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Exodus 31-33
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 31

Choice of Artisans. 1 (A)The Lord said to Moses: 2 See, I have singled out[a] Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with a divine spirit of skill and understanding and knowledge in every craft: 4 in the production of embroidery, in making things of gold, silver, or bronze, 5 in cutting and mounting precious stones, in carving wood, and in every other craft. 6 As his assistant I myself have appointed Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. I have also endowed all the experts with the necessary skill to make all the things I have commanded you: 7 (B)the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant with its cover, all the furnishings of the tent, 8 the table with its utensils, the pure gold menorah with all its utensils, the altar of incense, 9 the altar for burnt offerings with all its utensils, the basin with its stand, 10 the service cloths,[b] the sacred vestments for Aaron the priest, the vestments for his sons in their ministry, 11 the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense for the sanctuary. According to all I have commanded you, so shall they do.

Sabbath Laws. 12 (C)The Lord said to Moses: 13 You must also tell the Israelites: Keep my sabbaths, for that is to be the sign between you and me throughout the generations, to show that it is I, the Lord, who make you holy. 14 [c]Therefore, you must keep the sabbath for it is holiness for you. Whoever desecrates it shall be put to death. If anyone does work on that day, that person must be cut off from the people. 15 Six days there are for doing work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord. Anyone who does work on the sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 So shall the Israelites observe the sabbath, keeping it throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant. 17 Between me and the Israelites it is to be an everlasting sign; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day he rested at his ease.

18 When the Lord had finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant, the stone tablets inscribed by God’s own finger.(D)

VII. Israel’s Apostasy and God’s Renewal of the Covenant

Chapter 32

The Golden Calf. 1 When the people saw that Moses was delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for that man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.”(E) 2 Aaron replied, “Take off the golden earrings that your wives, your sons, and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He received their offering, and fashioning it with a tool, made a molten calf. Then they cried out, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you[d] up from the land of Egypt.”(F) 5 On seeing this, Aaron built an altar in front of the calf and proclaimed, “Tomorrow is a feast of the Lord.” 6 Early the next day the people sacrificed burnt offerings and brought communion sacrifices. Then they sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.(G)

7 (H)Then the Lord said to Moses: Go down at once because your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have acted corruptly. 8 They have quickly turned aside from the way I commanded them, making for themselves a molten calf and bowing down to it, sacrificing to it and crying out, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 9 (I)I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are, continued the Lord to Moses. 10 Let me alone, then, that my anger may burn against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation.

11 [e]But Moses implored the Lord, his God, saying,(J) “Why, O Lord, should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent he brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning wrath; change your mind about punishing your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,(K) ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised, I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.’” 14 So the Lord changed his mind about the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people.

15 Moses then turned and came down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hands,(L) tablets that were written on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were made by God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.(M) 17 Now, when Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “That sounds like a battle in the camp.” 18 But Moses answered,

“It is not the noise of victory,
    it is not the noise of defeat;
    the sound I hear is singing.”

19 As he drew near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. Then Moses’ anger burned, and he threw the tablets down and broke them on the base of the mountain.(N) 20 Taking the calf they had made, he burned it in the fire and then ground it down to powder, which he scattered on the water[f] and made the Israelites drink.(O)

21 [g]Moses asked Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you should lead them into a grave sin?” 22 Aaron replied, “Do not let my lord be angry. You know how the people are prone to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us a god to go before us; as for this man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever is wearing gold, take it off.’ They gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.”

25 Moses saw that the people were running wild because Aaron had lost control—to the secret delight of their foes. 26 Moses stood at the gate of the camp and shouted, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” All the Levites(P) then rallied to him, 27 and he told them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Each of you put your sword on your hip! Go back and forth through the camp, from gate to gate, and kill your brothers, your friends, your neighbors!” 28 The Levites did as Moses had commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people fell. 29 Then Moses said, “Today you are installed as priests[h] for the Lord, for you went against your own sons and brothers, to bring a blessing upon yourselves this day.”

The Atonement. 30 On the next day Moses said to the people,(Q) “You have committed a grave sin. Now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I may be able to make atonement for your sin.” 31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Ah, this people has committed a grave sin in making a god of gold for themselves! 32 Now if you would only forgive their sin! But if you will not, then blot me out of the book that you have written.”[i] 33 The Lord answered Moses: Only the one who has sinned against me will I blot out of my book. 34 Now, go and lead the people where I have told you. See, my angel will go before you. When it is time for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.

35 Thus the Lord struck the people for making the calf, the one that Aaron made.

Chapter 33

1 The Lord spoke to Moses: Go! You and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt are to go up from here to the land about which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: I will give it to your descendants.(R) 2 Driving out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, I will send an angel before you(S) 3 to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I myself will not go up in your company, because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise I might consume you on the way. 4 When the people heard this painful news, they mourned, and no one wore any ornaments.

