The Daily Audio Bible
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16 And it came to pass on the Yom HaShelishi when the boker was breaking, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a heavy cloud upon HaHar, and the blast of the shofar exceeding loud; so that kol HaAm that was in the machaneh trembled with terror.
17 And Moshe led HaAm forth out of the machaneh to encounter HaElohim; and they stood at the foot of HaHar.
18 And Mt. Sinai was altogether smoking, because Hashem descended upon it in eish; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of the furnace, and kol HaHar shook violently.
19 And when the sound of the shofar was moving [closer], and grew louder and louder, Moshe spoke, and HaElohim answered him in thunder.
20 And Hashem came down upon Mt. Sinai, onto the top of HaHar; and Hashem summoned Moshe up to the top of HaHar; and Moshe went up.
21 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Go down, warn HaAm, lest they push through toward Hashem to gaze, and many of them fall perishing.
22 And let the kohanim also, which come near to Hashem, set themselves apart as kodesh, lest Hashem break forth upon them.
23 And Moshe said unto Hashem, HaAm cannot come up to Mt. Sinai; for You Yourself charged us, saying, Establish boundaries for HaHar, and set it apart as kodesh.
24 And Hashem said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aharon with thee; but let not the kohanim and HaAm push through to come up unto Hashem, lest He break forth upon them.
25 So Moshe went down unto HaAm and told them.
20 Then Elohim spoke all these words, saying,
2 I am Hashem Eloheicha, Who brought thee out of Eretz Mitzrayim, out of the bais avadim (house of slaves).
3 Thou shalt have no elohim acherim in My presence.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any pesel, or any temunah of any thing that is in Shomayim above, or that is in ha’aretz beneath, or that is in the mayim under ha’aretz.
5 Thou shalt not tishtacheveh to them, nor serve them; for I Hashem Eloheicha am an El kanna, visiting the avon Avot upon the Banim unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me;
6 But showing chesed unto thousands of them that love Me, and are shomer over My mitzvot.
7 Thou shalt not take the Shem Hashem Eloheicha in vain; for Hashem will not hold him guiltless that taketh Shmo in vain.
8 Remember Yom HaShabbos, to keep it kodesh.
9 Sheshet yamim shalt thou labor, and do all thy work:
10 But the Yom HaShevi’i is the Shabbos of Hashem Eloheicha; in it thou shalt not do any melachah, thou, nor thy ben, nor thy bat, thy eved, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy ger that is within thy gates;
11 For in sheshet yamim Hashem made Shomayim and Ha’Aretz, the yam, and all that in them is, and rested Yom HaShevi’i; for this reason Hashem blessed Yom HaShabbos, and set it apart as kodesh.
12 Honor thy av and thy em; that thy yamim may be long upon ha’adamah which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee.
13 Thou shalt not murder.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
16 Thou shalt not bear ed sheker against thy neighbor.
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s bais, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s isha, nor his eved, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.
18 And kol HaAm saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the sound of the shofar, and HaHar smoking; and when HaAm saw it, they drew back, and stood afar off.
19 And they said unto Moshe, Thou speak with us, and we will hear; but let not Elohim speak with us, lest we die (see Bereshis 42:23).
20 And Moshe said unto HaAm, Fear not: for HaElohim is come to test you, and that His fear may be upon your faces, that ye sin not.
21 And HaAm stood afar off, while Moshe drew near unto the thick cloud where HaElohim was.
22 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Thus thou shalt say unto the Bnei Yisroel, You yourselves have seen that from Shomayim I have spoken with you.
23 Ye shall not make beside Me elohei kesef, neither shall ye make for yourselves elohei zahav.
24 Mizbe’ach adamah thou shalt make unto Me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy olot, and thy shelamim, thy tzon, and thine oxen; in all places where I cause My Shem to be remembered, I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
25 And if thou wilt make Me a Mizbe’ach avanim, thou shalt not build it of cut stone; for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast rendered it polluted.
