33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath(A) to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’(B) I will send an angel(C) before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.(D) Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey.(E) But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked(F) people and I might destroy(G) you on the way.”

When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn(H) and no one put on any ornaments. For the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people.(I) If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy(J) you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.’” So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.(K)

The Tent of Meeting

Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.”(L) Anyone inquiring(M) of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents,(N) watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud(O) would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke(P) with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent.(Q) 11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face,(R) as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua(S) son of Nun did not leave the tent.

Moses and the Glory of the Lord

12 Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’(T) but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name(U) and you have found favor(V) with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways(W) so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”(X)

14 The Lord replied, “My Presence(Y) will go with you, and I will give you rest.”(Z)

15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence(AA) does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us?(AB) What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”(AC)

17 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked,(AD) because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”(AE)

18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”(AF)

19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass(AG) in front of you, and I will proclaim my name,(AH) the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.(AI) 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see(AJ) me and live.”

21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock(AK) and cover you with my hand(AL) until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

A Common Destiny for All

So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.(A) All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,[a] the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

As it is with the good,
    so with the sinful;
as it is with those who take oaths,
    so with those who are afraid to take them.(B)

This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.(C) The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live,(D) and afterward they join the dead.(E) Anyone who is among the living has hope[b]—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

For the living know that they will die,
    but the dead know nothing;(F)
they have no further reward,
    and even their name(G) is forgotten.(H)
Their love, their hate
    and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
    in anything that happens under the sun.(I)

Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine(J) with a joyful heart,(K) for God has already approved what you do. Always be clothed in white,(L) and always anoint your head with oil. Enjoy life with your wife,(M) whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot(N) in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10 Whatever(O) your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,(P) for in the realm of the dead,(Q) where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.(R)

11 I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift
    or the battle to the strong,(S)
nor does food come to the wise(T)
    or wealth to the brilliant
    or favor to the learned;
but time and chance(U) happen to them all.(V)

12 Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:

As fish are caught in a cruel net,
    or birds are taken in a snare,
so people are trapped by evil times(W)
    that fall unexpectedly upon them.(X)

Wisdom Better Than Folly

13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom(Y) that greatly impressed me: 14 There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.(Z) 16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.(AA)

17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
    than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom(AB) is better than weapons of war,
    but one sinner destroys much good.

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:2 Septuagint (Aquila), Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew does not have and the bad.
  2. Ecclesiastes 9:4 Or What then is to be chosen? With all who live, there is hope

Repent or Perish

13 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate(A) had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?(B) I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam(C) fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent,(D) you too will all perish.”

Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.(E) So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down!(F) Why should it use up the soil?’

“‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman on the Sabbath

10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,(G) 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years.(H) She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her,(I) and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath,(J) the synagogue leader(K) said to the people, “There are six days for work.(L) So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?(M) 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham,(N) whom Satan(O) has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated,(P) but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast(Q)(R)

18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God(S) like?(T) What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree,(U) and the birds perched in its branches.”(V)

20 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds[a] of flour until it worked all through the dough.”(W)

The Narrow Door

22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.(X) 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door,(Y) because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’

“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’(Z)

26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’(AA)

28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth,(AB) when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west(AC) and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”(AD)

Jesus’ Sorrow for Jerusalem(AE)(AF)

31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod(AG) wants to kill you.”

32 He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’(AH) 33 In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet(AI) can die outside Jerusalem!

34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,(AJ) and you were not willing. 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate.(AK) I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’[b](AL)

Footnotes

  1. Luke 13:21 Or about 27 kilograms
  2. Luke 13:35 Psalm 118:26

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