Week 145

• Torah (T): Devarim (Deuteronomy) 26:1 – 27:26
• Prophets (P): Isaiah 60:1-22
• Apostolic (A): Romans 11:1-10; Galatians 3:1-10
• Additional (ADD): Sirach 22:1-27

RELATED SCRIPTURES

• Exodus 23:19; Exodus 34:26 (T)
• Leviticus 2:1-16 (T)
• Leviticus 23:9-14 (T)
• Numbers 15:17-21 (T)
• Proverbs 3:9-10 (T)
• Genesis 46:1-7; Exodus 1:5-13; Joshua 24:1-4 (T)
• Exodus 2:23-25 (T)
• Leviticus 27:30-34; Numbers 18:19-24 (T)
• Deuteronomy 14:22-29 (T)
• Isaiah 63:15-16 (T)
• Genesis 17:5-10 (T)
• Exodus 19:1-6; Deuteronomy 7:6; Deuteronomy 10:14-15; Deuteronomy 14:2; Deuteronomy 26:18; Psalms 135:1-4; Malachi 3:13-18; Titus 2:11-15 (T)
• Ephesians 1:1-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17; Hebrews 10:32-39; 1 Peter 2:1-12 (T)
• Joshua 8:30-35 (T)
• Exodus 20:25-26; Joshua 8:30-35 (T)
• Deuteronomy 11:26-32 (T)
• Daniel 9:1-27 (T)
• Deuteronomy 4:16-23; Deuteronomy 5:8; Exodus 20:4; Exodus 20:23; Exodus 32:1-4; Exodus 34:17; Leviticus 19:4; Leviticus 26:1 (T)
• Deuteronomy 21:18-21; Exodus 20:12; Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 19:3; Proverbs 20:20; Proverbs 30:11-17; Ezekiel 22:7; Matthew 15:4-6; Mark 7:9-13; Ephesians 6:1-4 (T)
• Deuteronomy 19:14; Proverbs 22:28; Proverbs 23:10-11 (T)
• Leviticus 19:14; Job 29:15 Proverbs 28:10; Isaiah 56:10; Matthew 15:14; Revelation 2:14 (T)
• Exodus 22:21-24; Exodus 23:2-9; Deuteronomy 10:18; Deuteronomy 24:17; Psalms 82:2-4; Proverbs 17:23; Proverbs 31:5; Micah 3:9; Malachi 3:5 (T)
• Genesis 35:22; Genesis 49:4; Leviticus 18:8; Leviticus 20:11; Deuteronomy 22:30; 2 Samuel 16:22; 1 Chronicles 5:1; Ezekiel 22:10; Amos 2:7; 1 Corinthians 5:1 (T)
• Exodus 22:19; Leviticus 18:23; Leviticus 20:15 (T)
• Leviticus 18:9; Leviticus 20:17; 2 Samuel 13:1-14; Ezekiel 22:11 (T)
• Leviticus 18:17; Leviticus 20:14 (T)
• Exodus 20:13; Exodus 21:12-14; Leviticus 24:17; Numbers 35:31; Deuteronomy 19:11-12; 2 Samuel 3:27; 2 Samuel 11:15-17; 2 Samuel 12:9-12; 2 Samuel 13:28; 2 Samuel 20:9-10 (T)
• Exodus 23:7-8; Deuteronomy 10:17; Deuteronomy 16:19; Psalms 15:5; Proverbs 1:11-29; Ezekiel 22:12-13; Micah 3:10-11; Micah 7:2-3; Matthew 26:15; Matthew 27:3-4; Acts 1:18 (T)
• Psalms 119:21; Jeremiah 11:1-5; Ezekiel 18:20-24 (T)
• Romans 3:19-31 (T)
• Leviticus 26:3-46 (T)
• Deuteronomy 7:11-16 (T)
• Judges 2:10-23 (T)
• Deuteronomy 15:6 (T)
• Joshua 1:6-8; Joshua 23:5-8; Proverbs 4:25-27 (T)
• Malachi 2:1-17 (T)
• Amos 4:1-13 (T)
• Haggai 1:1-15 (T)
• Jeremiah 15:4; Jeremiah 24:9; Jeremiah 29:18; Jeremiah 34:17 (T)
• Jeremiah 7:33-34 (T)
• Exodus 9:8-11 (T)
• Isaiah 6:5-13 (T) sins^(DSS)(LXX) forgiven;
• Proverbs 28:1 (T)
• Romans 1:13-32 (T)
• Job 5:8-14 (T)
• Hosea 4:1-10 (T)
• Romans 11:11-36 (T)
• Job 31:9-12; 2 Samuel 12:7-12; Jeremiah 6:10-12; Jeremiah 8:4-10 (T)
• Job 1:1-22 (T)
• Jeremiah 5:11-18 (T)
• 1 Kings 9:4-8; 2 Chronicles 7:20; Jeremiah 24:9; Jeremiah 25:9; Joel 2:17: Zechariah 8:13 (T)
• Psalms 44:1-26 (T)
• Micah 6:14-16; Haggai 1:1-7 (T)
• Job 27:13-15; 2 Kings 24:8-25:8 (T)
• Lamentations 1:1-22 (T)
• Isaiah 14:1-4 (T)
• 1 Corinthians 14:21-22 (T)
• Isaiah 1:7 (T)
• 2 Kings 6:26-33; Jeremiah 19:9 (T)
• Ezekiel 5:5-17 (T)
• Lamentations 4:1-22 (T)
• Deuteronomy 10:22; Deuteronomy 4:27 (T)

RELATED ADDITIONAL REA.D.INGS

• Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:9 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)
• Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus 4.8.22, 4.8.31-32, 4.8.41, 4.8.44-45 (T)

Note: (T) means the verse relates to that week’s Torah portion. (P) means the verse relates to that week’s Prophets portion. (A) means the verse relates to that week’s Apostolic portion. (ADD) means the verse relates to that week’s Additional portion.

Torah Portion (T)

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 26:1 – 27:19

26:1 It will be, when you have come in to the land which YHWH your Elohim gives you for an inheritance, possess it, and dwell in it, 2 that you will take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you will bring in from your land that YHWH your Elohim gives you. You will put it in a basket, and will go to the place which YHWH your Elohim will choose to cause his name to dwell there. 3 You will come to the priest who will be in those days, and tell him, “I profess today [before]^(DSS) YHWH [my]^(LXX) Elohim, that I have come to the land which YHWH swore to our fathers to give us.” 4 The priest will take the basket out of your hand, and set it down before YHWH your Elohim’s altar. 5 You will answer and say before YHWH your Elohim, “My father was an Aramean ready to perish. He went down into Egypt, and lived there, few in number. There he became a great, mighty, and numerous nation. 6 The Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. 7 Then we cried to YHWH, the Elohim of our fathers. YHWH heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 YHWH brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs, and with wonders; 9 and he has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 Now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, YHWH, have given me.” You will set it down before YHWH your Elohim, and worship before YHWH your Elohim. 11 You will rejoice in all the good which YHWH your Elohim has given to you, and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you. 12 When you have finished tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, then you will give it to the Levite, to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within your gates and be filled. 13 You will say before YHWH your Elohim, “I have put away the holy out of my house, and also have given them to the Levite, to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all your commandment which you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, neither have I forgotten them. 14 I have not eaten of it in my mourning, neither have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor given of it for the dead. I have listened to YHWH my Elohim’s voice. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. 15 Look down from your holy habitation, from the heavens, and bless your people Israel, and the ground which you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.” 16 Today YHWH your Elohim commands you to do these statutes and judgments. You will therefore guard and do them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 You have declared today that YHWH is your Elohim, and that you would walk in his ways, guard his statutes, his commandments, and his judgments, and listen to his voice. 18 YHWH has declared today that you are a people for his own possession, as he has promised you, and that you should guard all his commandments. 19 He will make you high above all nations that he has made, for a [boasting]^(LXX) praise, and for a [famous]^(LXX) name, and for [glorious]^(LXX) decoration, and that you may be a holy people to YHWH your Elohim, as he has spoken [to you].^(DSS)

