11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 u“When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give va ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. 13 Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel1 according to the wshekel of the sanctuary (the xshekel is twenty gerahs),2 yhalf a shekel as an offering to the Lord. 14 Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord’s offering. 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than ythe half shekel, when you give the Lord’s offering to make atonement for your lives. 16 You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall zgive it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to aremembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for your lives.”
17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “You shall also make a bbasin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. bYou shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, 19 with which Aaron and his sons cshall wash their hands and their feet. 20 When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering3 to the Lord, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. 21 They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall dbe a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.”
22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Take the efinest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of faromatic cane, 24 and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a ghin4 of olive oil. 25 And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the hperfumer; it shall be a iholy anointing oil. 26 jWith it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, 27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, 28 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the kbasin and its stand. 29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. lWhatever touches them will become holy. 30 mYou shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. 31 And you shall say to the people of Israel, ‘This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. 32 It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. nIt is holy, and it shall be holy to you. 33 oWhoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’”
34 The Lord said to Moses, p“Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part), 35 and make an qincense blended as by the rperfumer, sseasoned with salt, pure and holy. 36 You shall beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting twhere I shall meet with you. uIt shall be most holy for you. 37 And the incense that you shall make vaccording to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves. It shall be for you holy to the Lord. 38 wWhoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people.”
1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have called by name xBezalel the son of Uri, son of yHur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have zfilled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. 6 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: 7 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, 8 fthe table and its utensils, and gthe pure lampstand with all its utensils, and hthe altar of incense, 9 and ithe altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and jthe basin and its stand, 10 and kthe finely worked garments,5 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.”
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.
1 When the people saw that Moses vdelayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, w“Up, make us gods who shall xgo before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the yrings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 zAnd he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden6 calf. And they said, a“These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron bmade a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And cthe people sat down to eat and drink and rose up dto play.
7 And the Lord said to Moses, e“Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have fcorrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that gI commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, hit is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore ilet me alone, that jmy wrath may burn hot against them and kI may consume them, in order that lI may make a great nation of you.”
11 But mMoses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 nWhy should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and orelent from this disaster against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you pswore by your own self, and said to them, q‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 And the Lord rrelented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
15 Then sMoses turned and went down from the mountain with the ttwo tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. 16 uThe tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When vJoshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” 18 But he said, “It is not the sound of wshouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” 19 And as soon as he came near the camp and xsaw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20 He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.
21 And Moses said to Aaron, y“What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” 22 And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. zYou know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For athey said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 So bI said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”
25 And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, cto the derision of their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. 27 And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you dkill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’” 28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. 29 And Moses said, “Today you have been eordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”
30 The next day Moses said to the people, f“You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; gperhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, fthis people has sinned a great sin. They have hmade for themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, if iyou will forgive their sin—but if not, please jblot me out of kyour book that you have written.” 33 But the Lord said to Moses, l“Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. 34 mBut now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; nbehold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”
35 Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.
1 The Lord said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you oand the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To pyour offspring I will give it.’ 2 I will send an qangel before you, rand I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 3 sGo up to a land flowing with milk and honey; tbut I will not go up among you, ulest I consume you on the way, for you are a vstiff-necked people.”
4 When the people heard this disastrous word, they wmourned, and xno one put on his ornaments. 5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘You are a vstiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would yconsume you. So now xtake off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.’” 6 Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.
7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and zhe called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who asought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and beach would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. 9 When Moses entered the tent, the cpillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord7 would speak with Moses. 10 And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. 11 Thus dthe Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his eassistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, fyou say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, g‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ 13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please hshow me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is iyour people.” 14 And he said, j“My presence will go with you, and kI will give you rest.” 15 And he said to him, l“If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? mIs it not in your going with us, nso that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”
17 And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, ofor you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” 18 Moses said, “Please pshow me your glory.” 19 And he said, q“I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And rI will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for sman shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a tcleft of the rock, and I will ucover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall vnot be seen.”
