Old/New Testament
Bezalel and Oholiab Help
31 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have ·chosen [L called by name] Bezalel son of Uri from the tribe of Judah. (Uri was the son of Hur.) 3 I have filled Bezalel with the ·Spirit [or spirit] of God and have given him the ·skill [wisdom], ability, and knowledge to do all kinds of work. 4 He is able to ·design [plan] pieces to be made from gold, silver, and bronze, 5 to cut jewels and put them in metal, to ·carve [engrave] wood, and to do all kinds of work. 6 I have also ·chosen [L given him] Oholiab son of Ahisamach from the tribe of Dan to work with Bezalel. I have given ·skills [wisdom] to all the craftsmen, and they will be able to make all these things I have commanded you: 7 the Meeting Tent, the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty; L Testimony], the ·lid that covers [mercy seat; atonement cover] the Ark, and ·everything in [all the utensils of] the Tent. 8 This includes the table and ·everything on it [all its utensils], the pure gold lampstand and ·everything with it [all its utensils], the altar of incense, 9 the altar for burnt offerings and ·everything used with it [all its utensils], and the bowl and the stand under it. 10 They will make the woven clothes and the ·holy [sacred] clothes for Aaron and the clothes for his sons to wear when they serve as priests. 11 They will also make the special olive oil used ·in appointing people and things to the service of the Lord [L for anointing], and the sweet-smelling incense for the Holy Place.
“These workers will make all these things just as I have commanded you.”
The Day of Rest
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, 13 “Tell the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], ‘You must ·keep the rules about [L guard; keep] my Sabbaths, because they will be a sign [C reminders of the covenant; 9:13; 17:11] between you and me from now on. In this way you will know that I, the Lord, make you holy.
14 “‘·Make the Sabbath a holy day [L Keep/Guard the Sabbath for it is holy]. If anyone ·treats the Sabbath like any other day [profanes/desecrates the Sabbath] that person must be put to death; anyone who works on the Sabbath day must be cut off from his people [20:8–11]. 15 There are six days for working, but the seventh day is a day of rest, a day holy for the Lord. Anyone who works during the Sabbath day must be put to death. 16 The ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] must ·remember [keep; guard] the Sabbath day as an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] between them and me ·that will continue from now on [L throughout their generations]. 17 The Sabbath day will be a sign between me and the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] forever, because in six days I, the Lord, made the ·sky [heavens] and the earth. On the seventh day I did not work; I rested [Gen. 2:1–3].’”
18 When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets with the ·Agreement [Covenant; Testimony; Treaty] written on them, written by the finger of God.
The People Make a Gold Calf
32 The people saw that ·a long time had passed and Moses had not [L Moses delayed to] come down from the mountain. So they ·gathered [assembled] ·around [or against] Aaron and said, “[L This man] Moses ·led [brought] us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him. Make us ·gods [or a god; or an image of God] who will ·lead [L go before] us.”
2 Aaron said to ·the people [L them], “·Take [Pull] off the gold earrings that your wives, sons, and daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people ·took [pulled off] their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took ·the gold [L it] from ·the people [L their hands] and formed it ·with a tool [or in a mold] and made a ·statue [image] of a calf. Then the people said, “Israel, ·these are your gods [or this is your God; C either an idol to a false god or an inappropriate image for a false worship of the true God] who brought you out of the land of Egypt [1 Kin. 12:28]!”
5 When Aaron saw all this, he built an altar before the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a ·special feast to honor [festival for] the Lord.” 6 The people got up early the next morning and offered whole burnt offerings [Lev. 1] and ·fellowship [or peace] offerings [Lev. 3]. They sat down to eat and drink, and then they ·got up and sinned sexually [got up and amused themselves; T rose up to play; C a euphemism].
7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down from this mountain, because your people, the people you brought out of the land of Egypt, have ·ruined themselves [acted in a debauched/perverse manner]. 8 They have quickly turned away from the ·things [path; way] I commanded them to do. They have made for themselves a calf ·covered with gold [L image], and they have worshiped it and offered sacrifices to it. They have said, ‘Israel, ·these are your gods [or this is the God; 32:4] who brought you out of Egypt.’”
9 The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen these people, and I know that they are ·very stubborn [L a stiff-necked people]. 10 So now do not stop me. I am so angry with them that I am going to ·destroy [L consume] them. Then I will make ·you and your descendants [L you] a great nation [C echoing the promise to Abraham; Gen. 12:1–3].”
