T51 - Nitzavim/Vayelech

⁹ Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper^[a]in all that you do.

¹⁰ “You are standing today, all of you, before YHWH your Elohim: the heads of your tribes,^[b] your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, ¹¹ your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, ¹² so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of YHWH your Elohim, which YHWH your Elohim is making with you today, ¹³ that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your Elohim, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. ¹⁴ It is not with you alone that I am making this sworn covenant, ¹⁵ but with whoever is standing here with us today before YHWH our Elohim, and with whoever is not here with us today.

¹⁶ “You know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed. ¹⁷ And you have seen their detestable things, their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, which were among them. ¹⁸ Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from YHWH our Elohim to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, ¹⁹ one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. ²⁰ YHWH will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of YHWH and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and YHWH will blot out his name from under heaven. ²¹ And YHWH will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for calamity, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law. ²² And the next generation, your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, will say, when they see the afflictions of that land and the sicknesses with which the Lord has made it sick— ²³ the whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which YHWH overthrew in his anger and wrath— ²⁴ all the nations will say, ‘Why has YHWH done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ ²⁵ Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of YHWH, the Elohim of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, ²⁶ and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them. ²⁷ Therefore the anger of YHWH was kindled against this land, bringing upon it all the curses written in this book, ²⁸ and YHWH uprooted them from their land in anger and fury and great wrath, and cast them into another land, as they are this day.’

²⁹ “The secret things belong to YHWH our Elohim, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Repentance and Forgiveness

30 “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where YHWH your Elohim has driven you, ² and return to YHWH your Elohim, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, ³ then YHWH your Elohim will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where YHWH your Elohim has scattered you. ⁴ If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there YHWH your Elohim will gather you, and from there he will take you. ⁵ And YHWH your Elohim will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. ⁶ And YHWH your Elohim will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. ⁷ And YHWH your Elohim will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. ⁸ And you shall again obey the voice of YHWH and keep all his commandments that I command you today. ⁹ YHWH your Elohim will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For YHWH will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, ¹⁰ when you obey the voice of YHWH your Elohim, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul.

The Choice of Life and Death

¹¹ “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. ¹² It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ ¹³ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ ¹⁴ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

¹⁵ “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. ¹⁶ If you obey the commandments of YHWH your Elohim^[c] that I command you today, by loving YHWH your Elohim, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules,^[d] then you shall live and multiply, and YHWH your Elohim will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. ¹⁷ But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, ¹⁸ I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. ¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, ²⁰ loving YHWH your Elohim, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

Joshua to Succeed Moses

31 So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. ² And he said to them, “I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. YHWH has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ ³ YHWH your Elohim himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as YHWH has spoken.⁴ And YHWH will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. ⁵ And YHWH will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is YHWH your Elohim who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

⁷ Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that YHWH has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it.⁸ It is YHWH who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

The Reading of the Law

⁹ Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. ¹⁰ And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, ¹¹ when all Israel comes to appear before YHWH your Elohim at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. ¹² Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear YHWH your Elohim, and be careful to do all the words of this law, ¹³ and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear YHWH your Elohim, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

Joshua Commissioned to Lead Israel

¹⁴ And YHWH said to Moses, “Behold, the days approach when you must die. Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.” And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting. ¹⁵ And YHWH appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud. And the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance of the tent.

¹⁶ And YHWH said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. ¹⁷ Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our Elohim is not among us?’ ¹⁸ And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods.

¹⁹ “Now therefore write this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel. ²⁰ For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant.²¹ And when many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song shall confront them as a witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring). For I know what they are inclined to do even today, before I have brought them into the land that I swore to give.” ²² So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the people of Israel.

²³ And YHWH^[e] commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you.”

²⁴ When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book to the very end, ²⁵ Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of YHWH, ²⁶ “Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of YHWH your Elohim, that it may be there for a witness against you.²⁷ For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against YHWH. How much more after my death! ²⁸ Assemble to 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 witness against them. ²⁹ For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of YHWH, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”

Isaiah 55:6-56:8

English Standard Version (ESV) 

⁶ “Seek YHWH while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near;
⁷ let the wicked forsake his way,
    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to YHWH, that he may have compassion on him,
    and to our Elohim, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰ “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

¹² “For you shall go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
    shall break forth into singing,
    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
    instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for YHWH,
    an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

Salvation for Foreigners

56 Thus says YHWH:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
for soon my salvation will come,
    and my righteousness be revealed.
² Blessed is the man who does this,
    and the son of man who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
    and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

³ Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
    “YHWH will surely separate me from his people”;
and let not the eunuch say,
    “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
⁴ For thus says YHWH:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
    who choose the things that please me
    and hold fast my covenant,
⁵ I will give in my house and within my walls
    a monument and a name
    better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
    that shall not be cut off.

