Deuteronomy 22

 ¹  "If you see your neighbor's ox or sheep or goat wandering away, don't ignore your responsibility. [1]  Take it back to its owner.  ²  If its owner does not live nearby or you don't know who the owner is, take it to your place and keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then you must return it.  ³  Do the same if you find your neighbor's donkey, clothing, or anything else your neighbor loses. Don't ignore your responsibility.
   ⁴  "If you see that your neighbor's donkey or ox has collapsed on the road, do not look the other way. Go and help your neighbor get it back on its feet!
   ⁵  "A woman must not put on men's clothing, and a man must not wear women's clothing. Anyone who does this is detestable in the sight of the LORD your God.
   ⁶  "If you happen to find a bird's nest in a tree or on the ground, and there are young ones or eggs in it with the mother sitting in the nest, do not take the mother with the young.  ⁷  You may take the young, but let the mother go, so that you may prosper and enjoy a long life.
   ⁸  "When you build a new house, you must build a railing around the edge of its flat roof. That way you will not be considered guilty of murder if someone falls from the roof.
   ⁹  "You must not plant any other crop between the rows of your vineyard. If you do, you are forbidden to use either the grapes from the vineyard or the other crop.
   ¹⁰  "You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together.
   ¹¹  "You must not wear clothing made of wool and linen woven together.
   ¹²  "You must put four tassels on the hem of the cloak with which you cover yourself—on the front, back, and sides.

Regulations for Sexual Purity
 ¹³  "Suppose a man marries a woman, but after sleeping with her, he turns against her  ¹⁴  and publicly accuses her of shameful conduct, saying, `When I married this woman, I discovered she was not a virgin.'  <sup>15</sup>  Then the woman's father and mother must bring the proof of her virginity to the elders as they hold court at the town gate.  <sup>16</sup>  Her father must say to them, `I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife, and now he has turned against her.  ¹⁷  He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, "I discovered that your daughter was not a virgin." But here is the proof of my daughter's virginity.' Then they must spread her bed sheet before the elders.  ¹⁸  The elders must then take the man and punish him.  ¹⁹  They must also fine him 100 pieces of silver, [19]  which he must pay to the woman's father because he publicly accused a virgin of Israel of shameful conduct. The woman will then remain the man's wife, and he may never divorce her.
   ²⁰  "But suppose the man's accusations are true, and he can show that she was not a virgin.  ²¹  The woman must be taken to the door of her father's home, and there the men of the town must stone her to death, for she has committed a disgraceful crime in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her parents' home. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.
   ²²  "If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the woman must die. In this way, you will purge Israel of such evil.
   ²³  "Suppose a man meets a young woman, a virgin who is engaged to be married, and he has sexual intercourse with her. If this happens within a town,  ²⁴  you must take both of them to the gates of that town and stone them to death. The woman is guilty because she did not scream for help. The man must die because he violated another man's wife. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.
   ²⁵  "But if the man meets the engaged woman out in the country, and he rapes her, then only the man must die.  ²⁶  Do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no crime worthy of death. She is as innocent as a murder victim.  ²⁷  Since the man raped her out in the country, it must be assumed that she screamed, but there was no one to rescue her.
   ²⁸  "Suppose a man has intercourse with a young woman who is a virgin but is not engaged to be married. If they are discovered,  ²⁹  he must pay her father fifty pieces of silver. [29]  Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he may never divorce her as long as he lives.
   ³⁰   [30] "A man must not marry his father's former wife, for this would violate his father.

Deuteronomy 23

Regulations concerning Worship
 ¹   [1] "If a man's testicles are crushed or his penis is cut off, he may not be admitted to the assembly of the LORD.
   ²  "If a person is illegitimate by birth, neither he nor his descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the LORD.
   ³  "No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the LORD.  ⁴  These nations did not welcome you with food and water when you came out of Egypt. Instead, they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in distant Aram-naharaim to curse you.  ⁵  But the LORD your God refused to listen to Balaam. He turned the intended curse into a blessing because the LORD your God loves you.  ⁶  As long as you live, you must never promote the welfare and prosperity of the Ammonites or Moabites.
   ⁷  "Do not detest the Edomites or the Egyptians, because the Edomites are your relatives and you lived as foreigners among the Egyptians.  ⁸  The third generation of Edomites and Egyptians may enter the assembly of the LORD.

Miscellaneous Regulations
 ⁹  "When you go to war against your enemies, be sure to stay away from anything that is impure.
   ¹⁰  "Any man who becomes ceremonially defiled because of a nocturnal emission must leave the camp and stay away all day.  ¹¹  Toward evening he must bathe himself, and at sunset he may return to the camp.
   ¹²  "You must have a designated area outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself.  ¹³  Each of you must have a spade as part of your equipment. Whenever you relieve yourself, dig a hole with the spade and cover the excrement.  ¹⁴  The camp must be holy, for the LORD your God moves around in your camp to protect you and to defeat your enemies. He must not see any shameful thing among you, or he will turn away from you.
   ¹⁵  "If slaves should escape from their masters and take refuge with you, you must not hand them over to their masters.  ¹⁶  Let them live among you in any town they choose, and do not oppress them.
   ¹⁷  "No Israelite, whether man or woman, may become a temple prostitute.  ¹⁸  When you are bringing an offering to fulfill a vow, you must not bring to the house of the LORD your God any offering from the earnings of a prostitute, whether a man [18]  or a woman, for both are detestable to the LORD your God.
   ¹⁹  "Do not charge interest on the loans you make to a fellow Israelite, whether you loan money, or food, or anything else.  ²⁰  You may charge interest to foreigners, but you may not charge interest to Israelites, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything you do in the land you are about to enter and occupy.
   ²¹  "When you make a vow to the LORD your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him. For the LORD your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows, or you will be guilty of sin.  ²²  However, it is not a sin to refrain from making a vow.  ²³  But once you have voluntarily made a vow, be careful to fulfill your promise to the LORD your God.
   ²⁴  "When you enter your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, but you must not carry any away in a basket.  ²⁵  And when you enter your neighbor's field of grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not harvest it with a sickle.

