The Daily Audio Bible
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Moses Gets New Tablets
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two more stone tablets like the first two. I will write the same words on them that were on the first two stones which you broke. 2 Be ready tomorrow morning. Then come up on Mount Sinai. Stand before me there on the top of the mountain. 3 No one may come with you. No one should even be seen any place on the mountain. Not even the sheep or cattle may eat grass near that mountain.”
4 So Moses cut two stone tablets like the first ones. Then early the next morning he went up Mount Sinai. He did this just as the Lord had commanded him. Moses carried the two stone tablets with him. 5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with Moses. And the Lord called out his name, the Lord.
6 The Lord passed in front of Moses and said, “I am the Lord. The Lord is a God who shows mercy and is kind. The Lord doesn’t become angry quickly. The Lord has great love and faithfulness. 7 The Lord is kind to thousands of people. The Lord forgives people for wrong and sin and turning against him. But the Lord does not forget to punish guilty people. The Lord will punish not only the guilty people. He will also punish their children, their grandchildren, their great-grandchildren and their great-great-grandchildren.”
8 Then Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshiped. 9 Moses said, “Lord, if you are pleased with me, please go with us. I know that these are stubborn people. But forgive our evil and our sin. Take us as your own people.”
10 Then the Lord said, “I am making this agreement with you. I will do miracles in front of all your people. These things have never before been done for any other nation on earth. The people with you will see my work. I, the Lord, will do wonderful things for you. 11 Obey the things I command you today, and I will force your enemies to leave your land. I will force out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites ahead of you. 12 Be careful. Don’t make any agreement with the people who live in the land where you are going. It will bring you trouble. 13 But destroy their altars. Break their stone pillars. Cut down their Asherah idols. 14 Don’t worship any other god. This is because I, the Lord, the Jealous One, am a jealous God.
15 “Be careful. Don’t make any agreements with the people who live in that land. They will worship their false gods. And they will invite you to join them. Then you will join them, and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 You might choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons. Those daughters worship false gods. They might lead your sons to do the same thing.
17 “Do not make gods of melted metal.
18 “Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast as I commanded you. Do this during the month I have chosen, the month of Abib. This is because in that month you came out of Egypt.
19 “Every firstborn cow or sheep that is born to each animal belongs to me. 20 You may buy back a donkey by paying for it with a lamb. But if you don’t want to buy back a donkey, you must break its neck. You must buy back all your firstborn sons.
“No one is to come before me without a gift.
21 “You must work for six days. But on the seventh day you must rest. You must do this even during the planting season and harvest season.
22 “Celebrate the Feast of Weeks when you gather the first grain of the wheat harvest. And celebrate the Feast of Harvest in the fall.
23 “Three times each year all your men must come before the Master, the Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will force out nations ahead of you. I will expand the borders of your land. You will go before the Lord your God three times each year. And at that time no one will try to take your land from you.
25 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me with anything containing yeast. And do not leave any of the sacrifice of the Feast of Passover. It must not be left until the next morning.
26 “Bring the best first crops that you harvest from your ground. Bring those things to the Tent of the Lord your God.
“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words. This is because with these words I have made an agreement with you and Israel.”
28 Moses stayed there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights. During that time he did not eat food or drink water. And Moses wrote the words of the agreement—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.
The Face of Moses Shines
29 Then Moses came down from Mount Sinai. In his hands he was carrying the two stone tablets of the agreement. But Moses did not know that his face was shining because he had talked with the Lord. 30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw that Moses’ face was shining. So they were afraid to go near him. 31 But Moses called to them. So Aaron and all the leaders of the people returned to Moses. Moses talked with them. 32 After that, all the people of Israel came near him. And he gave them all the commands that the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.
33 When Moses finished speaking to the people, he put a covering over his face. 34 Anytime Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, Moses took off the covering until he came out. Then Moses would come out and tell the people of Israel the things the Lord had commanded. 35 The Israelites would see that Moses’ face was shining. So he would cover his face again. He did this until the next time he went in to speak with the Lord.
