Va'etchanan, וָאֶתְחַנַּן

Passages

Torah: Deuteronomy 7:1 - 7:11
Gospel: Acts 5:12 - 5:32

Torah — Deuteronomy 7:1 - 7:11

7:1 “When Yahweh your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter into it to take possession of it, and he drives out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations mightier and more numerous than you,

7:2 and Yahweh your God will give them over to you and you defeat them, you must utterly destroy them; you shall not make a covenant with them, and you shall not show mercy to them.

7:3 And you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughter to their son; and you shall not take his daughter for your son.

7:4 For their sons and daughters will cause your son to turn away from following me, and so they will serve other gods, and the anger of Yahweh would be kindled against you, and he would quickly destroy you.

7:5 But this is what you must do to them: you shall break down their altars, and their stone pillars you shall smash, and their Asherah poles you shall hew down, and you shall burn their idols with fire.

7:6 For you are a holy people for Yahweh your God; Yahweh your God has chosen you to be for him a people, a treasured possession from among all the peoples that are on the face of the earth.

7:7 “Yahweh loved you and chose you not because of your great number exceeding all other peoples, for you are fewer than all of the peoples,

7:8 but because of the love of Yahweh for you and because of his keeping of the sworn oath that he swore to your ancestors, Yahweh brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

7:9 So know that Yahweh your God, he is God, the trustworthy God, maintaining his covenant and his loyal love with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments to a thousand generations,

7:10 but repaying those who hate him in their own person to destroy them; he is not slow with those who hate him in their own person; he repays them.

7:11 And so you shall keep the commandment and the rules and the regulations that I am commanding you today to observe them.

7:1 The Lord Will Drive Many Nations Out The Lord your God will bring you into the land. You are going to enter it and take it as your own. He’ll drive many nations out to make room for you. He’ll drive out the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Those seven nations are larger and stronger than you are.

7:2 The Lord your God will hand them over to you. You will win the battle over them. You must completely destroy them. Don’t make a peace treaty with them. Don’t show them any mercy.

7:3 Don’t get married to any of them. Don’t give your daughters to their sons. And don’t take their daughters for your sons.

7:4 If you do, those people will turn your children away from following the Lord. Then your children will serve other gods. The Lord’s anger will burn against you. It will quickly destroy you.

7:5 So here is what you must do to those people. Break down their altars. Smash their sacred stones. Cut down the poles they use to worship the goddess Asherah. Burn the statues of their gods in the fire.

7:6 You are a holy nation. The Lord your God has set you apart for himself. He has chosen you to be his special treasure. He chose you out of all of the nations on the face of the earth to be his people.

7:7 The Lord chose you because he loved you very much. He didn’t choose you because you had more people than other nations. In fact, you had the smallest number of all.

7:8 The Lord chose you because he loved you. He wanted to keep the promise he had made with an oath to your people long ago. That’s why he brought you out of Egypt with a mighty hand. He bought you back from the land where you were slaves. He set you free from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

7:9 So I want you to realize that the Lord your God is God. He is the faithful God. He keeps his covenant for all time to come. He keeps it with those who love him and obey his commands. He shows them his love.

7:10 But he will pay back those who hate him. He’ll destroy them. He’ll quickly pay back those who hate him.

7:11 So be careful to follow the commands, rules and laws I’m giving you today.

Gospel — Acts 5:12 - 5:32

5:12 Many Signs and Wonders Are Performed by the Apostles Now many signs and wonders were being performed among the people through the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico.

5:13 And none of the rest dared to join them, but the people spoke highly of them.

5:14 And even more believers in the Lord were being added, large numbers of both men and women,

5:15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and put them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow would fall on some of them.

5:16 And the people of the towns around Jerusalem also came together, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, who were all being healed.

5:17 The Apostles Arrested and Imprisoned Now the high priest rose up and all those who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy.

5:18 And they laid hands on the apostles and put them in the public prison.

5:19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison and led them out and said,

5:20 “Go and stand in the temple courts and proclaim to the people all the words of this life.”

5:21 And when they heard this, they entered at daybreak into the temple courts and began teaching. Now when the high priest and those with him arrived, they summoned the Sanhedrin—even the whole council of elders of the sons of Israel—and sent to the prison to have them brought.

5:22 But the officers who came did not find them in the prison, and they returned and reported,

5:23 saying, “We found the prison locked with all security and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside!”

5:24 Now when both the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed concerning them, as to what this might be.

5:25 But someone came and reported to them, “Behold, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple courts and teaching the people!”

5:26 Then the captain went with the officers and brought them, not with force (for they were afraid of the people, lest they be stoned by them).

5:27 The Apostles on Trial Before the Sanhedrin And when they had brought them, they made them stand in the Sanhedrin, and the high priest put a question to them,

5:28 saying, “We strictly commanded you not to teach in this name? And behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching! And you are intending to bring upon us the blood of this man!”

5:29 But Peter and the apostles answered and said, “It is necessary to obey God rather than men!

5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.

5:31 This one God has exalted to his right hand as Leader and Savior to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

5:32 And we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

5:12 The Apostles Heal Many People The apostles did many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. All the believers used to meet together at Solomon’s Porch.

5:13 No outsider dared to join them. But the people thought highly of them.

5:14 More and more men and women believed in the Lord. They joined the other believers.

5:15 So people brought those who were sick into the streets. They placed them on beds and mats. They hoped that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he walked by.

5:16 Crowds even gathered from the towns around Jerusalem. They brought their sick. They also brought those who were suffering because of evil spirits. All of them were healed.

5:17 An Angel Opens the Prison Doors The high priest and all his companions were Sadducees. They were very jealous of the apostles.

5:18 So they arrested them and put them in the public prison.

5:19 But during the night an angel of the Lord came. He opened the prison doors and brought the apostles out.

5:20 “Go! Stand in the temple courtyard,” the angel said. “Tell the people all about this new life.”

5:21 Early the next day they did as they had been told. They entered the temple courtyard. There they began to teach the people. The high priest and his companions arrived. They called the Sanhedrin together. The Sanhedrin was a gathering of all the elders of Israel. They sent for the apostles who were in prison.

5:22 The officers arrived at the prison. But they didn’t find the apostles there. So they went back and reported it.

5:23 “We found the prison locked up tight,” they said. “The guards were standing at the doors. But when we opened the doors, we didn’t find anyone inside.”

5:24 When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this report, they were bewildered. They wondered what would happen next.

5:25 Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in prison are standing in the temple courtyard. They are teaching the people.”

5:26 So the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles back. But they didn’t use force. They were afraid the people would kill them by throwing stones at them.

5:27 They brought the apostles to be judged by the Sanhedrin. The high priest questioned them.

5:28 “We gave you clear orders not to teach in Jesus’ name,” he said. “But you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. You want to make us guilty of this man’s death.”

5:29 Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God instead of people!

5:30 You had Jesus killed by nailing him to a cross. But the God of our people raised Jesus from the dead.

5:31 Now Jesus is Prince and Savior. God has proved this by giving him a place of honor at his own right hand. He did it so that he could turn Israel away from their sins and forgive them.

5:32 We are witnesses of these things. And so is the Holy Spirit. God has given the Spirit to those who obey him.”

Passages

Torah — Deuteronomy 7:1 - 7:11

LEB translation

NIRV translation

Gospel — Acts 5:12 - 5:32

LEB translation

NIRV translation