The Daily Audio Bible
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16 On the morning of the second day, there was thunder and lightning with a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud blast from a ram’s horn ⌞was heard⌟. All the people in the camp shook with fear. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had come down on it in fire. Smoke rose from the mountain like the smoke from a kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently. 19 As the sound of the horn grew louder and louder, Moses was speaking, and the voice of God answered him.
20 The Lord came down on top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up. 21 The Lord said to him, “Go down and warn the people not to force their way through ⌞the boundary⌟ to see the Lord, or many of them will die. 22 Even the priests who are allowed to come near the Lord must set themselves apart as holy, or the Lord will violently kill them.”
23 Moses said to the Lord, “The people can’t come up Mount Sinai, because you warned us yourself to mark off a boundary around the mountain and consider it holy.”
24 The Lord said to him, “Go down, and bring Aaron back with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through the boundary to come up to the Lord, or he will violently kill them.”
25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.
The Ten Commandments(A)
20 Then God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt.
3 “Never have any other god. 4 Never make your own carved idols or statues that represent any creature in the sky, on the earth, or in the water. 5 Never worship them or serve them, because I, the Lord your God, am a God who does not tolerate rivals. I punish children for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. 6 But I show mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my commandments.
7 “Never use the name of the Lord your God carelessly. The Lord will make sure that anyone who carelessly uses his name will be punished.
8 “Remember the day of rest by observing it as a holy day. 9 You have six days to do all your work. 10 The seventh day is the day of rest—a holy day dedicated to the Lord your God. You, your sons, your daughters, your male and female slaves, your cattle, and the foreigners living in your city must never do any work ⌞on that day⌟. 11 In six days the Lord made heaven, earth, and the sea, along with everything in them. He didn’t work on the seventh day. That’s why the Lord blessed the day he stopped his work and set this day apart as holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live for a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “Never murder.
14 “Never commit adultery.
15 “Never steal.
16 “Never lie when you testify about your neighbor.
17 “Never desire to take your neighbor’s household away from him.
“Never desire to take your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to him.”
The People’s Reaction
18 All the people heard the thunder and saw the lightning. They heard the blast of the ram’s horn and saw the mountain covered with smoke. So they shook with fear and stood at a distance. 19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we’ll listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we’ll die!”
20 Moses answered the people, “Don’t be afraid! God has come only to test you, so that you will be in awe of him and won’t sin.”
21 The people kept their distance while Moses went closer to the dark cloud where God was.
General Rules for Worship
22 The Lord said to Moses, “This is what you must say to the Israelites: You’ve seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven. 23 Never make any gods of silver or gold for yourselves. Never worship them.
24 “You must build an altar for me made out of dirt. Sacrifice your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep, goats, and cattle on it. Wherever I choose to have my name remembered, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you build an altar for me made out of stones, never make it with cut stone blocks. If you use a chisel on it, you will make it unacceptable to me. 26 Never use stairs to go up to my altar. Otherwise, people will be able to see under your clothes.”
Laws Concerning the Treatment of Slaves
21 ⌞The Lord continued,⌟ “Here are the legal decisions to be used by the Israelites:
2 “Whenever you buy a Hebrew slave, he will be your slave for six years. In the seventh year he may leave as a free man, without paying for his freedom. 3 If he comes to you by himself, he must leave by himself. If he comes as a married man, his wife may leave with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she gives birth to sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to the master, and the slave must leave by himself. 5 But if he makes this statement: ‘I hereby declare my love for my master, my wife, and my children. I don’t want to leave as a free man,’ 6 then his master must bring him to God. The master must bring him to the door or the doorframe and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his slave for life.
7 “Whenever a man sells his daughter into slavery, she will not go free the way male slaves do. 8 If she doesn’t please the master who has chosen her as a wife,[a] he must let her be bought back by one of her close relatives. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has treated her unfairly. 9 But if he has chosen her for his son, he must treat her like a daughter. 10 If that son marries another woman, he must not deprive the first wife of food, clothes, or sex. 11 If he doesn’t give her these three things, she can go free, without paying any money for her freedom.
