The Second Set of Stone Tablets^(A)

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. ² Get ready tomorrow morning, and come up Mount Sinai to meet me there at the top. ³ No one is to come up with you; no one is to be seen on any part of the mountain; and no sheep or cattle are to graze at the foot of the mountain.” ⁴ So Moses cut two more stone tablets, and early the next morning he carried them up Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded.

⁵ The Lord came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and pronounced his holy name, the Lord.^{[a] 6 (B)}The Lord then passed in front of him and called out, “I, the Lord, am a God who is full of compassion and pity, who is not easily angered and who shows great love and faithfulness. ⁷ I keep my promise for thousands of generations^[b] and forgive evil and sin; but I will not fail to punish children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation for the sins of their parents.”

⁸ Moses quickly bowed down to the ground and worshiped. ⁹ He said, “Lord, if you really are pleased with me, I ask you to go with us. These people are stubborn, but forgive our evil and our sin, and accept us as your own people.”

The Covenant Is Renewed^(C)

¹⁰ The Lord said to Moses, “I now make a covenant with the people of Israel. In their presence I will do great things such as have never been done anywhere on earth among any of the nations. All the people will see what great things I, the Lord, can do, because I am going to do an awesome thing for you. ¹¹ Obey the laws that I am giving you today. I will drive out the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as you advance. ¹² Do not make any treaties with the people of the country into which you are going, because this could be a fatal trap for you. ^13 (D)Instead, tear down their altars, destroy their sacred pillars, and cut down their symbols of the goddess Asherah.

¹⁴ “Do not worship any other god, because I, the Lord, tolerate no rivals. ¹⁵ Do not make any treaties with the people of the country, because when they worship their pagan gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you to join them, and you will be tempted to eat the food they offer to their gods. ¹⁶ Your sons might marry those foreign women, who would lead them to be unfaithful to me and to worship their pagan gods.

^17 (E)“Do not make gods of metal and worship them.

^18 (F)“Keep the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I have commanded you, eat unleavened bread for seven days in the month of Abib, because it was in that month that you left Egypt.

^19 (G)“Every first-born son and first-born male domestic animal belongs to me, ^20 (H)but you are to buy back every first-born donkey by offering a lamb in its place. If you do not buy it back, break its neck. Buy back every first-born son.

“No one is to appear before me without an offering.

^21 (I)“You have six days in which to do your work, but do not work on the seventh day, not even during plowing time or harvest.

^22 (J)“Keep the Harvest Festival when you begin to harvest the first crop of your wheat, and keep the Festival of Shelters in the autumn when you gather your fruit.

²³ “Three times a year all of your men must come to worship me, the Lord, the God of Israel. ²⁴ After I have driven out the nations before you and extended your territory, no one will try to conquer your country during the three festivals.

^25 (K)“Do not offer bread made with yeast when you sacrifice an animal to me. Do not keep until the following morning any part of the animal killed at the Passover Festival.

^26 (L)“Each year bring to the house of the Lord the first grain that you harvest.

“Do not cook a young sheep or goat in its mother's milk.”

²⁷ The Lord said to Moses, “Write these words down, because it is on the basis of these words that I am making a covenant with you and with Israel.” ²⁸ Moses stayed there with the Lord forty days and nights, eating and drinking nothing. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.

Moses Goes Down from Mount Sinai

^29 (M)When Moses went down from Mount Sinai carrying the Ten Commandments, his face was shining because he had been speaking with the Lord; but he did not know it. ³⁰ Aaron and all the people looked at Moses and saw that his face was shining, and they were afraid to go near him. ³¹ But Moses called them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the community went to him, and Moses spoke with them. ³² After that, all the people of Israel gathered around him, and Moses gave them all the laws that the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. ³³ When Moses had finished speaking with them, he covered his face with a veil. ³⁴ Whenever Moses went into the Tent of the Lord's presence to speak to the Lord, he would take the veil off. When he came out, he would tell the people of Israel everything that he had been commanded to say, ³⁵ and they would see that his face was shining. Then he would put the veil back on until the next time he went to speak with the Lord.

Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet

13 It was now the day before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. He had always loved those in the world who were his own, and he loved them to the very end.

² Jesus and his disciples were at supper. The Devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, the thought of betraying Jesus.^{[a] 3} Jesus knew that the Father had given him complete power; he knew that he had come from God and was going to God. ⁴ So he rose from the table, took off his outer garment, and tied a towel around his waist. ⁵ Then he poured some water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. ⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Are you going to wash my feet, Lord?”

⁷ Jesus answered him, “You do not understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later.”

⁸ Peter declared, “Never at any time will you wash my feet!”

“If I do not wash your feet,” Jesus answered, “you will no longer be my disciple.”

⁹ Simon Peter answered, “Lord, do not wash only my feet, then! Wash my hands and head, too!”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Those who have taken a bath are completely clean and do not have to wash themselves, except for their feet.^[b] All of you are clean—all except one.” (¹¹ Jesus already knew who was going to betray him; that is why he said, “All of you, except one, are clean.”)

^12 (A)After Jesus had washed their feet, he put his outer garment back on and returned to his place at the table. “Do you understand what I have just done to you?” he asked. ¹³ “You call me Teacher and Lord, and it is right that you do so, because that is what I am. ¹⁴ I, your Lord and Teacher, have just washed your feet. You, then, should wash one another's feet. ¹⁵ I have set an example for you, so that you will do just what I have done for you. ^16 (B)I am telling you the truth: no slaves are greater than their master, and no messengers are greater than the one who sent them. ¹⁷ Now that you know this truth, how happy you will be if you put it into practice!

^18 (C)“I am not talking about all of you; I know those I have chosen. But the scripture must come true that says, ‘The man who shared my food turned against me.’ ¹⁹ I tell you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe that ‘I Am Who I Am.’ ^20 (D)I am telling you the truth: whoever receives anyone I send receives me also; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”

Jesus Predicts His Betrayal^(E)

²¹ After Jesus had said this, he was deeply troubled and declared openly, “I am telling you the truth: one of you is going to betray me.”

²² The disciples looked at one another, completely puzzled about whom he meant. ²³ One of the disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was sitting next to Jesus. ²⁴ Simon Peter motioned to him and said, “Ask him whom he is talking about.”

²⁵ So that disciple moved closer to Jesus' side and asked, “Who is it, Lord?”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “I will dip some bread in the sauce and give it to him; he is the man.” So he took a piece of bread, dipped it, and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Hurry and do what you must!” ²⁸ None of the others at the table understood why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹ Since Judas was in charge of the money bag, some of the disciples thought that Jesus had told him to go and buy what they needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor.

³⁰ Judas accepted the bread and went out at once. It was night.

The New Commandment

³¹ After Judas had left, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man's glory is revealed; now God's glory is revealed through him. ³² And if God's glory is revealed through him, then God will reveal the glory of the Son of Man in himself, and he will do so at once. ^33 (F)My children, I shall not be with you very much longer. You will look for me; but I tell you now what I told the Jewish authorities, ‘You cannot go where I am going.’ ^34 (G)And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.”

Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial^(H)

³⁶ “Where are you going, Lord?” Simon Peter asked him.

“You cannot follow me now where I am going,” answered Jesus; “but later you will follow me.”

³⁷ “Lord, why can't I follow you now?” asked Peter. “I am ready to die for you!”

³⁸ Jesus answered, “Are you really ready to die for me? I am telling you the truth: before the rooster crows you will say three times that you do not know me.

Solomon's Proverbs

10 These are Solomon's proverbs:

Wise children make their fathers proud of them; foolish ones bring their mothers grief.

² Wealth you get by dishonesty will do you no good, but honesty can save your life.

³ The Lord will not let good people go hungry, but he will keep the wicked from getting what they want.

⁴ Being lazy will make you poor, but hard work will make you rich.

⁵ A sensible person gathers the crops when they are ready; it is a disgrace to sleep through the time of harvest.

