1 Then Moses called all the people of Israel together and said to them: “Listen, Israel, to the statutes and ordinances that I am about to deliver to you today; learn them and be careful to keep them! 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 He did not make this covenant with our ancestors but with us, we who are here today, all of us living now. 4 The Lord spoke face to face with you at the mountain, from the middle of the fire. 5 (I was standing between the Lord and you at that time to reveal the Lord’s message to you, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.) He said:
6 “I am the Lord your God—he who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery.
7 “You must not have any other gods besides me.
8 “You must not make for yourself an image of anything in heaven above, on earth below, or in the waters beneath. 9 You must not worship or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. I punish the sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons for the sin of the fathers who reject me, 10 but I show covenant faithfulness to the thousands who choose me and keep my commandments.
11 “You must not make use of the name of the Lord your God for worthless purposes, for the Lord will not exonerate anyone who abuses his name that way.
12 “Be careful to observe the Sabbath day just as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 You are to work and do all your tasks in six days, 14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the resident foreigner who lives with you, so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest. 15 Recall that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there by strength and power. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
16 “Honor your father and your mother just as the Lord your God has commanded you to do, so that your days may be extended and that it may go well with you in the land that he is about to give you.
17 “You must not murder.
18 “You must not commit adultery.
19 “You must not steal.
20 “You must not offer false testimony against another. 21 You must not desire another man’s wife, nor should you crave his house, his field, his male and female servants, his ox, his donkey, or anything else he owns.”
22 The Lord said these things to your entire assembly at the mountain from the middle of the fire, the cloud, and the darkness with a loud voice, and that was all he said. Then he inscribed the words on two stone tablets and gave them to me. 23 Then, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness while the mountain was ablaze, all your tribal leaders and elders approached me. 24 You said, “The Lord our God has shown us his great glory, and we have heard him speak from the middle of the fire. It is now clear to us that God can speak to human beings and they can keep on living. 25 But now, why should we die, because this intense fire will consume us? If we keep hearing the voice of the Lord our God we will die! 26 Who is there from the entire human race who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the middle of the fire as we have, and has lived? 27 You go near so that you can hear everything the Lord our God is saying and then you can tell us whatever he says to you; then we will pay attention and do it.” 28 When the Lord heard you speaking to me, he said to me, “I have heard what these people have said to you—they have spoken well. 29 If only it would really be their desire to fear me and obey all my commandments in the future, so that it may go well with them and their descendants forever. 30 Go and tell them, ‘Return to your tents!’ 31 But as for you, remain here with me so I can declare to you all the commandments, statutes, and ordinances that you are to teach them, so that they can carry them out in the land I am about to give them.” 32 Be careful, therefore, to do exactly what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn right or left! 33 Walk just as he has commanded you so that you may live, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land you are going to possess.
1 O Lord God who delivers me,
by day I cry out
and at night I pray before you.
2 Listen to my prayer.
Pay attention to my cry for help.
3 For my life is filled with troubles,
and I am ready to enter Sheol.
4 They treat me like those who descend into the grave.
I am like a helpless man,
5 adrift among the dead,
like corpses lying in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
and who are cut off from your power.
6 You place me in the lowest regions of the Pit,
in the dark places, in the watery depths.
7 Your anger bears down on me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. (Selah)
8 You cause those who know me to keep their distance;
you make me an appalling sight to them.
I am trapped and cannot get free.
9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression.
I call out to you, O Lord, all day long;
I spread out my hands in prayer to you.
10 Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead?
Do the departed spirits rise up and give you thanks? (Selah)
11 Is your loyal love proclaimed in the grave,
or your faithfulness in the place of the dead?
12 Are your amazing deeds experienced in the dark region,
or your deliverance in the land of oblivion?
13 As for me, I cry out to you, O Lord;
in the morning my prayer confronts you.
14 O Lord, why do you reject me,
and pay no attention to me?
15 I am oppressed and have been on the verge of death since my youth.
I have been subjected to your horrors and am numb with pain.
16 Your anger overwhelms me;
your terrors destroy me.
17 They surround me like water all day long;
they join forces and encircle me.
18 You cause my friends and neighbors to keep their distance;
those who know me leave me alone in the darkness.
