and despised:
              yet do not I forget thy precepts.
142       Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
              and thy law is the truth.
143       Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me:
              yet thy commandments are my delights.
144       The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting:
              give me understanding, and I shall live.

Return to the Top.

Deuteronomy chapter 33.

Moses' Final Blessing on Israel.

1 And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2 And he said,

            The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran,
            and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.
3         Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words.
4         Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.
5         And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.

6         Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few.

7 And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said,

        Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from
		his enemies.

8 And of Levi he said,

            Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of
			Meribah;
9         Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children:
            for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant.
10       They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.
11       Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the loins of them that rise against him,
            and of them that hate him, that they rise not again.

12 And of Benjamin he said,

        The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.

13 And of Joseph he said,

            Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,
14       And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon,
15       And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills,
16       And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush:
            let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.
17       His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together
            to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

18 And of Zebulun he said,

            Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents.
19       They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness:
            for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.

20 And of Gad he said,

            Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad; he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head.
21       And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated;
            and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments with Israel.

22 And of Dan he said,

            Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.

23 And of Naphtali he said,

            O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the LORD: possess thou the west and the south.
24       And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.
25       Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.

26       There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.
27       The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee;
            and shall say, Destroy them.
28       Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.
29       Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help,
            and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.

Deuteronomy chapter 34.

The Death of Moses.

1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, 2 And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, 3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. 4 And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. 5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. 6 And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. 7 And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. 8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
      9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses. 10 And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 11 In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, 12 And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel.

Psalm 119:145-176.

Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet- continued.

                                         KOPH
145     I cried with my whole heart;
              hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes.
146     I cried unto thee; save me,
              and I shall keep thy testimonies.
147     I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried:
              I hoped in thy word.
148     Mine eyes prevent the night watches,
              that I might meditate in thy word.
149     Hear my voice according unto thy lovingkindness:
              O LORD, quicken me according to thy judgment.
150     They draw nigh that follow after mischief:
              they are far from thy law.
151     Thou art near, O LORD;
              and all thy commandments are truth.
152     Concerning thy testimonies,
              I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.

                                         RESH
153     Consider mine affliction, and deliver me:
              for I do not forget thy law.
154       Plead my cause, and deliver me:
              quicken me according to thy word.
155       Salvation is far from the wicked:
              for they seek not thy statutes.
156       Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD:
              quicken me according to thy judgments.
157     Many are my persecutors and mine enemies;
              yet do I not decline from thy testimonies.
158     I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved;
              because they kept not thy word.
159       Consider how I love thy precepts:
              quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness.
160       Thy word is true from the beginning:
              and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

                                         SCHIN
161       Princes have persecuted me without a cause:
              but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.
162     I rejoice at thy word,
              as one that findeth great spoil.
163     I hate and abhor lying:
              but thy law do I love.
164     Seven times a day do I praise thee
              because of thy righteous judgments.
165     Great peace have they which love thy law:
              and nothing shall offend them.
166     LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation,
              and done thy commandments.
167     My soul hath kept thy testimonies;
              and I love them exceedingly
168     I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies:
              for all my ways are before thee.

                                         TAU
169     Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD:
              give me understanding according to thy word.
170     Let my supplication come before thee:
              deliver me according to thy word.
171     My lips shall utter praise,
              when thou hast taught me thy statutes.
172     My tongue shall speak of thy word:
              for all thy commandments are righteousness.
173     Let thine hand help me;
              for I have chosen thy precepts.
174     I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD;
              and thy law is my delight.
175     Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee;
              and let thy judgments help me.
176     I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
              seek thy servant;
              for I do not forget thy commandments.

Return to the Top.

A SONG OF DEGREES

1         In my distress I cried unto the LORD,
              and he heard me.
2         Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips,
              and from a deceitful tongue.

3         What shall be given unto thee?
              or what shall be done unto thee,
              thou false tongue?
4         Sharp arrows of the mighty,
              with coals of juniper.

5         Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech,
              that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!
5         My soul hath long dwelt
              with him that hateth peace.
7         I am for peace:
              but when I speak, they are for war.

A SONG OF DEGREES

1         I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,
              from whence cometh my help.
2         My help cometh from the LORD,
              which made heaven and earth.

3         He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:
              he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4         Behold, he that keepeth Israel
              shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5         The LORD is thy keeper:
              the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6         The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

7         The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil:
              he shall preserve thy soul.
8         The LORD shall preserve
              thy going out and thy coming in
              from this time forth, and even for evermore.

A SONG OF DEGREES OF DAVID

1         I was glad when they said unto me,
              Let us go into the house of the LORD
2         Our feet shall stand within
              thy gates, O Jerusalem.

3         Jerusalem is builded as a city
              that is compact together:
4         Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD,
              unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.
5         For there are set thrones of judgment,
              the thrones of the house of David.

6         Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
              they shall prosper that love thee.
7         Peace be within thy walls,
              and prosperity within thy palaces.
8         For my brethren and companions' sakes,
              I will now say, Peace be within thee.
9         Because of the house of the LORD our God
              I will seek thy good.

Return to the Top.

Joshua chapter 2.

Rahab Hides the Spies.

1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there. 2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country. 3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. 4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: 5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. 6 But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. 7 And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.
      8 And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; 9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. 12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have showed you kindness, that ye will also show kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token: 13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. 14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
      15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. 16 And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way. 17 And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee. 19 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. 20 And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. 21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
      22 And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not. 23 So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them: 24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.

Psalm 123.

Our Eyes Look to the LORD Our God.

 A SONG OF DEGREES

1         Unto thee lift I up mine eyes,
              O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
2         Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters,
              and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress;
            so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God,
              until that he have mercy upon us.

3         Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us:
              for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4         Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease,
              and with the contempt of the proud.

Psalm 124.

Our Help Is in the Name of the LORD.

A SONG OF DEGREES OF DAVID

1         If it had not been the LORD who was on our side,
              now may Israel say;
2         If it had not been the LORD who was on our side,
              when men rose up against us:
3         Then they had swallowed us up quick,
              when their wrath was kindled against us:
4         Then the waters had overwhelmed us,
              the stream had gone over our soul:
5         Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.

6         Blessed be the LORD,
              who hath not given us
              as a prey to their teeth.
7         Our soul is escaped as a bird
              out of the snare of the fowlers:
              the snare is broken,
              and we are escaped.

8         Our help is in the name of the LORD,
              who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 125.

The LORD Surrounds Hisd People.

A SONG OF DEGREES

1         They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion,
              which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.
2         As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,
              so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.
3         For the rod of the wicked shall not rest
              upon the lot of the righteous;
              lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.
4         Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good,
              and to them that are upright in their hearts.
5         As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways,
              the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity:
              but peace shall be upon Israel.