Then he said to the council, ¹  “Men of Israel, ²  pay close attention to ³  what you are about to do to these men.

Instruct ¹  these people as follows: ‘You are about to cross the border of your relatives ²  the descendants of Esau, ³  who inhabit Seir. They will be afraid of you, so watch yourselves carefully.

For if you carefully observe all of these commandments ¹  I am giving you ²  and love the Lord your God, live according to his standards, ³  and remain loyal to him,

he said to them, “Keep in mind all the words I am solemnly proclaiming to you today; you must command your children to observe carefully all the words of this law.

He told the judges, “Be careful what you do, ¹  for you are not judging for men, but for the Lord, who will be with you when you make judicial decisions.

For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship, ¹  I even found an altar with this inscription: ²  ‘To an unknown god.’ Therefore what you worship without knowing it, ³  this I proclaim to you.

Keep his ¹  commandments very carefully, ²  as well as the stipulations and statutes he commanded you to observe.

You must investigate thoroughly and inquire carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done among you, ¹ 

Go west ¹  across the sea to the coasts of Cyprus ²  and see. Send someone east to Kedar ³  and have them look carefully. See if such a thing as this has ever happened:

Now therefore reflect carefully on the recent past, ¹  before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. ² 

And he said to them, “Take care about what you hear. The measure you use will be the measure you receive, ¹  and more will be added to you.

(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing, ¹  holding fast to the tradition of the elders.

Now ¹  one Sabbath when Jesus went to dine ²  at the house of a leader ³  of the Pharisees, ⁴  they were watching ⁵  him closely.

Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, ¹  so that when you see him again you can rejoice ²  and I can be free from anxiety.

Now then, my son, do ¹  exactly what I tell you! ² 

Gather the people – men, women, and children, as well as the resident foreigners in your villages – so they may hear and thus learn about and fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the words of this law.

Watch yourselves carefully! Love the Lord your God! ¹ 

See now, I have opened ¹  my mouth; my tongue in my mouth has spoken. ² 

From the place where he lives he looks carefully at all the earth’s inhabitants.

They carefully plot ¹  against your people, and make plans to harm ²  the ones you cherish. ³