27:1 Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Guard all [these commandments]^(LXX) which I command you today. 2 It will be on the day when you will cross over the Jordan to the land which YHWH your Elohim gives you, that you will set yourself up great stones, and coat them with plaster. 3 You will write on them all the words of this Torah, when you have crossed over, that you may go in to the land which YHWH your Elohim gives you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as YHWH, the Elohim of your fathers, has promised you. 4 It will be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that you will set up these stones, which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you will coat them with plaster. 5 There you will build an altar to YHWH your Elohim, an altar of stones. You will not use any iron tool on them. 6 You will build YHWH your Elohim’s altar of uncut stones. You will offer burnt offerings on it to YHWH your Elohim. 7 You will slaughter peace offerings, and will eat there. You will rejoice before YHWH your Elohim. 8 You will write on the stones all the words of this Torah very plainly.” 9 Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, “Be silent and listen, Israel! Today you have become the people of YHWH your Elohim. 10 You will therefore obey YHWH your Elohim’s voice, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today.” 11 Moses commanded the people the same day, saying, 12 “These will stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have crossed over the Jordan: Shimon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 These will stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 With a loud voice, the Levites will say to all the men of Israel, 15 ‘Cursed is the man who makes an engraved or molten image, an abomination to YHWH, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ All the people will answer and say, ‘Amen.’ 16 ‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or his mother.’ All the people will say, ‘Amen.’ 17 ‘Cursed is he who removes his neighbor’s landmark.’ All the people will say, ‘Amen.’ 18 ‘Cursed is he who leads the blind astray on the road.’ All the people will say, ‘Amen.’ 19 ‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the sojourner, fatherless, and widow.’ All the people will say, ‘Amen.’ 20 ‘Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife, because he dishonors his father’s bed.’ All the people will say, ‘Amen.’ 21 ‘Cursed is he who lies with any kind of animal.’ All the people will say, ‘Amen.’ 22 ‘Cursed is he who lies with his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter.’ All the people will say, ‘Amen.’ 23 ‘Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.’ All the people will say, ‘Amen.’ 24 ‘Cursed is he who secretly kills his neighbor.’ All the people will say, ‘Amen.’ 25 ‘Cursed is he who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ All the people will say, ‘Amen.’ 26 ‘Cursed is he who doesn’t uphold [all]^(LXX)(mss) the words [written in the book]^{(mss)(cf. Galatians 3:10)} of the Torah by doing them.’ All the people will say, ‘Amen.’ ”

Prophets Portion (P)

Isaiah 60:1-22

60:1 “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of YHWH has risen on you! 2 For behold, darkness will cover the land, and thick darkness the peoples; but YHWH will arise on you, and his glory will be seen on you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. 4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather themselves together. They come to you. Your sons will come from far away, and your daughters will be carried in arms. 5 Then you will see and be radiant, and your heart will thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you. The wealth of the nations will come to you. 6 A multitude of camels will cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and [Ephu].^(DSS) All from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of YHWH. 7 All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you. The rams of Nebaioth will serve you. They will be accepted as offerings on my altar; and I will beautify my glorious house. 8 Who are these who fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? 9 Surely the islands will wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from far away, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of YHWH your Elohim, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you. 10 Foreigners will build up your walls, and their kings will serve you; for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you. 11 Your gates also will be open continually; they will not be shut day nor night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, and their kings led captive. 12 For that nation and reign that will not serve you will perish; yes, those nations will be utterly wasted. 13 The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the cypress tree, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. 14 The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you; and all those who despised you will bow themselves down at the soles of your feet. They will call you YHWH’s City, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15 Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no one passed through you, I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. 16 You will also drink the milk of the nations, and will nurse from royal breasts. Then you will know that I, YHWH, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 17 For bronze I will bring gold; for iron I will bring silver; for wood, bronze, and for stones, iron. I will also make peace your governor, and righteousness your ruler. 18 Violence will no more be heard in your land, nor desolation or destruction within your borders; but you will call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. 19 The sun will be no more your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon give light to you [at night],^(LXX)(DSS) but YHWH will be your everlasting light, and your Elohim will be your glory. 20 Your sun will not go down any more, nor will your moon withdraw itself; for YHWH will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will end. 21 Then your people will all be righteous. They will inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. 22 The little one will become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation. I, YHWH, will do this quickly in its time.”

Apostolic Portion (A)

Romans 11:1-10; Galatians 3:1-10

Romans 11:1 I ask then, did Elohim reject his people (cf. Psalms 94:14)? May it never be! For I also am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 Elohim didn’t reject his people, whom he foreknew. Or don’t you know what the Scripture says about Elijah? How he pleads with Elohim against Israel: 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets. They have broken down your altars. I am left alone, and they seek my life.” (cf. 1 Kings 19:10, 14) 4 But how does Elohim answer him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” (cf. 1 Kings 19:18) 5 Even so too at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work. 7 What then? That which Israel seeks for, that he didn’t obtain, but the chosen ones obtained it, and the rest were hardened. 8 According as it is written, “Elohim gave them a spirit of deep sleep, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.” (cf. Deuteronomy 29:4; Isaiah 29:10) 9 David says, “Let their table be made a snare, a trap, a stumbling block, and a retribution to them. 10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see. Always guard their backs bent.” (cf. Psalms 69:22-23)

Galatians 3:1 Foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you not to obey the truth, before whose eyes Yeshua the Messiah was openly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 I just want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now completed in the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain, if it is indeed in vain? 5 He therefore who supplies the Spirit to you and does miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law, or by hearing of faith? 6 Even so, Abraham “believed Elohim, and it was counted to him for righteousness.” (cf. Genesis 15:6) 7 Know therefore that those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that Elohim would justify the Nations by faith, preached the Good News beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you all the nations will be blessed.” (cf. Genesis 12:3; Genesis 18:18; Genesis 22:18) 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham. 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who doesn’t continue in all things that are written in the scroll of the Torah, to do them.” (cf. Deuteronomy 27:26)

Additional Portion (ADD)

Sirach, or Wisdom of Sirach, and also known as the Book of Ecclesiasticus (abbreviated Ecclus.) or Ben Sira, is a work of ethical teachings, from approximately 200 to 175 B.C., written by the Jewish scribe Ben Sira of Jerusalem, on the inspiration of his father Joshua son of Sirach, sometimes called Jesus son of Sirach or Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sira. The Sirach was almost completely uncovered in Hebrew in the Dead Sea Scrolls, at Masada, and the Cairo Geniza. The multiplicity of manuscript fragments uncovered in the Cairo Genizah evidence its authoritative status among Egyptian Jewry until the Middle Ages. Quotes from Sirach can be found in Rabbinic literature in multiple places including the Talmud in Bava Kamma 92b:13 and Hagigah 13a:2. Additionally, the Gospels and other Apostolic Scriptures quote from the Book of Sirach including the Song of Miriam in Luke 1:52 (cf. Sirach 10:14); the description of the seed in Mark 4:5, 16–17 (cf. Sirach 40:15); the statement by Yeshua in Matthew 7:16,20 (cf. Sirach 27:6); and Ya’aqov (James) 1:19 (cf. Sirach 5:11).

