Exodus 22-24
22
1 “If a thief is found breaking in at night and is killed, there shall be no guilt for his blood. 2 But if the sun rises on the thief, there shall be guilt if his blood is shed. However, he should make full restitution; but if he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. 3 If the thing stolen, from a donkey to a sheep, is found alive in his hand, he shall restore double. 4 If a man allows his field or vineyard to be grazed upon, but lets loose his animal and it feeds in the field of another man, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.
5 “If fire breaks out and catches in thorns, but sets threshing floors, stacked grain, or a field on fire, he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution. 6 If a man gives his neighbor money or goods to keep, but it is stolen out of the man’s house, the thief shall pay double if he is found. 7 But if the thief is not found, then the lord of the house shall be brought before God; and he shall swear he played no wicked part with regard to any of his neighbor’s deposit. 8 For any kind of trespass, whether it concerns an ox, a donkey, a sheep, or clothing, or any alleged loss of whatever kind, the cause of both parties shall come before God; and he that is convicted by God shall repay double to his neighbor. 9 If anyone gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is injured, or is taken, but no one knows it, 10 then an oath of God shall be between them both, that he is not guilty with regard to the deposit; and the owner of the deposit shall accept this. Thus no compensation shall be made to him. 11 But if, in fact, the deposit is stolen from him, he shall compensate the owner. 12 But if it is torn to pieces by a beast, he shall bring it as evidence and make no compensation. 13 If a man borrows anything from his neighbor and it becomes injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make compensation to the owner. 14 But if its owner was with it, he shall not make compensation; if it was hired, it came for its hire.
Moral Laws
15 “If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. 16 But if her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money to her father according to the bride-price of virgins. 17 You shall not permit a sorcerer to live. 18 Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death. 19 He who sacrifices to any god except to the Lord alone, he shall be put to death. 20 You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 21 You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. 22 If you afflict them in any way and they cry out to Me, I will surely hear their cry; 23 and My wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives shall be widows and your children orphans. 24 If you lend money to any poor brother among you, you shall not be hard on him or charge him interest. 25 If you take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. 26 For that is his only covering, his only garment for covering his nakedness. What will he sleep in? So it will be when he cries to Me, I will hear him, for I am merciful.
27 “You shall not speak against gods, nor curse a ruler of your people. 28 You shall not delay to offer the first of your threshing floor and fruit press. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. 29 Likewise you shall do with your calf, sheep, and donkey. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me. 30 Now you shall be holy men to Me, and you shall not eat meat torn by wild animals in the field; you shall throw it to the dog.
23
Justice
1 “Now you shall not circulate a false report. Do not agree with the wicked man to be an unrighteous witness. 2 You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor join with them, so as to turn aside with the majority to pervert justice. 3 You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute. 4 If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. 5 If you see your enemy’s donkey fallen beneath its load, you shall not walk away from it, but shall surely help him with it. 6 You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. 7 Keep yourself far from every unjust matter; do not kill the innocent and the righteous; and do not justify the wicked for his gifts. 8 You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes and corrupts just pronouncements. 9 Also you shall not oppress a resident alien, for you know the heart of a resident alien, because you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
Sabbath Laws
10 “Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, 11 but in the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove. 12 Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.
Three Yearly Feasts
13 “Now in everything I said to you, be circumspect and do not invoke the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth. 14 Keep a feast to Me three times in the year: 15 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of new grains, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty); 16 and the Feast of Harvest, the first fruits of your labors you sowed in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field. 17 Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God. 18 When I cast out the nations from before your face and expand your borders, you shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the fat of My sacrifice remain until morning. 19 The first of the first fruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a lamb in its mother’s milk.
An Angel of Protection
20 “Behold, I send My Angel before your face, to keep you in the way and to bring you into the land I prepared for you. 21 Listen to Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. 22 But if you will indeed obey My voice and do all I command you and keep My covenant, you shall be My special people above all nations, for the whole earth is Mine; and you shall be a royal priesthood and a holy nation. You shall speak these words to the children of Israel; and if you shall indeed obey My voice and do all I tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Gergesites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. 24 You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars. 25 So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread, wine, and water; and I will take away sickness from you. 26 No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
27 “I will send My fear before you; and I will cause confusion among all the nations to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 I will also send hornets before you which shall drive out the Amorites, the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals of the field become too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and inherit the land. 31 And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand and will drive them out from before you. 32 You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. 33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a stumbling block to you.”
24
The Covenant Affirmed
1 Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 Moses alone shall come near to God, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with them.”
3 So Moses came and told the people all the words of God and all the ordinances, and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words the Lord spoke we will do.” 4 Then Moses wrote all the words of the Lord; and he rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve stones according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered whole burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of calves to God. 6 Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he poured on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All the Lord said, we will do, and be obedient.” 8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant the Lord made with you according to all these words.”
Moses with God on Mount Sinai
9 After this, Moses went up, along with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and the seventy of the elders of Israel; 10 and they saw the place where the God of Israel stood. Under His feet was, as it were, a paved work of sapphire stone and the appearance of heaven’s firmament in its purity. 11 And of Israel’s chosen men not one was missing. So they saw the place of God, and ate and drank. 12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone and the law and commandments I wrote, that you may teach them.” 13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and they went up to the mountain of God. 14 But he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.” 15 Then Moses and Joshua went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 Now the glory of God descended on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. Then on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 The sight of the Lord’s glory was like a burning fire on the top of the mountain before the children of Israel. 18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up the mountain; and he was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Psalms 27
1 Of David.
To You, O Lord, I cry;
O my God, may You not pass over me in silence;
May You never be silent to me,
Else I would become like those who go down into the pit.
2 Hear the voice of my supplication when I pray to You
And when I lift up my hands toward Your holy temple.
3 May You not associate my soul with sinners,
Nor destroy me with the workers of injustice,
Who speak peace with their neighbor,
But evil is in their hearts.
4 Give them according to their works,
According to the wickedness of their pursuits;
Give them according to the works of their hands;
Return to them their due reward.
5 Because they do not understand the works of the Lord,
Nor the deeds of His hands,
You will destroy them, and never rebuild them.
6 Blessed is the Lord,
Because He heard the voice of my supplication.
7 The Lord is my helper and my champion;
In Him my heart hoped, and I was helped,
And my flesh revived;
And I will give thanks to Him willingly.
8 The Lord is the strength of His people,
And the protector of the salvation of His anointed.
9 Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance;
And shepherd them, and raise them up forever.
Proverbs 5:15–19
15 Drink waters from your vessels
And from the fountains of your spring.
16 Do not let the waters from your fountain be spilled by you,
But let your waters pass through your wide places;
17 Let them be only for you,
And let no stranger partake with you;
18 Let the fountain of your water be for you alone,
And rejoice together with the wife of your youth.
19 Let your loving deer and graceful colt keep company with you,
And let her alone go before you and be with you at all times;
For in living with her love, you will be great.
Matthew 17
Jesus Transfigured on the Mount
1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;
2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”
6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.
7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.”
8 When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9 Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.”
10 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
11 Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.
12 “But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.”
13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.
A Boy Is Healed
14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying,
15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.
16 “So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.”
18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
21 “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Jesus Again Predicts His Death and Resurrection
22 Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men,
23 “and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful.
Peter and His Master Pay Their Taxes
24 When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?”
25 He said, “Yes.” And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?”
26 Peter said to Him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.27 “Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.”