11 But Moses ·begged [tried to appease] the Lord his God and said, “Lord, ·don’t let your anger destroy [L why does your anger burn against…?] your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with your great power and ·strength [L a mighty hand]. 12 ·Don’t let [L Why should…?] the people of Egypt say, ‘The Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt for an evil purpose. He planned to kill them in the mountains and ·destroy [L wipe] them from the earth.’ So ·stop being angry [change your mind; relent], and don’t ·destroy [L bring harm on] your people. 13 Remember ·the men who served you [L your servants]—Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. You promised with an oath to them and said, ‘I will make your ·descendants [seed] as many as the stars in the sky [Gen. 15:5; 22:17; 26:4]. I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised them, and ·it will be theirs [L they will inherit it] forever [Gen. 12:1–3].’” 14 So the Lord ·changed his mind [relented] and did not ·destroy [L bring harm on] the people as he had said he might.
15 Then Moses went down the mountain, and in his hands he had the two stone tablets with the ·Agreement [Covenant; Testimony; Treaty] on them. The ·commands [L tablets] were written on both sides of each stone, front and back. 16 God himself had made the tablets, and God himself had ·written the commands on [L engraved] the tablets.
17 When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “It sounds like war down in the camp.”
18 Moses answered:
“It is not a shout of victory;
it is not a cry of defeat.
It is the sound of singing that I hear.”
19 When Moses came close to the camp, he saw the gold calf and the dancing, and he became very angry. He threw down the stone tablets that he was carrying and broke them at the bottom of the mountain [C signifying the broken covenant]. 20 Then he took the calf that they had made and melted it in the fire. He ground it into powder. Then he ·threw [scattered] the powder into the water and forced the Israelites to drink it [C paralleling an ancient Near Eastern ritual for destroying a statue of a god].
21 Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you? Why did you ·cause them to do [L bring on them] such a terrible sin?”
22 Aaron answered, “Don’t be angry, ·master [sir]. You know that these people are always ready to do wrong. 23 They said to me, ‘[L This man] Moses ·led [brought] us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him. Make us ·gods [or a god; or an image of God] who will ·lead [L go before] us.’ 24 So I told them. ‘·Take off your gold jewelry [L Whoever has gold, pull it off].’ When they gave it to me, I threw it into the fire and out ·came [popped] this calf!”
25 Moses saw that the people were ·acting wildly [out of control]. Aaron had let them ·get out of control [act wildly] and become ·fools [the object of slander] in front of their enemies. 26 So Moses stood at the ·entrance [L gate] to the camp and said, “·Let anyone who wants to follow [L Whoever is for] the Lord come to me.” And all the ·people from the family of [L sons of] Levi gathered around Moses.
27 Then Moses said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says this: ‘Every man must put on his sword and go through the camp from ·one end to the other [L gate to gate]. Each man must kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’” 28 The ·people from the family [L sons] of Levi obeyed Moses, and that day about three thousand of the Israelites died. 29 Then Moses said, “Today you have been ·given for service [ordained; C to the priesthood] to the Lord. You were willing to kill your own sons and brothers, and God has blessed you for this.”
30 The next day Moses told the people, “You have ·done [L sinned] a terrible sin. But now I will go up to the Lord. Maybe I can ·do something so your sins will be removed [make atonement for your sin].” 31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “How terribly these people have sinned! They have made for themselves ·gods [or a god; 32:4] from gold. 32 Now, please forgive them of this sin. If you will not, then ·erase [blot out] my name from the book in which you have written the names of your people.”
33 But the Lord told Moses, “I will ·erase [blot out] from my book the names of the people who sin against me. 34 So now, go. Lead the people where I have told you, and my ·angel [messenger] will ·lead [L go in front of] you. When the time comes to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
35 So the Lord ·caused terrible things to happen to [sent a plague on] the people because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “You and the people you brought out of Egypt must ·leave [L go up from] this place. Go to the land that I promised with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give that land to your ·descendants [L seed; Gen. 12:1–3].’ 2 I will send an ·angel [or messenger] ·to lead [L before] you, and I will ·force [drive] these people out of the land: the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 3 Go up to a ·fertile land [L land flowing with milk and honey; 3:8]. But I will not go with you, because I might ·destroy [consume] you on the way, since you are such a ·stubborn people [stiff-necked people].”
4 When the people heard this bad news, they ·became very sad [mourned], and none of them put on ·jewelry [ornaments; or festive dress]. 5 This was because the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], ‘You are a ·stubborn [L stiff-necked] people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I would destroy you. So take off all your ·jewelry [ornaments; or festive dress], and I will decide what to do with you.’” 6 So the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel ·took [stripped] off their ·jewelry [ormanents; or festive dress] at Mount ·Sinai [L Horeb; 3:1].
The Meeting Tent
7 Moses used to take a tent and ·set it up [pitch it] a long way outside the camp; he called it the “Meeting Tent.” Anyone who wanted to ·ask [seek] the Lord about something would go to the Meeting Tent outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the Tent, all the people would rise and stand at the entrances of their tents, watching him until he entered the ·Meeting Tent [L Tent]. 9 When Moses went into the Tent, the pillar of cloud [13:21–22] would always come down and stay at the entrance of the Tent while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud at the entrance of the Tent, they stood and worshiped, each person at the entrance of his own tent.
