Bible verses about "mind control" | NSB

¹ Adam had sexual intercourse with his wife Eve. She became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said: »With the help of Jehovah I have brought forth a man.« ² Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. ³ As time went by, Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to Jehovah. ⁴ But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn (firstlings) of his flock. Jehovah looked with favor on Abel and his offering. ⁵ He did not look with favor on Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his face was downcast (he had a bad attitude). ⁶ Jehovah said to Cain: »Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? ⁷ »If you do what is right, will not your attitude improve? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door. It desires to have you, but you must master it.« ⁸ While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. ⁹ Jehovah asked Cain: »Where is your brother Abel?« »I do not know,« he replied. »Am I my brother’s keeper?« ¹⁰ Jehovah said: »What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood (life) cries out to me from the ground. ¹¹ »Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹² »When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer (vagabond) on the earth.« ¹³ Cain said to Jehovah: »My punishment is more than I can bear. ¹⁴ »You are driving me from the land today. I will be hidden from your presence. I will be a restless (homeless) wanderer on the earth. And whoever finds me will kill me.« ¹⁵ Jehovah replied to him: »If anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over.« Then Jehovah put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. ¹⁶ Cain went out from Jehovah’s presence and lived in the land of Nod (Fugitiveness). Nod is east of Eden. ¹⁷ Cain had intercourse with his wife. She became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Later Cain built a city. He named it after his son Enoch. ¹⁸ To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. ¹⁹ Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. ²⁰ Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. ²¹ His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. ²² Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of copper and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah. ²³ Lamech said to his wives: »Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. ²⁴ »If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.« ²⁵ Adam had intercourse with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth. She said: »God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.« ²⁶ Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on (proclaim) the name of Jehovah.

¹ God spoke all these words: ² »I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt. ³ »Do not have any other god. ⁴ »Do not make your own carved idols or statues that represent any creature in the sky, on the earth, or in the water. ⁵ »Do not worship them or serve them. I, Jehovah your God, am a God demanding exclusive devotion. (I do not tolerate rivals.) I will not share your affection with any other god. I punish children for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. ⁶ »I show mercy (loving kindness) to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my commandments. ⁷ »Never use the name of Jehovah your God in a false and evil way. Jehovah will make sure that anyone who is false, evil, careless and vain with his name will be punished. ⁸ »Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. ⁹ »You have six days to do all your work. ¹⁰ »The seventh day is a Sabbath dedicated to Jehovah your God. Do not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. ¹¹ »Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them in six days. He rested on the seventh day. Therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. ¹² »Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land Jehovah your God gives you. ¹³ »Do not murder. ¹⁴ »Do not commit adultery. ¹⁵ »Do not steal. ¹⁶ »Do not (lie) accuse anyone falsely. ¹⁷ »Do not covet (desire) another man’s house. Do not desire his wife, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns. ¹⁸ The people heard the thunder and the trumpet blast. They saw the lightning and the smoking mountain. They trembled with fear and stood at a distance. ¹⁹ They said to Moses: »If you speak to us, we will listen. However, we are afraid that if God speaks to us, we will die.« ²⁰ Moses responded: »Do not be afraid. God has only come to test you and to inspire you to obey him, so that you will not sin.« ²¹ But the people continued to stand at a distance. Only Moses went near the dark cloud where God was. ²² Jehovah commanded Moses to tell the Israelites: »You have seen how I have spoken to you from heaven. ²³ »Do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gold to be worshiped in addition to me. ²⁴ »Make an altar of earth for me. Sacrifice your sheep and your cattle as offerings to be completely burned and as peace offerings. In every place that I set-aside for you to worship me, I will come to you and bless you. ²⁵ »If you make an altar of stone for me, do not build it out of cut stones. This is because when you use a chisel on stones, you make them unfit for my use. ²⁶ »Do not build an altar for me with steps leading up to it. If you do, you will expose yourselves as you go up the steps.«

