Old/New Testament
Israel Camps at Sinai
19 Exactly three months after the Israelites had left Egypt, ·they [L the sons/T children of Israel] ·reached [came to] the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Sinai. 2 When they left Rephidim, they came to the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Sinai and camped in the ·desert [wilderness] in front of the mountain. 3 Then Moses went up on the mountain to God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “Say this to the ·family [L house] of Jacob, and tell the ·people [sons; children] of Israel: 4 ‘Every one of you has seen what I did to the people of Egypt. You saw how I carried you out of Egypt, as if on eagle’s wings [C God protected and guided them; Deut. 32:11]. And I brought you here to me. 5 So now if you ·obey me [L listen to my voice] and keep my ·agreement [covenant; treaty], you will be my own possession [special treasure], chosen from all nations. Even though the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be my kingdom of priests and a holy nation [C set apart to serve God and bring others to him; Gen. 12:1–3].’ You must tell the ·Israelites [L the sons/T children of Israel] these words.”
7 So Moses went down and called the elders of the people together. He told them all the words the Lord had commanded him to say. 8 All the people answered together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” Then Moses took ·their answer [L the words of the people] back to the Lord.
9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will come to you in a ·thick [dense] cloud and speak to you. The people will hear me speaking with you and will always trust you.” Then Moses told the Lord ·what the people had said [L the words of the people].
10 The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and have them ·spend today and tomorrow preparing themselves [consecrate/sanctify themselves today and tomorrow]. They must wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the ·day after tomorrow [L third day]. On that day I, the Lord, will come down on Mount Sinai, and all the people will see me. 12 But you must set a ·limit around the mountain that the people are not to cross [L boundary around the people]. ·Tell [Warn] them not to go up on the mountain and not to touch the ·foot [edge] of it. Anyone who touches the mountain must be put to death 13 with stones or shot with arrows. No one is allowed to touch him [C touching a dead body rendered a person ritually unclean; Num. 5:2]. Whether it is a person or an animal, he will not live. But the ·trumpet [ram’s horn] will make a long blast, and only then may the people go up on the mountain.”
14 After Moses went down from the mountain to the people, he made them ·prepare themselves for service to God [consecrate/sanctify themselves], and they washed their clothes. 15 Then Moses said to the people, “Be ready in three days. Do not ·have sexual relations during this time [L touch a woman; C an emission of semen rendered a man ritually unclean; Lev. 15:16–18].”
16 On the morning of the third day, there was thunder and lightning with a thick cloud on the mountain. There was a very loud blast from a ·trumpet [ram’s horn], ·and [or so that] all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses ·led [brought] the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord came down on it in fire. The smoke rose from the mountain like smoke from a ·furnace [kiln], and the whole mountain ·shook wildly [trembled]. 19 The ·sound [blast] from the ·trumpet [ram’s horn] became louder. Then Moses spoke, and ·the voice of [or in thunder] God answered him.
20 When the Lord came down on top of Mount Sinai, he ·called [invited] Moses to come up to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21 The Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people that they must not ·force their way [break] through to see me. If they do, many of them will ·die [L fall]. 22 Even the priests, who may ·come near [approach] me, must first ·prepare [consecrate; sanctify] themselves. If they don’t, I, the Lord, will ·punish [L break out against] them.”
23 Moses told the Lord, “The people cannot come up on Mount Sinai, because you yourself ·told [warned] us, ‘Set a ·limit [boundary] around the mountain, and ·set it apart as holy [consecrate/sanctify it].’”
24 The Lord said to him, “Go down and bring Aaron up with you, but don’t allow the priests or the people to ·force their way [break] through. They must not come up to the Lord, or I will ·punish [L break out against] them.”
25 So Moses went down to the people and told them these things.
The Ten Commandments
20 Then God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt ·where you were slaves [L from the house of bondage].
3 “You must not have any other gods ·except [or before] me.
4 “You must not make for yourselves an idol that looks like anything in the ·sky [heavens] above or on the earth below or in the water below the ·land [earth]. 5 You must not worship or serve them, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. ·If you hate me, I will punish your children, and even your grandchildren and great-grandchildren [L I will visit/punish the guilt of the fathers on the sons/T children until the third and fourth generations of those who hate me]. 6 But I show kindness to ·thousands [or thousands of generations of those] who love me and obey my commands.
