Bible verses about "self-defense" | NHEB

¹ Now Adam had marital relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said, "I have gotten a man from God." ² Again she gave birth, to Cain's brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. ³ As time passed, it happened that Cain brought an offering to God from the fruit of the ground. ⁴ And Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of its fat. And God looked favorably on Abel and his offering, ⁵ but he did not look favorably on Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression on his face fell. ⁶ God said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen? ⁷ If you do well, will it not be lifted up? If you do not do well, sin lies in wait at the door. It desires to control you, but you must rule over it." ⁸ Cain said to Abel, his brother, "Let's go into the field." It happened when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him. ⁹ Then God said to Cain, "Where is Abel, your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" ¹⁰ And God said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. ¹¹ Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. ¹² From now on, when you till the ground, it won't yield its strength to you. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth." ¹³ Cain said to God, "My punishment is greater than I can bear. ¹⁴ Look, you have driven me out this day from the surface of the ground. I will be hidden from your face, and I will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. It will happen that whoever finds me will kill me." ¹⁵ The LORD said to him, "Not so. Whoever kills Cain vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold." The LORD appointed a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should strike him. ¹⁶ So Cain went out from the presence of God and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. ¹⁷ Cain had marital relations with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Hanoch. He built a city and called the name of the city after the name of his son, Hanoch. ¹⁸ To Hanoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehaiel, and Mehaiel became the father of Methushael, and Methushael became the father of Lamech. ¹⁹ Lamech took two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. ²⁰ Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. ²¹ His brother's name was Jubal, who was the father of all who play the harp and flute. ²² Zillah also gave birth to Tubal Cain, who heated metal and shaped instruments of bronze and iron. Tubal Cain's sister was Naamah. ²³ Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice. You wives of Lamech, listen to my speech, for I have slain a man for wounding me, a young man for bruising me. ²⁴ If Cain will be avenged seven times, truly Lamech seventy-seven times." ²⁵ Adam had marital relations with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, saying, "For God has appointed me another child instead of Abel, for Cain killed him." ²⁶ And a son was also born to Seth, and he named him Enosh. This one began to call on the name of God.

¹ God spoke all these words, saying, ² "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ³ Do not have other gods before me. ⁴ "Do not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: ⁵ you must not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and upon the children's children, on the third and on the fourth [generation] of those who hate me, ⁶ and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. ⁷ "Do not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. ⁸ "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹ Six days you may labor, and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You must not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; ¹¹ for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the seventh day, and made it holy. ¹² "Honor your father and your mother, that it may be well with you, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you. ¹³ "Do not commit adultery. ¹⁴ "Do not murder. ¹⁵ "Do not steal. ¹⁶ "Do not give false testimony against your neighbor. ¹⁷ "Do not covet your neighbor's house. Do not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's." ¹⁸ All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance. ¹⁹ They said to Moses, "Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but do not let God speak with us, lest we die." ²⁰ Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won't sin." ²¹ The people stayed at a distance, and Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. ²² The LORD said to Moses, "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. ²³ You shall most certainly not make alongside of me gods of silver, or gods of gold for yourselves. ²⁴ You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you. ²⁵ If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it. ²⁶ Neither shall you go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it.'