¹ »A man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it. He must pay five oxen for the ox and four sheep for the sheep. ² »If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no blood guiltiness on his account. ³ »But if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of murder. A thief must make up for what he has stolen. If he is unable to do so, he should be sold as a slave to pay for what he stole. ⁴ »If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession, whether it is a bull, donkey, or a sheep, he must make up for the loss with double the amount. ⁵ »Someone lets his livestock graze in a field or a vineyard. They stray and graze in another person’s field. He must make up for what the damaged field was expected to produce. If he lets them ruin the whole field with their grazing, he must make up from his own field for the loss with the best from his field and vineyard. ⁶ »A fire starts and spreads into the underbrush so that it burns up stacked or standing grain or ruins a field. The person who started the fire must make up for the loss. ⁷ »Someone gives his neighbor silver or other valuables to keep for him. They are stolen from that person’s house. If the thief is caught, he must make up for the loss with double the amount. ⁸ »If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house must be brought to God to find out whether or not he took his neighbor’s valuables. ⁹ »There is a dispute over the ownership of a bull, a donkey, a sheep, an article of clothing, and any other lost property which two people claim as their own. Both people must bring their case to God. The one whom God declares guilty must make up for his neighbor’s loss with double the amount. ¹⁰ »Someone gives his neighbor a donkey, a bull, a sheep, or any other kind of animal to keep for him, and it dies, is injured, or is captured in war, and there are no witnesses. ¹¹ »The case between them must be settled by swearing an oath to Jehovah that the neighbor did not take the other person’s animal. The owner must accept the oath. The neighbor does not have to make up for the loss. ¹² »However, if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, he must make up for the owner’s loss. ¹³ »If a wild animal killed the neighbor’s animal he must bring in the dead body of the wild animal as evidence. He does not have to make up for an animal that has been killed. ¹⁴ »Whenever someone borrows an animal from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, the borrower must make up for the loss. ¹⁵ »If the owner is with the animal, the borrower does not have to make up for the loss. If it is rented, the rental fee covers the loss. ¹⁶ »When a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to anyone and has sexual intercourse with her, he must pay the bride price and marry her. ¹⁷ »If her father refuses to give her to him, he must pay an amount of money equal to the bride price for virgins. ¹⁸ »Never allow a witch to live. ¹⁹ »The person who has sexual intercourse with an animal must be put to death. ²⁰ »The person who sacrifices to any god except Jehovah must be condemned and destroyed. ²¹ »Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner. Remember that you were foreigners in Egypt. ²² »Do not mistreat any widow or orphan. ²³ »If you do, I, Jehovah, will answer them when they cry out to me for help, ²⁴ and I will become angry and kill you in war. Your wives will become widows, and your children will be fatherless. ²⁵ »When you lend money to any of my people who are poor, do not act like a moneylender and require him to pay interest. ²⁶ »If you take someone’s cloak as a pledge that he will pay you, you must give it back to him before the sunsets, ²⁷ for it is the only covering he has to keep him warm. What else can he sleep in? When he cries out to me for help, I will answer him because I am merciful. ²⁸ »Do not curse God. Do not curse a ruler of your people. ²⁹ »Do not delay the offering from your harvest and your vintage. Give the firstborn of your sons to me. ³⁰ »Do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. Its mother may keep it for seven days. On the eighth day give it to me. ³¹ »You are to be my holy people. Do not eat any flesh torn to bits in the field. Throw it to the dogs.

⁴⁷ »You did not serve Jehovah your God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things. ⁴⁸ »You will serve your enemies whom Jehovah will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.