Sirach 22:1-27

22:1 A slothful man is compared to a stone that is defiled. Everyone will hiss at him in his disgrace. 2 A slothful man is compared to the filth of a dunghill. Every man who takes it up will shake out his hand. 3 An uninstructed child is a disgrace to his father, and a foolish daughter is born to his loss. 4 A prudent daughter will inherit a man of her own. She who brings shame is the grief of her father. 5 She who is impudent brings shame upon father and man. She will be despised by both of them. 6 Unseasonable discourse is as music in mourning, but stripes and correction are wisdom in every season. 7 He who teaches a fool is as one who glues a potsherd together, even as one who wakes a sleeper out of a deep sleep. 8 He who teaches a fool is as one who teaches a man who slumbers. In the end he will say, “What is it?” 9 [… …] 10 [… …] 11 Weep for the dead, for he lacks light. Weep for a fool, for he lacks understanding. Weep more sweetly for the dead, because he has found rest, but the life of the fool is worse than death. 12 Mourning for the dead lasts seven days, but for a fool and an impious man, all the days of his life. 13 Don’t talk much with a foolish man, and don’t go to one who has no understanding. Beware of him, lest you have trouble and be defiled in his onslaught. Turn away from him, and you will find rest, and you won’t be wearied in his madness. 14 What would be heavier than lead? What is its name, but “Fool”? 15 Sand, salt, and a mass of iron is easier to bear than a man without understanding. 16 Timber girded and bound into a building will not be released with shaking. So a heart established in due season on well advised counsel will not be afraid. 17 A heart settled upon a thoughtful understanding is as an ornament of plaster on a polished wall. 18 Fences set on a high place will not stand against the wind; so a fearful heart in the imagination of a fool will not stand against any fear. 19 He who pricks the eye will make tears fall. He who pricks the heart makes it show feeling. 20 Whoever casts a stone at birds scares them away. He who insults a friend will dissolve friendship. 21 If you have drawn a sword against a friend, don’t despair, for there may be a way back. 22 If you have opened your mouth against a friend, don’t be afraid, for there may be reconciliation, unless it is for insulting, arrogance, disclosing of a secret, or a treacherous blow— for these things any friend will flee. 23 Gain trust with your neighbor in his poverty, that in his prosperity you may have gladness. Stay steadfast to him in the time of his affliction, that you may be heir with him in his inheritance. 24 Before fire is the vapor and smoke of a furnace, so insults precede bloodshed. 25 I won’t be ashamed to shelter a friend. I won’t hide myself from his face. 26 If any evil happens to me because of him, everyone who hears it will beware of him. 27 Who will set a watch over my mouth, and a seal of shrewdness upon my lips, that I may not fall from it, and that my tongue may not destroy me?

Related Scriptures

Exodus 19:1 In the third new moon after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 When they had departed from Rephidim, and had come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mountain. 3 Moses went up to Elohim, and YHWH called to him out of the mountain, saying, “This is what you will tell the house of Jacob, and tell the sons of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and guard my covenant, then you will be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the land is mine; 6 and you will be to me a reign of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you will speak to the sons of Israel.”

Deuteronomy 7:6 For you are a holy people to YHWH your Elohim. YHWH your Elohim has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples who are on the face of the land. 7 YHWH didn’t set his love on you nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all peoples; 8 but because YHWH loves you, and because he desires to guard the oath which he swore to your fathers, YHWH has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that YHWH your Elohim himself is Elohim, the faithful Elohim, who guards covenant and loving kindness to a thousand generations with those who love him and guard his commandments, 10 and repays those who hate him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack to him who hates him. He will repay him to his face. 11 You will therefore guard the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances which I command you today, to do them. 12 It will happen, because you listen to these ordinances and guard and do them, that YHWH your Elohim will guard with you the covenant and the loving kindness which he swore to your fathers.

Deuteronomy 10:12 Now, Israel, what does YHWH your Elohim require of you, but to fear YHWH your Elohim, to walk in all his ways, to love him, and to serve YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 to guard the commandments of YHWH and statutes, which I command you today for your good? 14 Behold, to YHWH your Elohim belongs the heavens, the heavens of the heavens, and the land, with all that is therein. 15 Only YHWH had a delight in your fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all peoples, as it is today. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked.

Deuteronomy 14:1 You are the children of YHWH your Elohim. You will not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. 2 For you are a holy people to YHWH your Elohim, and YHWH has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples who are on the face of the land. 3 You will not eat any abominable thing.

Psalms 135:1 Halleluyah! Praise Yah’s name! Praise him, you servants of YHWH, 2 you who stand in the house of YHWH, in the courts of our Elohim’s house. 3 Praise Yah, for YHWH is good. Sing praises to his name, for that is pleasant. 4 For Yah has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel for his own possession.

Malachi 3:13 “Your words have been harsh against me,” says YHWH. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve Elohim,’ and ‘What profit is it that we have followed his instructions and that we have walked mournfully before YHWH of Armies? 15 Now we call the proud happy; yes, those who work wickedness are built up; yes, they try Elohim, and escape.’ 16 Then those who feared YHWH spoke one with another; and YHWH listened and heard, and a book of memory was written before him for those who feared YHWH and who honored his name. 17 They will be mine,” says YHWH of Armies, “my own possession in the day that I make. I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him. 18 Then you will return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves Elohim and him who doesn’t serve him.

Titus 2:11 For the grace of Elohim has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly coveting, we would live soberly, righteously, and pious in this present age; 13 looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great Elohim and Savior, Yeshua the Messiah, 14 who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works. 15 Say these things and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one despise you.

Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an emissary of Messiah Yeshua through the will of Elohim, to the holy ones who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Messiah Yeshua: 2 Grace to you and peace from Elohim our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. 3 Blessed be the Elohim and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Messiah, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love, 5 having predestined us for adoption as children through Yeshua the Messiah to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire, 6 to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved. 7 In him we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him 10 to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Messiah, the things in the heavens and the things on the land, in him. 11 We were also assigned an inheritance in him, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel of his will, 12 to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Messiah. 13 In him you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the release by ransom of the procurement, to the praise of his glory.

