191 When Jehovah thy God hath cut off the nations whose land Jehovah thy God giveth thee, and thou hast dispossessed them, and dwellest in their cities and in their houses, 2 thou shalt separate three cities for thyself in the midst of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess. 3 Thou shalt prepare thee the way, and divide the territory of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, so that every slayer may flee thither. 4 And this is the case of the slayer who shall flee thither that he may live: he that smiteth his neighbour unwittingly, whom he hated not previously; 5 as when he goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron slippeth from the handle, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; such an one shall flee unto one of these cities, and live; 6 lest the avenger of blood pursue the manslayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and smite him mortally; whereas he was not worthy of death, since he hated him not previously. 7 Therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thyself. 8 And if Jehovah thy God enlarge thy border, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers 9 (if thou keep all this commandment to do it, which I command thee this day, to love Jehovah thy God, and to walk in his ways continually), then shalt thou add three cities more for thyself to these three, 10 that innocent blood be not shed in the midst of thy land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and blood come not upon thee. 11 But if a man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and he flee into one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 13 Thine eye shall not spare him; and thou shalt put away innocent blood from Israel, that it may be well with thee.
14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have fixed in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess.
15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, and for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established. 16 If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man to testify against him of an offence; 17 then both the men between whom the controversy is shall stand before Jehovah, before the priests and the judges that shall be in those days; 18 and the judges shall make thorough inquiry; and if the witness be a false witness, and he have testified falsely against his brother, 19 then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother; and thou shalt put evil away from thy midst. 20 And those that remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil in thy midst. 21 And thine eye shall not spare: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
201 When thou goest out to war against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, [and] a people more numerous than thou, thou shalt not fear them; for Jehovah thy God is with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 2 And it shall be, when ye approach unto the battle, that the priest shall draw near and speak unto the people, 3 and shall say unto them, Hear, Israel, ye are approaching this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be afraid of them; 4 for Jehovah your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. 5 And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. 6 And what man is there that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not eaten of it? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it. 7 And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her. 8 And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and shall say, What man is there that is timid and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart melt as well as his heart. 9 And it shall be, when the officers have ended speaking unto the people, that they shall place captains of the hosts at the head of the people.
10 When thou approachest unto a city to fight against it, thou shalt proclaim peace unto it. 11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then all the people that are found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. 12 And if it will not make peace with thee, but will make war with thee, then thou shalt besiege it; 13 and when Jehovah thy God delivereth it into thy hand, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: 14 only the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that shall be in the city, all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take as booty for thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee 15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities that are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations. 16 But of the cities of these peoples which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth, 17 but shalt utterly devote them to destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee; 18 that they teach you not to do according to all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods, so that ye sin against Jehovah your God. 19 When thou shalt besiege a city many days, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by lifting up an axe against them; for thou canst eat of them; and thou shalt not cut them down, for is the tree of the field a man that it should be besieged? 20 Only the trees which thou knowest are not trees for meat, thou mayest destroy and cut them down, and build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it fall.
211 If one be found slain in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess, lying in the field, [and] it be not known who hath smitten him, 2 then thine elders and thy judges shall go forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain; 3 and the city that is nearest unto him that is slain, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer that hath not been wrought with, that hath not drawn in the yoke; 4 and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto an ever-flowing watercourse, which is not tilled, nor is it sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the watercourse; 5 and the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them Jehovah thy God hath chosen to do service unto him, and to bless in the name of Jehovah; and according to their word shall be every controversy and every stroke. 6 And all the elders of that city, that are nearest unto him that is slain, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck is broken in the watercourse, 7 and shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. 8 Forgive thy people Israel, whom thou, Jehovah, hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood to the charge of thy people Israel; and the blood shall be expiated for them. 9 So shalt thou put away innocent blood from thy midst, when thou shalt do what is right in the eyes of Jehovah.
