The Daily Audio Bible
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The Lord Appears on Mount Sinai
16 When morning came on the third day, there was thunder and lightning, with a heavy cloud over the mountain, and the very loud sound of a ram’s horn. All the people in the camp trembled. 17 Moses brought the people from the camp to meet God, and they stood at the base of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the Lord had come down in fire on it. Smoke went up from it like smoke from a kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently. 19 As the sound of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God would answer with thunder.[a] 20 When the Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain, he[b] summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
21 The Lord told Moses, “Go down and warn the people so they don’t break through to look at the Lord, and many of them perish.[c] 22 Even the priests who approach the Lord must consecrate themselves. Otherwise, the Lord will attack them.”
23 Moses told the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai because you warned us: ‘Set boundaries around the mountain and consecrate it.’”[d]
24 The Lord told him, “Go down, and come back up with Aaron, but the priests and the people must not break through to go up to the Lord. Otherwise, he will attack them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.
The Ten Commandments(A)
20 Then God spoke all these words:
| א[e] | 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt— from the house of slavery. 3 You are to have no other gods as a substitute for me.[f] |
| ב | 4 “You are not to craft for yourselves an idol or anything resembling what is in the skies above, or on earth beneath, or in the water sources under the earth. 5 You are not to bow down to them in worship or serve them, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the guilt of parents[g] on children, to the third and fourth generation[h] of those who hate me, 6 but showing gracious love to the thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. |
| ג | 7 “You are not to misuse the name of the Lord your God,[i] because the Lord will not leave unpunished the one who misuses his name.[j] |
| ד | 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, maintaining its holiness.[k] 9 Six days you are to labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You are not to do any work—neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your livestock, nor any foreigner who lives among you—[l] 11 because the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days. Then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. |
| ה | 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. |
| ו | 13 “You are not to commit murder. |
| ז | 14 “You are not to commit adultery. |
| ח | 15 “You are not to steal. |
| ט | 16 “You are not to give false testimony against your neighbor. |
| י | 17 “You are not to desire[m] your neighbor’s house,[n] nor your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox, his donkey, nor anything else that pertains to your neighbor.” |
The People are Terrified in God’s Presence
18 All the people experienced the thunder and lightning, the sound of the ram’s horn, and the smoking mountain. And as the people experienced it, they trembled and stood at a distance. 19 They told Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen, but don’t let God speak with us, or we may die.
20 Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you may fear him in order that you don’t sin.” 21 Then the people stood at a distance, and Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.
Instruction about Idols and Altars
22 The Lord told Moses, “This is what you are to say to the Israelis, ‘You have seen for yourselves that I spoke to you from heaven. 23 You are not to make gods of silver alongside me, nor are you to make for yourselves gods of gold. 24 You are to make an altar of earth for me, and you are to sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep, and your cattle. Everywhere I cause my name to be remembered, I’ll come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stone for me, you must not build it of cut stones, because if you strike it with your chisel, you will profane it. 26 You are not to ascend to my altar on steps, so that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.’”
Laws Concerning Servants
21 “These are the ordinances that you are to set before them.
2 “When you acquire a Hebrew servant, he is to serve for six years, and in the seventh he is to go out a free man without paying anything. 3 If he came in by himself,[o] he is to go out by himself. If he was married, his wife is to go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and children belong to her master, and he is to go out by himself. 5 But if the servant, in fact, says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children, and I won’t go out a free man,’ 6 then his master is to bring him before the judges[p] and he is to bring him to the door or to the doorpost. His master is to pierce his ear with an awl, and he is to serve him permanently.
7 “When a man sells his daughter as a servant, she won’t go out as the male servants do.[q] 8 If she’s displeasing to[r] her master who selected her for himself,[s] he must let her be redeemed. He does not have the right to sell her to foreign people, because he has dealt unfairly[t] with her. 9 If he has selected her for his son,[u] he is to treat her according to the ordinance for daughters. 10 If he takes another woman for himself, he may not withhold from the first[v] her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. 11 If he does not do these three things for her, she may go out without paying anything at all.”[w]
Laws Concerning Personal Injury and Homicide
12 “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies is certainly to be put to death. 13 If he didn’t lie in wait, but God let him fall into his reach,[x] then I’ll appoint for you a place to which he may flee. 14 If a man acts deliberately against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you are to take him to die even if he’s at[y] my altar.
