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Deuteronomy 29

29:1 The Covenant Renewed in Moab

These are the words of the covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.
2 Now Moses called all Israel and said to them:"You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land — 3 the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders. 4 Yet the LORD has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day. 5 And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet. 6 You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink, that you may know that I am the LORD your God. 7 And when you came to this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out against us to battle, and we conquered them. 8 We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh. 9 Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.
10 "All of you stand today before the LORD your God: your leaders and your tribes and your elders and your officers, all the men of Israel, 11 your little ones and your wives — also the stranger who is in your camp, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water — 12 that you may enter into covenant with the LORD your God, and into His oath, which the LORD your God makes with you today, 13 that He may establish you today as a people for Himself, and that He may be God to you, just as He has spoken to you, and just as He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
14 "I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone, 15 but with him who stands here with us today before the LORD our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today 16(for you know that we dwelt in the land of Egypt and that we came through the nations which you passed by, 17 and you saw their abominations and their idols which were among them — wood and stone and silver and gold); 18 so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood; 19 and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, 'I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart' — as though the drunkard could be included with the sober.
20 "The LORD would not spare him; for then the anger of the LORD and His jealousy would burn against that man, and every curse that is written in this book would settle on him, and the LORD would blot out his name from under heaven. 21 And the LORD would separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Book of the Law, 22 so that the coming generation of your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, would say, when they see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses which the LORD has laid on it:
23'The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and His wrath.' 24 All nations would say,'Why has the LORD done so to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?' 25 Then people would say: 'Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt; 26 for they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they did not know and that He had not given to them. 27 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against this land, to bring on it every curse that is written in this book. 28 And the LORD uprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.'
29 "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Deuteronomy 30

30:1 The Blessing of Returning to God

"Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God drives you, 2 and you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you. 4 If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. 5 Then the LORD your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. 6 And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
7 "Also the LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. 8 And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and do all His commandments which I command you today. 9 The LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the LORD will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, 10 if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

11 The Choice of Life or Death

"For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.
15 "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

Psalms 36

36:1 Man's Wickedness and God's Perfections

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD.
An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked:There is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes,When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates. 3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;He has ceased to be wise and to do good. 4 He devises wickedness on his bed;He sets himself in a way that is not good;He does not abhor evil.
5 Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens;Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 6 Your righteousness is like the great mountains;Your judgments are a great deep;O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. 8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. 9 For with You is the fountain of life;In Your light we see light.
10 Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,And Your righteousness to the upright in heart. 11 Let not the foot of pride come against me,And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12 There the workers of iniquity have fallen;They have been cast down and are not able to rise.

Psalms 37

37:1 The Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked

A Psalm of David.
Do not fret because of evildoers,Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,And wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good;Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the LORD,And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD,Trust also in Him,And He shall bring it to pass. 6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,And your justice as the noonday.
7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;Do not fret — it only causes harm.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off;But those who wait on the LORD,They shall inherit the earth. 10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,But it shall be no more. 11 But the meek shall inherit the earth,And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The wicked plots against the just,And gnashes at him with his teeth. 13 The Lord laughs at him,For He sees that his day is coming. 14 The wicked have drawn the sword And have bent their bow,To cast down the poor and needy,To slay those who are of upright conduct. 15 Their sword shall enter their own heart,And their bows shall be broken.
16 A little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,But the LORD upholds the righteous.
18 The LORD knows the days of the upright,And their inheritance shall be forever. 19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20 But the wicked shall perish;And the enemies of the LORD,Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.Into smoke they shall vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not repay,But the righteous shows mercy and gives. 22 For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD,And He delights in his way. 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;For the LORD upholds him with His hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old;Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,Nor his descendants begging bread. 26 He is ever merciful, and lends;And his descendants are blessed.
27 Depart from evil, and do good;And dwell forevermore. 28 For the LORD loves justice,And does not forsake His saints;They are preserved forever,But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land,And dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,And his tongue talks of justice. 31 The law of his God is in his heart;None of his steps shall slide.
32 The wicked watches the righteous,And seeks to slay him. 33 The LORD will not leave him in his hand,Nor condemn him when he is judged.
34 Wait on the LORD,And keep His way,And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. 35 I have seen the wicked in great power,And spreading himself like a native green tree. 36 Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more;Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright;For the future of that man is peace. 38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;The future of the wicked shall be cut off.
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;He is their strength in the time of trouble. 40 And the LORD shall help them and deliver them;He shall deliver them from the wicked,And save them,Because they trust in Him.

POETRY IN THE BIBLE

Part 1 of 5

Although ancient Hebrew poetry does not incorporate rhyme and metre as does western literature, there is a distinct difference between prose and poetry in the Bible. Poetry is found in many books of the Bible including Exodus, I Chronicles, Job, Psalms, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, and Revelations. The Psalms especially were written to be sung or chanted usually in antiphonal style. One voice chants a line and a second responds. The most common style of Biblical poetry which is called "parallelism" uses this feature. Three forms of parallelism are:

• Synonymous - The same thought is repeated in the second line: "Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" Psalm 10:1 (NIV)
• Antithetic - The second line contrasts with the first line: "Those the LORD blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be cut off." Psalm 37:22 (NIV)
• Synthetic - Each line adds to the thought: "...what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings, and crowned him with glory and honor." Psalm 8:4-5 (NIV)

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