The One Year Bible TLB (76 page)
Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
A good man is concerned for the welfare of his animals, but even the kindness of godless men is cruel.
April 2“If, when you arrive in the Promised Land, a murder victim is found lying in a field and no one has seen the murder,
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the elders and judges shall measure from the body to the nearest city.
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Then the elders of that city shall take a heifer that has never been yoked,
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and lead it to a valley where there is running water—a valley neither plowed nor sowed—and there break its neck.
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“Then the priests shall come (for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister before him and to pronounce his blessings and decide lawsuits and punishments),
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and shall wash their hands over the heifer,
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and say, ‘Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.
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O Lord, forgive your people Israel whom you have redeemed, and do not charge them with murdering an innocent man. Forgive us the guilt of this man’s blood.’
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In this way you will put away the guilt from among you by following the Lord’s directions.
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“When you go to war and the Lord your God delivers your enemies to you,
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and you see among the captives a beautiful girl you want as your wife,
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take her home with you. She must shave her head and pare her nails
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and change her clothing, laying aside that which she was wearing when she was captured, then remain in your home in mourning for her father and mother for a full month. After that you may marry her.
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However, if after marrying her you decide you don’t like her, you must let her go free—you may not sell her or treat her as a slave, for you have humiliated her.
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“If a man has two wives but loves one and not the other, and both have borne him children, and the mother of his oldest son is the wife he doesn’t love,
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he may not give a larger inheritance to his younger son, the son of the wife he loves.
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He must give the customary double portion to his oldest son, who is the beginning of his strength and who owns the rights of a firstborn son, even though he is the son of the wife his father doesn’t love.
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“If a man has a stubborn, rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they punish him,
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then his father and mother shall take him before the elders of the city
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and declare, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and won’t obey; he is a worthless drunkard.’
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Then the men of the city shall stone him to death. In this way you shall put away this evil from among you, and all the young men of Israel will hear about what happened and will be afraid.
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“If a man has committed a crime worthy of death, and is executed and then hanged on a tree,
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his body shall not remain on the tree overnight. You must bury him the same day, for anyone hanging on a tree is cursed of God. Don’t defile the land the Lord your God has given you.
22:
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“If you see someone’s ox or sheep wandering away, don’t pretend you didn’t see it; take it back to its owner.
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If you don’t know who the owner is, take it to your farm and keep it there until the owner comes looking for it, and then give it to him.
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The same applies to donkeys, clothing, or anything else you find. Keep it for its owner.
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“If you see someone trying to get an ox or donkey onto its feet when it has slipped beneath its load,
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don’t look the other way. Go and help!
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“A woman must not wear men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing. This is abhorrent to the Lord your God.
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“If a bird’s nest is lying on the ground, or if you spy one in a tree, and there are young ones or eggs in it with the mother sitting in the nest, don’t take the mother with the young.
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Let her go, and take only the young. The Lord will bless you for it.
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“Every new house must have a guardrail around the edge of the flat rooftop to prevent anyone from falling off and bringing guilt to both the house and its owner.
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“Do not sow other crops in the rows of your vineyard. If you do, both the crops and the grapes shall be confiscated by the priests.
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10
“Don’t plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together.
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“Don’t wear clothing woven from two kinds of thread: for instance, wool and linen.
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“You must sew tassels on the four corners of your cloaks.
13-14
“If a man marries a girl, then after sleeping with her accuses her of having had premarital intercourse with another man, saying, ‘She was not a virgin when I married her,’
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then the girl’s father and mother shall bring the proof of her virginity to the city judges.
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“Her father shall tell them, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife, and now he despises her
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and has accused her of shameful things, claiming that she was not a virgin when she married; yet here is the proof.’ And they shall spread before the judges the blood-stained sheet from her marriage bed. The judges shall sentence the man to be whipped,
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and fine him one hundred dollars
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to be given to the girl’s father, for he has falsely accused a virgin of Israel. She shall remain his wife and he may never divorce her.
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But if the man’s accusations are true, and she was not a virgin,
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the judges shall take the girl to the door of her father’s home where the men of the city shall stone her to death. She has defiled Israel by flagrant crime, being a prostitute while living at home with her parents; and such evil must be cleansed from among you.
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“If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the other man’s wife must be killed; in this way evil will be cleansed from Israel.
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If a girl who is engaged is seduced within the walls of a city, both she and the man who seduced her shall be taken outside the gates and stoned to death—the girl because she didn’t scream for help, and the man because he has violated the virginity of another man’s fiancée.