26 Neither shalt thou go up by stairs unto Mine Mizbe’ach, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
[MISHPATIM]
21 Now these are the mishpatim which thou shalt set before them.
2 If thou acquire an eved Ivri, shesh shanim he shall serve; and in the seventh he shall go out lachafeshi (to the freedom) for no charge.
3 If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he were a ba’al isha, then his isha shall go out with him.
4 If his adon have given him an isha, and to him she gives birth to banim or banot; the isha and her yeledim shall be her adon’s, and he shall go out [free] by himself.
5 And if the eved shall plainly say, I love adoni, my isha, and my banim; I will not go out lachafeshi (to the freedom);
6 Then his adon shall bring him unto HaElohim; he shall also bring him to the delet (door), or unto the mezuzah; and his adon shall pierce through his ozen (ear) with a piercing-tool; then he shall serve him l’olam.
7 And if an ish sell his bat to be an amah (maidservant), she shall not go out as the avadim [go free].
8 If she please not her adon, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed [i.e., let her freedom be purchased]; to sell her unto an am nochri (foreign people) he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
9 And if he have betrothed her unto his ben, he shall deal with her according to the mishpat habanot (rights of [free] daughters; i.e., those rights of verse 10).
10 If he take him another, her food, her covering of clothing, and her onah (conjugal rights) shall he not deprive.
11 And if he does not perform these three unto her, then shall she go out free without kesef.
12 He that strikes down an ish, so that the ish die, shall be surely put to death.
13 And if he lie not in ambush, but HaElohim deliver him into his yad, then I will appoint thee a makom (i.e., city of refuge) where he shall flee there.
14 But if an ish come premeditatedly upon his re’a, to murder him by guile; thou shalt take him from Mine Mizbe’ach for capital punishment.
15 And he that striketh down his av, or his em, shall be surely put to death.
16 And he that kidnaps an ish, and selleth him, or if he be found in his power, the kidnapper shall surely be put to death.
17 And he that curseth his av, or his em, shall surely be put to death.
18 And if anashim quarrel, and one strike another with an even (stone), or with his egrof (fist), and he die not, but is bedfast;
19 If he rise again, and walk around outside upon his staff, then shall he that struck down him be absolved; only shivto yiten (he shall give for his lost time), and shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed.
20 And if an ish strikes his eved, or his amah, with a shevet (rod), and he die under his yad; he shall be surely avenged.
21 Notwithstanding, if he continue a yom or two, he shall not be avenged; for he is his kesef.
13 But oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim (hypocrites), for in front of Bnei Adam you shut the Malchut HaShomayim. You do not go in yourselves, and the ones entering, you do not permit to enter.
14 Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim! You devour the batim of almanot and for the sake of chashuve (importance) appearance you make long tefillot; therefore your gezar din (verdict) will be more severe.
15 Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim. You travel over the sea and the dry land for the giyyur (proselytization) of one proselyte; then, when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehinnom as you.
16 Oy to you, morei derech ivrim (blind guides), the, ones saying, Whoever swears by the Beis Hamikdash, it is a worthless shevuah (oath): but whoever swears by the gold of the Beis Hamikdash, he is obligated.
17 Ivrim! (blind ones), for which is greater, the gold or the Beis Hamikdash which gives the gold its kedushah (holiness, sanctity)?
18 And whoever swears by the Mizbeach (altar), it is worthless; but whoever swears by the korban upon it, he is obligated.
19 Ivrim, blind ones, for which is greater, the korban or Mizbeach which gives the korban its kedushah (holiness, sanctity)?
20 Therefore, the one having sworn by the Mizbeach swears by it and everything upon it.
21 And the one having sworn by the Beis Hamikdash swears by it and by everything indwelling it.
22 And the one having sworn by Shomayim swears by the kes malchut of Hashem and by the One sitting upon the kes malchut.
23 Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim, for you give maasros (tithe) of mint and dill and cumin, and you have neglected the matters of the Torah of greater consequence: mishpat, chesed, and emunah. These things it was necessary to do and those [others] not to neglect.