1 Thessalonians 5:1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that anything be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. 3 For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman. Then they will in no way escape. 4 But you, brothers, aren’t in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief. 5 You are all children of light and children of the day. We don’t belong to the night, nor to darkness, 6 so then let’s not sleep, as the rest do, but let’s watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep in the night; and those who are drunk are drunk in the night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let’s be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For Elohim didn’t appoint us to wrath, but to the procurement of salvation through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, 10 who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. 11 Therefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as you also do.

2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and our gathering together to him, we ask you 2 not to be quickly shaken in your mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter as if from us, saying that the day of Messiah has already come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself against all that is called Elohim or that is worshiped, so that he sits as Elohim in the temple of Elohim, setting himself up as Elohim. 5 Don’t you remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? 6 Now you know what is restraining him, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness already works. Only there is one who restrains now, until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the manifestation of his coming; 9 even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 Because of this, Elohim sends them a powerful delusion, that they should believe a lie, 12 that they all might be judged who didn’t believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 13 But we are bound to always give thanks to Elohim for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because Elohim chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which he called you through our Good News, for the procurement of the glory of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold the traditions which you were taught by us, whether by word or by letter. 16 Now our Lord Yeshua the Messiah himself, and Elohim our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.

Hebrews 10:32 But remember the former days, in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: 33 partly, being exposed to both reproaches and oppressions, and partly, becoming partakers with those who were treated so. 34 For you both had compassion on me in my chains and joyfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an enduring one in the heavens. 35 Therefore don’t throw away your boldness, which has a great reward. 36 For you need endurance so that, having done the will of Elohim, you may receive the promise. 37 “In a very little while, he who comes will come and will not wait. 38 But the righteous one will live by faith. If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the procurement of the soul.

1 Peter 2:1 Putting away therefore all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babies, long for the pure spiritual milk, that with it you may grow, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 4 Come to him, a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by Elohim, precious. 5 You also as living stones are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual slaughters, acceptable to Elohim through Yeshua the Messiah. 6 Because it is contained in Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, chosen and precious. He who believes in him will not be disappointed.” 7 For you who believe therefore is the honor, but for those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” 8 and, “a stumbling stone and a rock of offense.” For they stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a procurement that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 In the past, you were not a people, but now are Elohim’s people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 11 Beloved, I beg you as foreigners and pilgrims to abstain from fleshly coveting which war against the soul, 12 having good behavior among the nations, so in that of which they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good works and glorify Elohim in the day of inspection.

Exodus 20:25 If you make me an altar of stone, you will not build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it. 26 You will not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it.'”

Joshua 8:30 Then Joshua built an altar to YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, on Mount Ebal, 31 as Moses the servant of YHWH commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the Torah of Moses: an altar of uncut stones, on which no one had lifted up any iron. They offered burnt offerings on it to YHWH and slaughtered peace offerings. 32 He wrote there on the stones a copy of Moses’ law, which he wrote in the face of the sons of Israel. 33 All Israel, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who carried the ark of the covenant of YHWH, the foreigner as well as the native; half of them in front of Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of YHWH had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel. 34 Afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded which Joshua didn’t read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the foreigners who were among them.

Romans 11:11-36 (T)

11:11 I ask then, did they stumble that they might fall? May it never be! But by their fall salvation has come to the Nations, to provoke them to zeal. 12 Now if their fall is the riches of the world, and their loss the riches of the Nations, how much more their fullness! 13 For I speak to you who are Nations. Since then as I am an emissary to Nations, I glorify my service, 14 if by any means I may provoke to zeal those who are my flesh, and may save some of them. 15 For if the rejection of them is the reconciling of the world, what would their acceptance be, but life from the dead? 16 If the first fruit is holy, so is the lump. If the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the root and of the richness of the olive tree, 18 don’t boast over the branches. But if you boast, remember that it is not you who support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.” 20 True; by their unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by your faith. Don’t be conceited, but fear; 21 for if Elohim didn’t spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 See then the goodness and severity of Elohim. Toward those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in his goodness; otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 They also, if they don’t continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for Elohim is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of that which is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more will these, which are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? 25 For I don’t desire you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you won’t be wise in your own conceits, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Nations has come in, 26 and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, “There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. 27 This is my covenant with them, when I will take away their sins.” (cf. Isaiah 59:20-21; 27:9; Jeremiah 31:33-34) 28 Concerning the Good News, they are enemies for your sake. But concerning the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sake. 29 For the gifts and the calling of Elohim are irrevocable. 30 For as you in time past were disobedient to Elohim, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that by the mercy shown to you they may also obtain mercy. 32 For Elohim has bound all to disobedience, that he might have mercy on all. 33 Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of Elohim! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” (cf. Isaiah 40:13) 35 “Or who has first given to him, and it will be repaid to him again?” (cf. Job 41:11) 36 For of him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen.

Related Additional Readings​

Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:9 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)

Composed in Talmudic Israel (c.150 – c.250 AD). Targum Pseudo-Jonathan is a western targum (translation) of the Torah (Pentateuch) from the land of Israel (as opposed to the eastern Babylonian Targum Onkelos). Its correct title was originally Targum Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Targum), which is how it was known in medieval times. But because of a printer’s mistake it was later labeled Targum Jonathan, in reference to Jonathan ben Uzziel. Some editions of the Pentateuch continue to call it Targum Jonathan to this day. Most scholars refer to the text as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan. This targum is more than a mere translation. It includes much Aggadic material collected from various sources as late as the Midrash Rabbah as well as earlier material from the Talmud. It is effectively a combination of a commentary and a translation. In the portions where it is pure translation, it often agrees with the Targum Onkelos. The date of its composition is disputed. It cannot have been completed before the Arabic conquest as it refers to Mohammad’s wife Fatimah, but might have been initially composed in the 4th Century AD. However, some scholars date it in the 14th Century.

