Exodus 23
Christian Standard Bible
Laws about Honesty and Justice
23 “You must not spread a false report. Do not join[a] the wicked to be a malicious witness.(A)
2 “You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice.(B) 3 Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit.
4 “If you come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him.
5 “If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it.[b](C)
6 “You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit. 7 Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the guilty.(D) 8 You must not take a bribe,(E) for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and corrupts the words[c] of the righteous. 9 You must not oppress a resident alien;(F) you yourselves know how it feels to be a resident alien because you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
Sabbaths and Festivals
10 “Sow your land for six years and gather its produce.(G) 11 But during the seventh year you are to let it rest and leave it uncultivated, so that the poor among your people may eat from it and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12 “Do your work(H) for six days but rest on the seventh day so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave as well as the resident alien may be refreshed.
13 “Pay strict attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.[d](I)
14 “Celebrate a festival in my honor three times a year.(J) 15 Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib,[e] because you came out of Egypt in that month. No one is to appear before me empty-handed.(K) 16 Also observe the Festival of Harvest[f] with the firstfruits of your produce from what you sow in the field, and observe the Festival of Ingathering[g](L) at the end of the year, when you gather your produce[h] from the field. 17 Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord God.
18 “You must not offer the blood of my sacrifices with anything leavened. The fat of my festival offering must not remain until morning.(M)
19 “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your land to the house of the Lord your God.
“You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.(N)
Promises and Warnings
20 “I am going to send an angel(O) before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Be attentive to him and listen to him. Do not defy him, because he will not forgive your acts of rebellion, for my name is in him.(P) 22 But if you will carefully obey him and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy(Q) to your enemies and a foe to your foes. 23 For my angel will go before you and bring you to the land of the Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.(R) 24 Do not bow in worship to their gods, and do not serve them. Do not imitate their practices. Instead, demolish them[i] and smash their sacred pillars to pieces.(S) 25 Serve the Lord your God, and he[j] will bless your bread and your water. I will remove illnesses from you.(T) 26 No woman will miscarry or be childless in your land. I will give you the full number of your days.(U)
27 “I will cause the people ahead of you to feel terror[k] and will throw into confusion(V) all the nations you come to. I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you in retreat.[l] 28 I will send hornets[m](W) in front of you, and they will drive the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hethites away from you. 29 I will not drive them out ahead of you in a single year; otherwise, the land would become desolate, and wild animals would multiply against you. 30 I will drive them out little by little ahead of you until you have become numerous[n] and take possession of the land. 31 I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea,[o] and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River.[p] For I will place the inhabitants of the land under your control, and you will drive them out ahead of you.(X) 32 You must not make a covenant(Y) with them or their gods. 33 They must not remain in your land, or else they will make you sin against me. If you serve their gods, it will be a snare for you.”(Z)
Footnotes
- 23:1 Lit join hands with
- 23:5 Or load, you must refrain from leaving it to him; you must set it free with him
- 23:8 Or and subverts the cause
- 23:13 Lit mouth
- 23:15 March–April; called Nisan in the post-exilic period; Neh 2:1; Est 3:7
- 23:16 The Festival of Harvest is called Festival of Weeks elsewhere; Ex 34:22. In the NT it is called Pentecost; Ac 2:1.
- 23:16 The Festival of Ingathering is called Festival of Shelters elsewhere; Lv 23:34–36.
- 23:16 Lit labors
- 23:24 Probably the idols
- 23:25 LXX, Vg read I
- 23:27 Lit will send terror of me ahead of you
- 23:27 Or I will give your enemies to you by the neck
- 23:28 Or send panic
- 23:30 Lit fruitful
- 23:31 Lit the Sea of the Philistines
- 23:31 Lit the River
John 2
Christian Standard Bible
The First Sign: Turning Water into Wine
2 On the third day a wedding took place in Cana(A) of Galilee.(B) Jesus’s mother(C) was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding as well. 3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’s mother told him, “They don’t have any wine.”
