DEUTERONOMY 33

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The Blessing of Moses  33:1 Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death. 2 He said,

“The LORD came from Sinai,

And dawned on them from Seir;

He shone forth from Mount Paran,

And He came from the midst of ten thousand holy ones;

At His right hand there was flashing lightning for them.

3 “Indeed, He loves the people;

All Your holy ones are in Your hand,

And they followed in Your steps;

Everyone receives of Your words.

4 “Moses charged us with a law,

A possession for the assembly of Jacob.

5 “And He was king in Jeshurun,

When the heads of the people were gathered,

The tribes of Israel together.

6 “May Reuben live and not die,

Nor his men be few.”

    7 And this regarding Judah; so he said,

“Hear, O LORD, the voice of Judah,

And bring him to his people.

With his hands he contended for them,

And may You be a help against his adversaries.”

    8 Of Levi he said,

“Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man,

Whom You proved at Massah,

With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;

9 Who said of his father and his mother,

‘I did not consider them’;

And he did not acknowledge his brothers,

Nor did he regard his own sons,

For they observed Your word,

And kept Your covenant.

10 “They shall teach Your ordinances to Jacob,

And Your law to Israel.

They shall put incense before You,

And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.

11 “O LORD, bless his substance,

And accept the work of his hands;

Shatter the loins of those who rise up against him,

And those who hate him, so that they will not rise again.”

    12 Of Benjamin he said,

“May the beloved of the LORD dwell in security by Him,

Who shields him all the day,

And he dwells between His shoulders.”

    13 Of Joseph he said,

“Blessed of the LORD be his land,

With the choice things of heaven, with the dew,

And from the deep lying beneath,

14 And with the choice yield of the sun,

And with the choice produce of the months.

15 “And with the best things of the ancient mountains,

And with the choice things of the everlasting hills,

16 And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness,

And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush.

Let it come to the head of Joseph,

And to the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.

17 “As the firstborn of his ox, majesty is his,

And his horns are the horns of the wild ox;

With them he will push the peoples,

All at once, to the ends of the earth.

And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim,

And those are the thousands of Manasseh.”

    18 Of Zebulun he said,

“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going forth,

And, Issachar, in your tents.

19 “They will call peoples to the mountain;

There they will offer righteous sacrifices;

For they will draw out the abundance of the seas,

And the hidden treasures of the sand.”

    20 Of Gad he said,

“Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad;

He lies down as a lion,

And tears the arm, also the crown of the head.

21 “Then he provided the first part for himself,

For there the ruler’s portion was reserved;

And he came with the leaders of the people;

He executed the justice of the LORD,

And His ordinances with Israel.”

    22 Of Dan he said,

“Dan is a lion’s whelp,

That leaps forth from Bashan.”

    23 Of Naphtali he said,

“O Naphtali, satisfied with favor,

And full of the blessing of the LORD,

Take possession of the sea and the south.”

    24 Of Asher he said,

“More blessed than sons is Asher;

May he be favored by his brothers,

And may he dip his foot in oil.

25 “Your locks will be iron and bronze,

And according to your days, so will your leisurely walk be.

26 “There is none like the God of Jeshurun,

Who rides the heavens to your help,

And through the skies in His majesty.

27 “The eternal God is a dwelling place,

And underneath are the everlasting arms;

And He drove out the enemy from before you,

And said, ‘Destroy!’

28 “So Israel dwells in security,

The fountain of Jacob secluded,

In a land of grain and new wine;

His heavens also drop down dew.

29 “Blessed are you, O Israel;

Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD,

Who is the shield of your help

And the sword of your majesty!

So your enemies will cringe before you,

And you will tread upon their high places.”

DEUTERONOMY 34

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The Death of Moses  34:1 Now Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, 2 and all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3 and the Negev and the plain in the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” 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 the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no man knows his burial place to this day. 7 Although Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated. 8 So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.
    9 Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. 10 Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 11 for all the signs and wonders which the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land, 12 and for all the mighty power and for all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

PROVERBS 1

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The Usefulness of Proverbs  1:1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

2 To know wisdom and instruction,

To discern the sayings of understanding,

3 To receive instruction in wise behavior,

Righteousness, justice and equity;

4 To give prudence to the naive,

To the youth knowledge and discretion,

5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning,

And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

6 To understand a proverb and a figure,

The words of the wise and their riddles.

7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The Enticement of Sinners8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction

And do not forsake your mother’s teaching;

9 Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head

And ornaments about your neck.

10 My son, if sinners entice you,

Do not consent.

11 If they say, “Come with us,

Let us lie in wait for blood,

Let us ambush the innocent without cause;

12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,

Even whole, as those who go down to the pit;

13 We will find all kinds of precious wealth,

We will fill our houses with spoil;

14 Throw in your lot with us,

We shall all have one purse,”

15 My son, do not walk in the way with them.

Keep your feet from their path,

16 For their feet run to evil

And they hasten to shed blood.

17 Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net

In the sight of any bird;

18 But they lie in wait for their own blood;

They ambush their own lives.

19 So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence;

It takes away the life of its possessors.

Wisdom Warns20 Wisdom shouts in the street,

She lifts her voice in the square;

21 At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;

At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:

22 “How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded?

And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing

And fools hate knowledge?

23 “Turn to my reproof,

Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;

I will make my words known to you.

24 “Because I called and you refused,

I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;

25 And you neglected all my counsel

And did not want my reproof;

26 I will also laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when your dread comes,

27 When your dread comes like a storm

And your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

When distress and anguish come upon you.

28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;

They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,

29 Because they hated knowledge

And did not choose the fear of the LORD.

30 “They would not accept my counsel,

They spurned all my reproof.

31 “So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way

And be satiated with their own devices.

32 “For the waywardness of the naive will kill them,

And the complacency of fools will destroy them.

33 “But he who listens to me shall live securely

And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

MARK 12

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Parable of the Vine-growers  12:1 And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT, AND DUG A VAT UNDER THE WINE PRESS AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. 2 At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. 3 They took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. 6 He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 They took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not even read this Scripture:

‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,

THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone;

11 THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD,

AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?”

    12 And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away.
Jesus Answers the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes    13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. 14 They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” 16 They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him.
    18 Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that IF A MAN’S BROTHER DIES and leaves behind a wife AND LEAVES NO CHILD, HIS BROTHER SHOULD MARRY THE WIFE AND RAISE UP CHILDREN TO HIS BROTHER. 20 There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. 21 The second one married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise; 22 and so all seven left no children. Last of all the woman died also. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven had married her.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”
    28 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; 30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ 31 The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM; 33 AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE’S NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions.
    35 And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself said in the Holy Spirit,

‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,

“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET.”’

37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.
    38 In His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, 39 and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 40 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”
The Widow’s Mite    41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”