Chapter 26 And when you have entered into the land which the Lord thy Elohim giveth you for an inheritance, and you possess and dwell in it; you will take of the earliest first fruits which are ripe at the beginning, of all the produce of the ground which thou ingatherest from the land which the Lord your Elohim hath given you, and put them into a basket, and go unto the place which the Lord your Elohim will choose that His Shekinah may dwell there. And you will put crowns upon the baskets, hampers, and paper cases, and bring them to the priest appointed to be the chief priest in those days, and will say to him: We acknowledge this day before the Lord thy Elohim that we have come into the land which the Lord sware unto our fathers to give us. [JERUSALEM. And thou shalt come to the priest who will be appointed the chief priest in those days, and say to him: We give glory and thanks this day before the Lord thy Elohim, that we have come into the land which the Word of the Lord did covenant unto our fathers to give us.] And the priest will receive the basket of early fruits from thy hand, and take, bring, uplift, and lower it, and afterward lay it down before the altar of the Lord your Elohim. And you will respond, and say before the Lord your Elohim: Our father Jakob went down into Aram Naharia at the beginning, and (Laban) sought to destroy him; but the Word of the Lord saved him out of his hands. And afterwards went he down into Mizraim and sojourned there, a few people; but there did he become a great people, and mighty and many. But the Mizraee evil‑treated and afflicted us, and laid heavy bondage upon us. But we prayed before the Lord our Elohim, and the Lord hearkened to our prayers, our affliction and our travail; and our oppression was manifest before Him. And the Lord brought us out of Mizraim with a mighty hand and uplifted arm, and with great visions, signs, and wonders, and brought us into this place, and gave us this land, a land of fruits rich as milk and sweet as honey. Now, therefore, behold, I have brought the early firstlings of the fruit of the land which thou hast given me, O Lord. And thou shalt lay them before the Lord thy Elohim, and worship, and rejoice in all the good which the Lord thy Elohim giveth thee, thou and the men of thy house, and enjoy and eat, you, the Levites and the sojourners who are among you. When you make an end of tything all the tenths of your produce in the third year, which is the year of release, you will give the first tenth to the Levites, the second tenth, which is the tythe of the poor, to the stranger, the orphan, and widow, that they may eat in your cities, and be satisfied. [JERUSALEM. When you finish tything all the tenths of your produce in the third year, which is the year of the tythe for the poor, you will give the first tenth to the Levites, and the poor’s tenth to the stranger, the orphan, and widow, that they may eat in your cities, and be satisfied.] But the third tenth you will bring up, and eat before the Lord thy Elohim, and thou shalt say: Behold, we have set apart the consecrations from the house, and have also given the first tenth to the Levites, the second tenth to the strangers, the fatherless, and the widow, according to the commandment which Thou hast commanded me. I have not transgressed one of Thy commandments, nor have I forgotten. I have not eaten of it in the days of my mourning, nor separated from it for the unclean, neither have I given of it a covering for the soul of the dead: we have hearkened to the voice of the Word of the Lord; I have done according to all that Thou hast commanded me. [JERUSALEM. We have not eaten thereof in (our) mourning, nor separated therefrom for the unclean, nor given of it for the defiled soul; for we have obeyed the voice of the Word of the Lord our Elohim; we have done according to all that Thou hast commanded us.] Look down from the heavens, from the habitation of the glory of Thy holiness, and bless Thy people Israel, and the land which Thou hast given to us, as Thou didst swear unto our fathers, a land of fruits rich as milk and sweet as honey. [JERUSALEM. Look down, we beseech Thee, from the heavens, the habitation of Thy glory and Thy holiness, and bless Thy people Israel, and the land which Thou hast given us, as Thou didst swear unto our fathers (to give us a land) producing good fruits, pure as milk, sweet and delicious as honey.] This day doth the Lord our Elohim command you to perform these statutes and judgments, which you will observe and do with all your heart and with all your soul. The Lord have you confessed with one confession in the world this day; for so it is written, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our Elohim is one Lord; that He may be thy Elohim, and that thou mayest walk in the ways that are right before Him, and keep His statutes, commandments, and judgments, and be obedient unto His Word. And the Word of the Lord doth acknowledge (or honour) you with one acknowledgment in the world this day; as it is written, Who is as Thy people Israel, a peculiar people upon the earth, to be to Him a people beloved, as He hath said unto you, and that you may obey all His commandments? [JERUSALEM. You have chosen the Word of the Lord to be King over you this day, that He may be your Elohim. But the Word of the Lord becometh the King over you for His Name’s sake, as over a people beloved as a treasure, as He hath spoken to you, that you may obey all His commandments.] And He will set you on high, and exalt you above all the peoples He hath made in greatness, and with a name of glory and splendour, that you may be a holy people before the Lord your Elohim, as He hath spoken.

Chapter 27 And Mosheh and the elders of Israel instructed the people, saying: Observe all the commandments which I command you this day. And it will be on the day that you pass over the Jordana into the land which the Lord your Elohim giveth you, that you will erect for you great stones, and plaster them with lime; and thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when you go over to enter the land which the Lord your Elohim giveth you, a land whose fruits are rich as milk and producing honey, as the Lord Elohim of your fathers hath said to you. When you pass over Jordana, you will erect the stones that I command you on the mountain of Ebal, and plaster them with lime; and you will build there an altar before the Lord your Elohim, an altar of stone, not lifting up iron upon it. With perfect stones ye will build an altar to the Lord your Elohim, and offer slaughters upon it before the Lord your Elohim. And you will immolate the consecrated victims, and eat there, and rejoice before the Lord your Elohim. And upon the stones you will write all the words of this law with writing deeply (engraven) and distinct, which will be read in one language, but will be interpreted in seventy languages. [JERUSALEM. And you will write upon the stones all the glorious words of this law in writing deep and plain, to be well read, and to be interpreted in seventy tongues.] And Mosheh and the priests, the sons of Levi, spake with all the people, saying: Listen, O Israel, and hear: This day are you chosen to be a people before the Lord your Elohim. Hearken, therefore, to the Word of the Lord your Elohim, and perform His commandments which I command you today. And Mosheh instructed the people that day, saying: These tribes will stand to bless the people on the mountain of Gerezim when you have passed the Jordan,‑Shemeon, Levi, Jehudah, Issakar, Joseph, and Benjamin; and these tribes will stand (to pronounce) the curses on the mountain of Ebal,‑Reu­ben, Gad, Asher, Zebulon, Dan, and Naphtali. And the Levites proclaimed and said to every man of Israel with a high voice: Six tribes will stand on Mount Gerezim, and six on Mount Ebal; and the ark, the priests, and Levites in the midst. In blessing they will turn their faces towards Mount Gerezim, and say: Blessed will be the man who maketh not an image or form, or any similitude which is an abomination before the Lord, the work of the craftsman’s hand, and who placeth not such in concealment. In cursing, they will turn their faces toward Mount Ebal, and say: Accursed be the man who maketh an image, figure, or any similitude which is an abomination before the Lord, the work of the craftsman’s hand, or who placeth such in concealment. And all of them will respond together, and say, Amen. Accursed is he who contemneth the honour of his father or his mother. And all of them will answer together, and say, Amen. Accursed is he who will transfer the boundary of his neighbour. And all of them will answer together, and say, Amen. Accursed is he who causeth the pilgrim, who is like the blind, to wander from the way. And all of them will answer together, and say, Amen. [JERUSALEM. Six tribes of them will stand on Mount Gerezim, and six tribes on Mount Ebal. And the ark, with the priests and Levites in the midst. And all Israel, here and there, turning their faces towards Mount Gerezim, will open their mouth in benediction: Blessed be the man who hath not made an image, or a figure, or any similitude which the Lord hateth, and which is an abomination before Him, (being) the work of man’s band, and who bath not hidden such. But in pronouncing the curses let them turn their faces toward Mount Ebal, and say: Accursed be the man who will make an image, or figure, or any similitude which the Lord hateth and which is an abomination to Him, the work of man’s hands; or the man who hath concealed such. And all the people will answer them, and say, Amen. Accursed be the man who changeth the bound mark. Accursed be the man who maketh the wayfarer, who is like the blind, to wander from the way. And all the people will answer, and say, Amen.] Accursed be he who perverteth the judgment of the stranger, the widow, and the fatherless. And all will answer together, and say, Amen. Accursed is he who lieth with his father’s wife, because he uncovereth his father’s skirt. And all will answer together, and say, Amen. Accursed is be who lieth with a beast. And all will answer together, and say, Amen. Accursed is he who lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father or mother. And all will answer together, and say, Amen. Accursed is he who will lie with his mother‑in‑law. And all will answer together, and say, Amen. [JERUSALEM. Accursed is he who lieth with his mother‑in‑law. And all will answer together, and say, Amen.] Accursed is he who attacketh his neighbour with slander in secret. And all will answer together, and say, Amen. Accursed is he who receiveth hire to kill and to shed innocent blood. And all will answer together, and say, Amen. The twelve tribes, each and every, will pronounce the blessings altogether, and the curses altogether. In blessing, they will turn their faces (in pronouncing) word by word towards Mount Gerezim, and will say: Blessed is the man who confirmeth the words of this law to perform them. In cursing, they will turn their faces towards Mount Ebal, and say: Accursed is the man who confirmeth not the words of this law to perform them. And all will answer together, and say, Amen. These words were spoken at Sinai, and repeated in the tabernacle of ordinance, and (again) the third time on the plains of Moab, in twelve sentences (words), as the word of every tribe; and each several commandment (was thus) ratified by thirty and six adjurations.

