EXODUS 19:16-21:21
MATTHEW 23:13-39
PSALM 28:1-9
PROVERBS 7:1-5
EXODUS 19:16-21:21
On the morning of the third day, there was a powerful thunder and lightning storm, and a dense cloud came down upon the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram's horn, and all the people trembled. 17 Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 All Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the LORD had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook with a violent earthquake. 19 As the horn blast grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply for all to hear. 20 The LORD came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain. 21 Then the LORD told Moses, " Go back down and warn the people not to cross the boundaries. They must not come up here to see the LORD, for those who do will die. 22 Even the priests who regularly come near to the LORD must purify themselves, or I will destroy them."23 " But, LORD, the people cannot come up on the mountain!" Moses protested. " You already told them not to. You told me to set boundaries around the mountain and to declare it off limits." 24 But the LORD said, " Go down anyway and bring Aaron back with you. In the meantime, do not let the priests or the people cross the boundaries to come up here. If they do, I will punish them." 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them what the LORD had said.20:1 THEN God instructed the people as follows: 2 " I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. 3 " Do not worship any other gods besides me. 4 " Do not make idols of any kind, whether in the shape of birds or animals or fish. 5 You must never worship or bow down to them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not share your affection with any other god! I do not leave unpunished the sins of those who hate me, but I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations. 6 But I lavish my love on those who love me and obey my commands, even for a thousand generations. 7 " Do not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. 8 " Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days a week are set apart for your daily duties and regular work, 10 but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any kind of work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; then he rested on the seventh day. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. 12 " Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God will give you. 13 " Do not murder. 14 " Do not commit adultery. 15 " Do not steal. 16 " Do not testify falsely against your neighbor. 17 " Do not covet your neighbor's house. Do not covet your neighbor's wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else your neighbor owns."18 When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the horn, and when they saw the lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear. 19 And they said to Moses, " You tell us what God says, and we will listen. But don't let God speak directly to us. If he does, we will die!" 20 " Don't be afraid," Moses said, " for God has come in this way to show you his awesome power. From now on, let your fear of him keep you from sinning!" 21 As the people stood in the distance, Moses entered into the deep darkness where God was. 22 And the LORD said to Moses, " Say this to the people of Israel: You are witnesses that I have spoken to you from heaven. 23 Remember, you must not make or worship idols of silver or gold. 24 " The altars you make for me must be simple altars of earth. Offer on such altars your sacrifices to me--your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Build altars in the places where I remind you who I am, and I will come and bless you there. 25 If you build altars from stone, use only uncut stones. Do not chip or shape the stones with a tool, for that would make them unfit for holy use. 26 And you may not approach my altar by steps. If you do, someone might look up under the skirts of your clothing and see your nakedness.21:1 " HERE are some other instructions you must present to Israel: 2 " If you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for only six years. Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom. 3 If he was single when he became your slave and then married afterward, only he will go free in the seventh year. But if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife will be freed with him.4 " If his master gave him a wife while he was a slave, and they had sons or daughters, then the man will be free in the seventh year, but his wife and children will still belong to his master. 5 But the slave may plainly declare, ` I love my master, my wife, and my children. I would rather not go free.' 6 If he does this, his master must present him before God. Then his master must take him to the door and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will belong to his master forever. 7 " When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. 8 If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her. 9 And if the slave girl's owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave girl, but he must treat her as his daughter. 10 If he himself marries her and then takes another wife, he may not reduce her food or clothing or fail to sleep with her as his wife. 11 If he fails in any of these three ways, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment. 12 " Anyone who hits a person hard enough to cause death must be put to death. 13 But if it is an accident and God allows it to happen, I will appoint a place where the slayer can run for safety. 14 However, if someone deliberately attacks and kills another person, then the slayer must be dragged even from my altar and put to death. 15 " Anyone who strikes father or mother must be put to death. 16 " Kidnappers must be killed, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves. 17 " Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death. 18 " Now suppose two people quarrel, and one hits the other with a stone or fist, causing injury but not death. 19 If the injured person is later able to walk again, even with a crutch, the assailant will be innocent. Nonetheless, the assailant must pay for time lost because of the injury and must pay for the medical expenses. 20 " If a male or female slave is beaten and dies, the owner must be punished. 21 If the slave recovers after a couple of days, however, then the owner should not be punished, since the slave is the owner's property."
MATTHEW 23:13-39
" How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you won't let others enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and you won't go in yourselves. 15 Yes, how terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn him into twice the son of hell as you yourselves are. 16 " Blind guides! How terrible it will be for you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ` by God's Temple'--you can break that oath. But then you say that it is binding to swear ` by the gold in the Temple.' 17 Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold, or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 And you say that to take an oath ` by the altar' can be broken, but to swear ` by the gifts on the altar' is binding! 19 How blind! For which is greater, the gift on the altar, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 When you swear ` by the altar,' you are swearing by it and by everything on it. 21 And when you swear ` by the Temple,' you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it. 22 And when you swear ` by heaven,' you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne. 23 " How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law--justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things. 24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won't accidentally swallow a gnat; then you swallow a camel! 25 " How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! You are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy--full of greed and self-indulgence! 26 Blind Pharisees! First wash the inside of the cup, and then the outside will become clean, too. 27 " How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs--beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity. 28 You try to look like upright people outwardly, but inside your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 " How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed and decorate the graves of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. 30 Then you say, ` We never would have joined them in killing the prophets.' 31 " In saying that, you are accusing yourselves of being the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead. Finish what they started. 33 Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell? 34 I will send you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. You will kill some by crucifixion and whip others in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city. 35 As a result, you will become guilty of murdering all the godly people from righteous Abel to Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered in the Temple between the altar and the sanctuary. 36 I assure you, all the accumulated judgment of the centuries will break upon the heads of this very generation. 37 " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God's messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let me. 38 And now look, your house is left to you, empty and desolate. 39 For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ` Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'"
PSALM 28:1-9
A psalm of David.
1 O LORD, you are my rock of safety.
Please help me; don't refuse to answer me.
For if you are silent,
I might as well give up and die.
2 Listen to my prayer for mercy
as I cry out to you for help,
as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.
3 Don't drag me away with the wicked--
with those who do evil--
those who speak friendly words to their neighbors
while planning evil in their hearts.
4 Give them the punishment they so richly deserve!
Measure it out in proportion to their wickedness.
Pay them back for all their evil deeds!
Give them a taste of what they have done to others.
5 They care nothing for what the LORD has done
or for what his hands have made.
So he will tear them down like old buildings,
and they will never be rebuilt!
6 Praise the LORD!
For he has heard my cry for mercy.
7 The LORD is my strength, my shield from every danger.
I trust in him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
8 The LORD protects his people
and gives victory to his anointed king.
9 Save your people!
Bless Israel, your special possession!
Lead them like a shepherd,
and carry them forever in your arms.
PROVERBS 7:1-5
Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands. Obey them and live! Guard my teachings as your most precious possession. Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family. Let them hold you back from an affair with an immoral woman, from listening to the flattery of an adulterous woman.