Laws Concerning Injury to People
12 “Whoever strikes someone and kills him must be put to death. 13 If it wasn’t done intentionally, but God let it happen, the killer should flee to a place I will set aside for you. 14 But whenever someone becomes so angry that he plans to kill his neighbor, you must take him away from my altar and put him to death.
15 “Whoever hits his father or mother must be put to death.
16 “Whoever kidnaps another person must be put to death, whether he has sold the kidnapped person or still has him.
17 “Whoever curses his father or mother must be put to death.
18 “This is what you must do whenever men quarrel and one hits the other with a rock or with his fist and injures him so that he has to stay in bed. 19 If the injured man can get up again and walk around outside with a cane, the one who hit him must not be punished. He must pay the injured man for the loss of his time and for all his medical expenses.
20 “Whenever an owner hits his male or female slave with a stick so that the slave dies from the beating, the owner must be punished. 21 But if the slave gets up in a day or two, the owner must not be punished. The slave is his property.
The Hypocrisy of the Jewish Leaders
13 “How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. You don’t enter it yourselves, and you don’t permit others to enter when they try.[a]
15 “How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You cross land and sea to recruit a single follower, and when you do, you make that person twice as fit for hell as you are.
16 “How horrible it will be for you, you blind guides! You say, ‘To swear an oath by the temple doesn’t mean a thing. But to swear an oath by the gold in the temple means a person must keep his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! What is more important, the gold or the temple that made the gold holy? 18 Again you say, ‘To swear an oath by the altar doesn’t mean a thing. But to swear an oath by the gift on the altar means a person must keep his oath.’ 19 You blind men! What is more important, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? 20 To swear an oath by the altar is to swear by it and by everything on it. 21 To swear an oath by the temple is to swear by it and by the one who lives there. 22 And to swear an oath by heaven is to swear by God’s throne and the one who sits on it.
23 “How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give ⌞God⌟ one-tenth of your mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the most important things in Moses’ Teachings. You should have done these things without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides! You strain gnats ⌞out of your wine⌟, but you swallow camels.
25 “How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You clean the outside of cups and dishes. But inside they are full of greed and uncontrolled desires. 26 You blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cups and dishes so that the outside may also be clean.
27 “How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed graves that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people’s bones and every kind of impurity. 28 So on the outside you look as though you have God’s approval, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of those who had God’s approval. 30 Then you say, ‘If we had lived at the time of our ancestors, we would not have helped to murder the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, finish what your ancestors started!
33 “You snakes! You poisonous snakes! How can you escape being condemned to hell? 34 I’m sending you prophets, wise men, and teachers of the Scriptures. You will kill and crucify some of them. Others you will whip in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. 35 As a result, you will be held accountable for all the innocent blood of those murdered on earth. This includes the murder of Abel, who had God’s approval, to that of Zechariah, son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 I can guarantee this truth: The people living now will be held accountable for all these things.
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and stone to death those sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings! But you were not willing! 38 Your house will be abandoned, deserted. 39 I can guarantee that you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
By David.
28 O Lord, I call to you.
O my rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me.
If you remain silent,
I will be like those who go into the pit.
2 Hear my prayer for mercy when I call to you for help,
when I lift my hands toward your most holy place.
3 Do not drag me away with wicked people,
with troublemakers who speak of peace with their neighbors
but have evil in their hearts.
4 Pay them back for what they have done,
for their evil deeds.
Pay them back for what their hands have done,
and give them what they deserve.
5 The Lord will tear them down and never build them up again,
because they never consider what he has done
or what his hands have made.
6 Thank the Lord!
He has heard my prayer for mercy!
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield.
My heart trusted him, so I received help.
My heart is triumphant; I give thanks to him with my song.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people
and a fortress for the victory of his Messiah.[a]
9 Save your people, and bless those who belong to you.
Be their shepherd, and carry them forever.
7 My son,
pay attention to my words.
Treasure my commands that are within you.
2 Obey my commands so that you may live.
Follow my teachings just as you protect the pupil of your eye.
3 Tie them on your fingers.
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister.”
Give the name “my relative” to understanding
5 in order to guard yourself from an adulterous woman,
from a loose woman with her smooth talk.
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