Israel at Mount Sinai

19 On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they ^(A)came into the wilderness of Sinai. ² They set out from ^(B)Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before ^(C)the mountain, ³ while ^(D)Moses went up to God. ^(E)The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: ^4 (F)‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how ^(G)I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. ⁵ Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be ^(H)my treasured possession among all peoples, for ^(I)all the earth is mine; ⁶ and you shall be to me a ^(J)kingdom of priests and ^(K)a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

⁷ So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. ^8 (L)All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. ⁹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you ^(M)in a thick cloud, that ^(N)the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also ^(O)believe you forever.”

When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, ¹⁰ the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and ^(P)consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them ^(Q)wash their garments ¹¹ and be ready for the third day. For on the third day ^(R)the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹² And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. ^(S)Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. ¹³ No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot;^[a] whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When ^(T)the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” ¹⁴ So Moses ^(U)went down from the mountain to the people and ^(V)consecrated the people; ^(W)and they washed their garments. ¹⁵ And he said to the people, “Be ready for the ^(X)third day; ^(Y)do not go near a woman.”

¹⁶ On the morning of the ^(Z)third day there were ^(AA)thunders and lightnings and ^(AB)a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud ^(AC)trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp ^(AD)trembled. ¹⁷ Then ^(AE)Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Now ^(AF)Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and ^(AG)the whole mountain trembled greatly. ¹⁹ And as the ^(AH)sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and ^(AI)God answered him in thunder. ²⁰ The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord ^(AJ)to look and many of them perish. ²² Also let the priests who come near to the Lord ^(AK)consecrate themselves, lest the Lord ^(AL)break out against them.” ²³ And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ^(AM)‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” ²⁴ And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people ^(AN)break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.” ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them.

Nathan Rebukes David

12 And the Lord sent ^(A)Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, ^(B)“There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had very many flocks and herds, ³ but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms,^[a] and it was like a daughter to him. ⁴ Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” ⁵ Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, ^(C)“As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, ⁶ and he shall restore the lamb ^(D)fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

⁷ Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(E)‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. ⁸ And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. ^9 (F)Why have you despised the word of the Lord, ^(G)to do what is evil in his sight? ^(H)You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and ^(I)have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰ Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ ¹¹ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. ¹² For you did it secretly, ^(J)but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” ^13 (K)David said to Nathan, ^(L)“I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, ^(M)“The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly ^(N)scorned the Lord,^[b] the child who is born to you shall die.” ¹⁵ Then Nathan went to his house.

David's Child Dies

And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he became sick. ¹⁶ David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David ^(O)fasted and went in ^(P)and lay all night on the ground. ¹⁷ And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. ¹⁸ On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” ¹⁹ But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” ²⁰ Then David arose from the earth ^(Q)and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord ^(R)and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. ²¹ Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” ²² He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ^(S)‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ ²³ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, ^(T)but he will not return to me.”

The Cup of the Lord's Wrath

¹⁵ Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: ^(A)“Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. ¹⁶ They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of ^(B)the sword that I am sending among them.”

¹⁷ So I took the cup from the Lord's hand, ^(C)and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: ^18 (D)Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, ^(E)to make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day; ^19 (F)Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people, ²⁰ and ^(G)all the mixed tribes among them; all the kings of ^(H)the land of Uz and all the kings of ^(I)the land of the Philistines (^(J)Ashkelon, ^(K)Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of ^(L)Ashdod); ^21 (M)Edom, ^(N)Moab, and the sons of ^(O)Ammon; ²² all the kings of ^(P)Tyre, all the kings of ^(Q)Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across ^(R)the sea; ^23 (S)Dedan, ^(T)Tema, ^(U)Buz, and all who cut ^(V)the corners of their hair; ²⁴ all the ^(W)kings of Arabia and all the kings of ^(X)the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; ²⁵ all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of ^(Y)Elam, and all the kings of ^(Z)Media; ²⁶ all the kings of ^(AA)the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of ^(AB)Babylon^[a] shall drink.

²⁷ “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(AC)Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of ^(AD)the sword that I am sending among you.’

²⁸ “And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AE)You must drink! ²⁹ For behold, ^(AF)I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, ^(AG)for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the Lord of hosts.’

³⁰ “You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:

^33 (AN)“And those pierced by the Lord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. ^(AO)They shall not be lamented, ^(AP)or gathered, or buried; ^(AQ)they shall be dung on the surface of the ground.

My Help and My Deliverer

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

Traditions and Commandments

7 ^(A)Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes ^(B)who had come from Jerusalem, ² they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were ^(C)defiled, that is, unwashed. ³ (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,^[a] holding to ^(D)the tradition of ^(E)the elders, ⁴ and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.^[b] And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as ^(F)the washing of ^(G)cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.^[c]) ⁵ And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to ^(H)the tradition of ^(I)the elders, ^(J)but eat with ^(K)defiled hands?” ⁶ And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you ^(L)hypocrites, as it is written,

⁸ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

⁹ And he said to them, “You have a fine way of ^(O)rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! ¹⁰ For Moses said, ^(P)‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ^(Q)‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ ¹¹ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)^[d]—

God's Wrath on Unrighteousness

¹⁸ For ^(A)the wrath of God ^(B)is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be ^(C)known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, ^(D)have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,^[a] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they ^(E)became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ^22 (F)Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and ^(G)exchanged the glory of ^(H)the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore ^(I)God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to ^(J)the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ because they exchanged the truth about God for ^(K)a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ^(L)who is blessed forever! Amen.

²⁶ For this reason ^(M)God gave them up to ^(N)dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷ and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, ^(O)men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

²⁸ And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, ^(P)God gave them up to ^(Q)a debased mind to do ^(R)what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³² Though they know ^(S)God's righteous decree that those who practice such things ^(T)deserve to die, they not only do them but ^(U)give approval to those who practice them.