Israel at Sinai

19 In the third month from the very day the Israelites left the land of Egypt, they came to the Sinai Wilderness. ² They traveled from Rephidim, came to the Sinai Wilderness, and camped in the wilderness. Israel camped there in front of the mountain.^(A)

³ Moses went up the mountain to God, and the Lord called^(B) to him from the mountain: “This is what you must say to the house of Jacob and explain to the Israelites: ⁴ ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.^{(C) 5} Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant,^(D) you will be my own possession^(E) out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine, ⁶ and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’^(F) These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.”

⁷ After Moses came back, he summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. ⁸ Then all the people responded together, “We will do all that the Lord has spoken.”^(G) So Moses brought the people’s words back to the Lord.

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud,^(H) so that the people will hear when I speak^(I) with you and will always believe you.” Moses reported the people’s words to the Lord, ¹⁰ and the Lord told Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes^{(J) 11} and be prepared by the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.^{(K) 12} Put boundaries for the people all around the mountain and say: Be careful that you don’t go up on the mountain or touch its base. Anyone who touches the mountain must be put to death.^{(L) 13} No hand may touch him;^[a] instead he will be stoned or shot with arrows and not live, whether animal or human. When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they may go up the mountain.”

¹⁴ Then Moses came down from the mountain to the people and consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵ He said to the people, “Be prepared by the third day. Do not have sexual relations with women.”

¹⁶ On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and a very loud blast from a ram’s horn, so that all the people in the camp shuddered. ¹⁷ Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the Lord came down on it in fire.^(M) Its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace,^(N) and the whole mountain shook violently.^{(O) 19} As the sound of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder.^(P)

²⁰ The Lord came down on Mount Sinai at the top of the mountain. Then the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and he went up. ²¹ The Lord directed Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the Lord; otherwise many of them will die.^{(Q) 22} Even the priests who come near the Lord must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out in anger against them.”^(R)

²³ Moses responded to the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, since you warned us: Put a boundary around the mountain and consecrate it.” ²⁴ And the Lord replied to him, “Go down and come back with Aaron. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out in anger against them.” ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Ten Commandments

20 Then God spoke all these words:

The People’s Reaction

¹⁸ All the people witnessed^[b] the thunder and lightning, the sound of the ram’s horn, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it^[c] they trembled and stood at a distance.^{(AI) 19} “You speak to us, and we will listen,” they said to Moses, “but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”^(AJ)

²⁰ Moses responded to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear him and will not^[d] sin.”^{(AK) 21} And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the total darkness where God was.^(AL)

Moses Receives Additional Laws

²² Then the Lord told Moses, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.^{(AM) 23} Do not make gods of silver to rival me; do not make gods of gold for yourselves.^(AN)

²⁴ “Make an earthen altar for me, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your flocks and herds. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause my name to be remembered.^{(AO) 25} If you make a stone altar for me, do not build it out of cut stones. If you use your chisel on it, you will defile it.^{(AP) 26} Do not go up to my altar on steps, so that your nakedness is not exposed on it.

The Barren Fig Tree

¹⁸ Early in the morning,^(A) as he was returning to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, he went up to it and found nothing on it except leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” At once the fig tree withered.

²⁰ When the disciples saw it, they were amazed and said, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”

²¹ Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you tell this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done.^{(B) 22} And if you believe, you will receive^(C) whatever you ask for in prayer.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

²³ When he entered the temple,^(D) the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority?” ^(E)

²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ Did John’s baptism come from heaven, or was it of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ^{(F) 26} But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we’re afraid of the crowd,^(G) because everyone considers John to be a prophet.”^{(H) 27} So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸ “What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go work in the vineyard today.’^(I)

²⁹ “He answered, ‘I don’t want to,’ but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ Then the man went to the other and said the same thing. ‘I will, sir,’ he answered, but he didn’t go. ³¹ Which of the two did his father’s will?”

They said, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness,^(J) and you didn’t believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; but you, when you saw it, didn’t even change your minds then and believe him.

The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

³³ “Listen^(K) to another parable:^(L) There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower.^(M) He leased it to tenant farmers and went away.^{(N) 34} When the time came to harvest fruit, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect his fruit. ³⁵ The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.^{(O) 36} Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. ³⁷ Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸ “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’^{(P) 39} So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”

⁴¹ “He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest.”^(Q)

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit. ⁴⁴ Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; ^(S) but on whomever it falls, it will shatter him.”^[c]

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,^(T) they knew he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ Although they were looking for a way to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because the people regarded him as a prophet.^(U)