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16 On[a] the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense[b] cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud[c] horn;[d] all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a great furnace,[e] and the whole mountain shook[f] violently. 19 When the sound of the horn grew louder and louder,[g] Moses was speaking[h] and God was answering him with a voice.[i]
20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21 The Lord said to Moses, “Go down and solemnly warn[j] the people, lest they force their way through to the Lord to look, and many of them perish.[k] 22 Let the priests also, who approach the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break through[l] against them.”
23 Moses said to the Lord, “The people are not able to come up to Mount Sinai, because you solemnly warned us,[m] ‘Set boundaries for the mountain and set it apart.’”[n] 24 The Lord said to him, “Go, get down, and then come up, and Aaron with you, but do not let the priests and the people force their way through to come up to the Lord, lest he break through against them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.[o]
The Decalogue
20 [p] God spoke all these words:[q]
2 “I,[r] the Lord, am your God,[s] who brought you[t] from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.[u]
3 “You shall have no[v] other gods before me.[w]
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image[x] or any likeness[y] of anything[z] that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below.[aa] 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them,[ab] for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous[ac] God, responding to[ad] the transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the third and fourth generations[ae] of those who reject me,[af] 6 and showing covenant faithfulness[ag] to a thousand generations[ah] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not take[ai] the name of the Lord your God in vain,[aj] for the Lord will not hold guiltless[ak] anyone who takes his name in vain.
8 “Remember[al] the Sabbath[am] day to set it apart as holy.[an] 9 For six days[ao] you may labor[ap] and do all your work,[aq] 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it[ar] you shall not do any work, you,[as] or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates.[at] 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
12 “Honor[au] your father and your mother, that you may live a long time[av] in the land[aw] the Lord your God is giving to you.
13 “You shall not murder.[ax]
14 “You shall not commit adultery.[ay]
15 “You shall not steal.[az]
16 “You shall not give[ba] false testimony[bb] against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet[bc] your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.”[bd]
18 All the people were seeing[be] the thundering and the lightning, and heard[bf] the sound of the horn, and saw[bg] the mountain smoking—and when[bh] the people saw it they trembled with fear[bi] and kept their distance.[bj] 19 They said to Moses, “You speak[bk] to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you,[bl] that the fear of him[bm] may be before you so that you do not[bn] sin.” 21 The people kept[bo] their distance, but Moses drew near the thick darkness[bp] where God was.[bq]
The Altar
22 [br] The Lord said[bs] to Moses, “Thus you will tell the Israelites: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken with you from heaven. 23 You must not make gods of silver alongside me,[bt] nor make gods of gold for yourselves.[bu]
24 “‘You must make for me an altar made of earth,[bv] and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings,[bw] your sheep and your cattle. In every place[bx] where I cause my name to be honored[by] I will come to you and I will bless you. 25 If you make me an altar of stone, you must not build it[bz] of stones shaped with tools,[ca] for if you use your tool on it you have defiled it.[cb] 26 And you must not go up by steps to my altar, so that your nakedness is not exposed.’[cc]
The Ordinances
21 [cd] “These are the ordinances that you will set before them:
Hebrew Servants
2 [ce] “If you buy[cf] a Hebrew servant,[cg] he is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year he will go out free[ch] without paying anything.[ci] 3 If he came in[cj] by himself[ck] he will go out by himself; if he had[cl] a wife when he came in, then his wife will go out with him. 4 If his master gave[cm] him a wife, and she bore sons or daughters, the wife and the children will belong to her master, and he will go out by himself. 5 But if the servant should declare,[cn] ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out[co] free,’ 6 then his master must bring him to the judges,[cp] and he will bring him to the door or the doorpost, and his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him forever.[cq]
7 “If a man sells his daughter[cr] as a female servant,[cs] she will not go out as the male servants do. 8 If she does not please[ct] her master, who has designated her[cu] for himself, then he must let her be redeemed.[cv] He has no right[cw] to sell her to a foreign nation, because he has dealt deceitfully[cx] with her. 9 If he designated her for his son, then he will deal with her according to the customary rights[cy] of daughters. 10 If he takes another wife,[cz] he must not diminish the first one’s food,[da] her clothing, or her marital rights.[db] 11 If he does not provide her with these three things, then she will go out free, without paying money.[dc]
Personal Injuries
12 [dd] “Whoever strikes someone[de] so that he dies[df] must surely be put to death.[dg] 13 But if he does not do it with premeditation,[dh] but it happens by accident,[di] then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. 14 But if a man willfully attacks his neighbor to kill him cunningly,[dj] you will take him even from my altar that he may die.