1 The Lord said to Moses, w“Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, xand I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, ywhich you broke. 2 Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me zon the top of the mountain. 3 No aone shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” 4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. 5 The Lord bdescended in the cloud and stood with him there, and cproclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, d“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and egracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast flove and faithfulness, 7 gkeeping steadfast love for thousands,8 hforgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but iwho will by no means clear the guilty, jvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 And Moses quickly kbowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please llet the Lord go in the midst of us, for mit is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for nyour inheritance.”
10 And he said, “Behold, oI am making a covenant. Before all your people pI will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord, for it is an qawesome thing that I will do with you.
11 “Observe what I command you this day. Behold, rI will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 12 sTake care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a tsnare in your midst. 13 You shall utear down their altars and vbreak their pillars and cut down their wAsherim 14 (for xyou shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 slest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they ywhore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and zyou are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of atheir daughters for your sons, and their daughters ywhore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.
17 b“You shall not make for yourself any gods of cast metal.
18 c“You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in dthe month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt. 19 eAll that open the womb are mine, all your male9 livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. 20 The ffirstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And gnone shall appear before me empty-handed.
21 h“Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. 22 iYou shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end. 23 jThree times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will kcast out nations before you and lenlarge your borders; mno one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.
25 n“You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, oor let the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover remain until the morning. 26 pThe best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. qYou shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27 And the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words rI have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 sSo he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he twrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.10
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with uthe two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face vshone because he had been talking with God.11 30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face wshone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he xcommanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a yveil over his face.
34 Whenever Moses zwent in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, 35 the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was ashining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
1 Kings 18:1–39
1 dAfter many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 3 And Ahab called Obadiah, who was eover the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, 4 and fwhen Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.” 6 So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.
7 And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” 8 And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” 9 And he said, “How have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? 10 gAs the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. 11 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’ 12 And as soon as I have gone from you, hthe Spirit of the Lord will carry you I know not where. And so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth. 13 Has it not been told my lord what I did iwhen Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord’s prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water? 14 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here”’; and he will kill me.” 15 And Elijah said, g“As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, j“Is it you, you ktroubler of Israel?” 18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have labandoned the commandments of the Lord and mfollowed the Baals. 19 Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount nCarmel, and the o450 prophets of Baal and pthe 400 prophets of Asherah, qwho eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long rwill you go limping between two different opinions? sIf the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, t“I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are u450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. 24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who vanswers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and wcut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of xthe offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been ythrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, z“Israel shall be your name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs1 of seed. 33 aAnd he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and bpour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34 And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. 35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.
36 And at the time of cthe offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, dGod of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that eyou are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that fI have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 gThen the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, h“The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”
Luke 11:14–20
14 yNow he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. 15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons zby Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” 16 while others, ato test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. 17 bBut he, cknowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. 18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, dby whom do eyour sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if it is by fthe finger of God that I cast out demons, then gthe kingdom of God has come upon you.
Acts 7:35–8:1
35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, qsaying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer rby the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 sThis man led them out, performing twonders and signs uin Egypt and vat the Red Sea and win the wilderness for xforty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you ya prophet like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one zwho was in the congregation in the wilderness with athe angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. bHe received cliving doracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and ein their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, f‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 And gthey made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and hwere rejoicing in ithe works of their hands. 42 But jGod turned away and kgave them over to worship lthe host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:
m“‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,
nduring the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43 You took up the tent of oMoloch
and the star of your god Rephan,
the images that you made to worship;
and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’
44 “Our fathers had pthe tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses qdirected him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn rbrought it in with Joshua when they sdispossessed the nations tthat God drove out before our fathers. So it was uuntil the days of David, 46 vwho found favor in the sight of God and wasked to find a dwelling place for xthe God of Jacob.1 47 But it was ySolomon who built a house for him. 48 zYet the Most High does not dwell ain houses made by hands, as the prophet says,
49 b“‘Heaven is my throne,
cand the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
or what is the place of my rest?
50 Did not my hand make all these things?’
51 d“You stiff-necked people, euncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. fAs your fathers did, so do you. 52 gWhich of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of hthe Righteous One, iwhom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law jas delivered by angels and kdid not keep it.”