⁶ “And the foreigners who join themselves to YHWH,
    to minister to him, to love the name of YHWH,
    and to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
    and holds fast my covenant—
⁷ these I will bring to my holy mountain,
    and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
    will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
    for all peoples.”
⁸ YHWH Elohim,
    who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
“I will gather yet others to him
    besides those already gathered.”

 

Isaiah 61:10-63:9

English Standard Version (ESV) 

¹⁰ I will greatly rejoice in YHWH;
    my soul shall exult in my Elohim,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹ For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so YHWH Elohim will cause righteousness and praise
    to sprout up before all the nations.

Zion's Coming Salvation

62 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
    and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
    and her salvation as a burning torch.
² The nations shall see your righteousness,
    and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
    that the mouth of YHWH will give.
³ You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of YHWH,
    and a royal diadem in the hand of your Elohim.
⁴ You shall no more be termed Forsaken,^[a]
    and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,^[b]
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,^[c]
    and your land Married;^[d]
for YHWH delights in you,
    and your land shall be married.
⁵ For as a young man marries a young woman,
    so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
    so shall your Elohim rejoice over you.

⁶ On your walls, O Jerusalem,
    I have set watchmen;
all the day and all the night
    they shall never be silent.
You who put YHWH in remembrance,
    take no rest,
⁷ and give him no rest
    until he establishes Jerusalem
    and makes it a praise in the earth.
⁸ YHWH has sworn by his right hand
    and by his mighty arm:
“I will not again give your grain
    to be food for your enemies,
and foreigners shall not drink your wine
    for which you have labored;
⁹ but those who garner it shall eat it
    and praise YHWH,
and those who gather it shall drink it
    in the courts of my sanctuary.”^[e]

¹⁰ Go through, go through the gates;
    prepare the way for the people;
build up, build up the highway;
    clear it of stones;
    lift up a signal over the peoples.
¹¹ Behold, YHWH has proclaimed
    to the end of the earth:
Say to the daughter of Zion,
    “Behold, your salvation comes;
behold, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense before him.”
¹² And they shall be called The Holy People,
    The Redeemed of YHWH;
and you shall be called Sought Out,
    A City Not Forsaken.

YHWH's Day of Vengeance

63 Who is this who comes from Edom,
    in crimsoned garments from Bozrah,
he who is splendid in his apparel,
    marching in the greatness of his strength?
“It is I, speaking in righteousness,
    mighty to save.”

² Why is your apparel red,
    and your garments like his who treads in the winepress?

³ “I have trodden the winepress alone,
    and from the peoples no one was with me;
I trod them in my anger
    and trampled them in my wrath;
their lifeblood^[f] spattered on my garments,
    and stained all my apparel.
⁴ For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
    and my year of redemption^[g] had come.
⁵ I looked, but there was no one to help;
    I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold;
so my own arm brought me salvation,
    and my wrath upheld me.
⁶ I trampled down the peoples in my anger;
    I made them drunk in my wrath,
    and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”

YHWH's Mercy Remembered

⁷ I will recount the steadfast love of YHWH,
    the praises of YHWH,
according to all that YHWH has granted us,
    and the great goodness to the house of Israel
that he has granted them according to his compassion,
    according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
⁸ For he said, “Surely they are my people,
    children who will not deal falsely.”
    And he became their Savior.
⁹ In all their affliction he was afflicted,^[h]
    and the angel of his presence saved them;
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
    he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 62:4 Hebrew Azubah
2. Isaiah 62:4 Hebrew Shemamah
3. Isaiah 62:4 Hebrew Hephzibah
4. Isaiah 62:4 Hebrew Beulah
5. Isaiah 62:9 Or in my holy courts
6. Isaiah 63:3 Or their juice; also verse 6
7. Isaiah 63:4 Or the year of my redeemed
8. Isaiah 63:9 Or he did not afflict

 

Zechariah 14:1-21

English Standard Version (ESV) 

The Coming Day of YHWH

14 Behold, a day is coming for YHWH, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. ² For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. ³ Then YHWH will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. ⁴ On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. ⁵ And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then YHWH my Elohim will come, and all the holy ones with him.^[a]

⁶ On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.^[b] 7 And there shall be a unique^[c]day, which is known to YHWH, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.