15 “Whoever strikes his father or his mother is certainly to be put to death.
16 “Whoever kidnaps a person, whether he has sold him or whether the victim[z] is still in his possession, is certainly to be put to death.
17 “Whoever curses his father or his mother is certainly to be put to death.
18 “If people quarrel and one strikes the other with a rock or his fist, and he does not die but ends up[aa] in bed, 19 and the injured person[ab] then gets up and walks around outside with the help of his staff,[ac] the one who struck him is not liable, except that he is to compensate him for his loss of time[ad] and take care of his complete recovery.
20 “If a man strikes his male or female servant with a stick and he or she dies as a direct result,[ae] the master must be punished.[af] 21 But if the servant[ag] survives a day or two, the master[ah] is not to be punished because the servant[ai] is his property.
13 “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom from[a] heaven in people’s faces. You don’t go in yourselves, and you don’t allow those who are trying to enter to go in.
14 “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and say long prayers to cover it up. Therefore, you will receive greater condemnation![b]
15 “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make a single convert, and when this happens you make him twice as fit for[c] hell[d] as you are.
16 “How terrible it will be for you, blind guides! You say, ‘Whoever swears an oath by the sanctuary is excused,[e] but whoever swears an oath by the gold of the sanctuary must keep his oath.’[f] 17 You blind fools! What is more important, the gold or the sanctuary that made the gold holy? 18 Again you say,[g] ‘Whoever swears an oath by the altar is excused,[h] but whoever swears by the gift that is on it must keep his oath.’[i] 19 You blind men![j] Which is more important, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? 20 Therefore, the one who swears an oath by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 The one who swears an oath by the sanctuary swears by it and by the one who lives there. 22 And the one who swears an oath by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.
23 “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your mint, dill, and cummin, but have neglected the more important matters of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness.[k] These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides! You filter out a gnat, yet swallow a camel!
25 “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but on the inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup,[l] so that its outside may also be clean.
27 “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people’s bones and every kind of impurity. 28 In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous. 30 Then you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our ancestors, we would have had no part with them in shedding[m] the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Therefore, you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Then finish what your ancestors started![n] 33 You snakes, you children of serpents! How can you escape being condemned to hell?[o]
34 “That is why I am sending you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will whip in your synagogues and persecute from town to town. 35 As a result, you will be held accountable for[p] all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of the righteous Abel[q] to the blood of Berechiah’s son Zechariah,[r] whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 I tell all of you[s] with certainty, all these things will happen to those living today.”[t]
Jesus Rebukes Jerusalem(A)
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones to death those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! 38 Look! Your house is left abandoned! 39 I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘How blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”[u]
Davidic
A Prayer for Help
28 To you, Lord, I cry out!
My Rock, do not refuse to answer me.[a]
If you remain silent,
I will become like those who descend into the Pit.[b]
2 Hear the sound of my supplications when I cry to you for help,
as I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who practice iniquity,
who speak peace to their neighbors
while harboring evil in their hearts.
4 Reward them according to their deeds;
according to the evil of their actions.
Reward them based on what they do;[c]
give them what they deserve.
5 Because they do not understand the deeds of the Lord
or the work of his hands,
He will tear them down and never build them up.
6 Blessed be the Lord!
For he has heard the sound of my supplications.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him,
and I received help.
My heart rejoices,
and I give thanks to him with my song.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people;[d]
he is a refuge of deliverance for his anointed.
9 Deliver your people
and bless your inheritance!
Shepherd them
and lift them up forever!
On Avoiding the Immoral Woman
7 My son, guard what I say
and treasure my commands.
2 Keep my commands and you’ll live.
Guard[a] my teaching as you do your eyesight.
3 Strap them to your fingers
and engrave them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You’re my sister!”
and call understanding your close relative,
5 so they can keep you from an adulterous woman,
from the immoral woman with her seductive words.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.