ו Waw

¹⁰ Now I had stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, as I did the first time, and the Lord listened to me at this time also. It was not his will to destroy you.^{(A) 11} “Go,” the Lord said to me, “and lead the people on their way, so that they may enter and possess the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.”

Fear the Lord

¹² And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you^(B) but to fear^(C) the Lord your God, to walk^(D) in obedience to him, to love him,^(E) to serve the Lord^(F) your God with all your heart^(G) and with all your soul,^{(H) 13} and to observe the Lord’s commands^(I) and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?^(J)

¹⁴ To the Lord your God belong the heavens,^(K) even the highest heavens,^(L) the earth and everything in it.^{(M) 15} Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved^(N) them, and he chose you,^(O) their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today.^{(P) 16} Circumcise^(Q) your hearts,^(R) therefore, and do not be stiff-necked^(S) any longer. ¹⁷ For the Lord your God is God of gods^(T) and Lord of lords,^(U) the great God, mighty and awesome,^(V) who shows no partiality^(W) and accepts no bribes.^{(X) 18} He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow,^(Y) and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.^{(Z) 19} And you are to love^(AA) those who are foreigners,^(AB) for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.^{(AC) 20} Fear the Lord your God and serve him.^(AD) Hold fast^(AE) to him and take your oaths in his name.^{(AF) 21} He is the one you praise;^(AG) he is your God, who performed for you those great^(AH) and awesome wonders^(AI) you saw with your own eyes. ²² Your ancestors who went down into Egypt were seventy in all,^(AJ) and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.^(AK)

Faith and Deeds

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?^(A) Can such faith save them? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.^{(B) 16} If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?^{(C) 17} In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.^(D)

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds,^(E) and I will show you my faith^(F) by my deeds.^{(G) 19} You believe that there is one God.^(H) Good! Even the demons believe that^(I)—and shudder.

²⁰ You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless^[a]?^{(J) 21} Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?^{(K) 22} You see that his faith and his actions were working together,^(L) and his faith was made complete by what he did.^{(M) 23} And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”^[b](N) and he was called God’s friend.^{(O) 24} You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?^{(P) 26} As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.^(Q)