²³ But this thing I did command them: ‘Listen to and obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, so that it may be well with you.’

²⁸ But He said, “On the contrary, blessed (happy, favored by God) are those who hear the word of God and continually observe it.”

A Secure Foundation

⁴⁶ “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not practice what I tell you? ⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and obeys them, I will show you whom he is like:^{(A) 48} he is like a [far-sighted, practical, and sensible] man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and yet could not shake it, because it had been securely built and founded on the rock. ⁴⁹ But the one who has [merely] heard and has not practiced [what I say], is like a [foolish] man who built a house on the ground without any foundation, and the torrent burst against it; and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”