Old/New Testament
34 Eternal One (to Moses): I want you to cut two stone tablets exactly like the first ones I gave you. I will write the same words on these tablets that were on the tablets you shattered. 2 Make sure you are ready when morning arrives. Climb up to the summit of Mount Sinai and present yourself to Me. 3 No one is allowed to accompany you this time. No one is allowed to be anywhere on the mountain. This goes for your flocks and herds as well; take them to graze away from the mountain.
4 So Moses cut two stone tablets that were exactly like the first set. He woke up early the next morning and climbed up Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets, just as the Eternal One had instructed him to do.
5 The Eternal One descended in the cloud and stood with Moses as He proclaimed His name, the Eternal One. 6 Then the Eternal One passed before him.
Eternal One: The Eternal God, full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger, and abundant in loyal love and truth, 7 who maintains loyal love to thousands of people, who forgives wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin; yet does not allow sin to go unpunished, extending the consequences of a father’s sin to his children, his grandchildren, and even to the third and fourth generations.
8 Moses quickly bowed down on the ground and worshiped.
Moses: 9 If I have gained Your trust and blessing, Lord, please go with us, despite the incredible stubbornness of this people. I also ask that You forgive our wrongdoing and our sins, and receive us as Your very own people, Your inheritance.
Eternal One: 10 Look, I am about to make an extraordinary covenant with you. Before the eyes of all your people, I will do miraculous things that have never been done among any nation on earth. All of the nations living around you will witness the work that I do, for everything I do among you will inspire fear and awe. 11 You must be careful to obey the instructions I give you today. I am about to force the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites out of the land you will inherit. 12 Be careful. Do not make a covenant with the people who now live in the land where you are going. Any promises you make to these people could entrap you. 13 Destroy their altars and pillars, and cut down their sacred poles 14 because you must not worship any god except for Me. My name is Jealous, and I am a jealous God. 15 Do not make a covenant with the people who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves with their so-called gods and sacrifice to them, they will coax you and you will feast upon their sacrifices. 16 And when you take some of their daughters as wives for your sons—the daughters who prostitute themselves with other gods—they will seduce your sons into joining them in chasing after other gods.
Here is a brief summary of some essentials found in the laws and ordinances handed down from the Eternal One to Moses.
17 You are not to cast metal images for yourselves of any gods.
18 You are to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread every year as I have instructed you. Eat bread made without yeast for seven days at the designated time in the month of Abib, the month that you departed from Egypt. 19 All the firstborn belong to Me. Every male animal from your livestock, both cattle and sheep, that opens the womb is Mine. 20 You may redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb. If you choose not to redeem it, then you are to break its neck. Redeem all of your firstborn sons as well. No one may appear before Me empty-handed.
21 You are to work for six days; but when the seventh day arrives, you are to observe the Sabbath and rest. Even when it is the time to plow and harvest, you must still rest on the seventh day. 22 Also, you are to celebrate the Feast of Weeks, when the firstfruits from the wheat harvest are gathered. And when one year ends and another begins, celebrate the Ingathering Feast. 23 All your men are to appear before Me, the Lord and one True God of Israel, three times a year at these feasts. 24 For I will force the people out of the land before you and expand your borders. No one will try to take your land while you are going up those three times a year to appear before Me, your God.
25 You are not to offer blood from a sacrifice with bread made with yeast. Do not leave any of the meat from the Passover sacrifice until morning. 26 Offer only the best of your harvest when you bring a gift to the house of the Eternal One your God. Also you are not to boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
27 (to Moses) Be sure to write down all that I have said to you. By these words of Mine, I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.
28 In all Moses was with the Eternal One for 40 days and 40 nights. He fasted the entire time—no food or water. He wrote down the Ten Directives, the essential words of the covenant, on the two stone tablets.
29 When Moses went back down Mount Sinai, he carried the two stone tablets in his hands as a witness to their agreement. But he did not realize that the skin on his face was glowing and radiant because he had been speaking with God.
30 When Aaron and the Israelites saw that Moses’ face was shining, they were afraid to get too close to him. 31 But when Moses summoned them, Aaron and all the leaders of the community were reassured and approached him. Moses talked to them. 32 After this, all the rest of the people of Israel approached Moses, and he instructed them to do everything that the Eternal had told him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses finished sharing the words of God with them, he covered his face with a veil. 34 From this time on whenever Moses went into the meeting tent to talk with the Eternal, he took off the veil until he left to share with the Israelites the Eternal’s instructions. 35 As Moses was speaking, the Israelites could see that the skin on his face was all aglow. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until the next time he went to speak with God.
35 Moses had the entire community of Israel gather together so he could address them.
Moses: These are the instructions the Eternal One has commanded you to do: 2 “You are to work for six days; but when the seventh day arrives, you are to observe a day of solemn rest on the Sabbath. You are to regard this day as holy to the Eternal. Anyone who works on this sacred day must be executed. 3 Do not even start a fire in any of your houses on the Sabbath.”
4 These are the instructions The Eternal One has commanded you to do: 5 “Take up an offering to the Eternal One. Let those with willing hearts bring the following as an offering to the Eternal One: gold, silver, bronze; 6 blue, purple, and scarlet thread; fine linens; goat hair; 7 rams’ skins dyed red; sea-cow skins; acacia wood; 8 olive oil for lamps; spices for anointing oil and fragrant incense; 9 and onyx stones and other stones for the high priest’s vest and breast piece.