4 “What has this concern of yours to do with me,[a](D) woman?”(E) Jesus asked. “My hour has not yet come.”
5 “Do whatever he tells you,” his mother told the servants.
6 Now six stone water jars had been set there for Jewish purification.(F) Each contained twenty or thirty gallons.[b]
7 “Fill the jars with water,” Jesus told them. So they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the headwaiter.”[c] And they did.
9 When the headwaiter tasted the water (after it had become wine), he did not know where it came from—though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He called the groom 10 and told him, “Everyone sets out the fine wine first, then, after people are drunk, the inferior. But you have kept the fine wine until now.”
11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana(G) of Galilee.(H) He revealed(I) his glory,(J) and his disciples believed in him.
12 After this, he went down to Capernaum,(K) together with his mother, his brothers,(L) and his disciples, and they stayed there only a few days.
Cleansing the Temple
13 The Jewish Passover(M) was near, and so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.(N) 14 In the temple(O) he found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and he also found the money changers sitting there. 15 After making a whip out of cords,(P) he drove everyone out of the temple with their sheep(Q) and oxen. He also poured out the money changers’ coins and overturned the tables. 16 He told those who were selling doves, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s(R) house(S) into a marketplace!”[d](T)
17 And his disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal(U) for your house will consume(V) me.[e](W)
18 So the Jews replied to him, “What sign will you show us for doing these things?”
19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple,[f](X) and I will raise it up in three days.”(Y)
20 Therefore the Jews said, “This temple took forty-six years to build,[g] and will you raise it up in three days?” (Z)
21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.(AA) 22 So when he was raised from the dead,(AB) his disciples remembered that he had said this,(AC) and they believed the Scripture(AD) and the statement Jesus had made.
23 While he was in Jerusalem(AE) during the Passover Festival,(AF) many believed in his name(AG) when they saw the signs he was doing. 24 Jesus, however, would not entrust himself to them, since he knew them all 25 and because he did not need anyone to testify about man; for he himself knew what was in man.(AH)
Job 41
Christian Standard Bible
41 Can you pull in Leviathan(A) with a hook(B)
or tie his tongue down with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord[a] through his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?(C)
3 Will he beg you for mercy
or speak softly to you?
4 Will he make a covenant with you
so that you can take him as a slave forever?(D)
5 Can you play with him like a bird
or put him on a leash[b] for your girls?
6 Will traders bargain for him
or divide him among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his hide with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?
8 Lay a[c] hand on him.
You will remember the battle
and never repeat it!
9 Any hope of capturing him proves false.
Does a person not collapse at the very sight of him?
10 No one is ferocious enough to rouse Leviathan;(E)
who then can stand against me?
11 Who confronted me, that I should repay him?
Everything under heaven belongs to me.(F)
12 I cannot be silent about his limbs,
his power, and his graceful proportions.
13 Who can strip off his outer covering?
Who can penetrate his double layer of armor?[d](G)
14 Who can open his jaws,[e]
surrounded by those terrifying teeth?
15 His pride is in his rows of scales,
closely sealed together.
16 One scale is so close to another[f]
that no air can pass between them.
17 They are joined to one another,
so closely connected[g] they cannot be separated.
18 His snorting[h] flashes with light,
while his eyes are like the rays[i] of dawn.
19 Flaming torches shoot from his mouth;
fiery sparks fly out!
20 Smoke billows from his nostrils(H)
as from a boiling pot or burning reeds.
21 His breath sets coals ablaze,
and flames pour out of his mouth.
22 Strength resides in his neck,
and dismay dances before him.
23 The folds of his flesh are joined together,
solid as metal[j] and immovable.
24 His heart is as hard as a rock,
as hard as a lower millstone!
25 When Leviathan rises, the mighty[k] are terrified;
they withdraw because of his thrashing.
26 The sword that reaches him will have no effect,
nor will a spear, dart, or arrow.
27 He regards iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
28 No arrow can make him flee;
slingstones become like stubble to him.