¹ Jehoshaphat succeeded his father Asa as king and strengthened his position against Israel. ² He stationed troops in the fortified cities of Judah. He also put troops in the Judean countryside, and in the cities that Asa had captured in the territory of Ephraim. ³ Jehovah blessed Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father’s early life and did not worship Baal. ⁴ He served his father’s God. He obeyed God’s commandments, and did not act the way the kings of Israel did. ⁵ Jehovah gave Jehoshaphat firm control over the kingdom of Judah. The people brought him gifts, so that he became wealthy and highly honored. ⁶ His heart was devoted to the ways of Jehovah. He destroyed all the pagan places of worship and the symbols of the goddess Asherah in Judah. ⁷ In the third year of his reign he sent out the following officials to teach in the cities of Judah: Benhail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah. ⁸ With them were the Levites Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, Tob Adonijah, and the priests Elishama and Jehoram. ⁹ They taught in Judah. They had the Book of Torah (the Law) (Jehovah’s Teachings) with them when they taught the people in all the cities of Judah. ¹⁰ All the kingdoms around Judah were afraid of Jehovah. As a result, they did not wage war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some of the Philistines brought gifts and silver as taxes. The Arabs also brought him flocks: seven thousand and seven hundred rams and seven thousand and seven hundred male goats. ¹² Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful. He built fortresses and cities where supplies were stored in Judah. ¹³ He stored large supplies of food in the cities of Judah and an army of professional soldiers served him in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ The following is a breakdown of these soldiers. They are listed by families. Judah’s regimental commanders were Commander Adnah with three hundred thousand fighting men, ¹⁵ next to him was Commander Jehohanan with two hundred and eighty thousand men. ¹⁶ There was Amasiah, Zichri’s son, who volunteered to serve Jehovah with two hundred thousand fighting men. ¹⁷ From Benjamin there was the fighting man Eliada with two hundred thousand armed men with bows and shields. ¹⁸ Next to him was Jehozabad with an army of one hundred and eighty thousand armed men. ¹⁹ These were the men who served the king in addition to those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout Judah.

¹ ([Sons of Korah]) God is our refuge and strength, a ready help in times of trouble.

⁵² Jesus told him: »Put your sword in its place. Those who take up the sword will perish by the sword. ⁵³ »Do you think I cannot ask my Father for help? He would send me more than twelve legions of angels. ⁵⁴ »How then will the scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen this way?«

⁶ »I am Jehovah. I have not changed! You are the sons of Jacob. You have not yet been destroyed!

¹ Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus. ² They questioned him: »Why do your disciples go against the teaching of the fathers? They eat food with unwashed hands.« ³ His answer to them was in the form of a question: »Why do you go against the word of God in favor of your tradition? ⁴ »God said, ‘Honor your father and mother.’ ‘He who says evil of father or mother will be put to death.’ ⁵ »You teach that a man should tell his father or mother that what he has that could help them, is given to God. ⁶ »You say there is no need for him to give honor to his father. You have invalidated the word of God because of your tradition! ⁷ »You hypocrites (liars)! Isaiah’s prophecy was right about you. ⁸ »‘These people honor me with their lips, but their heart (innermost thoughts) is far from me. ⁹ »‘But their worship is to no purpose, while they give as their teaching the rules (commands) of men.’« ¹⁰ He got the people together and said to them: »Listen, and let my words be clear to you. ¹¹ »That which comes out of the mouth makes a man unclean, not that which goes into the mouth.« ¹² The disciples told him the Pharisees were upset by what he said. ¹³ In answer he replied: »Every plant my Father in heaven has not planted in the earth will be pulled out by the roots. ¹⁴ »Let them be. They are blind guides. If a blind man guides another blind man, they will fall in a hole together.« ¹⁵ Then Peter said to him: »Make the story clear to us.« ¹⁶ He replied: »Are you, like them, without wisdom? ¹⁷ »Do you not see, that which goes into the mouth, goes into the stomach and is sent out as waste? ¹⁸ »That which comes out of the mouth, comes from the heart and makes a man unclean. ¹⁹ »Evil thoughts come from the heart! Thoughts about murder, adultery, fornication, theft, lying, and slander come from the heart! ²⁰ »These things make a man unclean. Eating food with unwashed hands does not make a man unclean.« ²¹ Jesus went away from there into the country of Tyre and Sidon. ²² A woman of Canaan came crying and saying: »Have pity on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is greatly troubled with an unclean spirit.« ²³ He did not answer her. His disciples said to him: »Send her away; she keeps shouting at us.« ²⁴ He answered: »I was sent only to the wandering sheep of the house of Israel.« ²⁵ She bowed down before him and asked for help. ²⁶ He said: »It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs.« ²⁷ She said: »Yes, Lord; but even the dogs take the scraps from under their masters’ table.« ²⁸ »O woman,« Jesus replied, »your faith is great! Let your desire be done.« And her daughter was made well from that hour. ²⁹ Jesus went from there to the Sea of Galilee. He went up into the mountain and sat down. ³⁰ Many people came to him. They brought those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many other people. They laid them down at his feet and he healed them. ³¹ The people marveled as they saw the mute speak, the crippled and lame walk, and the blind see. They glorified the God of Israel. ³² Jesus called his disciples and said: »I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with me now three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.« ³³ The disciples replied: »Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?« ³⁴ Jesus asked: »How many loaves do you have?« They said: »Seven, and a few small fish.« ³⁵ He told the people to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ He took the seven loaves and the fish and offered a prayer of thanksgiving. Then he broke them and gave them to the disciples. The disciples gave them to the people. ³⁷ They all ate and were satisfied. When they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, there were seven large baskets full. ³⁸ Four thousand men, besides women and children were fed. ³⁹ After dismissing the crowds, Jesus took a boat to the region of Magadan.