⁸ On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea^[d] and half of them to the western sea.^[e] It shall continue in summer as in winter.

⁹ And YHWH will be king over all the earth. On that day YHWH will be one and his name one.

¹⁰ The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. ¹¹ And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.^[f] Jerusalem shall dwell in security.

¹² And this shall be the plague with which YHWH will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

¹³ And on that day a great panic from YHWH shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. ¹⁴ Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem.^[g] And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. ¹⁵ And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps.

¹⁶ Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, YHWH of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. ¹⁷ And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, YHWH of hosts, there will be no rain on them.¹⁸ And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;^[h] there shall be the plague with which YHWH afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. ¹⁹ This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.

²⁰ And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to YHWH.” And the pots in the house of YHWH shall be as the bowls before the altar.²¹ And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to YHWH of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader^[i] in the house of YHWH of hosts on that day.

Footnotes:

1. Zechariah 14:5 Other Hebrew manuscripts you
2. Zechariah 14:6 Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
3. Zechariah 14:7 Hebrew one
4. Zechariah 14:8 That is, the Dead Sea
5. Zechariah 14:8 That is, the Mediterranean Sea
6. Zechariah 14:11 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction
7. Zechariah 14:14 Or against Jerusalem
8. Zechariah 14:18 Hebrew lacks rain
9. Zechariah 14:21 Or Canaanite

 

Luke 24:1-43

English Standard Version (ESV) 

The Resurrection

24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ² And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Yeshua. ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. ⁵ And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” ⁸ And they remembered his words, ⁹ and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, ¹¹ but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. ¹² But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

On the Road to Emmaus

¹³ That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles^[a] from Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing together, Yeshua himself drew near and went with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷ And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” ¹⁹ And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Yeshua of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before Elohim and all the people, ²⁰ and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. ²¹ But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. ²² Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³ and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” ²⁵ And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

²⁸ So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, ²⁹ but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them.³⁰ When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. ³¹ And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. ³² They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”³³ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, ³⁴ saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Yeshua Appears to His Disciples

³⁶ As they were talking about these things, Yeshua himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” ³⁷ But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. ³⁸ And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹ See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”⁴⁰ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. ⁴¹ And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish,^[b] 43 and he took it and ate before them.

Footnotes:

1. Luke 24:13 Greek sixty stadia; a stadion was about 607 feet or 185 meters
2. Luke 24:42 Some manuscripts add and some honeycomb

 

Romans 7:7-12

English Standard Version (ESV) 

The Law and Sin

⁷ What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” ⁸ But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. ⁹ I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. ¹⁰ The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. ¹¹ For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.¹² So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

 

Romans 9:30-10:13

English Standard Version (ESV) 

Israel's Unbelief

³⁰ What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness^[a] did not succeed in reaching that law.³² Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³ as it is written,

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
    and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

10 Brothers,^[b] my heart's desire and prayer to Elohim for them is that they may be saved. ² For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for Elohim, but not according to knowledge. ³ For, being ignorant of the righteousness of Elohim, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to Elohim's righteousness. ⁴ For HaMashiach is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.^[c]

The Message of Salvation to All

⁵ For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. ⁶ But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring HaMashiach down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring HaMashiach up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);⁹ because, if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord and believe in your heart that Elohim raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. ¹³ For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Footnotes:

1. Romans 9:31 Greek a law of righteousness
2. Romans 10:1 Or Brothers and sisters
3. Romans 10:4 Or end of the law, that everyone who believes may be justified

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

English Standard Version (ESV) 

The Coming of the Lord

¹³ But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Yesua died and rose again, even so, through Yeshua, Elohim will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁵ For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,^[a] that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of Elohim. And the dead in HaMashiach will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Footnotes:

1. 1 Thessalonians 4:15 Or by the word of the Lord

 

Hebrews 12:1-17

English Standard Version (ESV) 

Yeshua, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Yeshua, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of Elohim.

Do Not Grow Weary

³ Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. ⁴ In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
    nor be weary when reproved by him.
⁶ For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and chastises every son whom he receives.”

⁷ It is for discipline that you have to endure. Elohim is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸ If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.⁹ Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. ¹¹ For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

¹² Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, ¹³ and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. ¹⁴ Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of Elohim; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; ¹⁶ that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. ¹⁷ For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

   

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