5 The Lord spoke to Moses: Speak to the Israelites: You are a stiff-necked people. Were I to go up in your company even for a moment, I would destroy you. Now off with your ornaments! Let me think what to do with you. 6 So, from Mount Horeb onward, the Israelites stripped off their ornaments.

Moses’ Intimacy with God. 7 Moses used to pitch a tent(T) outside the camp at some distance. It was called the tent of meeting. Anyone who wished to consult the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, the people would all rise and stand at the entrance of their own tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down and stand at its entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 On seeing the column of cloud stand at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and bow down at the entrance of their own tents. 11 The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face,(U) as a person speaks to a friend. Moses would then return to the camp, but his young assistant, Joshua, son of Nun, never left the tent. 12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, you are telling me: Lead this people.(V) But you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said: You are my intimate friend;[j] You have found favor with me. 13 Now, if I have found favor with you, please let me know your ways so that, in knowing you, I may continue to find favor with you. See, this nation is indeed your own people. 14 The Lord answered: I myself[k] will go along, to give you rest. 15 Moses replied, “If you are not going yourself, do not make us go up from here. 16 For how can it be known that I and your people have found favor with you, except by your going with us? Then we, your people and I, will be singled out from every other people on the surface of the earth.” 17 The Lord said to Moses: This request, too, which you have made, I will carry out, because you have found favor with me and you are my intimate friend.

18 Then Moses said, “Please let me see your glory!” 19 The Lord answered: I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim my name, “Lord,” before you; I who show favor to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will.(W) 20 But you cannot see my face,(X) for no one can see me and live.[l] 21 Here, continued the Lord, is a place near me where you shall station yourself on the rock. 22 When my glory passes I will set you in the cleft of the rock and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand, so that you may see my back; but my face may not be seen.

Footnotes

  1. 31:2 Singled out: lit., “called by name”; cf. 35:30.
  2. 31:10 The service cloths: so the Greek. They were perhaps the colored cloths mentioned in Nm 4:4–15.
  3. 31:14–15 For the distinction between work proscribed on certain festivals and weekly Sabbaths, see note on Lv 23:3.
  4. 32:4–5 Who brought you…a feast of the Lord: it seems that the golden calf was intended as an image, not of another god, but of the Lord, whose strength was symbolized by the strength of a young bull. The Israelites, however, had been forbidden to represent the Lord under any visible form. Cf. 20:4. In the tenth century Jeroboam made golden calves for the shrines at Bethel and Dan, presumably to function as thrones for the Lord as the ark did in Jerusalem (see 1 Kgs 12:27–30).
  5. 32:11–13 Moses uses three arguments to persuade the Lord to remain faithful to the Sinai covenant even though the people have broken it: (1) they are God’s own people, redeemed with God’s great power; (2) God’s reputation will suffer if they are destroyed; (3) the covenant with Abraham still stands. The Lord’s change of mind is a testimony to Israel’s belief in the power of intercessory prayer.
  6. 32:20 The water: according to Dt 9:21, this was the stream that flowed down Mount Sinai.
  7. 32:21–24 Aaron attempts to persuade Moses not to act in anger, just as Moses persuaded the Lord. He also shifts the blame from himself to the people.
  8. 32:29 Installed as priests: lit., “fill your hands,” a term for the ordination of priests (see 28:41; 29:9, 29, 33, 35; Nm 3:3). Because of their zeal for the true worship of the Lord, the Levites were chosen to be special ministers of the ritual service.
  9. 32:32 The book that you have written: a symbolic reference to the list of God’s faithful people.
  10. 33:12 Intimate friend: lit., “know by name.” The root word meaning “know” or “make known” appears four times in vv. 12–13.
  11. 33:14 I myself: lit., “my face,” that is, “my presence.” The making of the calf (32:1–4) is an attempt to control the Lord’s presence. In response the Lord refuses to accompany the people (33:3) until Moses persuades him.
  12. 33:20 No one can see me and live: reflecting the tradition that to see God meant instant death. This is contradicted by the statements that Hagar (Gn 16:13), Jacob (Gn 32:31), and Manoah and his wife (Jgs 13:22) all “see God” and yet live (see also Ex 24:10–11).
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Exodus 34
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Psalm 51
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Psalm 51[a]

The Miserere: Prayer of Repentance

1 For the leader. A psalm of David, 2 when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone in to Bathsheba.(A)

I

3 Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love;
    in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.
4 Thoroughly wash away my guilt;
    and from my sin cleanse me.
5 For I know my transgressions;
    my sin is always before me.(B)
6 Against you, you alone have I sinned;
    I have done what is evil in your eyes
So that you are just in your word,
    and without reproach in your judgment.(C)
7 Behold, I was born in guilt,
    in sin my mother conceived me.[b](D)
8 Behold, you desire true sincerity;
    and secretly you teach me wisdom.
9 Cleanse me with hyssop,[c] that I may be pure;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.(E)
10 You will let me hear gladness and joy;
    the bones you have crushed will rejoice.