²⁶ »The Father will send a helper in my name, the Holy Spirit, which (Greek: hos he ho) (which) (that one) will teach you all things and bring to your memory all that I said to you.

¹⁹ What? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? That one (Greek: »hos he ho« which, that one) is in you. You received it from God. You are not your own. ²⁰ You are bought with a price! Therefore glorify God in your body.

¹⁶ Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient servants you are his (voluntary) servants because you obey him? This could be obedience to sin with death in view or obedience to righteousness with holiness in view?

¹⁶ God inspired all Scripture! It is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. (Greek: theopneustos: God-breathed) ¹⁷ Thus the man of God may be completely equipped for every good work.

⁸ If any do not provide for his own, and specially his own household, he denies the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.

²⁶ A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.

¹⁵ »A light is not placed under a cover. To the contrary, it is placed on a table so all may see. ¹⁶ »Likewise, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. ¹⁷ »Do not think I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I came, not to destroy, but to fulfill (perfect) (execute) (accomplish). ¹⁸ »I solemnly tell you, heaven and earth would pass away before one small letter (detail) will pass away from the Law. All things must be accomplished. ¹⁹ »Whoever disobeys even the least of the commandments and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand whoever obeys and teaches others to obey the Law will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ »I also tell you, your righteousness must be greater than the scribes and Pharisees or you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. ²¹ »You were told in the past, do not murder (kill). Any one who murders will be brought to trial. ²² »Now I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother [without cause] shall be guilty before the court. Whoever speaks to his brother with words of contempt shall receive condemnation before the Sanhedrin [Supreme Court]. Curse your brother and you will be guilty enough to be destroyed by fire, with the burning trash, at the Valley of Hinnom, outside of Jerusalem (Greek: Gehenna). ²³ »When making an offering at the altar and you remember your brother has something against you, ²⁴ »leave your gift at the altar and go make peace with your brother. Then return and make your offering. ²⁵ »Come to an agreement quickly with the one who has a legal case against you. Do it before he turns the case over to the judge and you are thrown into jail. ²⁶ »Take it from me; you will stay in jail until you pay the very last penny of your fine. ²⁷ »You have heard it was said, ‘You should not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ »However, I tell you that whoever looks at a woman with lustful thoughts commits adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ »If your right eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away! It is better to lose a part of your body then to have your whole body destroyed in the ever-burning fires of the Valley of Hinnom. ³⁰ »If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to lose part of your body, than for your whole body to be destroyed in the ever-burning fire. (Figuratively: lose prospect for everlasting life; ever-burning fire means total destruction.) ³¹ »Again, it was said, ‘Whoever gets rid of his wife has to give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² »I say to you that everyone divorcing his wife, except for the reason of fornication, makes her liable to commit adultery. And if she marries again, the man she marries also commits adultery. ³³ »You were also told that you should keep a promise (oath). Always keep your promises (vows) to Jehovah. ³⁴ »I tell you, offer no promises at all, not by heaven, because it is God’s throne. ³⁵ »Not by earth, for it is the footstool under His feet. Not by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶ »And do not promise by your head, for you cannot even control the hair on your head. ³⁷ »Let your answer be ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one. ³⁸ »You have heard it said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. ³⁹ »But I tell you, do not resist a wicked person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to that person. ⁴⁰ »If someone takes you to court to sue you and takes your shirt, let him have your coat as well. ⁴¹ »Whoever makes you go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² »Give to those who ask. Lend to those who borrow. ⁴³ »You have heard it said, ‘You should love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ (Leviticus 19:18) ⁴⁴ »I say love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵ »You will then act as true children of your Father in heaven. He gives sunlight to both evil and good people. He sends rain for the just and the unjust. ⁴⁶ »What good is there, when you love only those who love you? Even [corrupt] tax collectors do that! ⁴⁷ »When you are kind only to your friends [and brothers] what makes you different from anyone else? Even people of the nations do that. ⁴⁸ »Be perfect (mature), even as your Father in heaven is perfect (mature). (Leviticus 19:2)

