Responsibility for Property

22 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall ^(A)restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. ² If the thief is found ^(B)breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be ^(C)no guilt for his bloodshed. ³ If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. He should make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be ^(D)sold^[a] for his theft. ⁴ If the theft is certainly ^(E)found alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or donkey or sheep, he shall ^(F)restore double.

⁵ “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed, and lets loose his animal, and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

⁶ “If fire breaks out and catches in thorns, so that stacked grain, standing grain, or the field is consumed, he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.

⁷ “If a man ^(G)delivers to his neighbor money or articles to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, ^(H)if the thief is found, he shall pay double. ⁸ If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the ^(I)judges to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor’s goods.

⁹ “For any kind of trespass, whether it concerns an ox, a donkey, a sheep, or clothing, or for any kind of lost thing which another claims to be his, the ^(J)cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whomever the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor. ¹⁰ If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is hurt, or driven away, no one seeing it, ¹¹ then an ^(K)oath of the Lord shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good. ¹² But ^(L)if, in fact, it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it. ¹³ If it is ^(M)torn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring it as evidence, and he shall not make good what was torn.

¹⁴ “And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it becomes injured or dies, the owner of it not being with it, he shall surely make it good. ¹⁵ If its owner was with it, he shall not make it good; if it was hired, it came for its hire.

Moral and Ceremonial Principles

^16 (N)“If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. ¹⁷ If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the ^(O)bride-price of virgins.

^18 (P)“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.

^19 (Q)“Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.

^20 (R)“He who sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

^21 (S)“You shall neither mistreat a ^[b]stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

^22 (T)“You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. ²³ If you afflict them in any way, and they ^(U)cry at all to Me, I will surely ^(V)hear their cry; ²⁴ and My ^(W)wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; ^(X)your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

^25 (Y)“If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him ^(Z)interest. ^26 (AA)If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. ²⁷ For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am ^(AB)gracious.

^28 (AC)“You shall not revile God, nor curse a ^(AD)ruler of your people.

²⁹ “You shall not delay to offer ^(AE)the first of your ripe produce and your juices. ^(AF)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. ^30 (AG)Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother ^(AH)seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

³¹ “And you shall be ^(AI)holy men to Me: ^(AJ)you shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Justice for All

23 “You ^(AK)shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an ^(AL)unrighteous witness. ^2 (AM)You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; ^(AN)nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. ³ You shall not show partiality to a ^(AO)poor man in his dispute.

^4 (AP)“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. ^5 (AQ)If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.

^6 (AR)“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. ^7 (AS)Keep yourself far from a false matter; ^(AT)do not kill the innocent and righteous. For ^(AU)I will not justify the wicked. ⁸ And ^(AV)you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

⁹ “Also ^(AW)you shall not oppress a ^[c]stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Law of Sabbaths

^10 (AX)“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, ¹¹ but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your ^[d]olive grove. ^12 (AY)Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.

¹³ “And in all that I have said to you, ^(AZ)be circumspect and ^(BA)make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.

Three Annual Feasts^(BB)

^14 (BC)“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: ^15 (BD)You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; ^(BE)none shall appear before Me empty); ^16 (BF)and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and ^(BG)the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.

^17 (BH)“Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord ^[e]God.

^18 (BI)“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened ^(BJ)bread; nor shall the fat of My ^[f]sacrifice remain until morning. ^19 (BK)The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. ^(BL)You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

The Angel and the Promises

^20 (BM)“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. ²¹ Beware of Him and obey His voice; ^(BN)do not provoke Him, for He will ^(BO)not pardon your transgressions; for ^(BP)My name is in Him. ²² But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then ^(BQ)I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. ^23 (BR)For My Angel will go before you and ^(BS)bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will ^[g]cut them off. ²⁴ You shall not ^(BT)bow down to their gods, nor serve them, ^(BU)nor do according to their works; ^(BV)but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.

²⁵ “So you shall ^(BW)serve the Lord your God, and ^(BX)He will bless your bread and your water. And ^(BY)I will take sickness away from the midst of you. ^26 (BZ)No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will ^(CA)fulfill the number of your days.

²⁷ “I will send ^(CB)My fear before you, I will ^(CC)cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. ²⁸ And ^(CD)I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. ^29 (CE)I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. ³⁰ Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. ³¹ And ^(CF)I will set your ^[h]bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the ^[i]River. For I will ^(CG)deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. ^32 (CH)You shall make no ^[j]covenant with them, nor with their gods. ³³ They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, ^(CI)it will surely be a snare to you.”