⁶ Good people will receive blessings. The words of the wicked hide a violent nature.

⁷ Good people will be remembered as a blessing, but the wicked will soon be forgotten.

⁸ Sensible people accept good advice. People who talk foolishly will come to ruin.

⁹ Honest people are safe and secure, but the dishonest will be caught.

¹⁰ Someone who holds back the truth causes trouble, but one who openly criticizes works for peace.^[a]

¹¹ A good person's words are a fountain of life, but a wicked person's words hide a violent nature.

^12 (A)Hate stirs up trouble, but love forgives all offenses.

¹³ Intelligent people talk sense, but stupid people need to be punished.

¹⁴ The wise get all the knowledge they can, but when fools speak, trouble is not far off.

¹⁵ Wealth protects the rich; poverty destroys the poor.

¹⁶ The reward for doing good is life, but sin leads only to more sin.

¹⁷ People who listen when they are corrected will live, but those who will not admit that they are wrong are in danger.

¹⁸ Anyone who hides hatred is a liar. Anyone who spreads gossip is a fool.

¹⁹ The more you talk, the more likely you are to sin. If you are wise, you will keep quiet.

²⁰ A good person's words are like pure silver; a wicked person's ideas are worthless.

²¹ A good person's words will benefit many people, but you can kill yourself with stupidity.

²² It is the Lord's blessing that makes you wealthy. Hard work can make you no richer.^[b]

²³ It is foolish to enjoy doing wrong. Intelligent people take pleasure in wisdom.

²⁴ The righteous get what they want, but the wicked will get what they fear most.

²⁵ Storms come, and the wicked are blown away, but honest people are always safe.

²⁶ Never get a lazy person to do something for you; he will be as irritating as vinegar on your teeth or smoke in your eyes.

²⁷ Obey the Lord, and you will live longer. The wicked die before their time.

²⁸ The hopes of good people lead to joy, but wicked people can look forward to nothing.

²⁹ The Lord protects honest people, but destroys those who do wrong.

³⁰ Righteous people will always have security, but the wicked will not survive in the land.

³¹ Righteous people speak wisdom, but the tongue that speaks evil will be stopped.

³² Righteous people know the kind thing to say, but the wicked are always saying things that hurt.

Paul's Work for the Gentiles

3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles, pray to God. ² Surely you have heard that God in his grace has given me this work to do for your good. ³ God revealed his secret plan and made it known to me. (I have written briefly about this, ^4 (A)and if you will read what I have written, you can learn about my understanding of the secret of Christ.) ⁵ In past times human beings were not told this secret, but God has revealed it now by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets. ⁶ The secret is that by means of the gospel the Gentiles have a part with the Jews in God's blessings; they are members of the same body and share in the promise that God made through Christ Jesus.

⁷ I was made a servant of the gospel by God's special gift, which he gave me through the working of his power. ⁸ I am less than the least of all God's people; yet God gave me this privilege of taking to the Gentiles the Good News about the infinite riches of Christ, ⁹ and of making all people see how God's secret plan is to be put into effect. God, who is the Creator of all things, kept his secret hidden through all the past ages, ¹⁰ in order that at the present time, by means of the church, the angelic rulers and powers in the heavenly world might learn of his wisdom in all its different forms. ¹¹ God did this according to his eternal purpose, which he achieved through Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² In union with Christ and through our faith in him we have the boldness to go into God's presence with all confidence. ¹³ I beg you, then, not to be discouraged because I am suffering for you; it is all for your benefit.

The Love of Christ

¹⁴ For this reason I fall on my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its true name. ¹⁶ I ask God from the wealth of his glory to give you power through his Spirit to be strong in your inner selves, ¹⁷ and I pray that Christ will make his home in your hearts through faith. I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love, ^18 (B)so that you, together with all God's people, may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ's love. ¹⁹ Yes, may you come to know his love—although it can never be fully known—and so be completely filled with the very nature of God.

²⁰ To him who by means of his power working in us is able to do so much more than we can ever ask for, or even think of: ²¹ to God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever! Amen.