¹ Seeing great masses of people, he went up to the mountain. When he was seated his disciples came to him. ² He opened his mouth and taught them: ³ »Blessed (Greek: makarios: happy, blessed) are those conscious of their spiritual need, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. ⁴ »Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ⁵ »Blessed are the meek (gentle) (mild) (humble), for they will inherit the earth. ⁶ »Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ⁷ »Blessed are the merciful and compassionate, for they will receive mercy and compassion. 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 they who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ »Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. ¹² »Rejoice, and be filled with joy, for great is your reward in heaven. The prophets, who came before you, were also persecuted. ¹³ »You are the salt of the earth. If its taste goes away, how will you restore it? It is good for nothing. All you can do is throw it on the ground and walk on it. ¹⁴ »You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill may be seen by all.

²⁷ He answered: »Love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your life, with all your strength and with all your mind. (Feelings and total existence) (Might and total thinking capacity) And you should love your neighbor as yourself.« (Deuteronomy 6:5) (Leviticus 19:18)

¹⁹ Dearly beloved, do not avenge yourselves, instead leave room for divine punishment, for it is written: Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says Jehovah. (Deuteronomy 32:35)

⁷ God has not given us a spirit of timidity (fear), but of power and love and discipline.

⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

³⁸ »You have heard it said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. ³⁹ »But I tell you, do not resist a wicked person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to that person.

² Do not be conformed to this world (religious, social, political, and economic arrangement). But be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.