II

11 Turn away your face from my sins;
    blot out all my iniquities.
12 A clean heart create for me, God;
    renew within me a steadfast spirit.(F)
13 Do not drive me from before your face,
    nor take from me your holy spirit.(G)
14 Restore to me the gladness of your salvation;
    uphold me with a willing spirit.
15 I will teach the wicked your ways,
    that sinners may return to you.
16 Rescue me from violent bloodshed, God, my saving God,
    and my tongue will sing joyfully of your justice.(H)
17 Lord, you will open my lips;
    and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
18 For you do not desire sacrifice[d] or I would give it;
    a burnt offering you would not accept.(I)
19 My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
    a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.

III

20 [e]Treat Zion kindly according to your good will;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem.(J)
21 Then you will desire the sacrifices of the just,
    burnt offering and whole offerings;
    then they will offer up young bulls on your altar.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 51 A lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms, prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought. The poem has two parts of approximately equal length: Ps 51:3–10 and Ps 51:11–19, and a conclusion in Ps 51:20–21. The two parts interlock by repetition of “blot out” in the first verse of each section (Ps 51:3, 11), of “wash (away)” just after the first verse of each section (Ps 51:4) and just before the last verse (Ps 51:9) of the first section, and of “heart,” “God,” and “spirit” in Ps 51:12, 19. The first part (Ps 51:3–10) asks deliverance from sin, not just a past act but its emotional, physical, and social consequences. The second part (Ps 51:11–19) seeks something more profound than wiping the slate clean: nearness to God, living by the spirit of God (Ps 51:12–13), like the relation between God and people described in Jer 31:33–34. Nearness to God brings joy and the authority to teach sinners (Ps 51:15–16). Such proclamation is better than offering sacrifice (Ps 51:17–19). The last two verses express the hope that God’s good will toward those who are cleansed and contrite will prompt him to look favorably on the acts of worship offered in the Jerusalem Temple (Ps 51:19 [20–21]).
  2. 51:7 In sin my mother conceived me: lit., “In iniquity was I conceived,” an instance of hyperbole: at no time was the psalmist ever without sin, cf. Ps 88:15, “I am mortally afflicted since youth,” i.e., I have always been afflicted. The verse does not imply that the sexual act of conception is sinful.
  3. 51:9 Hyssop: a small bush whose many woody twigs make a natural sprinkler. It was prescribed in the Mosaic law as an instrument for sprinkling sacrificial blood or lustral water for cleansing, cf. Ex 12:22; Lv 14:4; Nm 19:18.
  4. 51:18 For you do not desire sacrifice: the mere offering of the ritual sacrifice apart from good dispositions is not acceptable to God, cf. Ps 50.
  5. 51:20–21 Most scholars think that these verses were added to the Psalm some time after the destruction of the Temple in 587 B.C. The verses assume that the rebuilt Temple will be an ideal site for national reconciliation.
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Psalm 50
Psalm 52
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Matthew 26:26-46
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

The Lord’s Supper. 26 [a](A)While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.”[b](B) 27 Then he took a cup, gave thanks,[c] and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, 28 (C)for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 [d]I tell you, from now on I shall not drink this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father.” 30 [e]Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Peter’s Denial Foretold. 31 (D)Then Jesus said to them, “This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken,[f] for it is written:(E)

‘I will strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed’;

32 but after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee.” 33 Peter said to him in reply, “Though all may have their faith in you shaken, mine will never be.” 34 [g](F)Jesus said to him, “Amen, I say to you, this very night before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.”(G) 35 Peter said to him, “Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you.” And all the disciples spoke likewise.

The Agony in the Garden. 36 [h](H)Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane,[i] and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”(I) 37 (J)He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,[j] and began to feel sorrow and distress. 38 (K)Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death.[k] Remain here and keep watch with me.” 39 (L)He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, “My Father,[l] if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep. He said to Peter, “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.[m] The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 [n](M)Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again, “My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!” 43 Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open. 44 He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again. 45 (N)Then he returned to his disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners. 46 Get up, let us go. Look, my betrayer is at hand.”