54 Now when they heard these things lthey were enraged, and they mground their teeth at him. 55 But he, nfull of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw othe glory of God, and Jesus standing pat the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see qthe heavens opened, and rthe Son of Man standing pat the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together2 at him. 58 Then sthey cast him out of the city and tstoned him. And uthe witnesses laid down their garments vat the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, whe called out, “Lord Jesus, xreceive my spirit.” 60 And yfalling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, z“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, ahe fell asleep.
1 And bSaul capproved of his execution.
And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and dthey were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
1 Corinthians 10:1–14
1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,1 that our fathers were all under bthe cloud, and all cpassed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and dall ate the same espiritual food, 4 and fall drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for gthey were overthrown2 in the wilderness.
6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as hthey did. 7 iDo not be idolaters jas some of them were; as it is written, k“The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 lWe must not indulge in sexual immorality mas some of them did, and ntwenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ3 to the test, oas some of them did and pwere destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, qas some of them did and rwere destroyed by sthe Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but tthey were written down for our instruction, uon whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore vlet anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. wGod is faithful, and xhe will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
14 Therefore, my beloved, yflee from idolatry.
2 Corinthians 3
1 qAre we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, ras some do, sletters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 tYou yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our1 hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of uthe living God, not on vtablets of stone but on wtablets of xhuman hearts.2
4 ySuch is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 zNot that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but aour sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be bministers of ca new covenant, not of dthe letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but ethe Spirit gives life.
7 Now if fthe ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory gthat the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in hthe ministry of condemnation, ithe ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.
12 Since we have such a hope, jwe are very bold, 13 not like Moses, kwho would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But ltheir minds were mhardened. For to this day, nwhen they read othe old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when pone3 turns to the Lord, qthe veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord4 is the Spirit, and where rthe Spirit of the Lord is, there is sfreedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, tbeholding uthe glory of the Lord,5 vare being transformed into the same image wfrom one degree of glory to another.6 For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Hebrews 9:1–14
1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and man earthly place of holiness. 2 For na tent1 was prepared, the first section, in which were othe lampstand and pthe table and qthe bread of the Presence.2 It is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind rthe second curtain was a second section3 called the Most Holy Place, 4 having the golden saltar of incense and tthe ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was ua golden urn holding the manna, and vAaron’s staff that budded, and wthe tablets of the covenant. 5 Above it were xthe cherubim of glory overshadowing ythe mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 These preparations having thus been made, zthe priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only athe high priest goes, and he but aonce a year, and not without taking blood, bwhich he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that cthe way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing 9 (which is symbolic for the present age).4 According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered dthat cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with efood and drink and fvarious washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.
11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest gof the good things that have come,5 then through hthe greater and more perfect tent (inot made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he jentered konce for all into the holy places, not by means of lthe blood of goats and calves but mby means of his own blood, nthus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if othe blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with pthe ashes of a heifer, sanctify6 for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will qthe blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit roffered himself without blemish to God, spurify our7 conscience tfrom dead works uto serve the living God.
Revelation 11
1 Then I was given ma measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure nthe court outside the temple; leave that out, for oit is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for pforty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for p1,260 days, qclothed in sackcloth.”
4 These are rthe two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone would harm them, sfire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, tthis is how he is doomed to be killed. 6 They have the power uto shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and vto strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. 7 And when they have finished their testimony, wthe beast that rises from xthe bottomless pit1 ywill make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically2 is called zSodom and aEgypt, where their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and brefuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and cthose who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and dexchange presents, because these two prophets ehad been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days fa breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, g“Come up here!” And hthey went up to heaven iin a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at that hour there was ja great earthquake, and ka tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and lgave glory to mthe God of heaven.
14 nThe second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.
15 Then othe seventh angel blew his trumpet, and pthere were loud voices in heaven, saying, q“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of rhis Christ, and she shall reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders twho sit on their thrones before God ufell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
vwho is and who was,
for you have taken your great power
and wbegun to reign.
18 The nations raged,
but xyour wrath came,
and ythe time for the dead to be judged,
and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,
and zthose who fear your name,
both small and great,
and afor destroying the destroyers of the earth.”
19 Then bGod’s temple in heaven was opened, and cthe ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings,3 peals of thunder, an earthquake, and dheavy hail.
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