15 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and
death, between prosperity and disaster. 16 For I command you this
day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands,
decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this,
you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you
and the land you are about to enter and occupy.
17 “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you
are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, 18 then I warn
you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a
long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.
19 “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! 20 You can make this
choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing
yourself firmly to him. This [a] is the key to your life. And if you love
and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to
give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of
a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and
entrusted his money to them while he was gone. 15 He gave five
bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of
silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then
16 “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest
the money and earned five more. 17 The servant with two bags of
silver also went to work and earned two more. 18 But the servant
who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and
19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called
them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The
servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came
forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags
of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’
21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful
servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so
now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate
22 “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came
forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to
invest, and I have earned two more.’
23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You
have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give
you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said,
‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you
didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid
I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your
26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you
knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t
cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least
I could have gotten some interest on it.’
28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it
to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well
what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have
an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little
they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant
into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.
Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful
hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of
the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
