6They devise injustice and say, “We have perfected a secret plan.” For the inner man and the heart are mysterious. 7But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly they will be wounded. 8They will be made to stumble, their own tongues turned against them. All who see will shake their heads. 9Then all mankind will fear and proclaim the work of God; so they will ponder what He has done. 10Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in Him; let all the upright in heart exult.
New Testament·Luke 9:1–27
1Then Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and power to cure diseases. 2And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3“Take nothing for the journey,” He told them, “no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no second tunic. 4Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that area. 5If anyone does not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that town, as a testimony against them.” 6So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere. 7When Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, he was perplexed. For some were saying that John had risen from the dead, 8others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that a prophet of old had arisen. 9“I beheaded John,” Herod said, “but who is this man I hear such things about?” And he kept trying to see Jesus. 10Then the apostles returned and reported to Jesus all that they had done. Taking them away privately, He withdrew to a town called Bethsaida. 11But the crowds found out and followed Him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and He healed those who needed healing. 12As the day neared its end, the Twelve came to Jesus and said, “Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside for lodging and provisions. For we are in a desolate place here.” 13But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.” 14(There were about five thousand men.) He told His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15They did so, and everyone was seated. 16Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples to set before the people. 17They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 18One day as Jesus was praying in private and the disciples were with Him, He questioned them: “Who do the crowds say I am?” 19They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that a prophet of old has arisen.” 20“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” 21Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22“The Son of Man must suffer many things,” He said. “He must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” 23Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27But I tell you truthfully, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”
Old Testament·Deuteronomy 17–18
1You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep with any defect or serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God. 2If a man or woman among you in one of the towns that the LORD your God gives you is found doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God by transgressing His covenant 3and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden— 4and if it is reported and you hear about it, you must investigate it thoroughly. If the report is true and such an abomination has happened in Israel, 5you must bring out to your gates the man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you must stone that person to death. 6On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but he shall not be executed on the testimony of a lone witness. 7The hands of the witnesses shall be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. So you must purge the evil from among you. 8If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose. 9You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case. 10You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the LORD will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you, 11according to the terms of law they give and the verdict they proclaim. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from the decision they declare to you. 12But the man who acts presumptuously, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, or to the judge, must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel. 13Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will no longer behave arrogantly. 14When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” 15you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers. 16But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’ 17He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold. 18When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by carefully observing all the words of this instruction and these statutes. 20Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, and he will not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left, in order that he and his sons may reign many years over his kingdom in Israel.
18The Levitical priests—indeed the whole tribe of Levi—shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They are to eat the offerings made by fire to the LORD; that is their inheritance. 2Although they have no inheritance among their brothers, the LORD is their inheritance, as He promised them. 3This shall be the priests’ share from the people who offer a sacrifice, whether a bull or a sheep: the priests are to be given the shoulder, the jowls, and the stomach. 4You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the first wool sheared from your flock. 5For the LORD your God has chosen Levi and his sons out of all your tribes to stand and minister in His name for all time. 6Now if a Levite moves from any town of residence throughout Israel and comes in all earnestness to the place the LORD will choose, 7then he shall serve in the name of the LORD his God like all his fellow Levites who stand there before the LORD. 8They shall eat equal portions, even though he has received money from the sale of his father’s estate. 9When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery, 11casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead. 12For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD. And because of these detestable things, the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you. 13You must be blameless before the LORD your God. 14Though these nations, which you will dispossess, listen to conjurers and diviners, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so. 15The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him. 16This is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God or see this great fire anymore, so that we will not die!” 17Then the LORD said to me, “They have spoken well. 18I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19And I will hold accountable anyone who does not listen to My words that the prophet speaks in My name. 20But if any prophet dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or to speak in the name of other gods, that prophet must be put to death.” 21You may ask in your heart, “How can we recognize a message that the LORD has not spoken?” 22When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the message does not come to pass or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.