¹ "'You shall make for yourselves no idols, neither shall you raise up an engraved image or a pillar, neither shall you place any figured stone in your land, to bow down to it: for I am the LORD your God. ² "'You shall keep my Sabbaths, and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD. ³ "'If you walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; ⁴ then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. ⁵ Your threshing shall reach to the vintage, and the vintage shall reach to the sowing time; and you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. ⁶ "'I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one will make you afraid; and I will remove evil animals out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. ⁷ You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. ⁸ Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. ⁹ "'I will have respect for you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and will establish my covenant with you. ¹⁰ You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall move out the old because of the new. ¹¹ And I will set my tabernacle among you, and my soul will not abhor you. ¹² I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you will be my people. ¹³ I am the LORD your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; and I have broken the bars of your yoke, and made you go upright. ¹⁴ "'But if you will not listen to me, and will not do all these commandments; ¹⁵ and if you shall reject my statutes, and if your soul abhors my ordinances, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant; ¹⁶ I also will do this to you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption and fever, that shall consume the eyes, and make the soul to pine away; and you will sow your seed in vain, for your enemies will eat it. ¹⁷ I will set my face against you, and you will be struck before your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you; and you will flee when no one pursues you. ¹⁸ "'If you in spite of these things will not listen to me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins. ¹⁹ I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your sky like iron, and your soil like bronze; ²⁰ and your strength will be spent in vain; for your land won't yield its increase, neither will the trees of the land yield their fruit. ²¹ "'If you walk contrary to me, and won't listen to me, then I will bring seven times more plagues on you according to your sins. ²² I will send the wild animals among you, which will rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your roads will become desolate. ²³ "'If by these things you won't be reformed to me, but will walk contrary to me; ²⁴ then I will also walk contrary to you; and I will strike you, even I, seven times for your sins. ²⁵ I will bring a sword upon you, that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; and you will be gathered together within your cities: and I will send the pestilence among you; and you will be delivered into the hand of the enemy. ²⁶ When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread again by weight: and you shall eat, and not be satisfied. ²⁷ "'If you in spite of this won't listen to me, but walk contrary to me; ²⁸ then I will walk contrary to you in wrath; and I also will chastise you seven times for your sins. ²⁹ You will eat the flesh of your sons, and you will eat the flesh of your daughters. ³⁰ I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and cast your dead bodies upon the bodies of your idols; and my soul will abhor you. ³¹ I will lay your cities waste, and will bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not take delight in the sweet fragrance of your offerings. ³² I will bring the land into desolation; and your enemies that dwell in it will be astonished at it. ³³ I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you: and your land will be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste. ³⁴ Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies' land. Even then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. ³⁵ As long as it lies desolate it shall have rest, even the rest which it did not have in your sabbaths, when you lived on it. ³⁶ "'As for those of you who are left, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies: and the sound of a driven leaf will put them to flight; and they shall flee, as one flees from the sword; and they will fall when no one pursues. ³⁷ They will stumble over one another, as it were before the sword, when no one pursues: and you will have no power to stand before your enemies. ³⁸ You will perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies will eat you up. ³⁹ Those of you who are left will rot away in their iniquity in the lands of their enemies; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they rot away with them. ⁴⁰ "'If they confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their trespass which they trespassed against me, and also that, because they walked contrary to me, ⁴¹ I also walked contrary to them, and brought them into the land of their enemies: if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled, and they then accept the punishment of their iniquity; ⁴² then I will remember my covenant with Jacob; and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham; and I will remember the land. ⁴³ The land also will be left by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them: and they will accept the punishment of their iniquity; because, even because they rejected my ordinances, and their soul abhorred my statutes. ⁴⁴ Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God; ⁴⁵ but I will for their sake remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the LORD.'" ⁴⁶ These are the statutes, ordinances and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in Mount Sinai by Moses.

⁸ They chose new gods. Then war was in the gates. Was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?