11 The Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks with his friend [Num. 12:6–8]. Then Moses would return to the camp, but Moses’ young ·helper [assistant], Joshua son of Nun, did not leave the Tent.
12 Moses said to the Lord, “You have told me to ·lead [L bring up] these people, but you did not say whom you would send with me. You have said to me, ‘I know you ·very well [L by name], and ·I am pleased with you [L you have found favor in my eyes].’ 13 If I have ·truly pleased you [L found favor in your eyes], show me your ·plans [path; way] so that I may know you and continue to ·please you [L find favor/grace in your eyes]. ·Remember [Consider] that this nation is your people.”
14 The Lord answered, “·I myself [L My presence] will go with you, and I will give you ·victory [or rest].”
15 Then Moses said to him, “If ·you yourself don’t [L your presence does not] go with us, then don’t send us ·away [up] from this place. 16 ·If you don’t go with us, no one will know [L How else will it be known…?] that ·you are pleased with me [L I have found favor in your eyes] and with your people. These people and I will be no different from any other people on earth.”
17 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will do what you ask, because I know you ·very well [L by name], and ·I am pleased with you [L you have found favor/grace in my eyes].”
Moses Sees God’s Glory
18 Then Moses said, “Now, please show me your glory [C his manifest presence].”
19 The Lord answered, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will announce my name, the Lord, so you can hear it. I will show ·kindness [favor] to anyone to whom I want to show ·kindness [favor], and I will show ·mercy [compassion] to anyone to whom I want to show ·mercy [compassion]. 20 But you cannot see my face, because no one can see me and live.
21 “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes that place, I will put you in a large ·crack [fissure; T cleft] in the rock and ·cover [screen] you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will ·take away [remove] my hand, and you will see my back. But my face must not be seen.”
A Story About a Wedding Feast(A)
22 Jesus again used ·stories [parables] to teach them. He said, 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding ·feast [banquet] for his son. 3 When the ·feast [banquet] was ready, the king sent his servants to ·tell [inform; call] the people who had been invited, but they refused to come.
4 “Then the king sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited that my ·feast [banquet] is ready. I have killed my best ·bulls [or oxen] and [L fattened] calves for the dinner, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding ·feast [banquet].’
5 “But the people ·refused to listen [paid no attention] to the servants and ·left to do other things [went their own way]. One went to ·work in his field [his field/farm], and another went to his business. 6 ·Some of the other people [or The rest] grabbed the servants, ·beat [mistreated; insulted] them, and killed them. 7 The king was furious and sent his army to ·kill [destroy] the murderers and burn their city [C probably an allusion to the destruction of Jerusalam in ad 70].
8 “After that, the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding ·feast [banquet] is ready. I invited those people, but they ·were not worthy [do not deserve] to come. 9 So go to the ·street corners [crossroads; or main roads] and invite everyone you find to come to my ·feast [banquet].’ 10 So the servants went into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and ·bad [evil]. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “[L But] When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man who was not dressed ·for a wedding [in wedding clothes]. 12 The king said, ‘Friend, how were you allowed to come in here? You are not dressed for a wedding.’ But the man ·said nothing [was speechless/silent]. 13 So the king told some servants, ‘Tie this man’s hands and feet. Throw him out into the ·darkness [darkness outside; or outermost darkness], where ·people will cry and grind their teeth with pain [L there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; C symbols of agony and torment].’
14 “·Yes [L For], many are ·invited [called], but only a few are chosen.”
Is It Right to Pay Taxes or Not?(B)
15 Then the Pharisees left that place and ·made plans [plotted] to ·trap [catch] Jesus in ·saying something wrong [his words]. 16 They sent some of their own ·followers [disciples] and some people from the group called Herodians [C a political group that supported king Herod and his family]. They said, “Teacher, we know that you are ·an honest man [true; sincere] and that you teach ·the truth [with sincerity/honesty] about God’s way. You are not ·afraid of [L concerned about] what other people think about you, because you ·pay no attention to who they are [play no favorites; are impartial; aren’t swayed by appearances]. 17 So tell us what you think. Is it ·right [permissible; lawful] to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” [C Saying “yes” would anger Jews who hated Roman rule; saying “no” could result in being charged with insurrection.]
18 But knowing ·that these leaders were trying to trick him [their evil/malicious motives], Jesus said, “You hypocrites! Why are you ·trying to trap [testing] me? 19 Show me a coin used for paying the tax.” So the men ·showed him a coin [L brought him a denarius; C a Roman coin worth a day’s wages]. 20 Then Jesus asked, “Whose ·image [likeness; portrait] and ·name [inscription] are on the coin?”
21 The men answered, “Caesar’s.” [C Ironically, the religious leaders were carrying coins bearing the idolatrous image of Caesar.]
Then Jesus said to them, “·Give [T Render] to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.”
22 When the men heard what Jesus said, they were amazed and left him and went away.
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