Exodus 22
1 “If a thief is found breaking in at night and is killed, there shall be no guilt for his blood.
2 But if the sun rises on the thief, there shall be guilt if his blood is shed. However, he should make full restitution; but if he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
3 If the thing stolen, from a donkey to a sheep, is found alive in his hand, he shall restore double.
4 If a man allows his field or vineyard to be grazed upon, but lets loose his animal and it feeds in the field of another man, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.
5 “If fire breaks out and catches in thorns, but sets threshing floors, stacked grain, or a field on fire, he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
6 If a man gives his neighbor money or goods to keep, but it is stolen out of the man’s house, the thief shall pay double if he is found.
7 But if the thief is not found, then the lord of the house shall be brought before God; and he shall swear he played no wicked part with regard to any of his neighbor’s deposit.
8 For any kind of trespass, whether it concerns an ox, a donkey, a sheep, or clothing, or any alleged loss of whatever kind, the cause of both parties shall come before God; and he that is convicted by God shall repay double to his neighbor.
9 If anyone gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is injured, or is taken, but no one knows it,
10 then an oath of God shall be between them both, that he is not guilty with regard to the deposit; and the owner of the deposit shall accept this. Thus no compensation shall be made to him.
11 But if, in fact, the deposit is stolen from him, he shall compensate the owner.
12 But if it is torn to pieces by a beast, he shall bring it as evidence and make no compensation.
13 If a man borrows anything from his neighbor and it becomes injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make compensation to the owner.
14 But if its owner was with it, he shall not make compensation; if it was hired, it came for its hire.
Moral Laws
15 “If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife.
16 But if her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money to her father according to the bride-price of virgins.
17 You shall not permit a sorcerer to live.
18 Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.
19 He who sacrifices to any god except to the Lord alone, he shall be put to death.
20 You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.†
21 You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.
22 If you afflict them in any way and they cry out to Me, I will surely hear their cry;
23 and My wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives shall be widows and your children orphans.
24 If you lend money to any poor brother among you, you shall not be hard on him or charge him interest.
25 If you take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down.
26 For that is his only covering, his only garment for covering his nakedness. What will he sleep in? So it will be when he cries to Me, I will hear him, for I am merciful.
27 “You shall not speak against gods, nor curse a ruler of your people.
28 You shall not delay to offer the first of your threshing floor and fruit press. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me.
29 Likewise you shall do with your calf, sheep, and donkey. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.
30 Now you shall be holy men to Me, and you shall not eat meat torn by wild animals in the field; you shall throw it to the dog.
Psalms 63
1 For the End; a psalm by David. †
2 Hear my voice, O God, in my supplication; Deliver my soul from fear of the enemy.
3 You sheltered me from the conspiracy of evildoers, From the multitude of those who work lawlessness,
4 Who sharpen their tongue like a sword; They stretched their bow, a bitter thing,
5 To strike down the blameless man in secret; Suddenly they will shoot him, and not be afraid.
6 They made an evil word strong in themselves; They told of hiding snares; They said, “Who will see them?”
7 They searched out lawlessness; In searching they grew weary. A man shall draw near, and the heart is deep;
8 And God shall be exalted. Their blows became a childish barb,
9 And their tongues were utterly weakened in them. All who saw them were troubled,
10 And every man was afraid. And they proclaimed the works of God, And understood His deeds.
11 The righteous man shall be glad in the Lord, and shall hope in Him; And all the upright in heart shall be praised.
Proverbs of Solomon 13
The Godly and the Ungodly
1 An astute son is obedient to his father, But a disobedient son is for destruction.†
2 A good man eats from the fruits of righteousness, But the souls of the lawless will destroy themselves before their time.†
3 He who guards his mouth keeps his own soul, But he who is hasty with his lips will dismay himself.†
4 Every idle man has desire, But the hands of the courageous are diligent.†
5 A righteous man hates an unrighteous word, But an ungodly man is ashamed and will not have confidence.
Mark 12
The Greatest Commandment
28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”†
29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.
30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.
31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.
33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” But after that no one dared question Him.
David’s Son and Lord
35 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?†
36 For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’
37 Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’ ; how is He then his Son?” And the common people heard Him gladly.
Beware of the Scribes
38 Then He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces,
39 the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts,
40 who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
A Poor Widow Gives All
41 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much.†
42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.
43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury;
44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”