Israel at Mount Sinai

1 On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they ^pcame into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 They set out from ^qRephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before ^rthe mountain, 3 while ^sMoses went up to God. ^tThe Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 ^u‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how ^vI bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be ^wmy treasured possession among all peoples, for ^xall the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a ^ykingdom of priests and ^za holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 ^aAll the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you ^bin a thick cloud, that ^cthe people may hear when I speak with you, and may also ^dbelieve you forever.”

When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, 10 the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and ^econsecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them ^fwash their garments 11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day ^gthe Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. ^hWhoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot;¹ whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When ⁱthe trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” 14 So Moses ^jwent down from the mountain to the people and ^econsecrated the people; ^fand they washed their garments. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the ^kthird day; ^ldo not go near a woman.”

16 On the morning of the ^kthird day there were ^mthunders and lightnings and ⁿa thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud ^otrumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp ^ptrembled. 17 Then ^qMoses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now ^rMount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and ^sthe whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the ^osound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and ^tGod answered him in thunder. 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord ^uto look and many of them perish. 22 Also let the priests who come near to the Lord ^vconsecrate themselves, lest the Lord ^wbreak out against them.” 23 And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ^x‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” 24 And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people ^ybreak through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Temptation of Jesus

1 ^sAnd Jesus, ^tfull of the Holy Spirit, ^ureturned from the Jordan and was led ^vby the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for ^wforty days, ^xbeing tempted by the devil. ^wAnd he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, ^yhe was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are ^zthe Son of God, command ^athis stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, ^b“It is written, ^c‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 ^dAnd the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you ^eI will give all this authority and their glory, ^efor it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, ^f“It is written,

9 ⁱAnd he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are ^jthe Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

11 and

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ^l‘You shall not ^mput the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him ⁿuntil an opportune time.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

14 ^oAnd Jesus returned ^pin the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and ^qa report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And ^rhe taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

16 ^sAnd he came to ^tNazareth, where he had been brought up. And ^uas was his custom, ^vhe went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up ^wto read. 17 And ^xthe scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and ^fsat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were ^gfixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today ^hthis Scripture ⁱhas been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at ^jthe gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, ^k“Is not this ^lJoseph’s son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ^m‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did ⁿat Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, ^ono prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when ^pthe heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them ^qbut only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And ^rthere were many lepers¹ in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, ^sbut only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and ^tdrove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But ^upassing through their midst, he went away.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon

31 ^vAnd he ^wwent down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And ^xhe was teaching them ^yon the Sabbath, 32 and ^zthey were astonished at his teaching, ^zfor his word possessed authority. 33 And ^xin the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha!^{2 a}What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? ^bI know who you are—^cthe Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus ^drebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And ^ethey were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? ^eFor with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And ^freports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Jesus Heals Many

38 ^gAnd he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now ^hSimon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and ⁱrebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and ^jhe laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 ^kAnd demons also came out of many, ^lcrying, “You are ^mthe Son of God!” But he rebuked them and ^kwould not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was ⁿthe Christ.

Jesus Preaches in Synagogues

42 ^oAnd when it was day, he departed and went ^pinto a desolate place. And ^qthe people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, ^r“I must ^spreach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching ^tin the synagogues of Judea.³