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16 (A)So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were [a]thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud over the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the [b]foot of the mountain.
The Lord Visits Sinai
18 (B)Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it (C)in fire; and its smoke ascended like (D)the smoke of a furnace, and (E)the entire mountain [c]quaked violently. 19 When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and (F)God answered him with [d]thunder. 20 Then (G)the Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: “Go down, [e]warn the people, so that (H)they do not break through to the Lord to stare, and many of them [f]perish. 22 Also have the (I)priests who approach the Lord consecrate themselves, or else the Lord will break out against them.” 23 And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You [g]warned us, saying, ‘(J)Set boundaries around the mountain and consecrate it.’” 24 Then the Lord said to him, “[h]Go down and come up again, (K)you and Aaron with you; but do not let the (L)priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, or He will break out against them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.
The Ten Commandments
20 Then God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “(M)I am the Lord your God, (N)who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [i]slavery.
3 “(O)You shall have no other (P)gods [j]before Me.
4 “(Q)You shall not make for yourself [k]an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. 5 (R)You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a (S)jealous God, (T)inflicting the [l]punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing [m]favor to (U)thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 “(V)You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not [n]leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
8 “Remember (W)the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 (X)For six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it (Y)you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your [o]resident who [p]stays with you. 11 (Z)For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “(AA)Honor your father and your mother, so that your (AB)days may be prolonged on the land which the Lord your God gives you.
13 “(AC)You shall not murder.
14 “(AD)You shall not commit adultery.
15 “(AE)You shall not steal.
16 “(AF)You shall not [q]give false testimony against your (AG)neighbor.
17 “(AH)You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; (AI)you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 And (AJ)all the people were watching and hearing the [r]thunder and the lightning flashes, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it all, they trembled and stood at a distance. 19 (AK)Then they said to Moses, “Speak [s]to us yourself and we will listen; but do not have God speak [t]to us, or we will die!” 20 However, Moses said to the people, “(AL)Do not be afraid; for God has come in order (AM)to test you, and in order that (AN)the fear of Him may [u]remain with you, so that you will not sin.” 21 So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached (AO)the thick darkness where God was.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen that (AP)I have spoken [v]to you from heaven. 23 (AQ)You shall not make other gods besides Me; (AR)gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. 24 You shall make (AS)an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your (AT)burnt offerings and your (AU)peace offerings, (AV)your sheep and your oxen; in every place (AW)where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. 25 And if you make an altar of stone for Me, (AX)you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your chisel on it, you will profane it. 26 And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that (AY)your nakedness will not be exposed on it.’
Ordinances for the People
21 “Now these are the (AZ)ordinances which you are to set before them:
2 “If you buy (BA)a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall leave as a free man without a payment to you. 3 If he comes [w]alone, he shall leave [x]alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall leave with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall leave [y]alone. 5 But (BB)if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not leave as a free man,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to [z]God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an [aa]awl; and he shall serve him permanently.
7 “Now (BC)if a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to [ab]go free (BD)as the male slaves [ac]do. 8 If she is [ad]displeasing in the eyes of her master [ae]who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people, because of his [af]unfairness to her. 9 And if he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. 10 If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her [ag]food, her clothing, or (BE)her conjugal rights. 11 But if he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go [ah]free for nothing, without payment of money.
Personal Injuries
12 “(BF)He who strikes someone so that he dies shall certainly be put to death. 13 (BG)Yet [ai]if he did not lie in wait for him, but (BH)God caused him to fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee. 14 (BI)If, however, someone is enraged against his neighbor, so as to kill him in a cunning way, you are to take him even from My altar, to be put to death.
15 “And one who strikes his father or his mother shall certainly be put to death.
16 “Now (BJ)one who [aj]kidnaps someone, whether he sells him or he is found in his [ak]possession, shall certainly be put to death.
17 “And (BK)one who curses his father or his mother shall certainly be put to death.
18 “Now if people have a quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with a fist, and he does not die but [al]is confined to bed, 19 if he gets up and walks around outside on his staff, then he who struck him shall go unpunished; he shall only pay for his [am]loss of time, and [an]shall pay for his care until he is completely healed.
20 “And if someone strikes his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies [ao]at his hand, he shall [ap]be punished. 21 If, however, the slave [aq]survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken; (BL)for the slave is his [ar]property.
Eight Woes
13 “(A)But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, (B)because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter it yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.[a]
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one [b](C)proselyte; and when he becomes one, you [c]make him twice as much a son of [d](D)hell as yourselves.
16 “Woe to you, (E)blind guides, who say, ‘(F)Whoever swears by the [e]temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the [f]temple is obligated.’ 17 You fools and blind men! (G)Which is [g]more important, the gold or the [h]temple that sanctified the gold? 18 And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the [i]offering that is on it is obligated.’ 19 You blind men, (H)which is [j]more important, the [k]offering or the altar that sanctifies the [l]offering? 20 Therefore, the one who swears by the altar, swears both by [m]the altar and by everything on it. 21 And the one who swears by the [n]temple, swears both by [o]the temple and by Him who (I)dwells in it. 22 And the one who swears by [p]heaven, (J)swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.
23 “(K)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and [q]cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 You (L)blind guides, who [r]strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For (M)you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full [s]of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee, first (N)clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the [t]outside of it may also become clean.
27 “(O)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “(P)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves, that you (Q)are [u]sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 [v]Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 You snakes, (R)you [w]offspring of vipers, how [x]will you escape the [y]sentence of [z](S)hell?
34 “(T)Therefore, behold, (U)I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will (V)flog in your synagogues, and (W)persecute from city to city, 35 so that upon you will fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous (X)Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the (Y)son of Berechiah, whom (Z)you murdered between the [aa]temple and the altar. 36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon (AA)this generation.
Grieving over Jerusalem
37 “(AB)Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who (AC)kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, (AD)the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38 Behold, (AE)your house is being left to you desolate! 39 For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘(AF)Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
A Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer.
A Psalm of David.
28 To You, Lord, I call;
My (A)rock, do not be deaf to me,
For if You (B)are silent to me,
I will become like those who (C)go down to the pit.
2 Hear the (D)sound of my pleadings when I cry to You for help,
When I (E)raise my hands (F)toward [a]Your holy (G)sanctuary.
3 (H)Do not drag me away with the wicked
And with those who practice injustice,
Who (I)speak peace with their neighbors,
While evil is in their hearts.
4 Give back to them (J)according to their work and according to the evil of their practices;
Give back to them according to the work of their hands;
Repay them what is due them.
5 Because they (K)do not regard the works of the Lord
Nor the deeds of His hands,
He will tear them down and not build them up.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
Because He (L)has heard the sound of my pleading.
7 The Lord is my (M)strength and my (N)shield;
My heart (O)trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore (P)my heart triumphs,
And with (Q)my song I shall thank Him.
8 The Lord is [b]their (R)strength,
And He is a refuge of (S)salvation to His anointed.
9 (T)Save Your people and bless (U)Your inheritance;
Be their (V)shepherd also, and (W)carry them forever.
The Lures of the Prostitute
7 My son, (A)keep my words
And treasure my commandments within you.
2 (B)Keep my commandments and live,
And my [a]teaching (C)as the [b]apple of your eye.
3 (D)Bind them on your fingers;
(E)Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your intimate friend,
5 So that they may keep you from an [c]adulteress,
From the foreigner who flatters with her words.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.