Exodus 31; John 10; Proverbs 7; Galatians 6

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Exodus 31

Oholiab and Bezalel

The Lord said to Moses, See, I have called by name xBezalel the son of Uri, son of yHur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have zfilled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him aOholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men bability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: cthe tent of meeting, and dthe ark of the testimony, and ethe mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, fthe table and its utensils, and gthe pure lampstand with all its utensils, and hthe altar of incense, and ithe altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and jthe basin and its stand, 10 and kthe finely worked garments,1 the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, 11 and lthe anointing oil and the fragrant mincense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.

The Sabbath

12 And the Lord said to Moses, 13 You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. nWhoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 oSix days shall work be done, but pthe seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. nWhoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 qIt is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that rin six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and son the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.

18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the ttwo tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with uthe finger of God.


John 10

I Am the Good Shepherd

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. yA stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. This figure of speech Jesus zused with them, but they adid not understand what he was saying to them.

So Jesus again said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, bI am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, che will be saved and will go in and out and dfind pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and ekill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 fI am the good shepherd. The good shepherd glays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is ha hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ileaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and jscatters them. 13 He flees because khe is a hired hand and lcares nothing for the sheep. 14 mI am the good shepherd. nI know my own and omy own know me, 15 pjust as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and qI lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And rI have other sheep that are not of this fold. sI must bring them also, and tthey will listen to my voice. So there will be uone flock, vone shepherd. 17 wFor this reason the Father loves me, xbecause yI lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 zNo one takes it from me, but yI lay it down aof my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and bI have authority to take it up again. cThis charge I have received from my Father.

19 dThere was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, eHe has a demon, and fis insane; why listen to him? 21 Others said, These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. gCan a demon open the eyes of the blind?

I and the Father Are One

22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, hin the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are ithe Christ, jtell us plainly. 25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and you do not believe. kThe works that I do lin my Father’s name bear witness about me, 26 but myou do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 nMy sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 oI give them eternal life, and pthey will never perish, and qno one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, rwho has given them to me,1 sis greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of tthe Father’s hand. 30 uI and the Father are one.

31 vThe Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but wfor blasphemy, because you, being a man, xmake yourself God. 34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in yyour Law, zI said, you are gods? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God cameand Scripture cannot be abroken 36 do you say of him whom bthe Father consecrated and csent into the world, You are blaspheming, because dI said, I am the Son of God? 37 eIf I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, feven though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that gthe Father is in me and I am in the Father. 39 hAgain they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place iwhere John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him. And they said, John did no sign, but jeverything that John said about this man was true. 42 And kmany believed in him there.


Proverbs 7

Warning Against the Adulteress

hMy son, keep my words

and htreasure up my commandments with you;

ikeep my commandments and live;

keep my teaching as jthe apple of your eye;

kbind them on your fingers;

kwrite them on the tablet of your heart.

Say to wisdom, You are my sister,

and call insight your intimate friend,

to keep you from lthe forbidden1 woman,

from lthe adulteress2 with her smooth words.

For at mthe window of my house

I have looked out through my lattice,

and I have seen among nthe simple,

I have perceived among the youths,

a young man olacking sense,

passing along the street pnear her corner,

taking the road to her house

in qthe twilight, in the evening,

at rthe time of night and darkness.

10  And behold, the woman meets him,

sdressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.3

11  She is tloud and uwayward;

vher feet do not stay at home;

12  now in the street, now in the market,

and wat every corner she xlies in wait.

13  She seizes him and kisses him,

and with ybold face she says to him,

14  I had to zoffer sacrifices,4

and today I have apaid my vows;

15  so now I have come out to meet you,

to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.

16  I have spread my couch with bcoverings,

colored linens from cEgyptian linen;

17  I have perfumed my bed with dmyrrh,

aloes, and ecinnamon.

18  Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;

let us delight ourselves with love.

19  For fmy husband is not at home;

he has gone on a long journey;

20  he took a bag of money with him;

at full moon he will come home.

21  With much seductive speech she persuades him;

with gher smooth talk she compels him.

22  All at once he follows her,

as an ox goes to the slaughter,

or as a stag is caught fast5

23  till an arrow pierces its liver;

as ha bird rushes into a snare;

he does not know that it will cost him his life.

24  And inow, O sons, listen to me,

and be attentive to the words of my mouth.

25  Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;

do not stray into her paths,

26  for many a victim has she laid low,

and all her slain are ja mighty throng.

27  Her house is kthe way to Sheol,

going down to the chambers of death.


Galatians 6

Bear One Another’s Burdens

Brothers,1 oif anyone is caught in any transgression, pyou who are spiritual should restore him in qa spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. rBear one another’s burdens, and sso fulfill tthe law of Christ. For uif anyone thinks he is something, vwhen he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one wtest his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For xeach will have to bear his own load.

yLet the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. zDo not be deceived: God is not mocked, for awhatever one sows, that will he also reap. For bthe one who sows to his own flesh cwill from the flesh reap corruption, but dthe one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And elet us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, fif we do not give up. 10 So then, gas we have opportunity, let us hdo good to everyone, and especially to those who are iof the household of faith.

Final Warning and Benediction

11 See with what large letters I am writing to you jwith my own hand. 12 kIt is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh lwho would force you to be circumcised, and only min order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast nexcept in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which2 the world ohas been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For pneither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but qa new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, rpeace and mercy be upon them, and upon sthe Israel of God.

17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

18 tThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be uwith your spirit, brothers. Amen.