Deuteronomy 24

 ¹  "Suppose a man marries a woman but she does not please him. Having discovered something wrong with her, he writes her a letter of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house.  ²  When she leaves his house, she is free to marry another man.  ³  But if the second husband also turns against her and divorces her, or if he dies,  ⁴  the first husband may not marry her again, for she has been defiled. That would be detestable to the LORD. You must not bring guilt upon the land the LORD your God is giving you as a special possession.
   ⁵  "A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or be given any other official responsibilities. He must be free to spend one year at home, bringing happiness to the wife he has married."    ⁶  "It is wrong to take a set of millstones, or even just the upper millstone, as security for a loan, for the owner uses it to make a living.
   ⁷  "If anyone kidnaps a fellow Israelite and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. In this way, you will purge the evil from among you.
   ⁸  "In all cases involving serious skin diseases, [8]  be careful to follow the instructions of the Levitical priests; obey all the commands I have given them.  ⁹  Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam as you were coming from Egypt.
   ¹⁰  "If you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to pick up the item he is giving as security.  ¹¹  You must wait outside while he goes in and brings it out to you.  ¹²  If your neighbor is poor and gives you his cloak as security for a loan, do not keep the cloak overnight.  ¹³  Return the cloak to its owner by sunset so he can stay warm through the night and bless you, and the LORD your God will count you as righteous.
   ¹⁴  "Never take advantage of poor and destitute laborers, whether they are fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns.  ¹⁵  You must pay them their wages each day before sunset because they are poor and are counting on it. If you don't, they might cry out to the LORD against you, and it would be counted against you as sin.
   ¹⁶  "Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.
   ¹⁷  "True justice must be given to foreigners living among you and to orphans, and you must never accept a widow's garment as security for her debt.  ¹⁸  Always remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God redeemed you from your slavery. That is why I have given you this command.
   ¹⁹  "When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don't go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all you do.  ²⁰  When you beat the olives from your olive trees, don't go over the boughs twice. Leave the remaining olives for the foreigners, orphans, and widows.  ²¹  When you gather the grapes in your vineyard, don't glean the vines after they are picked. Leave the remaining grapes for the foreigners, orphans, and widows.  ²²  Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. That is why I am giving you this command.

<<  22:1 Hebrew don't hide yourself; similarly in 22:3.
<<  22:19 Hebrew 100 shekels of silver, about 2.5 pounds or 1.1 kilograms in weight.
<<  22:29 Hebrew 50 shekels of silver, about 1.25 pounds or 570 grams in weight.
<<  22:30 Verse 22:30 is numbered 23:1 in Hebrew text.
<<  23:1 Verses 23:1-25 are numbered 23:2-26 in Hebrew text.
<<  23:18 Hebrew a dog.
<<  24:8 Traditionally rendered leprosy. The Hebrew word used here can describe various skin diseases.

Mark 14 : 1-26

Jesus Anointed at Bethany
 ¹  It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him.  ²  "But not during the Passover celebration," they agreed, "or the people may riot."
   ³  Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.    ⁴  Some of those at the table were indignant. "Why waste such expensive perfume?" they asked.  ⁵  "It could have been sold for a year's wages [5]  and the money given to the poor!" So they scolded her harshly.
   ⁶  But Jesus replied, "Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me?  ⁷  "You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me."  ⁸  She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time.  ⁹  I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman's deed will be remembered and discussed."

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
 ¹⁰  Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests to arrange to betray Jesus to them.  ¹¹  They were delighted when they heard why he had come, and they promised to give him money. So he began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

The Last Supper
 ¹²  On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus' disciples asked him, "Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?"
   ¹³  So Jesus sent two of them into Jerusalem with these instructions: "As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him.  ¹⁴  At the house he enters, say to the owner, `The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?'  ¹⁵  He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal."  ¹⁶  So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.    ¹⁷  In the evening Jesus arrived with the twelve disciples. [17]   ¹⁸  As they were at the table [18]  eating, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me."
   ¹⁹  Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, "Am I the one?"
   ²⁰  He replied, "It is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with me.  ²¹  For the Son of Man [21]  must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!"
   ²²  As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, "Take it, for this is my body."
   ²³  And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  ²⁴  And he said to them, "This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many."  ²⁵  I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God."
   ²⁶  Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

<<  14:3 Or reclining.
<<  14:5 Greek for 300 denarii. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer's full day's wage.
<<  14:17 Greek the Twelve.
<<  14:18 Or As they reclined.
<<  14:21 "Son of Man" is a title Jesus used for himself.
<<  14:24 Some manuscripts read the new covenant.