Today's Reading

¹God spoke all these words, saying,

²"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

³You shall have no other gods before me.

⁴"You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

⁵you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me,

⁶and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

⁸"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

⁹You shall labor six days, and do all your work,

¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates;

¹¹for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.

¹²"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

¹³"You shall not murder.

¹⁴"You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵"You shall not steal.

¹⁶"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

¹⁷"You shall not covet 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 is your neighbor's."

¹⁸All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance.

¹⁹They said to Moses, "Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but do not let God speak with us, lest we die."

²⁰Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won't sin."

²¹The people stayed at a distance, and Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

²²The Lord said to Moses, "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

²³You shall most certainly not make alongside of me gods of silver, or gods of gold for yourselves.

²⁴You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you.

²⁵If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it.

²⁶Neither shall you go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it.'

¹"Now these are the ordinances which you shall set before them.

²"If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years and in the seventh he shall go out free without paying anything.

³If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself. If he is married, then his wife shall go out with him.

⁴If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.

⁵But if the servant shall plainly say, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go out free;'

⁶then his master shall bring him to God, and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him for ever.

⁷"If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go out as the male servants do.

⁸If she doesn't please her master, who has married her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, seeing he has dealt deceitfully with her.

⁹If he marries her to his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.

¹⁰If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marital rights.

¹¹If he doesn't do these three things for her, she may go free without paying any money.

¹²"One who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death,

¹³but not if it is unintentional, but God allows it to happen: then I will appoint you a place where he shall flee.

¹⁴If a man schemes and comes presumptuously on his neighbor to kill him, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.

¹⁵"Anyone who attacks his father or his mother shall be surely put to death.

¹⁶"Anyone who kidnaps someone and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.

¹⁷"Anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

¹⁸"If men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he doesn't die, but is confined to bed;

¹⁹if he rises again and walks around with his staff, then he who struck him shall be cleared: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for his healing until he is thoroughly healed.

²⁰"If a man strikes his servant or his maid with a rod, and he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished.

²¹Notwithstanding, if he gets up after a day or two, he shall not be punished, for he is his property.

²²"If men fight and hurt a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, and yet no harm follows, he shall be surely fined as much as the woman's husband demands and the judges allow.

²³But if any harm follows, then you must take life for life,

²⁴eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

²⁵burning for burning, wound for wound, and bruise for bruise.

²⁶"If a man strikes his servant's eye, or his maid's eye, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.

²⁷If he strikes out his male servant's tooth, or his female servant's tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.

²⁸"If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the bull shall not be held responsible.

²⁹But if the bull had a habit of goring in the past, and it has been testified to its owner, and he has not kept it in, but it has killed a man or a woman, the bull shall be stoned, and its owner shall also be put to death.

³⁰If a ransom is laid on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is laid on him.

³¹Whether it has gored a son or has gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him.

³²If the bull gores a male servant or a female servant, thirty shekels of silver shall be given to their master, and the ox shall be stoned.

³³"If a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and doesn't cover it, and a bull or a donkey falls into it,

³⁴the owner of the pit shall make it good. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall be his.

³⁵"If one man's bull injures another's, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live bull, and divide its price; and they shall also divide the dead animal.

³⁶Or if it is known that the bull was in the habit of goring in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall surely pay bull for bull, and the dead animal shall be his own.

¹"If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it, or sells it; he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.

²If the thief is found breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt of bloodshed for him.

³If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt of bloodshed for him; he shall make restitution. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

⁴If the stolen property is found in his hand alive, whether it is ox, donkey, or sheep, he shall pay double.

⁵"If a man causes a field or vineyard to be eaten, and lets his animal loose, and it grazes in another man's field, [he shall make restitution from his own field according to his produce; and if he shall have grazed over the whole field,] he shall make restitution from the best of his own field, and from the best of his own vineyard.

⁶"If fire breaks out, and catches in thorns so that the shocks of grain, or the standing grain, or the field are consumed; he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.

⁷"If a man delivers to his neighbor money or stuff to keep, and it is stolen out of the man's house; if the thief is found, he shall pay double.

⁸If the thief isn't found, then the master of the house shall come near to God, to find out if he hasn't put his hand to his neighbor's goods.

⁹For every matter of trespass, whether it be for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any kind of lost thing, about which one says, 'This is mine,' the cause of both parties shall come before God. He whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor.

¹⁰"If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies or is injured, or driven away, no man seeing it;

¹¹the oath of the Lord shall be between them both, whether he hasn't put his hand to his neighbor's goods; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution.

¹²But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner.

¹³If it is torn in pieces, let him bring it for evidence. He shall not make good that which was torn.

¹⁴"If a man borrows anything of his neighbor's, and it is injured, or dies, its owner not being with it, he shall surely make restitution.

¹⁵If its owner is with it, he shall not make it good. If it is a leased thing, it came for its lease.

¹⁶"If a man entices a virgin who isn't pledged to be married, and lies with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife.

¹⁷If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.

¹⁸"You shall not allow a sorceress to live.

¹⁹"Whoever has sex with an animal shall surely be put to death.

²⁰"He who sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord only, shall be utterly destroyed.

²¹"You shall not wrong a foreigner, neither shall you oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

²²"You shall not take advantage of any widow or fatherless child.

²³If you take advantage of them at all, and they cry at all to me, I will surely hear their cry;

²⁴and my wrath will grow hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

²⁵"If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be to him as a creditor; neither shall you charge him interest.