¹ »Carefully obey Jehovah your God. Faithfully follow all his commandments that I give you today. If you do this Jehovah your God will place you high above all the other nations in the world. ² »These are all the blessings that will come to you and stay close to you because you obey Jehovah your God: ³ »Jehovah will bless your towns and your fields. ⁴ »Jehovah will bless you with many children, with abundant crops, and with many cattle and sheep. ⁵ »Jehovah will bless your grain crops and the food you prepare from them. ⁶ »Jehovah will make you successful in your daily work. ⁷ »Jehovah will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck before you: they shall come out against you one-way, and shall flee before you seven ways. ⁸ »Jehovah will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land Jehovah your God gives you. ⁹ »Jehovah will establish you as a holy people to himself. He swore this to you, if you obey the commandments of Jehovah your God and walk in His ways. ¹⁰ »All the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of Jehovah, and they will be afraid of you. ¹¹ »Jehovah will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your animals and in the produce of your ground, the land that Jehovah swore to your fathers to give you. ¹² »Jehovah will open for you his good storehouse. The skies will give rain to your land in due season. It will bless all the work of your hand. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. ¹³ »Jehovah will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath. If you listen to the commandments of Jehovah your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, ¹⁴ and do not turn aside from any of the words I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. ¹⁵ »If you do not obey Jehovah your God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: ¹⁶ »Cursed will you be in the city, and cursed will you be in the country. ¹⁷ »Your basket and your kneading bowl will be cursed. ¹⁸ »Cursed will be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. ¹⁹ »Jehovah will curse everything you do! ²⁰ »If you do evil and reject Jehovah, he will bring on you trouble, confusion, and rebuke in everything you do. Soon you will be quickly and completely destroyed. ²¹ »He will plague you with disease after disease on you until there is not one of you left in the land. ²² »Jehovah will strike you with infectious diseases, with swelling and fever. He will send drought and scorching winds to destroy your crops. These disasters will be with you until you die. ²³ »The sky above will look like copper and the ground below will be as hard as iron. ²⁴ Jehovah will send dust storms and sandstorms on you from the sky until you are destroyed. ²⁵ »Jehovah will cause you to be stricken before your enemies. You will go out one way against them, and flee seven ways from them. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. ²⁶ »Your body will be food to all birds of the air, and to the beasts of the earth. And no man shall frighten them away. ²⁷ »Jehovah will strike you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scab and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. ²⁸ »You will become insane and go blind. Jehovah will make you so confused, ²⁹ that even in bright sunshine you will have to feel your way around like a blind person. You will tell day from night! For the rest of your life, people will beat and rob you. No one will be able to stop them. ³⁰ »A man will be engaged to a woman, but before they can get married, enemy soldiers will rape her. Some of you will build houses, but never get to live in them. If you plant a vineyard, you will not be around long enough to enjoy the first harvest. ³¹ »Your cattle will be killed while you watch. You will not get to eat any of the meat. Your donkeys and sheep will be stolen. No one will be around to force your enemies to give them back. ³² »Your sons and daughters will be dragged off to a foreign country. And you will stand there helpless. Even if you watch for them until you go blind, you will never see them again. ³³ »A foreign nation will take all the crops that you have worked so hard to grow. You will receive nothing but constant oppression and harsh treatment. ³⁴ »You will lose your mind (experience insanity) because of all the suffering. ³⁵ »Jehovah will strike you on the knees and legs with sore boils. From the sole of your foot to the crown of your head they will not heal. ³⁶ »Jehovah will bring you and your king, whom you set over you, to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. There you will serve other gods made of wood and stone. ³⁷ »You will become a thing of revulsion. All the nations where Jehovah will send you will make an example of you and laugh at you. ³⁸ »You will plant many crops in your fields, but harvest little for locusts will destroy your crops. ³⁹ »You will plant vineyards and tend them but will not drink the wine from them. Worms will eat them. ⁴⁰ »You will have olive trees throughout all your coasts, but you shall not anoint with the oil, for your olive shall drop off its fruit. ⁴¹ »Even your infant sons and daughters will be taken as prisoners of war. ⁴² »Locusts will take over all your trees and the fruit of your land. ⁴³ »The alien who is living among you will be lifted up higher and higher over you, while you go down lower and lower. ⁴⁴ »They will be able to make loans to you, but you won't be able to make loans to them. They will be the head, and you will be the tail. ⁴⁵ »All these disasters will come on you. They will be with you until you are destroyed. This is because you did not obey Jehovah your God and keep all the laws that he gave you. ⁴⁶ »Everyone will look at you and your descendants and realize that Jehovah has placed you under a curse for a very long time. ⁴⁷ »You did not serve Jehovah your God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things. ⁴⁸ »You will serve your enemies whom Jehovah will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. ⁴⁹ »Jehovah will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you will not understand, ⁵⁰ a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young. ⁵¹ »They will eat the offspring of your animals and the crops from your fields until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, no new wine, no olive oil, no calves from your herds, and no lambs or kids from your flocks. They will continue to do this until you are completely desolate. ⁵² »They will blockade all your cities until the high, fortified walls you trust come down everywhere in your land. They will blockade all the cities everywhere in the land that Jehovah your God is giving you. ⁵³ »Because of the hardships your enemies will make you suffer during the blockade, you will eat the flesh of your own children, the sons and daughters, whom Jehovah your God has given you. ⁵⁴ »The kindest and most sensitive man among you will become stingy toward his brother, the wife he loves, and the children he still has left. ⁵⁵ »He will give none of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all that he has left. These are hardships your enemies will make you suffer during the blockade of all your cities. ⁵⁶ »The kindest and most sensitive woman among you, so sensitive and tender that she would not even step on an ant, will become stingy toward the husband she loves or toward her own son or daughter. ⁵⁷ »She will not share with them the afterbirth from her body and the children she gives birth to. She will secretly eat them out of dire necessity. These are hardships your enemies will make you suffer during the blockade of your cities. ⁵⁸ »You might not faithfully obey every word of the teachings that are written in this book. You might not respect this glorious and awe inspiring name: JEHOVAH your God. ⁵⁹ »If so, Jehovah will strike you and your descendants with unimaginable plagues. They will be terrible continuing plagues. They will be severe and lingering diseases. ⁶⁰ »He will bring all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded. They will cling to you. ⁶¹ »Jehovah will also bring you every kind of sickness and plague not written in this Book of the Law. They will continue until you are dead. ⁶² »You were at one time as numerous as the stars in the sky. But only a few of you will be left. This is because you did not obey Jehovah your God. ⁶³ »Jehovah was very glad to make you prosperous and numerous. Now Jehovah will be more than glad to destroy you and wipe you out. You will be torn out of the land you are about to enter and possess. ⁶⁴ »Jehovah will scatter you among all the people of the world. He will scatter you from one end of the earth to the other. There you will serve gods made of wood and stone that neither you nor your ancestors ever knew. ⁶⁵ »You will find no peace among those nations. There will be no place to call your own. There Jehovah will give you an unsettled mind, failing eyesight, and despair. ⁶⁶ »Your life will always be in danger. Day and night you will be filled with terror. You will live in constant fear of death. ⁶⁷ »Your hearts will pound with fear at everything you see. Every morning you will wish for evening. Every evening you will wish for morning. ⁶⁸ »Jehovah will send you back to Egypt in ships, even though he said that you would never have to go there again. There you will try to sell yourselves to your enemies as slaves. But no one will want to buy you.