¹ It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to the voice of the LORD your God, to observe to do all his commandments which I command you this day, that the LORD your God will set you on high above all the nations of the earth: ² and all these blessings shall come on you, and overtake you, if you shall listen to the voice of the LORD your God. ³ You shall be blessed in the city, and you shall be blessed in the field. ⁴ You shall be blessed in the fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the fruit of your animals, the increase of your livestock, and the young of your flock. ⁵ Your basket and your kneading trough shall be blessed. ⁶ You shall be blessed when you come in, and you shall be blessed when you go out. ⁷ The LORD will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck before you. They will come out against you one way, and will flee before you seven ways. ⁸ The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses, and in all that you put your hand to; and he will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you. ⁹ The LORD will establish you for a holy people to himself, as he has sworn to you; if you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and walk in his ways. ¹⁰ All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of you. ¹¹ The LORD will make you plenteous for good, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. ¹² The LORD will open to you his good treasure in the sky, to give the rain of your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand: and you shall lend to many nations, and you shall not borrow. ¹³ The LORD will make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath; if you shall listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day, to observe and to do, ¹⁴ and shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. ¹⁵ But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to the voice of the LORD your God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day, that all these curses shall come on you, and overtake you. ¹⁶ You shall be cursed in the city, and you shall be cursed in the field. ¹⁷ Your basket and your kneading trough shall be cursed. ¹⁸ The fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the increase of your livestock, and the young of your flock shall be cursed. ¹⁹ You shall be cursed when you come in, and you shall be cursed when you go out. ²⁰ The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke, in all that you put your hand to do, until you are destroyed, and until you perish quickly; because of the evil of your doings, by which you have forsaken me. ²¹ The LORD will make the pestilence cling to you, until he has consumed you from off the land, where you go in to possess it. ²² The LORD will strike you with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with fiery heat, and with the sword, and with blight, and with mildew; and they shall pursue you until you perish. ²³ Your sky that is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth that is under you shall be iron. ²⁴ The LORD will make the rain of your land powder and dust: from the sky shall it come down on you, until you are destroyed. ²⁵ The LORD will cause you to be struck before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them, and shall flee seven ways before them: and you shall be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth. ²⁶ Your dead body shall be food to all birds of the sky, and to the animals of the earth; and there shall be none to frighten them away. ²⁷ The LORD will strike you with the boil of Egypt, and with the tumors, and with the scurvy, and with the itch, of which you can not be healed. ²⁸ The LORD will strike you with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart; ²⁹ and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways: and you shall be only oppressed and robbed always, and there shall be none to save you. ³⁰ You shall betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: you shall build a house, and you shall not dwell in it: you shall plant a vineyard, and shall not use its fruit. ³¹ Your ox shall be slain before your eyes, and you shall not eat of it: your donkey shall be violently taken away from before your face, and shall not be restored to you: your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have none to save you. ³² Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people; and your eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day: and there shall be nothing in the power of your hand. ³³ The fruit of your ground, and all your labors, shall a nation which you do not know eat up; and you shall be only oppressed and crushed always; ³⁴ so that you shall be mad for the sight of your eyes which you shall see. ³⁵ The LORD will strike you in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore boil, of which you can not be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head. ³⁶ The LORD will bring you, and your king whom you shall set over you, to a nation that you have not known, you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone. ³⁷ You shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples where the LORD shall lead you away. ³⁸ You shall carry much seed out into the field, and shall gather little in; for the locust shall consume it. ³⁹ You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine, nor harvest; for the worm shall eat them. ⁴⁰ You shall have olive trees throughout all your borders, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off. ⁴¹ You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity. ⁴² All your trees and the fruit of your ground shall the locust possess. ⁴³ The foreigner who is in the midst of you shall mount up above you higher and higher; and you shall come down lower and lower. ⁴⁴ He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him: he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail. ⁴⁵ All these curses shall come on you, and shall pursue you, and overtake you, until you are destroyed; because you did not listen to the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded you: ⁴⁶ and they shall be on you for a sign and for a wonder, and on your descendants forever. ⁴⁷ Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things; ⁴⁸ therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD shall send against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron on your neck, until he has destroyed you. ⁴⁹ The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from a distant land, as the eagle flies; a nation whose language you shall not understand; ⁵⁰ a nation of fierce facial expressions, that shall not respect the person of the old, nor show favor to the young, ⁵¹ and shall eat the fruit of your livestock, and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; that also shall not leave you grain, new wine, or oil, the increase of your livestock, or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish. ⁵² They shall besiege you in all your gates, until your high and fortified walls come down, in which you trusted, throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you in all your gates throughout all your land, which the LORD your God has given you. ⁵³ You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you. ⁵⁴ The man who 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 whom he has remaining; ⁵⁵ so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat, because he has nothing left him, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your gates. ⁵⁶ The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot on 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 who comes out from between her feet, and toward her children whom she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in your gates. ⁵⁸ If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and fearful name, The LORD your God; ⁵⁹ then the LORD will make your plagues extraordinary, and the plagues of your descendants, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and severe sicknesses, and of long continuance. ⁶⁰ He will bring on you again all the diseases of Egypt, which you were afraid of; and they shall cling to you. ⁶¹ Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, the LORD will bring them on you, until you are destroyed. ⁶² You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of the sky for multitude; because you did not listen to the voice of the LORD your God. ⁶³ It shall happen that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so the LORD will rejoice over you to cause you to perish, and to destroy you; and you shall be plucked from off the land where you go in to possess it. ⁶⁴ The LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from the one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, which you have not known, you nor your fathers, even wood and stone. ⁶⁵ Among these nations you shall find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of your foot: but the LORD will give you there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and pining of soul; ⁶⁶ and your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you shall fear night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. ⁶⁷ In the morning you shall say, "I wish it were evening." and at evening you shall say, "I wish it were morning." for the fear of your heart which you shall fear, and for the sight of your eyes which you shall see. ⁶⁸ The LORD will bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I said to you, You shall see it no more again: and there you shall sell yourselves to your enemies for bondservants and for bondmaids, and no man shall buy you.

