Defilement Comes from Within^(A)

15 Then ^(B)the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, ^2 (C)“Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

³ He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? ⁴ For God commanded, saying, ^(D)‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ^(E)‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ ⁵ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, ^(F)“Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— ⁶ then he need not honor his father ^[a]or mother.’ Thus you have made the ^[b]commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. ^7 (G)Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

^10 (J)When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: ^11 (K)Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”

¹² Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”

¹³ But He answered and said, ^(L)“Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Let them alone. ^(M)They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”

^15 (N)Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”

¹⁶ So Jesus said, ^(O)“Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not yet understand that ^(P)whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? ¹⁸ But ^(Q)those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. ^19 (R)For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. ²⁰ These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

Warnings on the Journey to Jerusalem

21 Now it came to pass, that when we had departed from them and set sail, running a straight course we came to Cos, the following day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. ² And finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. ³ When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo. ⁴ And finding ^[a]disciples, we stayed there seven days. ^(A)They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. ⁵ When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And ^(B)we knelt down on the shore and prayed. ⁶ When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned ^(C)home.

⁷ And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day. ⁸ On the next day we ^[b]who were Paul’s companions departed and came to ^(D)Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip ^(E)the evangelist, ^(F)who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. ⁹ Now this man had four virgin daughters ^(G)who prophesied. ¹⁰ And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named ^(H)Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ^(I)‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”

¹² Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, ^(J)“What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

¹⁴ So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, ^(K)“The will of the Lord be done.”

Paul Urged to Make Peace

¹⁵ And after those days we ^[c]packed and went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Also some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to lodge.

^17 (L)And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. ¹⁸ On the following day Paul went in with us to ^(M)James, and all the elders were present. ¹⁹ When he had greeted them, ^(N)he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles ^(O)through his ministry. ²⁰ And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all ^(P)zealous for the law; ²¹ but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. ^22 [d]What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. ²³ Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. ²⁴ Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may ^(Q)shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. ²⁵ But concerning the Gentiles who believe, ^(R)we have written and decided ^[e]that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from ^[f]sexual immorality.”

Arrested in the Temple

²⁶ Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, ^(S)entered the temple ^(T)to announce the ^[g]expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.

The Lord the Avenger of His People

A Psalm of David.

The Gold Calf^(A)

32 Now when the people saw that Moses ^(B)delayed coming down from the mountain, the people ^(C)gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, ^(D)“Come, make us ^[a]gods that shall ^(E)go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who ^(F)brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

² And Aaron said to them, “Break off the ^(G)golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. ^4 (H)And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf.

Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that ^(I)brought you out of the land of Egypt!”

⁵ So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a ^(J)proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” ⁶ Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people ^(K)sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(L)“Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt ^(M)have corrupted themselves. ⁸ They have turned aside quickly out of the way which ^(N)I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ^(O)‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ” ⁹ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(P)“I have seen this people, and indeed it is a ^[b]stiff-necked people! ¹⁰ Now therefore, ^(Q)let Me alone, that ^(R)My wrath may burn hot against them and I may ^[c]consume them. And ^(S)I will make of you a great nation.”

^11 (T)Then Moses pleaded with ^[d]the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? ^12 (U)Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and ^(V)relent from this harm to Your people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You ^(W)swore by Your own self, and said to them, ^(X)‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” ¹⁴ So the Lord ^(Y)relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.

¹⁵ And ^(Z)Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. ¹⁶ Now the ^(AA)tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.

¹⁷ And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.”

¹⁸ But he said:

¹⁹ So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that ^(AB)he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. ^20 (AC)Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it. ²¹ And Moses said to Aaron, ^(AD)“What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”

²² So Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. ^(AE)You know the people, that they are set on evil. ²³ For they said to me, ‘Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ ²⁴ And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”

²⁵ Now when Moses saw that the people were ^(AF)unrestrained (for Aaron ^(AG)had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), ²⁶ then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side—come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. ²⁷ And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and ^(AH)let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’ ” ²⁸ So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. ^29 (AI)Then Moses said, ^[e]“Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother.”

³⁰ Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, ^(AJ)“You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the Lord; ^(AK)perhaps I can ^(AL)make atonement for your sin.” ³¹ Then Moses ^(AM)returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have ^(AN)made for themselves a god of gold! ³² Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, ^(AO)blot me ^(AP)out of Your book which You have written.”

³³ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(AQ)“Whoever has sinned against Me, I will ^(AR)blot him out of My book. ³⁴ Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have ^(AS)spoken to you. ^(AT)Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, ^(AU)in the day when I ^(AV)visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin.”

³⁵ So the Lord plagued the people because of ^(AW)what they did with the calf which Aaron made.

The Command to Leave Sinai

33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you ^(AX)and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ^(AY)‘To your descendants I will give it.’ ^2 (AZ)And I will send My Angel before you, ^(BA)and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. ³ Go up ^(BB)to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest ^(BC)I ^[f]consume you on the way, for you are a ^(BD)stiff-necked^[g] people.”

⁴ And when the people heard this bad news, ^(BE)they mourned, ^(BF)and no one put on his ornaments. ⁵ For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ^[h]ornaments, that I may ^(BG)know what to do to you.’ ” ⁶ So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.

Moses Meets with the Lord

⁷ Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and ^(BH)called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who ^(BI)sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. ⁸ So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood ^(BJ)at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. ⁹ And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord ^(BK)talked with Moses. ¹⁰ All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and ^(BL)worshiped, each man in his tent door. ¹¹ So ^(BM)the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but ^(BN)his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

The Promise of God’s Presence

¹² Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, ^(BO)You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ^(BP)‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ ¹³ Now therefore, I pray, ^(BQ)if I have found grace in Your sight, ^(BR)show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is ^(BS)Your people.”

¹⁴ And He said, ^(BT)“My Presence will go with you, and I will give you ^(BU)rest.”

¹⁵ Then he said to Him, ^(BV)“If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. ¹⁶ For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, ^(BW)except You go with us? So we ^(BX)shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”

¹⁷ So the Lord said to Moses, ^(BY)“I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”

¹⁸ And he said, “Please, show me ^(BZ)Your glory.”

¹⁹ Then He said, “I will make all My ^(CA)goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. ^(CB)I will be gracious to whom I will be ^(CC)gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” ²⁰ But He said, “You cannot see My face; for ^(CD)no man shall see Me, and live.” ²¹ And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. ²² So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you ^(CE)in the cleft of the rock, and will ^(CF)cover you with My hand while I pass by. ²³ Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall ^(CG)not be seen.”