15 “Whoever strikes[dk] his father or his mother must surely be put to death.
16 “Whoever kidnaps someone[dl] and sells him,[dm] or is caught still holding him,[dn] must surely be put to death.
17 “Whoever treats his father or his mother disgracefully[do] must surely be put to death.
18 “If men fight, and one strikes his neighbor with a stone or with his fist and he does not die, but must remain in bed,[dp] 19 and then[dq] if he gets up and walks about[dr] outside on his staff, then the one who struck him is innocent, except he must pay[ds] for the injured person’s[dt] loss of time[du] and see to it that he is fully healed.
20 “If a man strikes his male servant or his female servant with a staff so that he or she[dv] dies as a result of the blow,[dw] he will surely be punished.[dx] 21 However, if the injured servant[dy] survives one or two days, the owner[dz] will not be punished, for he has suffered the loss.[ea]
13 “But woe to you, experts in the law[a] and you Pharisees, hypocrites![b] You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven![c] For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.[d]
15 “Woe to you, experts in the law[e] and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert,[f] and when you get one,[g] you make him twice as much a child of hell[h] as yourselves!
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing.[i] But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’ 17 Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing.[j] But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’ 19 You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, experts in the law[k] and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth[l] of mint, dill, and cumin,[m] yet you neglect what is more important in the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You[n] should have done these things without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel![o]
25 “Woe to you, experts in the law[p] and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean 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,[q] so that the outside may become clean too!
27 “Woe to you, experts in the law[r] and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs[s] that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, experts in the law[t] and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You[u] build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves[v] of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,[w] we would not have participated with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up then the measure of your ancestors! 33 You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?[x]
34 “For this reason I[y] am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law,[z] some of whom you will kill and crucify,[aa] and some you will flog[ab] in your synagogues[ac] and pursue from town to town, 35 so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah,[ad] whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 I tell you the truth,[ae] this generation will be held responsible for all these things![af]
Judgment on Israel
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,[ag] you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you![ah] How often I have longed[ai] to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but[aj] you would have none of it![ak] 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate! 39 For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”[al]
Psalm 28[a]
By David.
28 To you, O Lord, I cry out!
My Protector,[b] do not ignore me.[c]
If you do not respond to me,[d]
I will join[e] those who are descending into the grave.[f]
2 Hear my plea for mercy when I cry out to you for help,
when I lift my hands[g] toward your holy temple.[h]
3 Do not drag me away with evil men,
with those who behave wickedly,[i]
who talk so friendly to their neighbors,[j]
while they plan to harm them.[k]
4 Pay them back for their evil deeds.
Pay them back for what they do.
Punish them.[l]
5 For they do not understand the Lord’s actions,
or the way he carries out justice.[m]
The Lord[n] will permanently demolish them.[o]
6 The Lord deserves praise,[p]
for he has heard my plea for mercy.[q]
7 The Lord strengthens and protects me;[r]
I trust in him with all my heart.[s]
I am rescued[t] and my heart is full of joy;[u]
I will sing to him in gratitude.[v]
8 The Lord strengthens his people;[w]
he protects and delivers his chosen king.[x]
9 Deliver your people.
Empower[y] the nation that belongs to you.[z]
Care for them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms[aa] at all times![ab]
Admonition to Avoid the Wiles of the Adulteress[a]
7 My child,[b] devote yourself to my words
and store up my commands inside yourself.[c]
2 Keep my commands[d] so that you may live,[e]
and obey[f] my instruction as your most prized possession.[g]
3 Bind them on your forearm;[h]
write them on the tablet of your heart.[i]
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”[j]
and call understanding a close relative,
5 so that they may keep you from the adulterous woman,[k]
from the loose woman[l] who has flattered[m] you[n] with her words.
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