⁴⁷ Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things; ⁴⁸ therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD shall send against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron on your neck, until he has destroyed you.

¹ Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and strengthened himself against Israel. ² He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken. ³ The LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father, and did not seek the Baals, ⁴ but sought to the God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. ⁵ Therefore the LORD established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat tribute; and he had riches and honor in abundance. ⁶ His heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: and furthermore he took away the high places and the Asherim out of Judah. ⁷ Also in the third year of his reign he sent his officials, even Ben Hail, and Obadiah, and Zechariah, and Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah; ⁸ and with them the Levites, even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests. ⁹ They taught in Judah, having the scroll of the law of the LORD with them; and they went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught among the people. ¹⁰ The fear of the LORD fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and silver for tribute; the Arabians also brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred male goats. ¹² Jehoshaphat grew great exceedingly; and he built in Judah fortresses and cities of store. ¹³ He had many works in the cities of Judah; and men of war, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ This was the numbering of them according to their fathers' houses: Of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him mighty men of valor three hundred thousand; ¹⁵ and next to him Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred eighty thousand; ¹⁶ and next to him Amasiah the son of Zikri, who willingly offered himself to the LORD; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor. ¹⁷ Of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield; ¹⁸ and next to him Jehozabad and with him one hundred eighty thousand ready prepared for war. ¹⁹ These were those who waited on the king, besides those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

¹ [For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.] God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

²⁶ Like a muddied spring, and a polluted well, so is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

¹ Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward. ³ And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." ⁴ But he answered and said, "It is written, 'Humankind cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'" ⁵ Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will put his angels in charge of you.' and, 'In their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" ⁷ Jesus said to him, "Again, it is written, 'Do not test the Lord your God.'" ⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory. ⁹ And he said to him, "I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me." ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, "Go away, Satan. For it is written, 'You are to worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'" ¹¹ Then the devil left him, and look, angels came and served him. ¹² Now when he heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee. ¹³ And leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, ¹⁵ "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. ¹⁶ The people sitting in darkness have seen a great light, and those living in the land and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned." ¹⁷ From that time, Jesus began to proclaim, and to say, "Repent. For the kingdom of heaven is near." ¹⁸ And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And he said to them, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of people." ²⁰ And they immediately left their nets and followed him. ²¹ Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. ²² And they immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him. ²³ And Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. ²⁴ And the report about him went out into all Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments, possessed with demons, and epileptics, and paralytics; and he healed them. ²⁵ And large crowds from Galilee, and Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.