24 Morei derech ivrim (blind guides), the ones that strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.
25 Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim, you cleanse the outside of the kos (cup) and the dish, but inside they are full of chamdanut (greed) and taavanut (lust).
26 Blind Parush, first cleanse the inside of the kos, that perhaps also the outside may become clean.
27 Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim, for you are like kevarim (graves) having been whitewashed, which on the outside indeed appear ois vaist (ostensibly) shein (beautiful), but on the inside are full of the unclean bones of the mesim (dead ones) and every trayfnyak.
28 Thus on the outside you indeed appear tzodek (righteous) to Bnei Adam, but on the inside you are full of tzeviut (hypocrisy) and you are lawlessly against the Torah.
29 Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim, for you build kevarim of the Neviim and decorate matsevot (gravestones) of the tzaddikim,
30 And you say, If we were in the yamim (days) of Avoteinu (our Fathers), we would not have been shuttafim (partners) with them in the dahm haNeviim (blood of the Prophets).
31 Therefore, you are edim (witnesses) against yourselves that you are the banim (sons) of the ratzchaniyot (murderers) of the Neviim.
32 And you fill up the measure of your Avot.
33 Snakes, you banim of nachashim, how can you escape the Yom HaDin of Gehinnom?
34 For this reason hinei! I send to you Neviim and Chachamim and Sofrim, some of whom you will kill and some you will make talui al haetz (being hanged on the Tree, DEVARIM 21:23) and some you will subject to the shot (whip) in your shuls, and you will drive them out from city to city,
35 So that upon you may come all the dahm naki (innocent blood) shed upon the earth from the blood of Hevel to the blood of Zecharyah, whom you murdered between the Heikhal and the Mizbeach. [trans. note: cf. Lk 11:51 for Mt’s probable original text here]
36 Omein, I say to you, that all these things will come upon this generation.
37 Yerushalayim, Yerushalayim, the ones that kill the Neviim and stone those having been sent to you! How often have I wanted to gather your yeladim, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you were not willing!
38 Hinei! Look! KI LECHARBAH YIH’YEH HABEIT HAZEH (for this House will become a ruin (i.e. churban) YIRMEYAH 22:5).
39 For I say to you, by no means will you see me [Moshiach] from now until you say, BARUCH HABAH BSHEM ADONOI.
28 (Of Dovid) Unto Thee will I cry, Hashem my Tzur; do not turn a deaf ear to me: lest, if Thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
2 Shema (hear) kol (voice) of my supplications, when I cry unto Thee, when I lift up my hands toward Thy Devir Kodesh (Innermost Sanctuary, Kodesh HaKodashim).
3 Draw me not away with the resha’im, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak shalom to their neighbors, but malice is in their hearts.
4 Give to them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors; give them after the work of their hands; render to them their gemul (deserts).
5 Because they regard not the Pe’ulot Hashem, nor the Ma’aseh of His hands, He shall tear them down, and not build them up.
6 Baruch Hashem, because He hath heard the kol (voice) of my supplications.
7 Hashem is my strength and my mogen; my lev trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my lev greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I thank Him.
8 Hashem is their oz (strength), and He is the Ma’oz Yeshu’ot (saving refuge) of His Moshiach.
9 Save Thy people, and bless Thine nachalah; shepherd them also, and carry them ad olam.
7 Beni (my son), be shomer over my words, and treasure up my mitzvot with thee.
2 Be shomer over my mitzvot, and live, and over my torah as the apple of thine eye.
3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the luach (tablet) of thine lev.
4 Say unto chochmah, Thou art my achot; and call binah (understanding) thy kinsman;
5 That they may be shomer over thee and keep thee from the zarah, from the nokhriyah with her smooth words.
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