Love Without End, Laws with Purpose

1. “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it, or sells it; he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. 2. If the thief is found breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt of bloodshed for him. 3. If the sun has risen on him, guilt of bloodshed shall be for him; he shall make restitution. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. 4. If the stolen property is found in his hand alive, whether it is ox, donkey, or sheep, he shall pay double. 5. “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be eaten, and lets his animal loose, and it grazes in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field, and from the best of his own vineyard. 6. “If fire breaks out, and catches in thorns so that the shocks of grain, or the standing grain, or the field are consumed; he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution. 7. “If a man delivers to his neighbor money or stuff to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house; if the thief is found, he shall pay double. 8. If the thief isn’t found, then the master of the house shall come near to God, to find out if he hasn’t put his hand to his neighbor’s goods. 9. For every matter of trespass, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any kind of lost thing, about which one says, ‘This is mine,’ the cause of both parties shall come before God. He whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor. 10. “If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies or is injured, or driven away, no man seeing it; 11. the oath of Yahweh shall be between them both, whether he hasn’t put his hand to his neighbor’s goods; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution. 12. But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. 13. If it is torn in pieces, let him bring it for evidence. He shall not make good that which was torn. 14. “If a man borrows anything of his neighbor’s, and it is injured, or dies, its owner not being with it, he shall surely make restitution. 15. If its owner is with it, he shall not make it good. If it is a leased thing, it came for its lease. 16. “If a man entices a virgin who isn’t pledged to be married, and lies with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife. 17. If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins. 18. “You shall not allow a sorceress to live. 19. “Whoever has sex with an animal shall surely be put to death. 20. “He who sacrifices to any god, except to Yahweh only, shall be utterly destroyed. 21. “You shall not wrong an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 22. “You shall not take advantage of any widow or fatherless child. 23. If you take advantage of them at all, and they cry at all to me, I will surely hear their cry; 24. and my wrath will grow hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. 25. “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be to him as a creditor. You shall not charge him interest. 26. If you take your neighbor’s garment as collateral, you shall restore it to him before the sun goes down, 27. for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What would he sleep in? It will happen, when he cries to me, that I will hear, for I am gracious. 28. “You shall not blaspheme God, nor curse a ruler of your people. 29. “You shall not delay to offer from your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. “You shall give the firstborn of your sons to me. 30. You shall do likewise with your cattle and with your sheep. Seven days it shall be with its mother, then on the eighth day you shall give it to me. 31. “You shall be holy men to me, therefore you shall not eat any meat that is torn by animals in the field. You shall cast it to the dogs. 1. “You shall not spread a false report. Don’t join your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness. 2. “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil. You shall not testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice. 3. You shall not favor a poor man in his cause. 4. “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. 5. If you see the donkey of him who hates you fallen down under his burden, don’t leave him, you shall surely help him with it. 6. “You shall not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7. “Keep far from a false charge, and don’t kill the innocent and righteous: for I will not justify the wicked. 8. “You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds those who have sight and perverts the words of the righteous. 9. “You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 10. “For six years you shall sow your land, and shall gather in its increase, 11. but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the animal of the field shall eat. In the same way, you shall deal with your vineyard and with your olive grove. 12. “Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant, and the alien may be refreshed. 13. “Be careful to do all things that I have said to you; and don’t invoke the name of other gods or even let them be heard out of your mouth. 14. “You shall observe a feast to me three times a year. 15. You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it you came out of Egypt), and no one shall appear before me empty. 16. And the feast of harvest, the first fruits of your labors, which you sow in the field; and the feast of ingathering, at the end of the year, when you gather in your labors out of the field. 17. Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord Yahweh. 18. “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread. The fat of my feast shall not remain all night until the morning. 19. The first of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of Yahweh your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. 20. “Behold, I send an angel before you, to keep you by the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21. Pay attention to him, and listen to his voice. Don’t provoke him, for he will not pardon your disobedience, for my name is in him. 22. But if you indeed listen to his voice, and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and an adversary to your adversaries. 23. For my angel shall go before you, and bring you in to the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I will cut them off. 24. You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor follow their practices, but you shall utterly overthrow them and demolish their pillars. 25. You shall serve Yahweh your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. 26. No one will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will fulfill the number of your days. 27. I will send my terror before you, and will confuse all the people to whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28. I will send the hornet before you, which will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before you. 29. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the animals of the field multiply against you. 30. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and inherit the land. 31. I will set your border from the Red Sea even to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. 32. You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. 33. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.” 1. He said to Moses, “Come up to Yahweh, you, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship from a distance. 2. Moses alone shall come near to Yahweh, but they shall not come near. The people shall not go up with him.” 3. Moses came and told the people all Yahweh’s words, and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, “All the words which Yahweh has spoken will we do.” 4. Moses wrote all Yahweh’s words, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the mountain, and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5. He sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of cattle to Yahweh. 6. Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7. He took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, “All that Yahweh has spoken will we do, and be obedient.” 8. Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Look, this is the blood of the covenant, which Yahweh has made with you concerning all these words.” 9. Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up. 10. They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was like a paved work of sapphire stone, like the skies for clearness. 11. He didn’t lay his hand on the nobles of the children of Israel. They saw God, and ate and drank. 12. Yahweh said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain, and stay here, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commands that I have written, that you may teach them.” 13. Moses rose up with Joshua, his servant, and Moses went up onto God’s Mountain. 14. He said to the elders, “Wait here for us, until we come again to you. Behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever is involved in a dispute can go to them.” 15. Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16. Yahweh’s glory settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. The seventh day he called to Moses out of the middle of the cloud. 17. The appearance of Yahweh’s glory was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18. Moses entered into the middle of the cloud, and went up on the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