10 When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and Jehovah thy God delivereth them into thy hands, and thou hast taken captives of them, 11 and thou seest among the captives a woman of beautiful form, and hast a desire unto her, and takest her as thy wife; 12 then thou shalt bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; 13 and she shall put the clothes of her captivity from off her, and shall abide in thy house, and bewail her father and mother a full month, and afterwards thou mayest go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. 14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go according to her desire; but thou shalt in no wise sell her for money; thou shalt not treat her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her.
15 If a man have two wives, one beloved, and one hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, and the firstborn son be hers that was hated; 16 then it shall be, in the day that he maketh his sons to inherit what he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, who is the firstborn; 17 but he shall acknowledge as firstborn the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that is found with him; for he is the firstfruits of his vigour: the right of the firstborn is his.
18 If a man have an unmanageable and rebellious son, who hearkeneth not unto the voice of his father, nor unto the voice of his mother, and they have chastened him, but he hearkeneth not unto them; 19 then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; 20 and they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is unmanageable and rebellious, he hearkeneth not unto our voice; he is a profligate and a drunkard. 21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die. And thou shalt put evil away from thy midst; and all Israel shall hear and fear. 22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou have hanged him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day (for he that is hanged is a curse of God); and thou shalt not defile thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
21 And then if any one say to you, Lo, here [is] the Christ, or Lo, there, believe [it] not. 22 For false Christs and false prophets will arise, and give signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 But do ye take heed: behold, I have told you all things beforehand.
24 But in those days, after that distress, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give its light; 25 and the stars of heaven shall be falling down, and the powers which are in the heavens shall be shaken; 26 and then shall they see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory; 27 and then shall he send his angels and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from end of earth to end of heaven.
28 But learn the parable from the fig-tree: when its branch already becomes tender and puts forth the leaves, ye know that the summer is near. 29 Thus also ye, when ye see these things happening, know that it is near, at the doors. 30 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall in no wise pass away, till all these things take place. 31 The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise pass away. 32 But of that day or of that hour no one knows, neither the angels who are in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray, for ye do not know when the time is: 34 [it is] as a man gone out of the country, having left his house and given to his bondmen the authority, and to each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper that he should watch. 35 Watch therefore, for ye do not know when the master of the house comes: evening, or midnight, or cock-crow, or morning; 36 lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37 But what I say to you, I say to all, Watch.
(Read Mark 13:14-23)
The Jews in rebelling against the Romans, and in persecuting the Christians, hastened their own ruin apace. Here we have a prediction of that ruin which came upon them within less than forty years after this. Such destruction and desolation, that the like cannot be found in any history. Promises of power to persevere, and cautions against falling away, well agree with each other. But the more we consider these things, the more we shall see abundant cause to flee without delay for refuge to Christ, and to renounce every earthly object, for the salvation of our souls.
(Read Mark 13:24-27)
The disciples had confounded the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world. This mistake Christ set right, and showed that the day of Christ's coming, and the day of judgment, shall be after that tribulation. Here he foretells the final dissolution of the present frame and fabric of the world. Also, the visible appearance of the Lord Jesus coming in the clouds, and the gathering together of all the elect to him.
(Read Mark 13:28-37)
We have the application of this prophetic sermon. As to the destruction of Jerusalem, expect it to come very shortly. As to the end of the world, do not inquire when it will come, for of that day and that hour knoweth no man. Christ, as God, could not be ignorant of anything; but the Divine wisdom which dwelt in our Saviour, communicated itself to his human soul according to the Divine pleasure. As to both, our duty is to watch and pray. Our Lord Jesus, when he ascended on high, left something for all his servants to do. We ought to be always upon our watch, in expectation of his return. This applies to Christ's coming to us at our death, as well as to the general judgment. We know not whether our Master will come in the days of youth, or middle age, or old age; but, as soon as we are born, we begin to die, and therefore we must expect death. Our great care must be, that, whenever our Lord comes, he may not find us secure, indulging in ease and sloth, mindless of our work and duty. He says to all, Watch, that you may be found in peace, without spot, and blameless.