7 “You must not ·use the name of the Lord your God thoughtlessly [take/lift up the name of the Lord your God in vain]; the Lord will ·punish [L not hold/treat as innocent; not acquit] anyone who ·misuses [takes in vain] his name.
8 “Remember to ·keep the Sabbath holy [consecrate/sanctify the Sabbath]. 9 Work and get everything done during six days each week, 10 but the seventh day is a ·day of rest to honor [Sabbath to] the Lord your God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, your male or female slaves, your animals, or the ·foreigners [sojourners; wanderers; resident aliens] living in your ·cities [L gates]. 11 The reason is that in six days the Lord made everything—the ·sky [heavens], the earth, the sea, and everything in them. On the seventh day he rested. So the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and ·made it holy [consecrated/sanctified it].
12 “Honor your father and your mother so that you will live ·a long time [L for many days] in the land that the Lord your God is going to give you.
13 “You must not murder anyone.
14 “You must not ·be guilty of [commit] adultery.
15 “You must not steal.
16 “You must not ·tell lies about [bear false witness against] your neighbor.
17 “You must not ·want to take [covet] your neighbor’s house. You must not ·want [covet] his wife or his male or female slaves, or his ox or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor [C this commandment internalizes previous commandments].”
18 When the people heard the thunder and the ·trumpet [ram’s horn], and when they saw the lightning and the smoke rising from the mountain, they ·shook with fear [trembled] and stood far away from the mountain. 19 Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”
20 Then Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, because God has come to test you. He wants ·you to respect him [L to put the fear of him on you] so you will not sin.”
21 The people stood far away from the mountain while Moses went near the dark cloud where God was. 22 Then the Lord told Moses to say these things to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]: “You yourselves have seen that I talked with you from heaven. 23 You must not use gold or silver to make idols for yourselves; do not worship these gods in addition to me.
24 “Make an altar of dirt for me, and sacrifice on it your whole burnt offerings [Lev. 1] and ·fellowship [or peace; Lev. 3] offerings, your sheep and your cattle. Worship me in every place that I choose, and I will come and bless you. 25 If you use stones to make an altar for me, don’t use ·stones that you have shaped with tools [hewn/cut stones]. When you use any ·tools [chisel] on them, you ·make them unsuitable for use in worship [profane them]. 26 And you must not go up to my altar on steps, or ·people will be able to see under your clothes [L your nakedness will be exposed on it; C meant to avoid a Canaanite-style fertility worship].”
An Unforgiving Servant(A)
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when my ·fellow believer [L brother (or sister)] sins against me, how many times ·must [should] I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive him not just seven times, but ·seventy times seven times [or seventy-seven times; C the Greek can mean either 490 or 77; the point is unlimited forgiveness]!
23 “[L Therefore; For this reason] The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to ·collect the money his servants owed him [L settle accounts with his servants/slaves]. 24 When the king began ·to collect his money [the settlement/reckoning], a ·servant [slave] who owed him ·several million dollars [or billions of dollars; L ten thousand talents; C a talent was worth about six thousand days’ wages; this is an impossibly high debt] was brought to him. 25 But ·the servant [L he] did not have enough money to pay his master. So the master ordered that ·the servant [L he] be sold, together with his wife and children and everything he owned, and the debt paid.
26 “But the ·servant [slave] fell ·on his knees [face down; in obeisance] and begged, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’ 27 The master felt ·sorry [compassion] for ·his servant [that slave], so he let him go free and ·forgave [canceled] the debt.
28 “·Later [L After departing], that same ·servant [slave] found ·another servant [a fellow servant/slave] who owed him a ·few dollars [hundred denarii]. ·The servant [L He] grabbed him ·around the neck [L and began choking him] and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’
29 “The ·other servant [fellow servant/slave] fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’
30 “But ·the first servant [L he] refused. He threw ·the other servant [him] into prison until he could pay everything he owed. 31 When ·the other servants [his fellow servants/slaves] saw what had happened, they were very ·sorry [upset; distressed]. So they went and ·told [reported to] their master all that had happened.
32 “Then the master called ·his servant [L him] in and said, ‘You ·evil [wicked] ·servant [slave]! Because you ·begged [pleaded with] me, I forgave [canceled] all that debt. 33 ·You should have [L Shouldn’t you have…?] showed mercy to ·that other servant [your fellow servant/slave], just as I showed mercy to you.’ 34 The master was very angry and ·put the servant in prison to be punished [L delivered him to the tormenters/torturers] until he could pay everything he owed.
35 “·This king did what [L So also] my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
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