⁴ But among the ones that chew the cud or have divided hooves you are not to eat these:

²⁵ Therefore you are to distinguish the clean animal from the unclean one, and the unclean bird from the clean one. Do not become contaminated^(A) by any land animal, bird, or whatever crawls on the ground; I have set these apart as unclean for you.^(B)

⁴ But you who have remained faithful^[a] to the Lord your God are all alive today. ⁵ Look, I have taught you statutes and ordinances as the Lord my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to possess. ⁶ Carefully follow them, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the peoples. When they hear about all these statutes, they will say, ‘This great nation is indeed a wise and understanding people.’ ⁷ For what great nation is there that has a god near to it as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him?^{(A) 8} And what great nation has righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?^(B)

⁹ “Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves,^(C) so that you don’t forget^(D) the things your eyes have seen and so that they don’t slip from your mind^[b] as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren.^{(E) 10} The day you stood before the Lord your God^(F) at Horeb, the Lord said to me, ‘Assemble the people before me, and I will let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me^(G) all the days they live on the earth and may instruct their children.’ ¹¹ You came near and stood at the base of the mountain,^(H) a mountain blazing with fire^(I) into the heavens and enveloped in a totally black cloud.^{(J) 12} Then the Lord spoke to you from the fire.^(K) You kept hearing the sound of the words, but didn’t see a form; there was only a voice.^{(L) 13} He declared his covenant^(M) to you. He commanded you to follow the Ten Commandments,^(N) which he wrote on two stone tablets.^{(O) 14} At that time the Lord commanded me to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to follow in the land you are about to cross into and possess.

Worshiping the True God

¹⁵ “Diligently watch yourselves—because you did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb— ¹⁶ so you don’t act corruptly and make an idol for yourselves in the shape of any figure: a male or female form, ¹⁷ or the form of any animal on the earth, any winged creature that flies in the sky, ¹⁸ any creature that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the waters under the earth. ¹⁹ When you look to the heavens and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the stars in the sky—do not be led astray to bow in worship to them and serve them.^(P) The Lord your God has provided them for all people everywhere under heaven.^{(Q) 20} But the Lord selected you and brought you out of Egypt’s iron furnace^(R) to be a people for his inheritance, as you are today.

¹⁴ But I said, “Oh, Lord God, I have never been defiled. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts.^(A) And impure meat has never entered my mouth.”^(B)

Faithfulness in Babylon

⁸ Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food^(A) or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief eunuch not to defile himself.^(B)

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul said.

“I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,” he replied.