DEUTERONOMY 25

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  25:1 “If there is a dispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty, 2 then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense. 3 Forty stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight.
    4 “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain. Laws Concerning Levirate Marriage5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. 7 And if the man does not wish to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’ 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, ‘I do not wish to take her,’ 9 then his brother’s wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’ 10 And the name of his house shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal pulled off.’ Miscellaneous Laws11 “When men fight with one another and the wife of the one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of him who is beating him and puts out her hand and seizes him by the private parts, 12 then you shall cut off her hand. Your eye shall have no pity.
    13 “You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. 14 You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. 15 A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the Lord your God.
    17 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, 18 how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.

DEUTERONOMY 26

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Offerings of Firstfruits and Tithes  26:1 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there. 3 And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God.
    5 “And you shall make response before the Lord your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor. 7 Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders. 9 And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O Lord, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God. 11 And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.
    12 “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, 13 then you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. 14 I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. 15 Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.’
    16 “This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 You have declared today that the Lord is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice. 18 And the Lord has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, 19 and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.”

PROVERBS 30

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The Words of Agur  30:1 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.

The man declares, I am weary, O God;

I am weary, O God, and worn out. 2

Surely I am too stupid to be a man.

I have not the understanding of a man. 3

I have not learned wisdom,

nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. 4

Who has ascended to heaven and come down?

Who has gathered the wind in his fists?

Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?

Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is his name, and what is his son’s name?

Surely you know!
5

Every word of God proves true;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. 6

Do not add to his words,

lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
7

Two things I ask of you;

deny them not to me before I die: 8

Remove far from me falsehood and lying;

give me neither poverty nor riches;

feed me with the food that is needful for me, 9

lest I be full and deny you

and say, “Who is the Lord?”

or lest I be poor and steal

and profane the name of my God.
10

Do not slander a servant to his master,

lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.
11

There are those who curse their fathers

and do not bless their mothers. 12

There are those who are clean in their own eyes

but are not washed of their filth. 13

There are those—how lofty are their eyes,

how high their eyelids lift! 14

There are those whose teeth are swords,

whose fangs are knives,

to devour the poor from off the earth,

the needy from among mankind.
15

The leech has two daughters:

Give and Give.

Three things are never satisfied;

four never say, “Enough”: 16

Sheol, the barren womb,

the land never satisfied with water,

and the fire that never says, “Enough.”
17

The eye that mocks a father

and scorns to obey a mother

will be picked out by the ravens of the valley

and eaten by the vultures.
18

Three things are too wonderful for me;

four I do not understand: 19

the way of an eagle in the sky,

the way of a serpent on a rock,

the way of a ship on the high seas,

and the way of a man with a virgin.
20

This is the way of an adulteress:

she eats and wipes her mouth

and says, “I have done no wrong.”
21

Under three things the earth trembles;

under four it cannot bear up: 22

a slave when he becomes king,

and a fool when he is filled with food; 23

an unloved woman when she gets a husband,

and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.
24

Four things on earth are small,

but they are exceedingly wise: 25

the ants are a people not strong,

yet they provide their food in the summer; 26

the rock badgers are a people not mighty,

yet they make their homes in the cliffs; 27

the locusts have no king,

yet all of them march in rank; 28

the lizard you can take in your hands,

yet it is in kings’ palaces.
29

Three things are stately in their tread;

four are stately in their stride: 30

the lion, which is mightiest among beasts

and does not turn back before any; 31

the strutting rooster, the he-goat,

and a king whose army is with him.
32

If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,

or if you have been devising evil,

put your hand on your mouth. 33

For pressing milk produces curds,

pressing the nose produces blood,

and pressing anger produces strife.

PSALM 37

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He Will Not Forsake His Saints Of David.
37:1

Fret not yourself because of evildoers;

be not envious of wrongdoers! 2

For they will soon fade like the grass

and wither like the green herb.
3

Trust in the Lord, and do good;

dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. 4

Delight yourself in the Lord,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5

Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act. 6

He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,

and your justice as the noonday.
7

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!
8

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!

Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. 9

For the evildoers shall be cut off,

but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
10

In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;

though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. 11

But the meek shall inherit the land

and delight themselves in abundant peace.
12

The wicked plots against the righteous

and gnashes his teeth at him, 13

but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he sees that his day is coming.
14

The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose way is upright; 15

their sword shall enter their own heart,

and their bows shall be broken.
16

Better is the little that the righteous has

than the abundance of many wicked. 17

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,

but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18

The Lord knows the days of the blameless,

and their heritage will remain forever; 19

they are not put to shame in evil times;

in the days of famine they have abundance.
20

But the wicked will perish;

the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;

they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
21

The wicked borrows but does not pay back,

but the righteous is generous and gives; 22

for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land,

but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
23

The steps of a man are established by the Lord,

when he delights in his way; 24

though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,

for the Lord upholds his hand.
25

I have been young, and now am old,

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

or his children begging for bread. 26

He is ever lending generously,

and his children become a blessing.
27

Turn away from evil and do good;

so shall you dwell forever. 28

For the Lord loves justice;

he will not forsake his saints.

They are preserved forever,

but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. 29

The righteous shall inherit the land

and dwell upon it forever.
30

The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks justice. 31

The law of his God is in his heart;

his steps do not slip.
32

The wicked watches for the righteous

and seeks to put him to death. 33

The Lord will not abandon him to his power

or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34

Wait for the Lord and keep his way,

and he will exalt you to inherit the land;

you will look on when the wicked are cut off.
35

I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,

spreading himself like a green laurel tree. 36

But he passed away, and behold, he was no more;

though I sought him, he could not be found.
37

Mark the blameless and behold the upright,

for there is a future for the man of peace. 38

But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;

the future of the wicked shall be cut off.
39

The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. 40

The Lord helps them and delivers them;

he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they take refuge in him.