29 A club is regarded as stubble,
and he laughs(I) at the sound of a javelin.
30 His undersides are jagged potsherds,
spreading the mud like a threshing sledge.(J)
31 He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron;
he makes the sea like an ointment jar.
32 He leaves a shining wake behind him;[l]
one would think the deep had gray hair!
33 He has no equal on earth—
a creature devoid of fear!
34 He surveys everything that is haughty;
he is king over all the proud beasts.[m]
Footnotes
- 41:2 Lit reed
- 41:5 Lit or bind him
- 41:8 Lit your
- 41:13 LXX; MT reads double bridle
- 41:14 Lit open the doors of his face
- 41:16 Lit One by one they approach
- 41:17 Lit another; they cling together and
- 41:18 Or sneezing
- 41:18 Lit eyelids
- 41:23 Lit together, hard on him
- 41:25 Or the divine beings
- 41:32 Lit a path
- 41:34 Lit the children of pride
2 Corinthians 11
Christian Standard Bible
Paul and the False Apostles
11 I wish you would put up with a little foolishness(A) from me. Yes, do put up with me![a] 2 For I am jealous(B) for you with a godly jealousy,(C) because I have promised you in marriage to one husband—to present a pure(D) virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear that, as the serpent(E) deceived(F) Eve(G) by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a sincere and pure[b] devotion to Christ.(H) 4 For if a person comes and preaches another Jesus,(I) whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit,(J) which you had not received, or a different gospel,(K) which you had not accepted, you put up with it splendidly!
5 Now I consider myself in no way inferior to those “super-apostles.”(L) 6 Even if I am untrained in public speaking,(M) I am certainly not untrained in knowledge.(N) Indeed, we have in every way made that clear to you in everything. 7 Or did I commit a sin by humbling(O) myself so that you might be exalted,(P) because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?(Q) 8 I robbed other churches by taking pay from them to minister to you. 9 When I was present with you and in need, I did not burden anyone, since the brothers who came from Macedonia(R) supplied my needs.(S) I have kept myself, and will keep myself, from burdening you in any way. 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped[c] in the regions of Achaia.(T) 11 Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows I do!
12 But I will continue to do what I am doing, in order to deny[d] an opportunity to those who want to be regarded as our equals in what they boast about. 13 For such people are false apostles,(U) deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be according to their works.(V)
Paul’s Sufferings for Christ
16 I repeat: Let no one consider me a fool. But if you do, at least accept me as a fool so that I can also boast a little. 17 What I am saying in this matter[e] of boasting, I don’t speak as the Lord would, but as it were, foolishly. 18 Since many boast according to the flesh, I will also boast. 19 For you, being so wise, gladly put up with fools!(W) 20 In fact, you put up with it if someone enslaves you, if someone exploits(X) you, if someone takes advantage of you, if someone is arrogant toward you, if someone slaps(Y) you in the face. 21 I say this to our shame: We have been too weak for that!
But in whatever anyone dares to boast—I am talking foolishly—I also dare: 22 Are they Hebrews?(Z) So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the descendants of Abraham?(AA) So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? I’m talking like a madman—I’m a better one: with far more labors, many more imprisonments, far worse beatings, many times near death.
24 Five times I received the forty lashes minus one from the Jews.(AB) 25 Three times I was beaten with rods.(AC) Once I received a stoning.(AD) Three times I was shipwrecked.(AE) I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. 26 On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers,(AF) dangers from my own people,(AG) dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, and dangers among false brothers; 27 toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and without clothing.(AH) 28 Not to mention[f] other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble,(AI) and I do not burn with indignation?
30 If boasting is necessary, I will boast about my weaknesses. 31 The God and Father(AJ) of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows I am not lying. 32 In Damascus,(AK) a ruler[g] under King Aretas guarded the city of Damascus in order to arrest me. 33 So I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped from his hands.(AL)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Bible Gateway Recommends