Chapter 28 And it will be, if you will diligently hearken to the Word of the Lord your Elohim, to observe and perform all the commandments which I command you this day, that the Lord your Elohim will set you on high, and exalt you above all the nations of the earth; and all these blessings will come upon you, and abide with you, for that you will have hearkened to the Lord your Elohim. Blessed will you be in the city, and blessed in the field. Blessed will be the seed of your womb, the fruits of your ground, the oxen of your herd, and the flocks of your sheep. Blessed will be the basket of your first fruits, and the first cakes of your flour. Blessed will you be in your coming in to your houses of instruction, and blessed will you be when you go out to your affairs. [JERUSALEM. Blessed will you be in the baskets of your first fruits, and in your wheaten cakes. Blessed will you be when you go in to your houses of instruction, and blessed when you go out of them.] The Word of the Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to hurt you, to be broken before you. By one way they will come out to fight against you, but seven ways they will be dispersed, I fleeing before you. The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your treasuries, and on all that you put your hands unto, and will bless you in the land which the Lord your Elohim giveth you. The Word of the Lord will establish you to be a holy people before Him, as He hath said unto you, when you guard the commandments of the Lord your Elohim, and walk in the ways that are right before Him. And all the nations of the earth will see that the Name is written by (His own) appointment on the tephillin that are upon thee, and will be afraid of thee. And the Word of the Lord will make thee to abound in good, in the seed of thy womb, and the increase of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord hath promised to thy fathers.– Four keys are in the hand of the Lord of all the world, which He hath not delivered into the hands of any secondary power: the key of life, and of the tombs, and of food, and of rain; and thus did Mosheh the prophet speak:– The Lord will open to you His good treasure which is with Him in the heavens, and will give you the rain of your land in its season; the early in Marchesvan, and the latter in Nisan; and will bless you in all the works of your hands; and you will lend to many peoples, but will have no need to borrow. And the Word of the Lord will appoint you to be kings and not subjects, and to be ennobled and not abased, when you have hearkened to the commandments of the Lord your Elohim which I command you this day to keep and perform. Decline not from any of these words that I teach you today either to the right or the left, in walking after the idols of the Nations to serve them. When Mosheh the prophet began to pronounce the words of threatening the earth trembled, the heavens were moved, the sun and moon were darkened, the stars withdrew their beams, the fathers of the world cried from their sepulchres, while all creatures were silent, the very trees waved not their branches. The fathers of the world answered and said, Woe to our children should they sin, and bring these maledictions upon them; for how will they bear them? lest destruction be executed on them, and no merit of ours protect, and there be no man to stand and intercede on their behalf! Then fell the Bath‑kol from the high the heavens, and said, Fear not, ye fathers of the world; if the merit of all generations should fail, yours will not; and the covenant which I have confirmed with you will not be annulled, but will (still) overshadow them. Mosheh the prophet answered and said, Whomsoever I threaten I threaten conditionally, saying, If you hearken not to the Word of the Lord your Elohim in neither observing nor doing all my commandments and statutes which I command you this day, then will all these maledictions come upon and cleave unto you. Accursed will you be in the city and in the field. Accursed will be the basket of your first fruits, and the first cakes of your flour. Accursed the children of your wombs, the fruits of your ground, the oxen of your herds, and the sheep of your flocks. Accursed will you be in your going into the houses of your theatres, and the places of your public shows, to make void the words of the law; and accursed will you be in your coming out to your worldly affairs. The Word of the Lord will send forth curses among you to curse your wealth, and confusion to confound your prosperity, and vexation with all that you put your hands to do, until He hath undone you, and you perish soon on account of the wickedness of your doings when you have forsaken My worship. The Word of the Lord will make the pestilence to cleave to you, to consume you from off the land which you are going to inherit. The Word of the Lord will smite you with abscess and inflammation, and fire in the bones that will burn up the marrow, and with fearful imaginations in the thoughts of the heart; and with the naked sword, and with blasting, and the jaundice of Macedonia, which will follow you to your beds, until you are destroyed. And the heavens above you will be as brass which sweateth, but that will not yield you any dew or rain; and the ground under you be as iron which sweateth not. nor maketh green the trees, nor yieldeth spiceries, fruits, nor herbs. After the rain which cometh down on the earth, the Lord will send a wind that will drive dust and ashes upon the herbage of your fields; and calamity will fall upon you from the heavens, until you are consumed. The Word of the Lord will cause you to be broken before your enemies: by one way you will go out to battle, but by seven ways will you flee confounded before them, to become an execration in all the reigns of the earth. And your carcases will be cast out to be meat for all the fowls of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth, and no one will scare them away from your corpses. [JERUSALEM. And no one will drive them away.] And the Word of the Lord will smite you with the ulcers with which the Mizraee were smitten, and with haemorrhoids that blind the sight, and with blotches, and with erysipelas, from which you will not be able to be healed. [JERUSALEM. The Word of the Lord will smite you with the ulcer of Mizraim, and with haemorrhoids, and with the blotch, and with scurvy, which cannot be healed.] The Word of the Lord will smite you with fearfulness which bewildereth the brain, and with blindness and stupor of heart. And you will seek good counsel for enlargement from your adversities, but there will be none among you to show the truth, so that you will grope in darkness like the blind who have none passing by the road to see how to direct them in the way; nor will you prosper in your ways, but be oppressed and afflicted all the days, without any to deliver. Thou wilt betroth a woman, but another man will have her; thou wilt build a house, but not dwell in it; thou wilt plant a vineyard, but not make it common. Your oxen will be killed, you looking on, but without eating of them; your donkeys will be taken away from before you, but they will not be returned; your sheep will be delivered over to your enemies, and there will for you be no deliverance; your sons and daughters will be given up to another people, and your eyes see it, and grow dim because of them from day to day; and in your hand will be no good work by which you may prevail in prayer before the Lord your Father who is in the heavens, that He may save you. [JERUSALEM. Your sons and daughters will