1 The destroyer is as good as dead,
you who have not been destroyed!
The deceitful one is as good as dead,
the one whom others have not deceived!
When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed;
when you finish deceiving, others will deceive you!
2 Lord, be merciful to us! We wait for you.
Give us strength each morning.
Deliver us when distress comes.
3 The nations run away when they hear a loud noise;
the nations scatter when you spring into action!
4 Your plunder disappears as if locusts were eating it;
they swarm over it like locusts.
5 The Lord is exalted,
indeed, he lives in heaven;
he fills Zion with justice and fairness.
6 He is your constant source of stability;
he abundantly provides safety and great wisdom;
he gives all this to those who fear him.
7 Look, ambassadors cry out in the streets;
messengers sent to make peace weep bitterly.
8 Highways are empty,
there are no travelers.
Treaties are broken,
witnesses are despised,
human life is treated with disrespect.
9 The land dries up and withers away;
the forest of Lebanon shrivels up and decays.
Sharon is like the arid rift valley;
Bashan and Carmel are parched.
10 “Now I will rise up,” says the Lord.
“Now I will exalt myself;
now I will magnify myself.
11 You conceive straw,
you give birth to chaff;
your breath is a fire that destroys you.
12 The nations will be burned to ashes;
like thorn bushes that have been cut down, they will be set on fire.
13 You who are far away, listen to what I have done!
You who are close by, recognize my strength.”
14 Sinners are afraid in Zion;
panic grips the godless.
They say, “Who among us can coexist with destructive fire?
Who among us can coexist with unquenchable fire?”
15 The one who lives uprightly
and speaks honestly;
the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures
and rejects a bribe;
the one who does not plot violent crimes
and does not seek to harm others—
16 this is the person who will live in a secure place;
he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds;
he will have food
and a constant supply of water.
17 You will see a king in his splendor;
you will see a wide land.
18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced,
and you will ask yourselves, “Where is the scribe?
Where is the one who weighs the money?
Where is the one who counts the towers?”
19 You will no longer see a defiant people
whose language you do not comprehend,
whose derisive speech you do not understand.
20 Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals!
You will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful settlement,
a tent that stays put;
its stakes will never be pulled up;
none of its ropes will snap in two.
21 Instead the Lord will rule there as our mighty king.
Rivers and wide streams will flow through it;
no war galley will enter;
no large ships will sail through.
22 For the Lord, our ruler,
the Lord, our commander,
the Lord, our king—
he will deliver us.
23 Though at this time your ropes are slack,
the mast is not secured,
and the sail is not unfurled,
at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot;
even the lame will drag off plunder.
24 No resident of Zion will say, “I am ill”;
the people who live there will have their sin forgiven.
1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write the following:
“This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation that you are alive, but in reality you are dead. 2 Wake up then, and strengthen what remains that was about to die, because I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3 Therefore, remember what you received and heard, and obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never know at what hour I will come against you. 4 But you have a few individuals in Sardis who have not stained their clothes, and they will walk with me dressed in white, because they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be dressed like them in white clothing, and I will never erase his name from the book of life, but will declare his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write the following:
“This is the solemn pronouncement of the Holy One, the True One, who holds the key of David, who opens doors no one can shut, and shuts doors no one can open: 8 ‘I know your deeds. (Look! I have put in front of you an open door that no one can shut.) I know that you have little strength, but you have obeyed my word and have not denied my name. 9 Listen! I am going to make those people from the synagogue of Satan—who say they are Jews yet are not, but are lying—Look, I will make them come and bow down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my admonition to endure steadfastly, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one can take away your crown. 12 The one who conquers I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never depart from it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from my God), and my new name as well. 13 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write the following:
“This is the solemn pronouncement of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation: 15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot! 16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth! 17 Because you say, “I am rich and have acquired great wealth, and need nothing,” but do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked, 18 take my advice and buy gold from me refined by fire so you can become rich! Buy from me white clothing so you can be clothed and your shameful nakedness will not be exposed, and buy eye salve to put on your eyes so you can see! 19 All those I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent! 20 Listen! I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home and share a meal with him, and he with me. 21 I will grant the one who conquers permission to sit with me on my throne, just as I too conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
