The Daily Audio Bible
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The Lord Meets with Moses on the Mountain
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two ⌞more⌟ stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets which you smashed. 2 Be ready in the morning. Then come up on Mount Sinai, and stand in my presence on the top of the mountain. 3 No one may come with you or even be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even the flocks and herds may not graze in front of this mountain.”
4 So Moses cut two ⌞more⌟ stone tablets like the first ones. Early the next morning he went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, carrying the two stone tablets.
5 The Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him and called out his name “the Lord.”
6 Then he passed in front of Moses, calling out, “The Lord, the Lord, a compassionate and merciful God, patient, always faithful and ready to forgive. 7 He continues to show his love to thousands of generations, forgiving wrongdoing, disobedience, and sin. He never lets the guilty go unpunished, punishing children and grandchildren for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation.”
8 Immediately, Moses knelt, bowing with his face touching the ground. 9 Then he said, “Lord, please go with us! Even though we are impossible to deal with, forgive our sin and the wrong we have done, and accept us as your own people.”
The Lord Makes His Promise with Israel Again
10 The Lord said, “I’m making my promise [a] again. In front of all your people I will perform miracles that have never been done in any other nation in all the world. All the people around you will see how awesome these miracles are that I will perform for you. 11 Do everything that I command today. Then I will force the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites out of your way. 12 Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you’re going. This will prove to be a trap to you. 13 But tear down their altars, crush their sacred stones, and cut down their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah. 14 (Never worship any other god, because the Lord is a God who does not tolerate rivals. In fact, he is known for not tolerating rivals.) 15 Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in that land. When they chase after their gods as though they were prostitutes and sacrifice to them, they may invite you to eat the meat from their sacrifices with them. 16 Then your sons will end up marrying their daughters. When their daughters chase after their gods as though they were prostitutes, they’ll lead your sons to do the same thing.
17 “Never make an idol.
18 “You must celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you must eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because in that month you came out of Egypt.
19 “Every first male offspring is mine, even the firstborn males of all your livestock, whether cattle, sheep, or goats. 20 It will cost you a sheep or a goat to buy back the firstborn donkey. If you don’t buy it back, then you must break the donkey’s neck. You must buy back every firstborn of your sons.
“No one may come into my presence without an offering.
21 “You may work six days, but on the seventh day you must not work. Even during the time of plowing or harvesting you must not work ⌞on this day⌟.
22 “You must celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the first grain from your wheat harvest, and the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the season.
23 “Three times a year all your men must come into the presence of the Master, the Lord God of Israel. 24 I will force nations out of your way and will expand ⌞your country’s⌟ borders. No one will want to take away your land while you’re gone three times a year to the Lord’s festivals.
25 “Never offer the blood of a sacrifice to me at the same time you offer anything containing yeast. No part of the sacrifice at the Passover Festival should be left over in the morning.
26 “You must bring the first and best of the produce harvested from your soil to the house of the Lord your God.
“Never cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, because on the basis of these words I’m making a promise to Israel and to you.”
28 Moses was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights without food or water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the promise, the ten commandments.
Moses Returns to the People
29 Moses came down from Mount Sinai, carrying the two tablets with God’s words on them. His face was shining from speaking with the Lord, but he didn’t know it.
30 When Aaron and all the Israelites looked at Moses and saw his face shining, they were afraid to come near him. 31 Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him. Then Moses spoke to them. 32 After that, all the other Israelites came near him, and he commanded them to do everything the Lord told him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever Moses went into the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he took off the veil until he came out. Whenever he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they would see that Moses’ face was shining. Then Moses would put the veil back on until he went in again to speak with the Lord.
Rules about the Day of Rest
35 Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, “These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do: 2 You may work for six days, but the seventh day is a holy day of rest, a day when you don’t work. It is dedicated to the Lord. Whoever does any work on this day should be put to death. 3 Never light a fire in any of your homes on this day of rest.”
The People Contribute Their Wealth(A)
4 Then Moses said to the whole Israelite community, “This is what the Lord has commanded: 5 Choose something of your own to give as a special contribution to the Lord. Let everyone who is willing bring this kind of contribution to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze, 6 violet, purple, and bright red yarn, fine linen, goats’ hair, 7 rams’ skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood, 8 olive oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet-smelling incense, 9 onyx stones, and other precious stones to be set in the ⌞chief priest’s⌟ ephod [b] and breastplate.
The Crowd Rejects Jesus(A)
15 At every Passover festival the governor would free one prisoner whom the crowd wanted. 16 At that time there was a well-known prisoner by the name of Barabbas. 17 So when the people gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which man do you want me to free for you? Do you want me to free Barabbas or Jesus, who is called Christ?” 18 Pilate knew that they had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous.
19 While Pilate was judging the case, his wife sent him a message. It said, “Leave that innocent man alone. I’ve been very upset today because of a dream I had about him.”
20 But the chief priests and leaders persuaded the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus.
21 The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to free for you?”
They said, “Barabbas.”
22 Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?”
“He should be crucified!” they all said.
23 Pilate asked, “Why? What has he done wrong?”
But they began to shout loudly, “He should be crucified!”
24 Pilate saw that he was not getting anywhere. Instead, a riot was breaking out. So Pilate took some water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. He said, “I won’t be guilty of killing this man. Do what you want!”
25 All the people answered, “The responsibility for killing him will rest on us and our children.”
26 Then Pilate freed Barabbas for the people. But he had Jesus whipped and handed over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus(B)
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the palace and gathered the whole troop around him. 28 They took off his clothes and put a bright red cape on him. 29 They twisted some thorns into a crown, placed it on his head, and put a stick in his right hand. They knelt in front of him and made fun of him by saying, “Long live the king of the Jews!” 30 After they had spit on him, they took the stick and kept hitting him on the head with it.
The Crucifixion(C)
31 After the soldiers finished making fun of Jesus, they took off the cape and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
Blessed are the people he has chosen as his own.
13 The Lord looks down from heaven.
He sees all of Adam’s descendants.
14 From the place where he sits enthroned,
he looks down upon all who live on earth.
15 The one who formed their hearts
understands everything they do.
16 No king achieves a victory with a large army.
No warrior rescues himself by his own great strength.
17 Horses are not a guarantee for victory.
Their great strength cannot help someone escape.
18 The Lord’s eyes are on those who fear him,
on those who wait with hope for his mercy
19 to rescue their souls from death
and keep them alive during a famine.
20 We wait for the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts find joy.
In his holy name we trust.
22 Let your mercy rest on us, O Lord,
since we wait with hope for you.
Wisdom Hosts a Banquet
9 Wisdom has built her house.
She has carved out her seven pillars.
2 She has prepared her meat.
She has mixed her wine.
She has set her table.
3 She has sent out her servant girls.
She calls from the highest places in the city,
4 “Whoever is gullible turn in here!”
She says to a person without sense,
5 “Come, eat my bread,
and drink the wine I have mixed.
6 Stop being gullible and live.
Start traveling the road to understanding.”
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