be delivered unto another people, while your eyes behold and fail on account of them all the day; nor will you have the good works to give satisfaction unto Elohim, that He might redeem you.] The fruitage of your ground, and of all your labour, will a people whom thou hast not known devour, and thou shalt be oppressed and trodden down all the days. And you will be maddened by the venge­ance, and shaken by the sight of your eyes that you will see. The Word of the Lord will smite you with a sore ulcer in the knees, because you bent (them) in the matter of the transgression; and in the legs, by which you ran into it; for if you be not converted to the law you cannot be saved, but will be beaten by it from the sole of your feet unto the crown of your bead. The Lord will make you and your king whom you may set over you to go away among a people that neither you nor your fathers have known; and you will carry tribute to peoples who worship idols of wood and stone. And if the thought of your heart be to worship their idols, you will be for astonishment, for proverbs and tales, among the sons of the Nations where the Lord will have scattered you. You will carry much seed into the field, but gather in little, for the locust will eat it. [JERUSALEM. You will carry out, but collect little, for the locust will devour it.] You will plant vineyards and till them, but will not drink the wine nor press out the vintage, because the worm will have consumed it. You will have olive trees in all your borders, but will not be anointed with oil, for your olive trees will fail. [JERUSALEM. But with oil you will not be anointed, for the bloom of your olive trees will be destroyed.] You will beget sons and daughters, but they will yield you no advantage, for they will go into captivity. All the trees and fruits of your land the locusts will destroy. [JERUSALEM. Robbers will take possession of the trees and the fruits of your land.] The uncircumcised who dwelleth among you will rise above you with ascension upon ascension, but you will go downwards by descent after descent. He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he will be the master, and you the servant. And all of these curses will come upon you, and will follow and cleave to you until you have perished, because you would not hearken to the Word of the Lord your Elohim, to observe His commandments and statutes which He had commanded you. And they will be upon you for signs and portents, and upon your children for ever; for that you would not serve before the Lord your Elohim cheerfully, with rightness of heart for the abundance of all good. But you will serve your enemies whom the Word of the Lord will send against you, in hunger, thirst, nakedness, and the want of every good; and they will put an iron yoke upon your necks until it hath worn you away. The Word of the Lord will cause a people to fly upon you from afar, from the ends of the earth, swift as an eagle flieth; a people whose language thou wilt not understand; a people hard in visage, who will not respect the old nor have pity on the young. [JERUSALEM. A people hard in visage, who will not respect the aged nor have mercy on the children.] And they will consume the increase of your cattle and the fruit of your ground till you are wasted away; for they will leave you neither corn, oil, wine, herds, nor flocks, until the time that they have destroyed you. And they will shut you up in your cities until they have demolished your high walls whereby you trusted to be saved in all your land; for they will besiege you in all your cities, in the whole land which the Lord your Elohim gave you. And the children of your wombs will be consumed; for you will eat them in the famine, even the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord your Elohim did give you, by reason of the anguish and oppression wherewith your enemies will oppress you. The man who is gentle and refined among you will look with evil eyes upon his brother, and the woman who reposeth on his bosom, and upon the rest of his children who remain. He will not give to one of them of the flesh of his children which he eateth, because nothing remaineth to him in the anguish and straitness with which I will straiten you in all your cities. She who is delicate and luxurious among you, who hath not ventured to put the sole of her foot upon the ground from tenderness and delicacy, will look with evil eyes upon the husband of her bosom, upon her son and her daughter, and the seed she hath borne; for she will eat them in secret, through the want of all things, by reason of the anguish and oppression with which your enemies will oppress you in your cities. [JERUSALEM. The man who is gentle and most tender among you will look with evil eyes upon his brother, and on the woman of his youth, and on the rest of his children who remain. She who is tender and delicate among you, who hath not attested to walk with her feet upon the ground from delicacy and tenderness, will look with evil eyes on the husband of her youth, and on her son and her daughter.] If you observe not to perform all the commands of this law written in this book, to reverence this glorious and fearful Name, The Lord your Elohim, the Word of the Lord will hide the Holy Spirit from you, when the plagues come upon you and your children, great and continuous plagues which will not leave you, and grievous and continual evils that will grow old upon your bodies; and will turn upon you all the woes which were sent upon the Mizraee before which thou wast afraid, and they will cleave to you; and evils also that are not written in the book of this law will the Word of the Lord stir up against you until you are consumed. And you who were as the stars of the heavens for multitude will be left a few people, because you hearkened not to the Word of the Lord your Elohim. And as the Word of the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so will He rejoice (in sending) against you strange nations to destroy and make you desolate, and you will be uprooted from the land which you are going to possess. And the Lord will disperse you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and you will be tributaries to the worshippers of idols of wood and stone which neither thou nor thy fathers have known. And if your mind be divided to worship their idols, He will send (that) between you and those nations that you will have no repose or rest for the sole of your feet, and will give you there a fearful heart which darkens the eyes and wears out the soul. And your life will be in suspense; you will be in dread day and night, and have no assurance of your life. In the morning you will say, O that it were evening! for afflictions will make the hours of the day longer before you; and at evening you will say, O that it were morning! for afflictions will make the hours of the night longer before you, because of the terror of your heart; for you will be in stupor by a vision of your eyes, which you will see for punishment, and be terrified. And the Word of the Lord will bring you captive to Mizraim in ships through the Sea of Suph, by the way you passed over, of which I said to you, No more will you see it. [JERUSALEM. And the Word of the Lord will cause you to return into Mizraim in galleys, by the way of which I said to you, Ye will see it no more.] And there will you be sold to your enemies, at the beginning for a dear price, as artificers, and afterward at a cheap price, as servants and handmaids, until you be worthless and (be consigned) to unpriced labour, and there be none who will take you.

