Psalm 15

A psalm of David.

⁸ Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. ⁹ “Lord,” he said, “if I have found favor^(A) in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us.^(B) Although this is a stiff-necked^(C) people, forgive our wickedness and our sin,^(D) and take us as your inheritance.”^(E)

¹⁰ Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant^(F) with you. Before all your people I will do wonders^(G) never before done in any nation in all the world.^(H) The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you. ¹¹ Obey what I command^(I) you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.^{(J) 12} Be careful not to make a treaty^(K) with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare^(L) among you. ¹³ Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.^{[a](M) 14} Do not worship any other god,^(N) for the Lord, whose name^(O) is Jealous, is a jealous God.^(P)

¹⁵ “Be careful not to make a treaty^(Q) with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute^(R) themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.^{(S) 16} And when you choose some of their daughters as wives^(T) for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods,^(U) they will lead your sons to do the same.

¹⁷ “Do not make any idols.^(V)

¹⁸ “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread.^(W) For seven days eat bread made without yeast,^(X) as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,^(Y) for in that month you came out of Egypt.

¹⁹ “The first offspring^(Z) of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. ²⁰ Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.^(AA) Redeem all your firstborn sons.^(AB)

“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.^(AC)

²¹ “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest;^(AD) even during the plowing season and harvest^(AE) you must rest.

²² “Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits^(AF) of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering^(AG) at the turn of the year.^{[b] 23} Three times^(AH) a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. ²⁴ I will drive out nations^(AI) before you and enlarge your territory,^(AJ) and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.

²⁵ “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast,^(AK) and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning.^(AL)

²⁶ “Bring the best of the firstfruits^(AM) of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”^(AN)

²⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write^(AO) down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant^(AP) with you and with Israel.” ²⁸ Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights^(AQ) without eating bread or drinking water.^(AR) And he wrote on the tablets^(AS) the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.^(AT)

Jesus Before Pilate^(A)

²⁸ Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor.^(B) By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace,^(C) because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.^{(D) 29} So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

³⁰ “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”

³¹ Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. ³² This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.^(E)