Israel Affirms the Covenant

24 Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, ^(CJ)Nadab and Abihu, ^(CK)and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. ² And Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.”

³ So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ^[k]judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, ^(CL)“All the words which the Lord has said we will do.” ⁴ And Moses ^(CM)wrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve ^(CN)pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered ^(CO)burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. ⁶ And Moses ^(CP)took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ⁷ Then he ^(CQ)took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.” ⁸ And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is ^(CR)the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.”

On the Mountain with God

⁹ Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, ¹⁰ and they ^(CS)saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of ^(CT)sapphire stone, and it was like the ^(CU)very^[l] heavens in its clarity. ¹¹ But on the nobles of the children of Israel He ^(CV)did not ^[m]lay His hand. So ^(CW)they saw God, and they ^(CX)ate and drank.

¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(CY)“Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you ^(CZ)tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.”

¹³ So Moses arose with ^(DA)his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. ¹⁴ And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and ^(DB)Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.” ¹⁵ Then Moses went up into the mountain, and ^(DC)a cloud covered the mountain.

¹⁶ Now ^(DD)the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. ¹⁷ The sight of the glory of the Lord was like ^(DE)a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. ¹⁸ So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And ^(DF)Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Jesus Handed Over to Pontius Pilate^(A)

23 Then ^(B)the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to ^(C)Pilate. ² And they began to ^(D)accuse Him, saying, “We found this fellow ^(E)perverting ^[a]the nation, and ^(F)forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying ^(G)that He Himself is Christ, a King.”

^3 (H)Then Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

He answered him and said, “It is as you say.”

⁴ So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, ^(I)“I find no fault in this Man.”

⁵ But they were the more fierce, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from ^(J)Galilee to this place.”

Jesus Faces Herod

⁶ When Pilate heard ^[b]of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean. ⁷ And as soon as he knew that He belonged to ^(K)Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸ Now when Herod saw Jesus, ^(L)he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because ^(M)he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. ⁹ Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him ^(N)nothing. ¹⁰ And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him. ^11 (O)Then Herod, with his ^[c]men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹² That very day ^(P)Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

Taking the Place of Barabbas^(Q)

^13 (R)Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, ¹⁴ said to them, ^(S)“You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, ^(T)having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; ¹⁵ no, neither did Herod, for ^[d]I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. ^16 (U)I will therefore chastise Him and release Him” ^17 (V)(for^[e] it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).

¹⁸ And ^(W)they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”— ¹⁹ who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.

²⁰ Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. ²¹ But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

²² Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.”

²³ But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men ^[f]and of the chief priests prevailed. ²⁴ So ^(X)Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. ^25 (Y)And he released ^[g]to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

The King on a Cross^(Z)

^26 (AA)Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.

²⁷ And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. ²⁸ But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ^29 (AB)For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ ³⁰ Then they will begin ^(AC)‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’ ^31 (AD)For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”

^32 (AE)There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. ³³ And ^(AF)when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. ^34 [h]Then Jesus said, “Father, ^(AG)forgive them, for ^(AH)they do not know what they do.”

And ^(AI)they divided His garments and cast lots. ³⁵ And ^(AJ)the people stood looking on. But even the ^(AK)rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”

³⁶ The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him ^(AL)sour wine, ³⁷ and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”

^38 (AM)And an inscription also was ^[i]written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

^39 (AN)Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, ^[j]“If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”

⁴⁰ But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done ^(AO)nothing wrong.” ⁴² Then he said ^[k]to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

⁴³ And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in ^(AP)Paradise.”

Jesus Dies on the Cross^(AQ)

^44 (AR)Now it ^[l]was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. ⁴⁵ Then the sun was ^[m]darkened, and ^(AS)the veil of the temple was torn in ^[n]two. ⁴⁶ And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ^(AT)‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” ^(AU)Having said this, He breathed His last.

^47 (AV)So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”

⁴⁸ And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. ^49 (AW)But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb^(AX)

^50 (AY)Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. ⁵¹ He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, ^(AZ)who^[o] himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵² This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ^53 (BA)Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. ⁵⁴ That day was ^(BB)the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.

⁵⁵ And the women ^(BC)who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and ^(BD)they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then they returned and ^(BE)prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath ^(BF)according to the commandment.

Man’s Treachery and God’s Constancy

To the Chief Musician. ^(A)On ^[a]an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.

Folly of the Godless, and God’s Final Triumph^(A)

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.