Psalm 119:129–136; Deuteronomy 4:1–2; Deuteronomy 4:6–9; Ephesians 6:10–20; Mark 7:14–23 (2024)

Pe

Moses Commands Obedience

1“And now, O Israel, listen to ^wthe statutes and the rules¹ that I am teaching you, and do them, ^xthat you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2^yYou shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

6^aKeep them and do them, for ^bthat will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7For ^cwhat great nation is there that has ^da god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so ^erighteous as all this law that I set before you today?

9^f“Only take care, and ^gkeep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. ^hMake them known to your children and your children’s children—

The Whole Armor of God

10Finally, ^ebe strong in the Lord and in ^fthe strength of his might. 11^gPut on ^hthe whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against ⁱthe schemes of the devil. 12For ^jwe do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against ^kthe rulers, against the authorities, against ^lthe cosmic powers over ^mthis present darkness, against ⁿthe spiritual forces of evil ^oin the heavenly places. 13Therefore ^ptake up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in ^qthe evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, ^rhaving fastened on the belt of truth, and ^shaving put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and, ^tas shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circ*mstances take up ^uthe shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all ^vthe flaming darts of ^wthe evil one; 17and take ^sthe helmet of salvation, and ^xthe sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18praying ^yat all times ^zin the Spirit, ^awith all prayer and supplication. To that end, ^bkeep alert with all perseverance, making ^csupplication for all the saints, 19and ^dalso for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth ^eboldly to proclaim ^fthe mystery of the gospel, 20for which I ^gam an ambassador ^hin chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

What Defiles a Person

14And he called the people to him again and said to them, ^e“Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15^fThere is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”¹ 17And when he had entered ^gthe house and left the people, ^hhis disciples asked him about the parable. 18And he said to them, “Then ⁱare you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19since it enters not his heart ^jbut his stomach, and is expelled?”² (^kThus he declared all foods clean.) 20And he said, ^l“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, ^mmurder, adultery, 22coveting, wickedness, deceit, ⁿsensuality, ^oenvy, ^pslander, ^qpride, ^rfoolishness. 23^sAll these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”