Old/New Testament
Willing Artisans
31 [a] The Lord spoke to Moses,[b] 2 “See, I have chosen[c] Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God[d] in skill,[e] in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of[f] craftsmanship, 4 to make artistic designs[g] for work with gold, with silver, and with bronze, 5 and with cutting and setting stone, and with cutting wood, to work in all kinds of craftsmanship. 6 Moreover,[h] I have also given him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and I have given ability to all the specially skilled,[i] that they may make[j] everything I have commanded you: 7 the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, the atonement lid that is on it, all the furnishings[k] of the tent, 8 the table with its utensils, the pure lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense, 9 the altar for the burnt offering with all its utensils, the large basin with its base, 10 the woven garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons, to minister as priests, 11 the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the Holy Place. They will make all these things just as I have commanded you.”
Sabbath Observance
12 [l] The Lord said to Moses,[m] 13 “Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep my Sabbaths,[n] for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.[o] 14 So you must keep the Sabbath, for it is holy for you. Everyone who defiles it[p] must surely be put to death; indeed,[q] if anyone does[r] any[s] work on it, then that person will be cut off from among his[t] people. 15 Six days[u] work may be done,[v] but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest,[w] holy to the Lord; anyone who does work on the Sabbath day must surely be put to death. 16 The Israelites must keep the Sabbath by observing the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between me and the Israelites forever; for in six days[x] the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”[y]
18 He gave Moses two tablets of testimony when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, tablets of stone written by the finger of God.[z]
The Sin of the Golden Calf
32 [aa] When the people saw that Moses delayed[ab] in coming down[ac] from the mountain, they[ad] gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Get up,[ae] make us gods[af] that will go before us. As for this fellow Moses,[ag] the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what[ah] has become of him!”
2 So Aaron said to them, “Break off the gold earrings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”[ai] 3 So all[aj] the people broke off the gold earrings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 He accepted the gold[ak] from them,[al] fashioned[am] it with an engraving tool, and made a molten calf.[an] Then they said, “These are your gods,[ao] O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
5 When[ap] Aaron saw this,[aq] he built an altar before it,[ar] and Aaron made a proclamation[as] and said, “Tomorrow will be a feast[at] to the Lord.” 6 So they got up early on the next day and offered up burnt offerings and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink,[au] and they rose up to play.[av]
7 The Lord spoke to Moses, “Go quickly, descend,[aw] because your[ax] people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have acted corruptly. 8 They have quickly turned aside[ay] from the way that I commanded them—they have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt.’”
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people.[az] Look[ba] what a stiff-necked people they are![bb] 10 So now, leave me alone[bc] so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them, and I will make from you a great nation.”
11 But Moses sought the favor[bd] of the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your anger burn against your people, whom you have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why[be] should the Egyptians say,[bf] ‘For evil[bg] he led them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy[bh] them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger, and relent[bi] of this evil against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants, to whom you swore by yourself and told them, ‘I will multiply your descendants[bj] like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken about[bk] I will give to your descendants,[bl] and they will inherit it forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented over the evil that he had said he would do to his people.
15 Moses turned and went down from the mountain with[bm] the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. The tablets were written on both sides—they were written on the front and on the back. 16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted,[bn] he said to Moses, “It is the sound of war in the camp!” 18 Moses[bo] said, “It is not the sound of those who shout for victory,[bp] nor is it the sound of those who cry because they are overcome,[bq] but the sound of singing[br] I hear.”[bs]
19 When he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became extremely angry.[bt] He threw the tablets from his hands and broke them to pieces at the bottom of the mountain.[bu] 20 He took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, ground it[bv] to powder, poured it out on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.[bw]
21 Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought on them so great a sin?” 22 Aaron said, “Do not let your anger burn hot, my lord;[bx] you know these people, that they tend to evil.[by] 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods that will go before us, for as for this fellow Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, break it off.’ So they gave it[bz] to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.”[ca]
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild,[cb] for Aaron had let them get completely out of control, causing derision from their enemies.[cc] 26 So Moses stood at the entrance of the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come[cd] to me.”[ce] All the Levites gathered around him, 27 and he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said ‘Each man fasten[cf] his sword on his side, and go back and forth[cg] from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and each one kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”[ch]
28 The Levites did what Moses ordered,[ci] and that day about 3,000 men of the people died.[cj] 29 Moses said, “You have been consecrated[ck] today for the Lord, for each of you was against his son or against his brother, so he has given a blessing to you today.”[cl]
30 The next day Moses said to the people,[cm] “You have committed a very serious sin,[cn] but now I will go up to the Lord—perhaps I can make atonement[co] on behalf of your sin.”
