One Center of Worship. 1These are the statutes and ordinances which you must be careful to observe in the land which the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess, throughout the time you live on its soil.^a 2^b Destroy entirely all the places where the nations you are to dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.^c 3Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their asherahs, and chop down the idols of their gods, that you may destroy the very name of them from that place.

4That is not how you are to act toward the LORD, your God. 5Instead,^d you shall seek out the place which the LORD, your God, chooses out of all your tribes and designates as his dwelling to put his name there.^{* e} There you shall go, 6bringing your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and personal contributions, your votive and voluntary offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and flocks.^f 7There, too, in the presence of the LORD, your God, you and your families shall eat and rejoice in all your undertakings, in which the LORD, your God, has blessed you.^g

8You shall not do as we are doing here today, everyone doing what is right in their own sight,^h 9since you have not yet reached your resting place, the heritage which the LORD, your God, is giving you. 10But after you have crossed the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you as a heritage, when he has given you rest from all your enemies round about and you live there in security,ⁱ 11^{* j} then to the place which the LORD, your God, chooses as the dwelling place for his name you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and personal contributions, and every special offering you have vowed to the LORD. 12You shall rejoice in the presence of the LORD, your God, with your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, as well as with the Levite within your gates, who has no hereditary portion with you.

13^k Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings in any place you like, 14but offer them in the place which the LORD chooses in one of your tribal territories; there you shall do what I command you.

1For the leader; According to Jeduthun. A psalm of Asaph.

2I cry aloud to God,

I cry to God to hear me.

3On the day of my distress I seek the Lord;

by night my hands are stretched out unceasingly;^a

I refuse to be consoled.

4When I think of God, I groan;

as I meditate, my spirit grows faint.^b

Selah

5You have kept me from closing my eyes in sleep;

I am troubled and cannot speak.

6I consider the days of old;

the years long past 7I remember.^c

At night I ponder in my heart;

and as I meditate, my spirit probes:

8“Will the Lord reject us forever,^d

never again show favor?

9Has God’s mercy ceased forever?

The promise to go unfulfilled for future ages?

10Has God forgotten how to show mercy,

in anger withheld his compassion?”

Selah

23So they arranged a day with him and came to his lodgings in great numbers. From early morning until evening, he expounded his position to them, bearing witness to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus from the law of Moses and the prophets. 24Some were convinced by what he had said, while others did not believe. 25^* Without reaching any agreement among themselves they began to leave; then Paul made one final statement. “Well did the holy Spirit speak to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah, saying:

26‘Go to this people and say:^g

You shall indeed hear but not understand.

You shall indeed look but never see.

27Gross is the heart of this people;

they will not hear with their ears;

they have closed their eyes,

so they may not see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart and be converted,

and I heal them.’

28^h Let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.” [ 29 ]^*

The Parable of the Sower.^c 4^* When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to him, he spoke in a parable.^* 5“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up. 6Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture. 7Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold.” After saying this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”^d

The Purpose of the Parables.^e 9Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. 10He answered, “Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that ‘they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.’^f

The Parable of the Sower Explained.^* 11^g “This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God.^h 12Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. 13Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of trial. 14As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. 15But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.