Old/New Testament
Craftsmen for the Tent
31 The Lord told Moses, 2 “Look, I’ve called[a] Uri’s son Bezalel, grandson of Hur from Judah’s tribe 3 and I’ve filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and all kinds of craftsmanship 4 to create plans[b] for work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5 and for cutting stones to set them, for carving wood, and for doing all kinds of craftsmanship. 6 Along with him I’m appointing Ahisamach’s son Oholiab from the tribe of Dan, and I’ve given wisdom[c] to all who are skilled[d] so they can make everything that I’ve commanded you, 7 including the Tent of Meeting, the Ark of the Testimony, the Mercy Seat[e] that is on it, all the furnishings of the tent— 8 the table and its furnishings, the lamp stand of pure gold,[f] all its furnishings, the altar of incense, 9 the altar for burnt offerings, its furnishings, the basin, its base, 10 the woven garments, the holy garments of Aaron the priest, the garments of his sons as they serve as priests, 11 the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them in accordance with everything that I commanded you.”
12 The Lord told Moses, 13 “You are to tell the Israelis: ‘You are to certainly observe my Sabbaths because it’s a sign between me and you from generation to generation, so you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 14 You are to observe the Sabbath, because it’s holy for you. Whoever profanes it is certainly to die; indeed, whoever does work on it is to be cut off from among his people. 15 Work may be done for six days, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does work on the Sabbath is certainly to die. 16 The Israelis are to keep the Sabbath to make the Sabbath observance a perpetual covenant from generation to generation. 17 It is a sign forever between me and the Israelis, because the Lord made the heavens and the earth in six days, but on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”
18 When he finished speaking with Moses[g] on Mount Sinai, he gave him[h] the two Tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone written by the finger of God.
Aaron Makes the Golden Calf
32 When the people saw that Moses took a long time to come down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and told him, “Come here and make us a god[i] who will go before us, because, as for this fellow Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.”
2 Aaron told them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.”
3 All the people tore off the gold rings that were in their ears and brought them to him. 4 He took them from them[j] and, using a tool, fashioned them into a molten calf.[k] The people[l] said, “This, Israel, is your god who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it, and then he proclaimed, “Tomorrow is to be a festival to the Lord.” 6 They got up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. Then the people sat down to eat and drink, and then they got up to play.[m]
Moses Intercedes for Israel
7 The Lord told Moses, “Go down immediately,[n] because your people whom you led out of Egypt have behaved corruptly. 8 They have been quick to turn aside from the way I commanded them, and they have made for themselves a molten calf. They have bowed down to it in worship, they have offered sacrifices to it, and they have said, ‘This, Israel, is your god who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
9 Then the Lord told Moses, “I’ve seen these people and indeed they’re obstinate.[o] 10 Now let me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may consume them, but I’ll make a great nation of you.”
11 But Moses implored the Lord his God: “Lord, why are you angry with your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a show of force?[p] 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intention to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your anger and change your mind about the calamity against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants to whom you swore by yourself as you told them, ‘I’ll increase the number of your descendants like the stars of the heavens, I’ll give your descendants all of this land about which I have spoken, and they are to possess[q] it forever.’”
14 So the Lord changed his mind about the calamity he had said he would bring on his people.
Moses Destroys the Golden Calf and the Tablets of the Law
15 Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two Tablets of the Testimony in his hand, tablets which were written on both sides. They were written on one side and the other. 16 The tablets were the work of God and the writing was God’s writing, inscribed on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he told Moses, “The sound of war is coming from[r] the camp.”
18 Moses[s] said,
“It is not the sound of a victory shout,
and it’s not the sound of a shout of defeat,
but it’s the sound of singing that I hear.”
19 As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he became angry. He threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the base of the mountain. 20 He took the calf that they had made, burned it with fire, and ground it into powder. He scattered it on the water and made the Israelis drink it. 21 Then Moses asked Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you brought such great sin upon them?”
22 Aaron said, “Sir,[t] don’t be angry. You know the people—that they’re intent on evil. 23 They told me, ‘Make a god for us who will go before us because, as for this fellow Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold ornaments, tear them off.’ When they gave it to me, I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”
The Descendants of Levi Punish the Guilty Israelis
25 When Moses saw that the people were out of control—since Aaron had let them get out of control, something that incited ridicule from their enemies[u]— 26 he stood in the gate of the camp and called out: “Whoever is for the Lord come over[v] to me,” and all the sons of Levi gathered around him. 27 He told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every man put his sword on his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and each of you kill his brother and friend and neighbor.’”