Chapter 29 These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Mosheh to ratify with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides that covenant which He ratified with them at Horeb. And Mosheh called to all Israel, and said to them: You have seen all the plagues which the Word of the Lord wrought in the land of Mizraim on Pharoh and all his servants, and all the inhabitants of that land; those great trials, signs, and wonders which you saw with your eyes. And the Word of the Lord hath given you a heart not to forget, but to understand; eyes, not to blink, but to see; ears, not to be stopped, but to listen with: yet you have forgotten the law with your heart, and have blinked with your eyes, and have stopped your ears, unto the time of this day. And I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your garments have not become old upon your bodies, nor your shoes worn away from your feet. You have not eaten leavened bread, nor drunk wine new or old; and My law hath been diligently delivered in your schools, that you might be occupied therein, and you might know that I am the Lord your Elohim. And you came to this place; and Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Mathnan came out to meet us in battle array, and we smote them, and subdued their land, and gave it for an inheritance to the tribe of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Menasheh. Keep, therefore, the words of this covenant and perform it, that you may have prosperity in all that you do. [JERUSALEM. And you will guard the words of this covenant and perform them, that you may prosper in all that you do.]

Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus 4.8.22, 4.8.31-32, 4.8.41, 4.8.44-45 (T)

Josephus was born Joseph ben Mattathias in 37 AD in Jerusalem of a priestly and royal family. He excelled in his studies of Jewish law and studied with the Sadducees, Pharisees, and the Essenes, eventually aligning himself with the Pharisees. In 62 AD he went to Rome to free some imprisoned priests. After accomplishing this mission through the intercession of Nero’s wife, Poppaea, he returned to Jerusalem in 65 AD to find the country in revolt against Rome. Josephus shrewdly reinterpreted the Messianic prophecies. He predicted that Vespasian would become the ruler of the ‘entire world’. His prophecy became true in 68 AD when Nero committed suicide and Vespasian became Ceasar. As a result, Josephus was freed; he moved to Rome and became a Roman citizen, taking the Vespasian family name Flavius. Vespasian commissioned Josephus to write a history of the war, which he finished in 78 AD, the Jewish War. His second major work, the Antiquities of the Jews, was completed in 93 AD. The extant manuscripts of the book Antiquities of the Jews contain two references to Yeshua of Nazareth (18.3.3. and 20.9.1.) and one reference to the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist (18.5.2.).

4.8.22. Besides those two tithes, which I have already said you are to pay every year, the one for the Levites, the other for the festivals, you are to bring every third year a third tithe to be distributed to those that want; to women also that are widows, and to children that are orphans. But as to the ripe fruits, let them carry that which is ripe first of all into the temple; and when they have blessed Elohim for that land which bare them, and which he had given them for a possession, when they have also offered those slaughters which the law has commanded them to bring, let them give the first fruits to the priests. But when any one hath done this, and hath brought the tithe of all that he hath, together with those first fruits that are for the Levites, and for the festivals, and when he is about to go home, let him stand before the holy house, and return thanks to Elohim, that he hath delivered them from the injurious treatment they had in Egypt, and hath given them a good land, and a large, and lets them enjoy the fruits thereof; and when he hath openly witnessed that he hath fully paid the tithes [and other dues] according to the laws of Moses, let him entreat Elohim that he will be ever merciful and gracious to him, and continue so to be to all the Hebrews, both by preserving the good things which he hath already given them, and by adding what it is still in his power to bestow upon them.

4.8.31. It is also a duty to show the roads to those who do not know them, and not to esteem it a matter for sport, when we hinder others’ advantages, by setting them in a wrong way.

4.8.32. In like manner, let no one revile a person blind or dumb.

4.8.41. Let this be the constitution of your political laws in time of peace, and Elohim will be so merciful as to preserve this excellent settlement free from disturbance: and may that time never come which may innovate any thing, and change it for the contrary. But since it must needs happen that mankind fall into troubles and dangers, either undesignedly or intentionally, come let us make a few constitutions concerning them, that so being apprised beforehand what ought to be done, you may have salutary counsels ready when you want them, and may not then be obliged to go to seek what is to be done, and so be unprovided, and fall into dangerous circumstances. May you be a laborious people, and exercise your souls in virtuous actions, and thereby possess and inherit the land without wars; while neither any foreigners make war upon it, and so afflict you, nor any internal sedition seize upon it, whereby you may do things that are contrary to your fathers, and so lose the laws which they have established. And may you continue in the observation of those laws which Elohim hath approved of, and hath delivered to you. Let all sort of warlike operations, whether they befall you now in your own time, or hereafter in the times of your posterity, be done out of your own borders: but when you are about to go to war, send embassages and heralds to those who are your voluntary enemies, for it is a right thing to make use of words to them before you come to your weapons of war; and assure them thereby, that although you have a numerous army, with horses and weapons, and, above these, an Elohim merciful to you, and ready to assist you, you do however desire them not to compel you to fight against them, nor to take from them what they have, which will indeed be our gain, but what they will have no reason to wish we should take to ourselves. And if they hearken to you, it will be proper for you to keep peace with them; but if they trust in their own strength, as superior to yours, and will not do you justice, lead your army against them, making use of Elohim as your supreme Commander, but ordaining for a lieutenant under him one that is of the greatest courage among you; for these different commanders, besides their being an obstacle to actions that are to be done on the sudden, are a disadvantage to those that make use of them. Lead an army pure, and of chosen men, composed of all such as have extraordinary strength of body and hardiness of soul; but do you send away the timorous part, lest they run away in the time of action, and so afford an advantage to your enemies. Do you also give leave to those that have lately built them houses, and have not yet lived in them a year’s time; and to those that have planted them vineyards, and have not yet been partakers of their fruits, – to continue in their own country; as well as those also who have betrothed, or lately married them wives, lest they have such an affection for these things that they he too sparing of their lives, and, by reserving themselves for these enjoyments, they become voluntary cowards, on account of their wives.

4.8.44. This was the form of political government which was left us by Moses. Moreover, he had already delivered laws in writing in the fortieth year [after they came out of Egypt], concerning which we will discourse in another book. But now on the following days (for he called them to assemble continually) he delivered blessings to them, and curses upon those that should not live according to the laws, but should transgress the duties that were determined for them to observe. After this, he read to them a poetic song, which was composed in hexameter verse, and left it to them in the holy book: it contained a prediction of what was to come to pass afterward; agreeably whereto all things have happened all along, and do still happen to us; and wherein he has not at all deviated from the truth. Accordingly, he delivered these books to the priest, with the ark; into which he also put the ten commandments, written on two tables. He delivered to them the tabernacle also, and exhorted the people, that when they had conquered the land, and were settled in it, they should not forget the injuries of the Amalekites, but make war against them, and inflict punishment upon them for what mischief they did them when they were in the wilderness; and that when they had got possession of the land of the Canaanites, and when they had destroyed the whole multitude of its inhabitants, as they ought to do, they should erect an altar that should face the rising sun, not far from the city of Shechem, between the two mountains, that of Gerizzim, situate on the right hand, and that called Ebal, on the left; and that the army should be so divided, that six tribes should stand upon each of the two mountains, and with them the Levites and the priests. And that first, those that were upon Mount Gerizzim should pray for the best blessings upon those who were diligent about the worship of Elohim, and the observation of his laws, and who did not reject what Moses had said to them; while the other wished them all manner of happiness also; and when these last put up the like prayers, the former praised them. After this, curses were denounced upon those that should transgress those laws, they, answering one another alternately, by way of confirmation of what had been said. Moses also wrote their blessings and their curses, that they might learn them so thoroughly, that they might never be forgotten by length of time. And when he was ready to die, he wrote these blessings and curses upon the altar, on each side of it; where he says also the people stood, and then slaughtered and offered burnt offerings, though after that day they never offered upon it any other slaughter, for it was not lawful so to do. These are the constitutions of Moses; and the Hebrew nation still live according to them.

4.8.45. On the next day, Moses called the people together, with the women and children, to a congregation, so as the very slaves were present also, that they might engage themselves to the observation of these laws by oath; and that, duly considering the meaning of Elohim in them, they might not, either for favor of their kindred, or out of fear of any one, or indeed for any motive whatsoever, think any thing ought to be preferred to these laws, and so might transgress them. That in case any one of their own blood, or any city, should attry to confound or dissolve their constitution of government, they should take vengeance upon them, both all in general, and each person in particular; and when they had conquered them, should overturn their city to the very foundations, and, if possible, should not leave the least footsteps of such madness: but that if they were not able to take such vengeance, they should still demonstrate that what was done was contrary to their wills. So the multitude bound themselves by oath so to do.