Today I have given you the choice between life and death,
between blessings and curses.
Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make.
Oh, that you would choose life,
so that you and your descendants might live!
You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God,
obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him.
This is the key to your life…
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure
that a man discovered hidden in a field.
In his excitement, he hid it again
and sold everything he owned
to get enough money to buy the field.
To those who listen to my teaching,
more understanding will be given,
and they will have an abundance of knowledge.
But for those who are not listening,
even what little understanding they have
will be taken away from them.
The LORD our God has secrets known to no one.
We are not accountable for them,
but we and our children are accountable forever
for all he has revealed to us…
…as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish
for three days and three nights,
so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth
for three days and three nights.
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you.
Let me teach you,
because I am humble and gentle at heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
You will experience all these blessings
if you obey the LORD your God:
Your towns and your fields will be blessed.
Your children and your crops will be blessed.
The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed.
Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed.
Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed.
“Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting,
or should we keep looking for someone else?”
Jesus told them,
“Go back to John and tell him
what you have heard and seen–
the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life,
and the Good News is being preached to the poor.