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Footnotes

  1. 26:26–29 See note on Mk 14:22–24. The Marcan-Matthean is one of the two major New Testament traditions of the words of Jesus when instituting the Eucharist. The other (and earlier) is the Pauline-Lucan (1 Cor 11:23–25; Lk 22:19–20). Each shows the influence of Christian liturgical usage, but the Marcan-Matthean is more developed in that regard than the Pauline-Lucan. The words over the bread and cup succeed each other without the intervening meal mentioned in 1 Cor 11:25; Lk 22:20; and there is parallelism between the consecratory words (this is my body…this is my blood). Matthew follows Mark closely but with some changes.
  2. 26:26 See note on Mt 14:19. Said the blessing: a prayer blessing God. Take and eat: literally, Take, eat. Eat is an addition to Mark’s “take it” (literally, “take”; Mk 14:22). This is my body: the bread is identified with Jesus himself.
  3. 26:27–28 Gave thanks: see note on Mt 15:36. Gave it to them…all of you: cf. Mk 14:23–24. In the Marcan sequence the disciples drink and then Jesus says the interpretative words. Matthew has changed this into a command to drink followed by those words. My blood: see Lv 17:11 for the concept that the blood is “the seat of life” and that when placed on the altar it “makes atonement.” Which will be shed: the present participle, “being shed” or “going to be shed,” is future in relation to the Last Supper. On behalf of: Greek peri; see note on Mk 14:24. Many: see note on Mt 20:28. For the forgiveness of sins: a Matthean addition. The same phrase occurs in Mk 1:4 in connection with John’s baptism but Matthew avoids it there (Mt 3:11). He places it here probably because he wishes to emphasize that it is the sacrificial death of Jesus that brings forgiveness of sins.
  4. 26:29 Although his death will interrupt the table fellowship he has had with the disciples, Jesus confidently predicts his vindication by God and a new table fellowship with them at the banquet of the kingdom.
  5. 26:30 See note on Mk 14:26.
  6. 26:31 Will have…shaken: literally, “will be scandalized in me”; see note on Mt 24:9–12. I will strike…dispersed: cf. Zec 13:7.
  7. 26:34 Before the cock crows: see note on Mt 14:25. The third watch of the night was called “cockcrow.” Deny me: see note on Mt 16:24.
  8. 26:36–56 Cf. Mk 14:32–52. The account of Jesus in Gethsemane is divided between that of his agony (Mt 26:36–46) and that of his betrayal and arrest (Mt 26:47–56). Jesus’ sorrow and distress (Mt 26:37) in face of death is unrelieved by the presence of his three disciples who, though urged to watch with him (Mt 26:38, 41), fall asleep (Mt 26:40, 43). He prays that if…possible his death may be avoided (Mt 26:39) but that his Father’s will be done (Mt 26:39, 42, 44). Knowing then that his death must take place, he announces to his companions that the hour for his being handed over has come (Mt 26:45). Judas arrives with an armed band provided by the Sanhedrin and greets Jesus with a kiss, the prearranged sign for his identification (Mt 26:47–49). After his arrest, he rebukes a disciple who has attacked the high priest’s servant with a sword (Mt 26:51–54), and chides those who have come out to seize him with swords and clubs as if he were a robber (Mt 26:55–56). In both rebukes Jesus declares that the treatment he is now receiving is the fulfillment of the scriptures (Mt 26:55, 56). The subsequent flight of all the disciples is itself the fulfillment of his own prediction (cf. 31). In this episode, Matthew follows Mark with a few alterations.
  9. 26:36 Gethsemane: the Hebrew name means “oil press” and designates an olive orchard on the western slope of the Mount of Olives; see note on Mt 21:1. The name appears only in Matthew and Mark. The place is called a “garden” in Jn 18:1.
  10. 26:37 Peter and the two sons of Zebedee: cf. Mt 17:1.
  11. 26:38 Cf. Ps 42:6, 12. In the Septuagint (Ps 41:5, 12) the same Greek word for sorrowful is used as here. To death: i.e., “enough to die”; cf. Jon 4:9.
  12. 26:39 My Father: see note on Mk 14:36. Matthew omits the Aramaic ’abbā’ and adds the qualifier my. This cup: see note on Mk 10:38–40.
  13. 26:41 Undergo the test: see note on Mt 6:13. In that verse “the final test” translates the same Greek word as is here translated the test, and these are the only instances of the use of that word in Matthew. It is possible that the passion of Jesus is seen here as an anticipation of the great tribulation that will precede the parousia (see notes on Mt 24:8; 24:21) to which Mt 6:13 refers, and that just as Jesus prays to be delivered from death (Mt 26:39), so he exhorts the disciples to pray that they will not have to undergo the great test that his passion would be for them. Some scholars, however, understand not undergo (literally, “not enter”) the test as meaning not that the disciples may be spared the test but that they may not yield to the temptation of falling away from Jesus because of his passion even though they will have to endure it.
  14. 26:42 Your will be done: cf. Mt 6:10.
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Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.