31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has committed a very serious sin,[cp] and they have made for themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, if you will forgive their sin…,[cq] but if not, wipe me out[cr] from your book that you have written.”[cs] 33 The Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me—that person I will wipe out of my book. 34 So now go, lead the people to the place I have spoken to you about. See,[ct] my angel will go before you. But on the day that I punish, I will indeed punish them for their sin.”[cu]
35 And the Lord sent a plague on the people because they had made the calf[cv]—the one Aaron made.[cw]
33 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up[cx] from here, you and the people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land I promised on oath[cy] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’[cz] 2 I will send an angel[da] before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.[db] 3 Go up[dc] to a land flowing with milk and honey. But[dd] I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you[de] on the way.”
4 When the people heard this troubling word[df] they mourned;[dg] no one put on his ornaments. 5 For[dh] the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I went up among you for a moment,[di] I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments[dj] that I may know[dk] what I should do to you.’”[dl] 6 So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments by Mount Horeb.
The Presence of the Lord
7 [dm] Moses took[dn] the tent[do] and pitched it outside the camp, at a good distance[dp] from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. Anyone[dq] seeking[dr] the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting that was outside the camp.
8 And when Moses went out[ds] to the tent, all the people would get up[dt] and stand at the entrance to their tents[du] and watch[dv] Moses until he entered the tent.[dw] 9 And[dx] whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord[dy] would speak with Moses.[dz] 10 When all the people would see the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people, each one at the entrance of his own tent, would rise and worship.[ea] 11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face,[eb] the way a person speaks[ec] to a friend. Then Moses[ed] would return to the camp, but his servant, Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the tent.[ee]
12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, you have been saying to me, ‘Bring this people up,’[ef] but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. But you said, ‘I know you by name,[eg] and also you have found favor in my sight.’ 13 Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me[eh] your way, that I may know you,[ei] that I may continue to find[ej] favor in your sight. And see[ek] that this nation is your people.”
14 And the Lord[el] said, “My presence[em] will go with you,[en] and I will give you rest.”[eo]
15 And Moses[ep] said to him, “If your presence does not go[eq] with us,[er] do not take us up from here.[es] 16 For how will it be known then that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not by your going with us, so that we will be distinguished, I and your people, from all the people who are on the face of the earth?”[et]
17 The Lord said to Moses, “I will do this thing also that you have requested, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know[eu] you by name.”
18 And Moses[ev] said, “Show me your glory.”[ew]
19 And the Lord[ex] said, “I will make all my goodness[ey] pass before your face, and I will proclaim the Lord by name[ez] before you; I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious; I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.”[fa] 20 But he added, “You cannot see my face, for no one can[fb] see me and live.”[fc] 21 The Lord said, “Here[fd] is a place by me; you will station yourself[fe] on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and will cover[ff] you with my hand[fg] while I pass by.[fh] 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back,[fi] but my face must not be seen.”[fj]
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
22 Jesus spoke[a] to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his slaves[b] to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready.[c] My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”’ 5 But they were indifferent and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 The[d] rest seized his slaves, insolently mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The[e] king was furious! He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death[f] and set their city[g] on fire. 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy. 9 So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say.[h] 13 Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness,[i] where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Paying Taxes to Caesar
15 Then the Pharisees[j] went out and planned together to entrap him with his own words.[k] 16 They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians,[l] saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.[m] You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality.[n] 17 Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right[o] to pay taxes[p] to Caesar[q] or not?”
18 But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said, “Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” So[r] they brought him a denarius.[s] 20 Jesus[t] said to them, “Whose image[u] is this, and whose inscription?” 21 They replied,[v] “Caesar’s.” He said to them,[w] “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”[x] 22 Now when they heard this they were stunned,[y] and they left him and went away.
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