Jethro's Advice

18 ^(A)Jethro, ^(B)the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. ² Now Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home, ³ along with her ^(C)two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (^(D)for he said, ^(E)“I have been a sojourner^[a] in a foreign land”), ⁴ and the name of the other, Eliezer^[b] (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). ⁵ Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the ^(F)mountain of God. ⁶ And when he sent word to Moses, “I,^[c] your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” ⁷ Moses ^(G)went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and ^(H)kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. ⁸ Then Moses told his father-in-law ^(I)all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. ⁹ And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.

¹⁰ Jethro said, ^(J)“Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹ Now I know that ^(K)the Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they ^(L)dealt arrogantly with the people.”^{[d] 12} And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law ^(M)before God.

¹³ The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. ¹⁴ When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” ¹⁵ And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because ^(N)the people come to me to inquire of God; ^16 (O)when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I ^(P)make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” ¹⁷ Moses' father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. ^(Q)You are not able to do it alone. ¹⁹ Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall ^(R)represent the people before God and ^(S)bring their cases to God, ²⁰ and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know ^(T)the way in which they must walk and ^(U)what they must do. ²¹ Moreover, look for ^(V)able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²² And ^(W)let them judge the people at all times. ^(X)Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will ^(Y)bear the burden with you. ²³ If you do this, God will direct you, you will be ^(Z)able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”

²⁴ So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. ^25 (AA)Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²⁶ And ^(AB)they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. ²⁷ Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and ^(AC)he went away to his own country.

Israel at Mount Sinai

19 On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they ^(AD)came into the wilderness of Sinai. ² They set out from ^(AE)Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before ^(AF)the mountain, ³ while ^(AG)Moses went up to God. ^(AH)The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: ^4 (AI)‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how ^(AJ)I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. ⁵ Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be ^(AK)my treasured possession among all peoples, for ^(AL)all the earth is mine; ⁶ and you shall be to me a ^(AM)kingdom of priests and ^(AN)a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

⁷ So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. ^8 (AO)All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. ⁹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you ^(AP)in a thick cloud, that ^(AQ)the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also ^(AR)believe you forever.”

When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, ¹⁰ the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and ^(AS)consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them ^(AT)wash their garments ¹¹ and be ready for the third day. For on the third day ^(AU)the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹² And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. ^(AV)Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. ¹³ No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot;^[e] whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When ^(AW)the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” ¹⁴ So Moses ^(AX)went down from the mountain to the people and ^(AY)consecrated the people; ^(AZ)and they washed their garments. ¹⁵ And he said to the people, “Be ready for the ^(BA)third day; ^(BB)do not go near a woman.”

¹⁶ On the morning of the ^(BC)third day there were ^(BD)thunders and lightnings and ^(BE)a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud ^(BF)trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp ^(BG)trembled. ¹⁷ Then ^(BH)Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Now ^(BI)Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and ^(BJ)the whole mountain trembled greatly. ¹⁹ And as the ^(BK)sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and ^(BL)God answered him in thunder. ²⁰ The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord ^(BM)to look and many of them perish. ²² Also let the priests who come near to the Lord ^(BN)consecrate themselves, lest the Lord ^(BO)break out against them.” ²³ And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ^(BP)‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” ²⁴ And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people ^(BQ)break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.” ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Ten Commandments

20 ^(BR)And ^(BS)God spoke all these words, saying,

^2 (BT)“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

^3 (BU)“You shall have no other gods before^[f] me.

^4 (BV)“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ^5 (BW)You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am ^(BX)a jealous God, ^(BY)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing steadfast love to thousands^[g] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

^7 (BZ)“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

^8 (CA)“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ^9 (CB)Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the ^(CC)seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the ^(CD)sojourner who is within your gates. ¹¹ For ^(CE)in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

^12 (CF)“Honor your father and your mother, ^(CG)that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

^13 (CH)“You shall not murder.^[h]

^14 (CI)“You shall not commit adultery.

^15 (CJ)“You shall not steal.

^16 (CK)“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

^17 (CL)“You shall not covet ^(CM)your neighbor's house; ^(CN)you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”

¹⁸ Now when all the people saw ^(CO)the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid^[i] and trembled, and they stood far off ¹⁹ and said to Moses, ^(CP)“You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” ^20 (CQ)Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to ^(CR)test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” ²¹ The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the ^(CS)thick darkness where God was.

