Reward of Fidelity. 20See, I am sending an angel^j before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. 21Be attentive to him and obey him. Do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your sin. My authority is within him.^* 22If you obey him and carry out all I tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.

23My angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites; and I will wipe them out. 24Therefore, you shall not bow down to their gods and serve them, nor shall you act as they do; rather, you must demolish them and smash their sacred stones.^{* k} 25You shall serve the LORD, your God; then he will bless your food and drink, and I will remove sickness from your midst; 26no woman in your land will be barren or miscarry; and I will give you a full span of life.

27I will have the terror of me precede you, so that I will throw into panic every nation you reach.^l I will make all your enemies turn from you in flight, 28and ahead of you I will send hornets^* to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. 29But I will not drive them all out before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals multiply against you.

1^* When Israel was a child I loved him,^a

out of Egypt^* I called my son.^b

2The more I called them,

the farther they went from me,

Sacrificing to the Baals

and burning incense to idols.

3Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,

who took them in my arms;^c

but they did not know that I cared for them.

4I drew them with human cords,

with bands of love;^*

I fostered them like those

who raise an infant to their cheeks;

I bent down to feed them.^d

5He shall return to the land of Egypt,^e

Assyria shall be his king,

because they have refused to repent.

6The sword shall rage in his cities:

it shall destroy his diviners,

and devour them because of their schemings.

Advice to Presbyters.^* 1So I exhort the presbyters^* among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and one who has a share in the glory to be revealed. 2Tend the flock of God in your midst, [overseeing] not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly.^a 3Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. 4^b And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.^*

Advice to the Community.^* 5Likewise, you younger members,^* be subject to the presbyters. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for:

“God opposes the proud

but bestows favor on the humble.”^c

6So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.^d 7Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.^e

8Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for [someone] to devour.^f 9Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.

Denunciation of the Scribes.^* 38In the course of his teaching he said,^p “Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, 39seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. 40They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.”

The Poor Widow’s Contribution.^* 41He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury.^q Many rich people put in large sums. 42A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. 43Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. 44For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”