1. If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. 2. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don’t have love, I am nothing. 3. If I give away all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing. 4. Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, 5. doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; 6. doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7. bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with. 9. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; 10. but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with. 11. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things. 12. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known. 13. But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love. 1. Follow after love, and earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. 2. For he who speaks in another language speaks not to men, but to God; for no one understands; but in the Spirit he speaks mysteries. 3. But he who prophesies speaks to men for their edification, exhortation, and consolation. 4. He who speaks in another language edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the assembly. 5. Now I desire to have you all speak with other languages, but rather that you would prophesy. For he is greater who prophesies than he who speaks with other languages, unless he interprets, that the assembly may be built up. 6. But now, brothers, if I come to you speaking with other languages, what would I profit you, unless I speak to you either by way of revelation, or of knowledge, or of prophesying, or of teaching? 7. Even things without life, giving a voice, whether pipe or harp, if they didn’t give a distinction in the sounds, how would it be known what is piped or harped? 8. For if the trumpet gave an uncertain sound, who would prepare himself for war? 9. So also you, unless you uttered by the tongue words easy to understand, how would it be known what is spoken? For you would be speaking into the air. 10. There are, it may be, so many kinds of sounds in the world, and none of them is without meaning. 11. If then I don’t know the meaning of the sound, I would be to him who speaks a foreigner, and he who speaks would be a foreigner to me. 12. So also you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek that you may abound to the building up of the assembly. 13. Therefore let him who speaks in another language pray that he may interpret. 14. For if I pray in another language, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also. I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. 16. Otherwise if you bless with the spirit, how will he who fills the place of the unlearned say the “Amen” at your giving of thanks, seeing he doesn’t know what you say? 17. For you most certainly give thanks well, but the other person is not built up. 18. I thank my God, I speak with other languages more than you all. 19. However in the assembly I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I might instruct others also, than ten thousand words in another language. 20. Brothers, don’t be children in thoughts, yet in malice be babies, but in thoughts be mature. 21. In the law it is written, “By men of strange languages and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people. Not even thus will they hear me, says the Lord.” 22. Therefore other languages are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to the unbelieving; but prophesying is for a sign, not to the unbelieving, but to those who believe. 23. If therefore the whole assembly is assembled together and all speak with other languages, and unlearned or unbelieving people come in, won’t they say that you are crazy? 24. But if all prophesy, and someone unbelieving or unlearned comes in, he is reproved by all, and he is judged by all. 25. And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed. So he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is among you indeed. 26. What is it then, brothers? When you come together, each one of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has another language, has an interpretation. Let all things be done to build each other up. 27. If any man speaks in another language, let it be two, or at the most three, and in turn; and let one interpret. 28. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the assembly, and let him speak to himself, and to God. 29. Let the prophets speak, two or three, and let the others discern. 30. But if a revelation is made to another sitting by, let the first keep silent. 31. For you all can prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be exhorted. 32. The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, 33. for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace, as in all the assemblies of the saints. 34. Let the wives be quiet in the assemblies, for it has not been permitted for them to be talking except in submission, as the law also says, 35. if they desire to learn anything. “Let them ask their own husbands at home, for it is shameful for a wife to be talking in the assembly.” 36. What!? Was it from you that the word of God went out? Or did it come to you alone? 37. If any man thinks himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him recognize the things which I write to you, that they are the commandment of the Lord. 38. But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant. 39. Therefore, brothers, desire earnestly to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking with other languages. 40. Let all things be done decently and in order.

1. In you, Yahweh, I take refuge. Never let me be disappointed. 2. Deliver me in your righteousness, and rescue me. Turn your ear to me, and save me. 3. Be to me a rock of refuge to which I may always go. Give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. 4. Rescue me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. 5. For you are my hope, Lord Yahweh; my confidence from my youth. 6. I have relied on you from the womb. You are he who took me out of my mother’s womb. I will always praise you. 7. I am a marvel to many, but you are my strong refuge. 8. My mouth shall be filled with your praise, with your honor all day long. 9. Don’t reject me in my old age. Don’t forsake me when my strength fails. 10. For my enemies talk about me. Those who watch for my soul conspire together, 11. saying, “God has forsaken him. Pursue and take him, for no one will rescue him.” 12. God, don’t be far from me. My God, hurry to help me. 13. Let my accusers be disappointed and consumed. Let them be covered with disgrace and scorn who want to harm me. 14. But I will always hope, and will add to all of your praise. 15. My mouth will tell about your righteousness, and of your salvation all day, though I don’t know its full measure. 16. I will come with the mighty acts of the Lord Yahweh. I will make mention of your righteousness, even of yours alone. 17. God, you have taught me from my youth. Until now, I have declared your wondrous works. 18. Yes, even when I am old and gray-haired, God, don’t forsake me, until I have declared your strength to the next generation, your might to everyone who is to come. 19. Your righteousness also, God, reaches to the heavens; you have done great things. God, who is like you? 20. You, who have shown us many and bitter troubles, you will let me live. You will bring us up again from the depths of the earth. 21. Increase my honor, and comfort me again. 22. I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God. I sing praises to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel. 23. My lips shall shout for joy! My soul, which you have redeemed, sings praises to you! 24. My tongue will also talk about your righteousness all day long, for they are disappointed, and they are confounded, who want to harm me.