28 The descendants of Levi did just as Moses told them,[w] and about 3,000 people died that day. 29 Moses said, “You have been ordained[x] to serve the Lord[y] today, and you have brought a blessing on yourselves today because every man opposed his son or brother.”[z]
Moses Again Intercedes for the People
30 The next day Moses told the people, “You committed a great sin, and now I’ll go up to the Lord, and perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
31 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Please, Lord, this people committed a great sin by making a god of gold for themselves. 32 Now, if you will, forgive their sin—but if not, blot me out of your book which you have written.”
33 The Lord told Moses, “Whoever sins against me, I’ll blot him out of my book. 34 Now, go, and lead the people where I told you, and now my angel will go before you, but on the day when I do punish, I’ll punish them for their sin.” 35 Then the Lord sent a plague on the people because they made the calf (the one Aaron made).
The Lord Instructs Israel to Leave
33 The Lord told Moses, “Go up[aa] from here, you and the people whom you brought out of Egypt, to the land about which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob saying, ‘I’ll give it to your descendants.’[ab] 2 I’ll send an angel in front of you and I’ll drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey, but I won’t go up among you, because you are an obstinate[ac] people, and otherwise I might consume you along the way.”
4 When the people heard this troubling word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. 5 The Lord had told Moses, “Say to the Israelis, ‘You are an obstinate people,[ad] and if for one moment I went up among you, I would put an end to you. Now take off your ornaments so I may decide[ae] what to do with you.’” 6 So the Israelis did not wear[af] their ornaments from Mount Horeb onward.
God’s Presence at the Tent of Meeting
7 Moses used to take the tent and set it up outside the camp at a distance from the camp, and he called it the Tent of Meeting. When anyone sought the Lord, he would go out to the Tent of Meeting which was outside the camp. 8 When Moses would go out to the tent, all the people would get up, and each would stand in the doorway of his tent, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stand at the doorway of the tent while God[ag] spoke with Moses. 10 When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the doorway of the tent, all of them[ah] would get up and prostrate themselves in worship, each one at the doorway of his tent. 11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face just as a man speaks with his friend. When Moses[ai] returned to the camp, Nun’s son Joshua, his young servant, would not leave the tent.
The Promise of God’s Presence on the Journey
12 Moses told the Lord, “Look, you have told me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you haven’t let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name,’ and also, ‘You have found favor in my sight.’ 13 Now, if I’ve found favor in your sight, please show me your ways so I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. And remember,[aj] this nation is your people.”
14 He said, “My presence will go with you, and I’ll give you rest.” 15 Then Moses[ak] told the Lord,[al] “If your presence does not go with us,[am] don’t bring us up from here. 16 Otherwise,[an] how shall it be known that your people and I have received favor from you, unless you go with us and that we, your people and I, are distinguished from all the people on the surface of the earth?”
Moses Sees God’s Glory
17 The Lord told Moses, “I’ll do the very[ao] thing that you have said, because you have found favor in my sight and I know you by name.”
18 Then Moses[ap] said, “Please show me your glory.”
19 God[aq] said, “I’ll cause all my goodness to pass before you, and I’ll proclaim the name ‘the Lord’ before you. I’ll be gracious to whom I’ll be gracious, and I’ll show compassion on whom I’ll show compassion. 20 But,” he said, “You cannot see my face, because a man cannot see me and live.”
21 The Lord said, “Look, there is a place near[ar] me where you can stand on the rock; 22 and as my glory passes by, I’ll put you in a crevice in the rock, and cover you with my hand until I’ve passed by. 23 Then I’ll remove my hand so you may see my back, but my face must not be seen.”
The Parable about a Banquet(A)
22 Again Jesus spoke to them in parables. He said, 2 “The kingdom from[a] heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding, but they refused to come. 4 So[b] he sent other servants after saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look! I’ve prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened calves have been slaughtered. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding!”’ 5 But they paid no attention to this and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 The rest grabbed the king’s[c] servants, treated them brutally, and then killed them. 7 Then the king became outraged. He sent his troops, and they destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 “Then he told his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 So go into the roads leading out of town and invite as many people as you can find to the wedding.’ 10 Those servants went out into the streets and brought in everyone they found, evil and good alike, and the wedding hall was packed with guests.
11 “When the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man[d] was speechless. 13 Then the king told his servants, ‘Tie his hands and feet, and throw him into the darkness outside!’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,[e] 14 because many are invited, but few are chosen.”
A Question about Paying Taxes(B)
15 Then the Pharisees went and planned how to trap Jesus[f] in conversation. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians.[g] They said, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere and that you teach the way of God truthfully. You don’t favor any individual, because you pay no attention to external appearance. 17 So tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18 Recognizing their wickedness, Jesus asked, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.”
They brought him a denarius.[h] 20 Then he asked them, “Whose face and name is this?”
21 They told him, “Caesar’s.”
So he told them, “Then give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
22 When they heard this, they were amazed. Then they left him and went away.
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