¹ God’s Spirit led Jesus into the desert wilderness. There he was tested (tempted) by the Devil. ² He fasted forty days and nights, and was very hungry. ³ Satan, the Tempter, said to him: »If (since) you are the Son of God order these stones to turn into bread.« ⁴ In reply Jesus answered: »It is written; man shall not live on bread alone, but on all (everything) (every word) (every utterance) (every declaration) that proceeds from the mouth of Jehovah.« (Deuteronomy 8:3) ⁵ Then the Devil took him into the holy city and had him stand on top of the Temple. ⁶ »If (since) you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. The Scriptures say: ‘God will give orders to his angels about you and they will hold you with their hands, so that not even your feet will strike the ground.’« ⁷ »Again it is written,« Jesus replied, »‘you must not put Jehovah your God to the test.’« (Deuteronomy 6:16) ⁸ This time the Devil took Jesus to an extremely high mountain. He showed him all the kingdoms of the world with all their greatness. ⁹ »I will give all this to you,« the Devil told Jesus, »if you kneel down and worship me.« ¹⁰ »Go away, Satan!« demanded Jesus. »It is written, »It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.’« (Deuteronomy 6:13-15) ¹¹ Then the Devil left Jesus, and the angels came and served him. ¹² Jesus heard that John had been arrested. So Jesus withdrew to Galilee. ¹³ He left Nazareth to reside at Capernaum, a town by Lake Galilee, in the districts of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴ Thus the prophecy revealed to Isaiah would be fulfilled: ¹⁵ »O land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, along the road of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the nations! ¹⁶ »the people sitting in darkness saw a great light. Light rose upon those sitting in a region of deathly shadow.« ¹⁷ From that time on Jesus preached this message: »Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is near.« ¹⁸ Jesus walked on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. There he saw Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother. They were fishermen. ¹⁹ He said to them: »Follow me and I will teach you to catch people.« ²⁰ At once they abandoned their nets and followed him. ²¹ He saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother. They were in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them. ²² Instantly they left the boat and their father, and went with him. ²³ Jesus walked all over Galilee teaching in the synagogues. He preached the Good News about the Kingdom. He also healed every kind of disease and infirmity among the people. ²⁴ News about him spread throughout the country of Syria. People sick and suffering from diseases, people with demons, epileptics and paralytics, came to him. Jesus healed them all. ²⁵ Because of this, large crowds followed him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the land on the other side of the Jordan.

¹³ No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man. God is faithful and he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your limits. He will make a way out, that you will be able to endure it.