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16 And[a] on the third day, when it was morning, there was thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain and a very loud ram’s horn sound, and all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out from the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 And Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke because Yahweh went down on it in the fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a smelting furnace, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And the sound of the ram’s horn became louder and louder,[b] and Moses would speak, and God would answer him with a voice.
20 And Yahweh went down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain, and Yahweh called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Go down, warn the people, lest they break through to Yahweh to see and many from them fall. 22 And even the priests who come near Yahweh must consecrate themselves, lest Yahweh break out against them.” 23 And Moses said to Yahweh, “The people are not able to go up to Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” 24 And Yahweh said to him, “Go, go down, and come up, you and Aaron with you and the priests, but the people must not break through to go up to Yahweh, lest he break out against them.” 25 And Moses went down to the people, and he told them.[c]
Ten Commandments
20 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves.
3 “There shall be for you no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a divine image with any form that is in the heavens above or that is in the earth below or that is in the water below the earth. 5 You will not bow down to them, and you will not serve them, because I am Yahweh your God, a jealous God, punishing the guilt of the parents on the children on the third and on the fourth generations[d] of those hating me, 6 and showing loyal love to thousands of generations[e] of those loving me and of those keeping my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God,[f] because Yahweh will not leave unpunished anyone who misuses his name.[g]
8 “Remember the day of the Sabbath, to consecrate it. 9 Six days you will work, and you will do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath for Yahweh your God; you will not do any work—you or your son or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your animal, or your alien who is in your gates— 11 because in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and on the seventh day he rested. Therefore Yahweh blessed the seventh day and consecrated it.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days can be long on the land that Yahweh your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not testify against your neighbor with a false witness.
17 “You shall not covet the house of your neighbor; you will not covet the wife of your neighbor or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
18 And all the people were seeing the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the ram’s horn and the mountain smoking, and the people saw, and they trembled, and they stood at a distance. 19 And they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will listen, but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” 20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you so that his fear will be before you so that you do not sin.” 21 And the people stood at a distance, and Moses approached the very thick cloud where God was.
Instructions for Building Altars
22 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Thus you will say to the Israelites,[h] ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from the heavens. 23 You will not make alongside me gods of silver, and gods of gold you will not make for yourselves. 24 An altar of earth you will make for me, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered,[i] I will come to you, and I will bless you. 25 And if you make an altar of stones for me, you will not build them as hewn stone, because if you use your chisel on it, you have defiled it. 26 You will not go up with steps onto my altar, that your nakedness not be exposed on it.’
Regulations Regarding Hebrew Slaves
21 “And these are the regulations that you will set before them.
2 ‘If you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve six years, and in the seventh he will go out as free for nothing.[j] 3 If he comes in single, he will go out single. If he is the husband of a wife, his wife will go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears for him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master, and the slave will go out single. 5 But if the slave explicitly says, “I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,” 6 his master will present him to God[k] and bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve him forever.
7 “‘And if a man sells his daughter as a slave woman, she will not go out as male slaves go out. 8 If she does not please her master[l] who selected her, he will allow her to be redeemed; he has no authority to sell her to foreign people, since he has dealt treacherously with her. 9 And if he selects her for his son, he shall do for her according to the regulations for daughters. 10 If he takes for himself another, he will not reduce her food, her clothing, or her right of cohabitation. 11 And if he does not do for her these three, she shall go out for nothing; there will not be silver[m] paid for her.
Regulations Regarding Murder, Manslaughter, and Various Injuries
12 “‘Whoever strikes someone[n] and he dies will surely be put to death. 13 But if he did not lie in wait and it was an accident,[o] I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. 14 But if a man schemes against his neighbor to kill him by treachery,[p] you will take him from my altar to die. 15 And whoever strikes[q] his father or his mother will surely be put to death.
16 “‘And whoever kidnaps someone[r] and sells him, or he is found in his possession,[s] he will surely be put to death.
17 “‘And one who curses his father or his mother will surely be put to death.
18 “‘And if men quarrel and a man strikes his neighbor with a stone or with a fist and he does not die, but he is confined to bed,[t] 19 if he stands and walks about in the outside on his staff, the striker will be unpunished; he will only pay for his inactivity[u] toward his full recovery.”[v] 20 And if a man strikes his male slave or his female slave with the rod and he dies under his hand, he will surely be avenged. 21 Yet if he survives a day or two days, he will not be avenged, because he is his money.[w]
13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you shut the kingdom of heaven before people! For you do not enter, nor permit those wanting to go in[a] to enter.[b]
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you travel around the sea and the dry land to make one convert, and when he becomes one,[c] you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are!
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.’[d] 17 Fools and blind people! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.’[e] 19 Blind people! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? 20 Therefore the one who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything that is on it. 21 And the one who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And the one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by the one who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you pay a tenth of mint and dill and cumin, and neglect the more important matters of the law—justice and mercy and faithfulness! It was necessary[f] to do these things while not neglecting those.[g] 24 Blind guides who filter out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence! 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish,[h] so that the outside of it may become clean also.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean! 28 In the same way, on the outside you also appear righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in the blood of the prophets!’ 31 Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets! 32 And you—fill up the measure of your fathers! 33 Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How will you escape from the condemnation to hell? 34 For this reason, behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will pursue from town to town, 35 so that upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel up to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation!
The Lament over Jerusalem
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together the way[i] a hen gathers her young together under her[j] wings, and you were not willing! 38 Behold, your house has been left to you desolate! 39 For I tell you, you will never see me from now on until you say,
‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”[k]
A Prayer for Help, and Joy in Its Answer
A psalm of David.[a]
28 To you, O Yahweh, I call.
O my rock, do not be deaf to me.
Or else, if you are silent to me,
then I will become like those descending to the pit.
2 Hear the voice of my supplications
when I cry to you for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward your holy inner sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked
or with the workers of evil,
who speak of peace with their neighbors,
while evil is in their heart.
4 Give to them according to their work,
even according to the evil of their deeds.
Give to them according to the work of their hands;
repay them their rightful due.
5 Because they do not regard the works of Yahweh,
nor the work of his hands,
he will destroy them
and not rebuild them.
6 Blessed is Yahweh,
because he has heard the voice of my supplications.
7 Yahweh is my strength and my shield.
My heart trusts him and I am helped.
So my heart rejoices,
and with my song I will give thanks to him.
8 Yahweh is their strength,
and he is the refuge for the salvation of his anointed one.
9 Save your people
and bless your heritage.
Shepherd them also and carry them always.
Warning Against the Strange Woman
7 My child, guard my sayings;
store my commandments with you.
2 Keep my commands and live,
and my teaching like the apple of your eye.[a]
3 Bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom,[b] “you are my sister,”
and you shall call insight,[c] “intimate friend.”[d]
5 In order to guard yourself from an adulteress,[e]
from the foreigner who makes her words smooth.[f]
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