Laws About Altars

²² And the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have ^(CT)talked with you from heaven. ^23 (CU)You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. ²⁴ An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. ^(CV)In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and ^(CW)bless you. ^25 (CX)If you make me an altar of stone, ^(CY)you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it. ²⁶ And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.’

Laws About Slaves

21 “Now these are the ^(CZ)rules that you shall set before them. ^2 (DA)When you buy a Hebrew slave,^[j] he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. ³ If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone. ⁵ But ^(DB)if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ ⁶ then his master shall bring him to ^(DC)God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

⁷ “When a man ^(DD)sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. ⁸ If she does not please her master, who has designated her^[k] for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her. ⁹ If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. ¹⁰ If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or ^(DE)her marital rights. ¹¹ And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

^12 (DF)“Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. ^13 (DG)But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then ^(DH)I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. ¹⁴ But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, ^(DI)you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.

¹⁵ “Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.

^16 (DJ)“Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found ^(DK)in possession of him, shall be put to death.

^17 (DL)“Whoever curses^[l] his father or his mother shall be put to death.

¹⁸ “When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed, ¹⁹ then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed.

²⁰ “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. ²¹ But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the ^(DM)slave is his money.

²² “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and ^(DN)he shall pay as the ^(DO)judges determine. ²³ But if there is harm,^[m] then you shall pay ^(DP)life for life, ^24 (DQ)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

²⁶ “When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye. ²⁷ If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.

²⁸ “When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ^(DR)ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. ²⁹ But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. ³⁰ If ^(DS)a ransom is imposed on him, then ^(DT)he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him. ³¹ If it gores a man's son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule. ³² If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master ^(DU)thirty shekels^[n] of silver, and ^(DV)the ox shall be stoned.

Laws About Restitution

³³ “When a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, ³⁴ the owner of the pit shall make restoration. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead beast shall be his.

³⁵ “When one man's ox butts another's, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they shall share. ³⁶ Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall repay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his.

The Death of John the Baptist

14 ^(A)At that time ^(B)Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, ² and he said to his servants, ^(C)“This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” ³ For ^(D)Herod had seized John and bound him and ^(E)put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,^{[a] 4} because John had been saying to him, ^(F)“It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵ And though he wanted to put him to death, ^(G)he feared the people, because they held him to be ^(H)a prophet. ⁶ But when Herod's ^(I)birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, ⁷ so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. ⁸ Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” ⁹ And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. ¹⁰ He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, ¹¹ and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² And ^(J)his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

6 ^(A)He went away from there and came to ^(B)his hometown, and his disciples followed him. ² And ^(C)on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and ^(D)many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? ^3 (E)Is not this ^(F)the carpenter, the son of Mary and ^(G)brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And ^(H)they took offense at him. ⁴ And Jesus said to them, ^(I)“A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” ⁵ And ^(J)he could do no mighty work there, except that ^(K)he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And ^(L)he marveled because of their unbelief.

^(M)And he went about among the villages teaching.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

^7 (N)And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸ He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— ⁹ but to ^(O)wear sandals and not put on two tunics.^{[a] 10} And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. ¹¹ And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, ^(P)shake off the dust that is on your feet ^(Q)as a testimony against them.” ^12 (R)So they went out and ^(S)proclaimed ^(T)that people should repent. ^13 (U)And they cast out many demons and ^(V)anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

The Death of John the Baptist

^14 (W)King Herod heard of it, for Jesus'^[b] name had become known. Some^[c] said, ^(X)“John the Baptist^[d] has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” ^15 (Y)But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is ^(Z)a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” ¹⁶ But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” ^17 (AA)For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and ^(AB)bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. ^18 (AC)For John had been saying to Herod, ^(AD)“It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.” ¹⁹ And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, ²⁰ for Herod ^(AE)feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he ^(AF)heard him gladly.

²¹ But an opportunity came when Herod ^(AG)on his birthday ^(AH)gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²² For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” ²³ And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, ^(AI)up to half of my kingdom.” ²⁴ And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵ And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” ²⁶ And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. ²⁷ And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's^[e] head. He went and beheaded him in the prison ²⁸ and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his ^(AJ)disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.