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The New Tablets of the Covenant
34 [a] The Lord said to Moses, “Cut out[b] two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write[c] on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you smashed. 2 Be prepared[d] in the morning, and go up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and station yourself[e] for me there on the top of the mountain. 3 No one is to come up with you; do not let anyone be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks or the herds may graze in front of that mountain.” 4 So Moses[f] cut out two tablets of stone like the first;[g] early in the morning he went up[h] to Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him, and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone.
5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Lord by name.[i] 6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed:[j] “The Lord, the Lord,[k] the compassionate and gracious[l] God, slow to anger,[m] and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness,[n] 7 keeping loyal love for thousands,[o] forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression[p] of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”
8 Moses quickly bowed[q] to the ground and worshiped 9 and said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, let my Lord[r] go among us, for we[s] are a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
10 He said, “See, I am going to make[t] a covenant before all your people. I will do wonders such as have not been done[u] in all the earth, nor in any nation. All the people among whom you live will see the work of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I am doing with you.[v]
11 “Obey[w] what I am commanding you this day. I am going to drive out[x] before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 12 Be careful not to make[y] a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it become a snare[z] among you. 13 Rather you must destroy their altars, smash their images, and cut down their Asherah poles.[aa] 14 For you must not worship[ab] any other god,[ac] for the Lord, whose name[ad] is Jealous, is a jealous God. 15 Be careful[ae] not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when[af] they prostitute themselves[ag] to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you,[ah] you will eat from his sacrifice; 16 and you then take[ai] his daughters for your sons, and when his daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will make your sons prostitute themselves to their gods as well. 17 You must not make yourselves molten gods.
18 “You must keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days[aj] you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you; do this[ak] at the appointed time of the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out of Egypt.
19 “Every firstborn of the womb[al] belongs to me, even every firstborn[am] of your cattle that is a male,[an] whether ox or sheep. 20 Now the firstling[ao] of a donkey you may redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then break its neck.[ap] You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons.
“No one will appear before me empty-handed.[aq]
21 “On six days[ar] you may labor, but on the seventh day you must rest;[as] even at the time of plowing and of harvest[at] you are to rest.[au]
22 “You must observe[av] the Feast of Weeks—the firstfruits of the harvest of wheat—and the Feast of Ingathering at the end[aw] of the year. 23 At three times[ax] in the year all your men[ay] must appear before the Sovereign Lord,[az] the God of Israel. 24 For I will drive out[ba] the nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one will covet[bb] your land when you go up[bc] to appear before the Lord your God three times[bd] in the year.
25 “You must not offer the blood of my sacrifice with yeast; the sacrifice from the Feast of Passover must not remain until the following morning.[be]
26 “The first of the firstfruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the Lord your God.
“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”[bf]
27 The Lord said to Moses, “Write down[bg] these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights;[bh] he did not eat bread, and he did not drink water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.[bi]
The Radiant Face of Moses
29 [bj] Now when Moses came down[bk] from Mount Sinai with[bl] the two tablets of the testimony in his hand[bm]—when he came down[bn] from the mountain, Moses[bo] did not know that the skin of his face shone[bp] while he talked with him. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone,[bq] and they were afraid to approach him. 31 But Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and Moses spoke to them. 32 After this all the Israelites approached, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses finished[br] speaking[bs] with them, he would[bt] put a veil on his face. 34 But when Moses went in[bu] before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out.[bv] Then he would come out and tell the Israelites what he had been commanded.[bw] 35 When the Israelites would see[bx] the face of Moses, that[by] the skin of Moses’ face shone, Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with the Lord.[bz]
Sabbath Regulations
35 Moses assembled the whole community of the Israelites and said to them, “These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do.[ca] 2 In six days[cb] work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a holy day[cc] for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord.[cd] Anyone who does work on it will be put to death. 3 You must not kindle a fire[ce] in any of your homes[cf] on the Sabbath day.”[cg]
Willing Workers
4 [ch] Moses spoke to the whole community of the Israelites, “This is the word that the Lord has commanded: 5 ‘Take[ci] an offering for the Lord. Let everyone who has a willing heart[cj] bring[ck] an offering to the Lord:[cl] gold, silver, bronze; 6 blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen; goats’ hair; 7 ram skins dyed red; fine leather;[cm] acacia wood; 8 olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 9 onyx stones, and other gems[cn] for mounting[co] on the ephod and the breastpiece.
15 During the feast the governor was accustomed to release one prisoner to the crowd,[a] whomever they wanted. 16 At that time they had in custody a notorious prisoner named Jesus[b] Barabbas. 17 So after they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus[c] Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?”[d] 18 (For he knew that they had handed him over because of envy.)[e] 19 As[f] he was sitting on the judgment seat,[g] his wife sent a message[h] to him:[i] “Have nothing to do with that innocent man;[j] I have suffered greatly as a result of a dream[k] about him today.” 20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. 21 The[l] governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas!” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?”[m] They all said, “Crucify him!”[n] 23 He asked, “Why? What wrong has he done?” But they shouted more insistently, “Crucify him!”
Jesus is Condemned and Mocked
24 When[o] Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but that instead a riot was starting, he took some water, washed his hands before the crowd and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. You take care of it yourselves!”[p] 25 In[q] reply all the people said, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released Barabbas for them. But after he had Jesus flogged,[r] he handed him over[s] to be crucified.[t] 27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s residence[u] and gathered the whole cohort[v] around him. 28 They[w] stripped him and put a scarlet robe[x] around him, 29 and after braiding[y] a crown of thorns,[z] they put it on his head. They[aa] put a staff[ab] in his right hand, and kneeling down before him, they mocked him:[ac] “Hail, king of the Jews!”[ad] 30 They[ae] spat on him and took the staff[af] and struck him repeatedly[ag] on the head. 31 When[ah] they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then[ai] they led him away to crucify him.
12 How blessed[a] is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession.[b]
13 The Lord watches[c] from heaven;
he sees all people.[d]
14 From the place where he lives he looks carefully
at all the earth’s inhabitants.
15 He is the one who forms every human heart,[e]
and takes note of all their actions.
16 No king is delivered by his vast army;
a warrior is not saved by his great might.
17 A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory;[f]
despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.
18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers,[g]
those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness[h]
19 by saving their lives from death[i]
and sustaining them during times of famine.[j]
20 We[k] wait for the Lord;
he is our deliverer[l] and shield.[m]
21 For our hearts rejoice in him,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May we experience your faithfulness, O Lord,[n]
for[o] we wait for you.
The Consequences of Accepting Wisdom or Folly[a]
9 Wisdom has built her house;
she has carved out its seven pillars.[b]
2 She has prepared her meat,[c] she has mixed her wine;
she also has arranged her table.[d]
3 She has sent out her female servants;
she calls out[e] on the highest places[f] of the city.
4 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here.”
To those[g] who lack understanding,[h] she has said,[i]
5 “Come, eat[j] some of my food,
and drink some of the wine I have mixed.[k]
6 Abandon your foolish ways[l] so that you may live,[m]
and proceed[n] in the way of understanding.”
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