Rules About the Sabbath
35 Moses gathered all the Israelite community together. He said to them, “These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do. 2 You are to work for six days. But the seventh day will be a holy day, a Sabbath of rest to honor the Lord. Anyone who works on that day must be put to death. 3 On the Sabbath day you must not light a fire in any of your houses.”
4 Moses said to all the Israelites, “This is what the Lord has commanded: 5 From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Let everyone who is willing bring this offering to the Lord: gold, silver, bronze, 6 blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen, goat hair 7 and male sheep skins, colored red. And they may bring fine leather and acacia wood. 8 They may also bring olive oil for the lamps, spices for the special olive oil used for appointing priests and for the sweet-smelling incense. 9 And they may bring onyx stones and other jewels to be put on the holy vest and chest covering of the priests.
Pilate Tries to Free Jesus
15 Every year at the time of Passover the governor would free one person from prison. This was always a person the people wanted to be set free. 16 At that time there was a man in prison who was known to be very bad. His name was Barabbas.[a] 17 All the people gathered at Pilate’s house. Pilate said, “Which man do you want me to free: Barabbas,[b] or Jesus who is called the Christ?” 18 Pilate knew that they gave Jesus to him because they were jealous.
19 Pilate said these things while he was sitting on the judge’s seat. While he was sitting there, his wife sent a message to him. The message said, “Don’t do anything to that man. He is not guilty. Today I had a dream about him, and it troubled me very much.”
20 But the leading priests and elders told the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be freed and for Jesus to be killed.
21 Pilate said, “I have Barabbas and Jesus. Which do you want me to set free for you?”
The people answered, “Barabbas!”
22 Pilate asked, “What should I do with Jesus, the one called the Christ?”
They all answered, “Kill him on a cross!”
23 Pilate asked, “Why do you want me to kill him? What wrong has he done?”
But they shouted louder, “Kill him on a cross!”
24 Pilate saw that he could do nothing about this, and a riot was starting. So he took some water and washed his hands[c] in front of the crowd. Then he said, “I am not guilty of this man’s death. You are the ones who are causing it!”
25 All the people answered, “We will be responsible. We accept for ourselves and for our children any punishment for his death.”
26 Then Pilate freed Barabbas. Pilate told some of the soldiers to beat Jesus with whips. Then he gave Jesus to the soldiers to be killed on a cross.
27 Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace. All the soldiers gathered around Jesus. 28 They took off his clothes and put a red robe on him. 29 Then the soldiers used thorny branches to make a crown. They put this crown of thorns on Jesus’ head. They put a stick in his right hand. Then the soldiers bowed before Jesus and made fun of him. They said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 They spit on Jesus. Then they took his stick and hit him on the head many times. 31 After they finished making fun of Jesus, the soldiers took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led Jesus away to be killed on a cross.
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord.
Happy are the people he chose for his very own.
13 The Lord looks down from heaven.
He sees every person.
14 From his throne he watches
everyone who lives on earth.
15 He made their hearts.
He understands everything they do.
16 No king is saved by his great army.
No warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 Horses can’t bring victory.
They can’t save by their strength.
18 But the Lord looks after those who fear him.
He watches over those who put their hope in his love.
19 He saves them from death.
He spares their lives in times of hunger.
20 So our hope is in the Lord.
He is our help, our shield to protect us.
21 We rejoice in him.
We trust his holy name.
22 Lord, show your love to us
as we put our hope in you.
Being Wise or Foolish
9 Wisdom has built her house.
She has made its seven columns.
2 She has prepared her food and wine.
She has set her table.
3 She has sent out her servant girls.
She calls out from the highest place in the city.
4 She says to those who are not wise,
“Come in here, you foolish people!
5 Come and eat my food.
And drink the wine I have prepared.
6 Stop your foolish ways, and you will live.
Be a person of understanding.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.