The Berean Pursuit
"If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he must repay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.
If a thief is caught breaking in and is beaten to death, no one shall be guilty of bloodshed. But if it happens after sunrise, there is guilt for his bloodshed.
A thief must make full restitution; if he has nothing, he himself shall be sold for his theft. If what was stolen is actually found alive in his possession-whether ox or donkey or sheep-he must pay back double.
If a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard and allows them to stray so that they graze in someone else's field, he must make restitution from the best of his own field or vineyard.
If a fire breaks out and spreads to thornbushes so that it consumes stacked or standing grain, or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make full restitution.
If a man gives his neighbor money or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor's house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double. If the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges to determine whether he has taken his neighbor's property.
In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any lost item that someone claims, 'This is mine,' both parties shall bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges find guilty must pay back double to his neighbor.
If a man gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any other animal to be cared for by his neighbor, but it dies or is injured or stolen while no one is watching, an oath before the LORD shall be made between the parties to determine whether or not the man has taken his neighbor's property. The owner must accept the oath and require no restitution.
But if the animal was actually stolen from the neighbor, he must make restitution to the owner.
If the animal was torn to pieces, he shall bring it as evidence; he need not make restitution for the torn carcass.
If a man borrows an animal from his neighbor and it is injured or dies while its owner is not present, he must make full restitution. If the owner was present, no restitution is required. If the animal was rented, the fee covers the loss.
If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged in marriage and sleeps with her, he must pay the full dowry for her to be his wife. If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, the man still must pay an amount comparable to the bridal price of a virgin.
You must not allow a sorceress to live.
Whoever lies with an animal must surely be put to death.
If anyone sacrifices to any god other than the LORD alone, he must be set apart for destruction.
You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me in distress, I will surely hear their cry. My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will become widows and your children will be fatherless.
If you lend money to one of My people among you who is poor, you must not act as a creditor to him; you are not to charge him interest.
If you take your neighbor's cloak as collateral, return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? And if he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.
You must not hold back offerings from your granaries or vats. You are to give Me the firstborn of your sons. You shall do likewise with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but on the eighth day you are to give them to Me.
You are to be My holy people. You must not eat the meat of a mauled animal found in the field; you are to throw it to the dogs.
"You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.
You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd. And do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.
If you encounter your enemy's stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him.
If you see the donkey of one who hates you fallen under its load, do not leave it there; you must help him with it.
You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits. Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty.
Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
Do not oppress a foreign resident, since you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
For six years you are to sow your land and gather its produce, but in the seventh year you must let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people may eat from the field and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and olive grove.
For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be refreshed, as well as the foreign resident.
Pay close attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.
Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me.
You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed.
You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field.
And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field.
Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD.
You must not offer the blood of My sacrifices with anything leavened, nor may the fat of My feast remain until morning.
Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.
You must not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.
Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to his voice; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My Name is in him.
But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will annihilate them.
You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces.
So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take away sickness from among you. No woman in your land will miscarry or be barren; I will fulfill the number of your days.
I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run. I will send the hornet before you to drive the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.
I will not drive them out before you in a single year; otherwise the land would become desolate and wild animals would multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out ahead of you, until you become fruitful and possess the land.
And I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates. For I will deliver the inhabitants into your hand, and you will drive them out before you. You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods. They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD-you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel's elders-and you are to worship at a distance. Moses alone shall approach the LORD, but the others must not come near. And the people may not go up with him."
When Moses came and told the people all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all responded with one voice: "All the words that the LORD has spoken, we will do."
And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD.
Early the next morning he got up and built an altar at the base of the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent out some young men of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD.
Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people, who replied, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient."
So Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words."
Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was a work like a pavement made of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. But God did not lay His hand on the nobles of Israel; they saw Him, and they ate and drank.
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain and stay here, so that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction."
So Moses set out with Joshua his attendant and went up on the mountain of God. And he said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has a dispute can go to them."
When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered it, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop in the eyes of the Israelites.
Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
O God of my praise,
be not silent.
For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me;
they speak against me with lying tongues.
They surround me with hateful words
and attack me without cause.
In return for my love they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.
They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.
Set over him a wicked man;
let an accuser stand at his right hand.
When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and may his prayer be regarded as sin.
May his days be few;
may another take his position.
May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.
May his children wander as beggars,
seeking sustenance far from their ruined homes.
May the creditor seize all he owns,
and strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
May there be no one to extend kindness to him,
and no one to favor his fatherless children.
May his descendants be cut off;
may their name be blotted out from the next generation.
May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD,
and the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
May their sins always remain before the LORD,
that He may cut off their memory from the earth.
For he never thought to show kindness,
but pursued the poor and needy and brokenhearted,
even to their death.
The cursing that he loved,
may it fall on him;
the blessing in which he refused to delight,
may it be far from him.
The cursing that he wore like a coat,
may it soak into his body like water,
and into his bones like oil.
May it be like a robe wrapped about him,
like a belt tied forever around him.
May this be the LORD's reward to my accusers,
to those who speak evil against me.
But You, O GOD, the Lord,
deal kindly with me for the sake of Your name;
deliver me by the goodness of Your loving devotion.
For I am poor and needy;
my heart is wounded within me.
I am fading away like a lengthening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
My knees are weak from fasting,
and my body grows lean and gaunt.
I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they shake their heads.
Help me, O LORD my God;
save me according to Your loving devotion.
Let them know that this is Your hand,
that You, O LORD, have done it.
Though they curse, You will bless.
When they rise up, they will be put to shame,
but Your servant will rejoice.
May my accusers be clothed with disgrace;
may they wear their shame like a robe.
With my mouth I will thank the LORD profusely;
I will praise Him in the presence of many.
For He stands at the right hand of the needy one,
to save him from the condemners of his soul.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother" (which is the first commandment with a promise), "that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth."
Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve with good will, as to the Lord and not to men, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
And masters, do the same for your slaves. Give up your use of threats, because you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world's darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.
Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know about me and what I am doing. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about us, and that he may encourage your hearts.
Peace to the brothers and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.