10 “Let all who are gifted with wisdom and skill come and make these things the Eternal One has instructed: 11 the congregation tent, including the tent itself, its covering, all its hooks, panels, crossbars, posts, bases, and sockets; 12 the covenant chest and its poles for carrying it, including the seat of mercy that covers the chest and the veil shrouding the most holy place; 13 the table and its poles for carrying it, all the utensils, and the bread of the Presence; 14 the lampstand that illuminates the tent, its tools, its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 the altar of incense and its poles for carrying it; the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; the curtain at the entrance to the congregation tent; 16 the altar of burnt offering, including the bronze grate, its carrying poles, and various tools; the basin for washing and its stand; 17 the panels that hang around the perimeter of the courtyard, its posts and bases; and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; 18 the tent pegs and ropes for the congregation tent and its courtyard; 19 the finely woven clothing for priests serving in the holy place, the sacred garments for Aaron the priest, and the clothes for his sons to wear when they serve as priests.”
20 After Moses completed these instructions, the entire community of Israel filed out of his presence. 21 Then all those whose hearts and minds moved them came back, bringing their valuables as a contribution to the Eternal One for the congregation tent, all its service, and the sacred garments. 22 Everyone with a willing heart, both men and women, came back with brooches, earrings, signet rings, bracelets, and all sorts of other gold items, and presented them as an offering of gold to the Eternal One. 23 Those who possessed blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linens, goats’ hair, rams’ skins dyed red, and sea-cow skins brought them as well. 24 And those who were able to give items of silver and bronze brought their offering to the Eternal One. Those who had acacia wood brought it to be used in the project.
25-26 All the skilled and creative women who were able to spin made the blue, purple, and scarlet thread. All the women who were willing came forward to use their skills in spinning the goat hair. 27 The leaders brought the onyx stones and the stones for setting in the high priest’s vest and the breast piece. 28 They also brought the spices and oils for the light, the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense.
29 All the Israelites, both men and women, who felt moved to provide the material needed to do this work, brought these offerings willingly and set them before the Eternal One exactly as He had instructed Moses.
Moses (to the Israelites): 30 Look, the Eternal One has called Bezalel (the son of Uri, son of Hur the Judahite) by name. 31 He has filled him with God’s Spirit, gifted him with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and skills with a variety of crafts. 32 He is an expert designer and works well with gold, silver, and bronze. 33 He is able to cut and set gems, work with wood, and skillfully perform any work needed to help construct the congregation tent and its furnishings. 34 Also, God has placed within both Bezalel and Oholiab (son of Ahisamach the Danite) the ability to teach. 35 He has gifted them and made them expert engravers, designers, and embroiderers using blue, purple, and scarlet thread on fine linen. They are master weavers, skilled craftsmen, and expert designers.
23 That same day, a band of Sadducees—a sect of Jewish aristocrats who, among other things, did not expect a resurrection or anticipate any sort of future life at all—put their own question to Jesus.
Sadducees: 24 Teacher, the law of Moses teaches that if a married man dies with no children, then his brother must marry the widow and father children in his brother’s name. 25 Now we knew a family of seven brothers. The eldest brother married and died, and since he had no children, the next brother married his widow. 26 And shortly thereafter, that second brother died and the next until there were seven marriages with the same woman. 27 Eventually the wife died. 28 So now, Teacher, whose wife will she be at the resurrection? Will she have seven husbands, since they were each married to her?
According to Deuteronomy 25:5–6, a family member is supposed to marry a relative’s widow to carry on the deceased’s family name. Each man in this story dies, having fathered no children; that poor widow keeps marrying these brothers, and they keep dying. So in heaven, who is the husband?
Jesus: 29 You know neither God’s Scriptures nor God’s power—and so your assumptions are all wrong. 30 At the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. They will be like the messengers of heaven.
In heaven all will be devoting themselves to praise. It will not be a simple continuation of life on earth.
31 A key to this resurrected life can be found in the words of Moses, which you do claim to read: 32 “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”[a] Our God is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living.
33 And again the crowd was amazed. They were astonished at His teaching.
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, a group of Pharisees met to consider new questions that might trip up Jesus. 35 A legal expert thought of one that would certainly stump Him.
Pharisees: 36 Teacher, of all the laws, which commandment is the greatest?
Jesus (quoting Scripture): 37 “Love the Eternal One your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.”[b] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is nearly as important, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[c] 40 The rest of the law, and all the teachings of the prophets, are but variations on these themes.
41 Since the Pharisees were gathered together there, Jesus took the opportunity to pose a question of His own.
Jesus: 42 What do you think about the Anointed One? Whose Son is He?
Pharisees: But, of course, He is the Son of David.
Jesus: 43 Then how is it that David—whose words were surely shaped by the Spirit—calls Him “Lord”? For in his psalms David writes,
44 The Master said to my master
“Sit here at My right hand,
in the place of honor and power,
And I will gather Your enemies together,
lead them in on hands and knees,
and You will rest Your feet on their backs.”[d]
45 How can David call his own Son “Lord”?
46 No one had an answer to Jesus’ question. And from that day forward, no one asked Him anything.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.