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In this way you will reduce crime among you. But if this deed takes place out in the country, only the man shall die. The girl is as innocent as a murder victim; for it must be assumed that she screamed, but there was no one to hear and rescue her out in the field.
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If a man rapes a girl who is not engaged and is caught in the act, he must pay a fine
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to the girl’s father and marry her; he may never divorce her.
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A man shall not sleep with his father’s widow
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since she belonged to his father.”
As the time drew near for his return to heaven, he moved steadily onward toward Jerusalem with an iron will.
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One day he sent messengers ahead to reserve rooms for them in a Samaritan village.
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But they were turned away! The people of the village refused to have anything to do with them because they were headed for Jerusalem.
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When word came back of what had happened, James and John said to Jesus, “Master, shall we order fire down from heaven to burn them up?”
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But Jesus turned and rebuked them,
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and they went on to another village.
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As they were walking along someone said to Jesus, “I will always follow you no matter where you go.”
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But Jesus replied,
“Remember, I don’t even own a place to lay my head. Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but I, the Messiah,
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have no earthly home at all.”
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Another time, when he invited a man to come with him and to be his disciple, the man agreed—but wanted to wait until his father’s death.
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Jesus replied,
“Let those without eternal life concern themselves with things like that.
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Your duty is to come and preach the coming of the Kingdom of God to all the world.”
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Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will come, but first let me ask permission of those at home.”
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But Jesus told him,
“Anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
10:
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The Lord now chose seventy other disciples and sent them on ahead in pairs to all the towns and villages he planned to visit later.
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These were his instructions to them:
“Plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out more laborers to help you, for the harvest is so plentiful and the workers so few.
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Go now, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.
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Don’t take any money with you, or a beggar’s bag, or even an extra pair of shoes. And don’t waste time along the way.
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5
“Whenever you enter a home, give it your blessing.
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If it is worthy of the blessing, the blessing will stand; if not, the blessing will return to you.
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“When you enter a village, don’t shift around from home to home, but stay in one place, eating and drinking without question whatever is set before you. And don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, for the workman is worthy of his wages!
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“If a town welcomes you, follow these two rules:
(1) Eat whatever is set before you.
(2) Heal the sick; and as you heal them, say, ‘The Kingdom of God is very near you now.’
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“But if a town refuses you, go out into its streets and say,
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‘We wipe the dust of your town from our feet as a public announcement of your doom. Never forget how close you were to the Kingdom of God!’
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Even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a city on the Judgment Day.”
O God, why have you cast us away forever? Why is your anger hot against us—the sheep of your own pasture?
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Remember that we are your people—the ones you chose in ancient times from slavery and made the choicest of your possessions. You chose Jerusalem
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as your home on earth!
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Walk through the awful ruins of the city and see what the enemy has done to your sanctuary.
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There they shouted their battle cry and erected their idols to flaunt their victory.
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Everything lies in shambles like a forest chopped to the ground. They came with their axes and sledgehammers and smashed and chopped the carved paneling;
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they set the sanctuary on fire, and razed it to the ground—your sanctuary, Lord.
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“Let’s wipe out every trace of God,” they said, and went through the entire country burning down the assembly places where we worshiped you.
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There is nothing left to show that we are your people. The prophets are gone, and who can say when it all will end? How long, O God, will you allow our enemies to dishonor your name? Will you let them get away with this forever?
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Why do you delay? Why hold back your power? Unleash your fist and give them a final blow.
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God is my King from ages past; you have been actively helping me everywhere throughout the land.
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You divided the Red Sea with your strength; you crushed the sea god’s heads! You gave him to the desert tribes to eat!
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At your command the springs burst forth to give your people water; and then you dried a path for them across the ever-flowing Jordan.
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Day and night alike belong to you; you made the starlight and the sun.
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All nature is within your hands; you make the summer and the winter too.
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Lord, see how these enemies scoff at you. O Jehovah, an arrogant nation has blasphemed your name.
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O Lord, save me! Protect your turtledove from the hawks.
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Save your beloved people from these beasts.
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Remember your promise! For the land is full of darkness and cruel men.
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O Lord, don’t let your downtrodden people be constantly insulted. Give cause for these poor and needy ones to praise your name!
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Arise, O God, and state your case against our enemies. Remember the insults these rebels have hurled against you all day long.
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Don’t overlook the cursing of these enemies of yours; it grows louder and louder.