¹ "If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it, or sells it; he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. ² If the thief is found breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt of bloodshed for him. ³ If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt of bloodshed for him; he shall make restitution. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. ⁴ If the stolen property is found in his hand alive, whether it is ox, donkey, or sheep, he shall pay double. ⁵ "If a man causes a field or vineyard to be eaten, and lets his animal loose, and it grazes in another man's field, he shall make restitution from his own field according to his produce; and if he shall have grazed over the whole field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field, and from the best of his own vineyard. ⁶ "If fire breaks out, and catches in thorns so that the shocks of grain, or the standing grain, or the field are consumed; he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution. ⁷ "If a man delivers to his neighbor money or stuff to keep, and it is stolen out of the man's house; if the thief is found, he shall pay double. ⁸ If the thief isn't found, then the master of the house shall come near to God, to find out if he hasn't put his hand to his neighbor's goods. ⁹ For every matter of trespass, whether it be for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any kind of lost thing, about which one says, 'This is mine,' the cause of both parties shall come before God. He whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor. ¹⁰ "If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies or is injured, or driven away, no man seeing it; ¹¹ the oath of God shall be between them both, whether he hasn't put his hand to his neighbor's goods; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution. ¹² But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. ¹³ If it is torn in pieces, let him bring it for evidence. He shall not make good that which was torn. ¹⁴ "If a man borrows anything of his neighbor's, and it is injured, or dies, its owner not being with it, he shall surely make restitution. ¹⁵ If its owner is with it, he shall not make it good. If it is a leased thing, it came for its lease. ¹⁶ "If a man entices a virgin who isn't pledged to be married, and lies with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife. ¹⁷ If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins. ¹⁸ "You shall not allow a sorceress to live. ¹⁹ "Whoever has sex with an animal shall surely be put to death. ²⁰ "He who sacrifices to another god, except to the LORD only, shall be utterly destroyed. ²¹ "You shall not wrong a foreigner, neither shall you oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. ²² "You shall not take advantage of any widow or fatherless child. ²³ If you take advantage of them at all, and they cry at all to me, I will surely hear their cry; ²⁴ and my wrath will grow hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. ²⁵ "If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be to him as a creditor; neither shall you charge him interest. ²⁶ If you take your neighbor's garment as collateral, you shall restore it to him before the sun goes down, ²⁷ for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What would he sleep in? It will happen, when he cries to me, that I will hear, for I am gracious. ²⁸ "You shall not blaspheme God, nor curse a ruler of your people. ²⁹ "You shall not delay to offer from your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. "You shall give the firstborn of your sons to me. ³⁰ You shall do likewise with your cattle and with your sheep. Seven days it shall be with its mother, then on the eighth day you shall give it to me. ³¹ "You shall be holy men to me, therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by animals in the field. You shall cast it to the dogs.

¹ And seeing the crowds, he went up onto the mountain, and when he had sat down, his disciples came to him. ² Then he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, ³ "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ⁵ Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth. ⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy. ⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God. ¹⁰ Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ "Blessed are you when they insult you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. ¹² Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you. ¹³ "You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trampled under peopleʼs feet. ¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before people, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. ¹⁷ "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For truly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or part of a letter will disappear from the Law, until all things are accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore, whoever will break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever will do and teach them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the kingdom of heaven. ²¹ "You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, 'Do not murder;' and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. ²² But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be liable to judgment; and whoever will say to his brother, 'Raqa,' will be in danger of the council; and whoever will say, 'You fool,' will be in danger of the fire of hell. ²³ "If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵ Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him in the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be cast into prison. ²⁶ Truly I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny. ²⁷ "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery;' ²⁸ but I tell you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. ²⁹ And if your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you.[note: Hyperbole, or Semitic idiom, meaning to stop doing a sin] For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you.[note: Hyperbole, or Semitic idiom, meaning to stop doing a sin] For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ³¹ "And it was said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce,' ³² but I tell you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is divorced commits adultery. ³³ "Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, 'Do not make false vows, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.' ³⁴ But I tell you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶ Neither should you swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No.' Whatever is more than these is of the evil one. ³⁸ "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' ³⁹ But I tell you, do not set yourself against the one who is evil. But whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone sues you to take away your shirt, let him have your coat also. ⁴¹ And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² Give to him who asks you, and do not turn away him who desires to borrow from you. ⁴³ "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.' ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do than others? Do not even the non-Jews do the same? ⁴⁸ You therefore are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

⁵² Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³ Or do you think that I could not ask my Father, and he would even now send me more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴ How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?"

³⁸ "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' ³⁹ But I tell you, do not set yourself against the one who is evil. But whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.

³⁶ Then he said to them, "But now, whoever has a money bag must take it, and likewise a pack. Whoever has none, must sell his cloak, and buy a sword.

⁴ for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil.

⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.

² If the thief is found breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt of bloodshed for him. ³ If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt of bloodshed for him; he shall make restitution. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.