The Command to Leave Sinai

33 The Lord said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you ^(A)and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To ^(B)your offspring I will give it.’ ² I will send an ^(C)angel before you, ^(D)and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ^3 (E)Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; ^(F)but I will not go up among you, ^(G)lest I consume you on the way, for you are a ^(H)stiff-necked people.”

⁴ When the people heard this disastrous word, they ^(I)mourned, and ^(J)no one put on his ornaments. ⁵ For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘You are a ^(K)stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would ^(L)consume you. So now ^(M)take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.’” ⁶ Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.

The Tent of Meeting

⁷ Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and ^(N)he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who ^(O)sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. ⁸ Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and ^(P)each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. ⁹ When Moses entered the tent, the ^(Q)pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord^[a] would speak with Moses. ¹⁰ And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. ¹¹ Thus ^(R)the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his ^(S)assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

²⁸ When the news came to Joab—for Joab ^(A)had supported Adonijah although ^(B)he had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the ^(C)horns of the altar. ²⁹ And when it was told King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar,” Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.” ³⁰ So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “The king commands, ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, I will die here.” Then Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.” ³¹ The king replied to him, ^(D)“Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, ^(E)and thus take away from me and from my father's house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause. ³² The Lord will ^(F)bring back his bloody deeds on his own head, because, without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and killed with the sword two men ^(G)more righteous and better than himself, ^(H)Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and ^(I)Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. ^33 (J)So shall their blood come back on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever. But for David and for his descendants and for his house and for his throne there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.” ³⁴ Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. ^35 (K)The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and the king put ^(L)Zadok the priest ^(M)in the place of Abiathar.

³⁶ Then the king sent and summoned ^(N)Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there to any place whatever. ³⁷ For on the day you go out and cross ^(O)the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall die. ^(P)Your blood shall be on your own head.” ³⁸ And Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

³⁹ But it happened at the end of three years that two of Shimei's servants ran away to ^(Q)Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And when it was told Shimei, “Behold, your servants are in Gath,” ⁴⁰ Shimei arose and saddled a donkey and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants. Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. ⁴¹ And when Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and returned, ⁴² the king sent and summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and go to any place whatever, you shall die’? And you said to me, ‘What you say is good; I will obey.’ ⁴³ Why then have you not kept your oath to the Lord and the commandment with which I commanded you?” ⁴⁴ The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart ^(R)all the harm that you did to David my father. So the Lord will ^(S)bring back your harm on your own head. ⁴⁵ But King Solomon shall be blessed, ^(T)and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” ⁴⁶ Then the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died.

^(U)So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

Warning Against Going to Egypt

42 Then ^(A)all the commanders of the forces, and ^(B)Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of ^(C)Hoshaiah, and all the people ^(D)from the least to the greatest, came near ² and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let ^(E)our plea for mercy come before you, and ^(F)pray to the Lord your God for us, for all ^(G)this remnant—^(H)because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us— ³ that ^(I)the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.” ⁴ Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your request, and ^(J)whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you. ^(K)I will keep nothing back from you.” ⁵ Then they said to Jeremiah, ^(L)“May the Lord be a true and ^(M)faithful witness against us ^(N)if we do not act according to all the word ^(O)with which the Lord your God sends you to us. ⁶ Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, ^(P)that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.”

^7 (Q)At the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. ⁸ Then he summoned ^(R)Johanan the son of Kareah and ^(S)all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people ^(T)from the least to the greatest, ⁹ and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(U)to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him:

How Awesome Are Your Deeds

To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁴ “But in those days, after ^(A)that tribulation, ^(B)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, ²⁵ and ^(C)the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ And then they will see ^(D)the Son of Man coming in clouds ^(E)with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then ^(F)he will send out the angels and ^(G)gather ^(H)his elect from ^(I)the four winds, from ^(J)the ends of the earth ^(K)to the ends of heaven.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

²⁸ “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, ^(L)at the very gates. ^30 (M)Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^31 (N)Heaven and earth will pass away, but ^(O)my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day or Hour

³² “But concerning that day or that hour, ^(P)no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, ^(Q)nor the Son, ^(R)but only the Father. ^33 (S)Be on guard, ^(T)keep awake.^[a] For you do not know when the time will come. ^34 (U)It is like a man ^(V)going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants^[b] in charge, ^(W)each with his work, and commands ^(X)the doorkeeper to stay awake. ^35 (Y)Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, ^(Z)in the evening, or ^(AA)at midnight, or ^(AB)when the rooster crows,^[c] or ^(AC)in the morning— ³⁶ lest ^(AD)he come suddenly and ^(AE)find you asleep. ³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: ^(AF)Stay awake.”

Marks of the True Christian

^9 (A)Let love be genuine. ^(B)Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ^10 (C)Love one another with brotherly affection. ^(D)Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, ^(E)be fervent in spirit,^{[a] (F)}serve the Lord. ^12 (G)Rejoice in hope, ^(H)be patient in tribulation, ^(I)be constant in prayer. ^13 (J)Contribute to the needs of the saints and ^(K)seek to show hospitality.

^14 (L)Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ^15 (M)Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ^16 (N)Live in harmony with one another. ^(O)Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.^{[b] (P)}Never be wise in your own sight. ^17 (Q)Repay no one evil for evil, but ^(R)give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, ^(S)live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, ^(T)never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[c] to the wrath of God, for it is written, ^(U)“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ To the contrary, ^(V)“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.