Exodus 23 - 24 - Legacy Standard Bible

Exodus 23 - 24

“You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. 2 You shall not follow the masses in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a case so as to turn aside after the masses in order to cause justice to be turned aside; 3 nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his case. 4 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him. 5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with him. 6 “You shall not cause the justice due to your needy brother to be turned aside in his case. 7 Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not justify the guilty. 8 “And you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just. 9 “And you shall not oppress a sojourner, since you yourselves know the soul of a sojourner, for you also were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

Judgments About Work and Rest

10 “Now you shall sow your land for six years and gather in its produce, 11 but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. Thus you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove. 12 “Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your maidservant, as well as your sojourner, may refresh themselves. 13 Now concerning everything which I have said to you, beware; and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth.

Judgments About National Feasts

14 “Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. 15 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed. 16 Also you shall keep the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field. 17 Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord Yahweh. 18 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor is the fat of My feast to remain overnight until morning. 19 “You shall bring the choice first fruits of your ground into the house of Yahweh your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.

Yahweh Will Drive Out Israel’s Enemies

20 “Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to keep you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Keep watch of yourself before him and listen to his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him. 22 But if you truly listen to his voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I will annihilate them. 24 You shall not worship their gods, you shall not serve them, and you shall not do according to their deeds; but you shall utterly pull them down and shatter their sacred pillars in pieces. 25 But you shall serve Yahweh your God, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst. 26 There shall be no one miscarrying or barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. 27 I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 And I will send hornets ahead of you so that they will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you. 29 I will not drive them out before you in a single year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 30 I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become fruitful and take the land as an inheritance. 31 And I will set your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River; for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out from before you. 32 You shall cut no covenant with them or with their gods. 33 They shall not live in your land, lest they make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”

Yahweh Cuts His Covenant with Israel

Then He said to Moses, “Come up to Yahweh, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you all shall worship at a distance. 2 Moses alone, however, shall come near to Yahweh, but they shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.” 3 Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of Yahweh and all the judgments; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which Yahweh has spoken we will do!” 4 And Moses wrote down all the words of Yahweh. Then he arose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to Yahweh. 6 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” 8 So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which Yahweh has cut with you in accordance with all these words.” 9 Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. 11 Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they beheld God, and they ate and drank. 12 Now Yahweh said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses arose with Joshua his attendant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. 14 But to the elders he said, “Remain here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a legal matter, let him approach them.” 15 Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 And the glory of Yahweh dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. 17 And the appearance of the glory of Yahweh was like a consuming fire on the mountain top, in the eyes of the sons of Israel. 18 Then Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

John 5:25 - 6:71

Two Resurrections

25 Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. 30 “I can do nothing from Myself. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 31 “If I alone bear witness about Myself, My witness is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness about Me, and I know that the witness which He gives about Me is true.

Witnesses to Jesus: The Father and the Scriptures

33 You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 But the witness I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was the lamp that was burning and shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But the witness I have is greater than the witness of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness about Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 And the Father who sent Me, He has borne witness about Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. 38 And you do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that bear witness about Me; 40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from men; 42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). 2 Now a large crowd was following Him, because they were seeing the signs which He was doing on those who were sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He was sitting down with His disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to Philip, “Where should we buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 And this He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was going to do. 7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said to Him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed them to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they were filled, He *said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing will be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. 14 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had done, they were saying, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Jesus Walks on the Sea

15 So Jesus, knowing that they were going to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone. 16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 and after getting into a boat, they began to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 And the sea *was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 19 Then, when they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they *saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. 20 But He *said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. 22 On the next day, the crowd which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other small boats came from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”

I Am the Bread of Life

26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, set His seal.” 28 Therefore they said to Him, “What should we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” 30 So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Moses has not given you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 Now this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

Words to the Jews

41 Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop grumbling among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and also the bread which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” 52 Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

Words to the Disciples

59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. 60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples were grumbling at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? 62 What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 The Spirit is the One who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. 65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”

Peter Confesses Jesus Is the Christ

66 As a result of this many of His disciples went away and were not walking with Him anymore. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go?” 68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” 71 Now He was speaking of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.

Psalm 64

The Righteous Will Be Glad in Yahweh

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;

Guard my life from dread of the enemy.

Hide me from the secret counsel of evildoers,

From the tumult of the workers of iniquity,

Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword.

They aimed bitter speech as their arrow,

To shoot from places of hiding at the blameless;

Suddenly they shoot at him, and do not fear.

They hold fast to themselves an evil purpose;

They talk of laying snares secretly;

They say, “Who can see them?”

They searched out unrighteousness, saying,

“We have completed a diligent search”;

For the inward thought of a man and his heart are deep.

But God will shoot them with an arrow;

Suddenly they will be wounded.

So they will cause their own tongue to turn against them;

All who see them will shake their head.

Then all men will fear,

And they will declare the work of God,

And will consider what He has done.

The righteous man will be glad in Yahweh and will take refuge in Him;

And all the upright in heart will boast.