²⁶If you take your neighbor's garment as collateral, you shall restore it to him before the sun goes down,

²⁷for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What would he sleep in? It will happen, when he cries to me, that I will hear, for I am gracious.

²⁸"You shall not blaspheme God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

²⁹"You shall not delay to offer from your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. "You shall give the firstborn of your sons to me.

³⁰You shall do likewise with your cattle and with your sheep. Seven days it shall be with its mother, then on the eighth day you shall give it to me.

³¹"You shall be holy men to me, therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by animals in the field. You shall cast it to the dogs.

¹Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple.

²But he answered them, "Do you not see all of these things? Truly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down."

³As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?"

⁴Jesus answered them, "Be careful that no one leads you astray.

⁵For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Messiah,' and will lead many astray.

⁶You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled, for this must happen, but the end is not yet.

⁷For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

⁸But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹Then they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name's sake.

¹⁰Then many will stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another.

¹¹Many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray.

¹²Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold.

¹³But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.

¹⁴This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

¹⁵"When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

¹⁶then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

¹⁷Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out things that are in his house.

¹⁸Let him who is in the field not return back to take his coat.

¹⁹But woe to those who are with child and to nursing mothers in those days!

²⁰Pray that your flight will not be in the winter, nor on a Sabbath,

²¹for then there will be great oppression, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be.

²²Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.

²³"Then if any man tells you, 'Behold, here is the Messiah,' or, 'There,' do not believe it.

²⁴For there will arise false messiahs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.

²⁵"Behold, I have told you beforehand.

²⁶If therefore they tell you, 'Behold, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out; 'Behold, he is in the inner chambers,' do not believe it.

²⁷For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

²⁸For wherever the carcass is, there is where the vultures gather together.

²⁹But immediately after the oppression of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken;

³⁰and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

³¹He will send out his angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

³²"Now from the fig tree learn this parable. When its branch has now become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that the summer is near.

³³Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

³⁴Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away, until all these things are accomplished.

³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³⁶But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

³⁷"As the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

³⁸For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship,

³⁹and they did not know until the flood came, and took them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

⁴⁰Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left;

⁴¹two women grinding at the mill, one will be taken and one will be left.

⁴²Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord comes.

⁴³But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

⁴⁴Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

⁴⁵"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household, to give them their food in due season?

⁴⁶Blessed is that servant whom his lord finds doing so when he comes.

⁴⁷Truly I tell you that he will set him over all that he has.

⁴⁸But if that evil servant should say in his heart, 'My lord is delayed,'

⁴⁹and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunkards,

⁵⁰the lord of that servant will come in a day when he does not expect it, and in an hour when he does not know it,

⁵¹and will cut him in pieces, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.

¹ The earth is the Lord's, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell therein.

²For he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods.

³Who may ascend to the Lord's hill? Who may stand in his holy place?

⁴He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully.

⁵He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, righteousness from the God of his salvation.

⁶This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek your face-even Jacob. Selah.

⁷Lift up your heads, you gates! Be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in.

⁸Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle.

⁹Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in.

¹⁰Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts is the King of glory! Selah.

¹Do not be envious of evil men; neither desire to be with them:

²for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about mischief.

³Through wisdom a house is built; by understanding it is established;

⁴by knowledge the rooms are filled with all rare and beautiful treasure.

⁵A wise man has great power; and a knowledgeable man increases strength;

⁶for by wise guidance you wage your war; and victory is in many advisors.

⁷Wisdom is too high for a fool: he doesn't open his mouth in the gate.

⁸One who plots to do evil will be called a schemer.

⁹The schemes of folly are sin. The mocker is detested by men.

¹⁰If you falter in the time of trouble, your strength is small.

¹¹Rescue those who are being led away to death! Indeed, hold back those who are staggering to the slaughter!

¹²If you say, "Behold, we did not know this;" doesn't he who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, doesn't he know it? Shall he not render to every man according to his work?

¹³My son, eat honey, for it is good; the droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to your taste:

¹⁴so you shall know wisdom to be to your soul; if you have found it, then there will be a reward, your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁵Do not lie in wait, wicked man, against the habitation of the righteous. Do not destroy his resting place:

¹⁶for a righteous man falls seven times, and rises up again; but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.

¹⁷Do not rejoice when your enemy falls. Do not let your heart be glad when he is overthrown;

¹⁸lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

¹⁹Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; neither be envious of the wicked:

²⁰for there will be no reward to the evil man; and the lamp of the wicked shall be snuffed out.

²¹My son, fear the Lord and the king. Do not join those who are rebellious:

²²for their calamity will rise suddenly; the destruction from them both-who knows?

²³These also are sayings of the wise. To show partiality in judgment is not good.

²⁴He who says to the wicked, "You are righteous;" peoples shall curse him, and nations shall abhor him-

²⁵but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and a rich blessing will come on them.

²⁶An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.

²⁷Prepare your work outside, and get your fields ready. Afterwards, build your house.

²⁸Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause. Do not deceive with your lips.

²⁹Do not say, "I will do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work."

³⁰I went by the field of the sluggard, by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;

³¹Behold, it was all grown over with thorns. Its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.

³²Then I saw, and considered well. I saw, and received instruction:

³³a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep;

³⁴so your poverty will come as a robber, and your want as an armed man.