Exodus 23

Justice

1 s “You must not givet a false report.t Do not make common causet with the wickedt to be a malicioust witness.
2 “You must not follow a crowdt in doing evil things;t in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice,t

3 and you must not show partialityt to a poor man in his lawsuit.
4 “If you encountert your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means returnt it to him.

5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him,t but be sure to helpt him with it.s
6 “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits.

7 Keep your distancet from a false charget – do not kill the innocent and the righteous,t for I will not justify the wicked.s

8 “You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who seet and subverts the words of the righteous.

9 “You must not oppresst a foreigner, since you know the lifet of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Sabbaths and Feasts

10 s “For six yearst you are to sow your land and gather in its produce.11 But in the seventh yeart you must let it lie fallow and leave it alone so that the poor of your people may eat, and what they leave any animal in the fieldt may eat; you must do likewise with your vineyard and your olive grove.

12 For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, in order that your ox and your donkey may rest and that your female servant’s son and any hired helpt may refresh themselves.t

13 “Pay attention to dot everything I have told you, and do not even mentiont the names of other gods – do not let them be heard on your lips.ts
14 “Three timest in the year you must make a pilgrim feastt to me.

15 You are to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; seven dayst you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you, at the appointed time of the month of Abib, for at that timet you came out of Egypt. No one may appear beforet me empty-handed.
16 “You are also to observet the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors that you have sown in the field, and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the yeart when you have gathered int your harvestt out of the field.

17 Att three times in the year all your males will appear before the Lord God.t
18 “You must not offert the blood of my sacrifice with bread containing yeast; the fat of my festal sacrifice must not remain until morning.s

19 The first of the firstfruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the Lord your God.
“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.s

The Angel of the Presence

20 s “I am going to sendt an angels before you to protect you as you journeyt and to bring you into the place that I have prepared.t21 Take heed because of him, and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my names is in him.22 But if you diligently obey himt and do all that I command, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will be an adversary to your adversaries.

23 For my angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I will destroy them completely.t
24 “You must not bow down to their gods; you must not serve them or do according to their practices. Instead you must completely overthrow them and smash their standing stonest to pieces.t25 You must servet the Lord your God, and het will bless your bread and your water,s and I will remove sickness from your midst.

26 No woman will miscarry her youngt or be barren in your land. I will fulfills the number of your days.
27 “I will send my terrort before you, and I will destroyt all the people whom you encounter; I will make all your enemies turn their backst to you.28 I will sendt hornets before you that will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite before you.29 I will not drive them out before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animalst multiply against you.30 Little by littlet I will drive them out before you, until you become fruitful and inherit the land.

31 I will sett your boundaries from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River,t for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.
32 “You must make no covenant with them or with their gods.

33 They must not live in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snaret to you.”

Exodus 24

The Lord Ratifies the Covenant

1 s But to Moses the Lordt said, “Come ups to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance.s

2 Moses alone may comet near the Lord, but the otherst must not come near,t nor may the people go up with him.”
3 Moses cames and told the people all the Lord’s wordss and all the decisions. All the people answered together,t “We are willing to dot all the words that the Lord has said,”4 and Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Early in the morning he builtt an altar at the foott of the mountain and arrangedt twelve standing stonest – according to the twelve tribes of Israel.5 He sent young Israelite men,t and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls for peace offeringst to the Lord.6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and half of the blood he splashed on the altar.s7 He took the Book of the Covenantt and read it aloudt to the people, and they said, “We are willing to do and obeyt all that the Lord has spoken.”

8 So Moses took the blood and splashed it ont the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenants that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up,ts10 and they saws the God of Israel. Under his feets there was something like a pavementt made of sapphire, clear like the sky itself.t

11 But he did not lay a handt on the leaders of the Israelites, so they saw God,t and they ate and they drank.s
12 s The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me to the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tabletss witht the law and the commandments that I have written, so that you may teach them.”t13 So Moses set outt witht Joshua his attendant, and Moses went up the mountain of God.

14 He told the elders, “Wait for us in this place until we return to you. Here aret Aaron and Hur with you. Whoever has any matters of disputet can approachts them.”
15 Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.16 The glory of the Lord resideds on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days.t On the seventh day he called to Moses from within the cloud.17 Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in plain viewt of the people.

18 Moses went into the cloud when he went upt the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.s

Exodus 25

The Materials for the Sanctuary

1 s The Lord spoke to Moses:2 “Tell the Israelites to taket an offeringt for me; from every person motivated by a willingt heart yout are to receive my offering.3 This is the offering yout are to accept from them: gold, silver, bronze,4 blue,s purple,s scarlet,s fine linen,s goat’s hair,s5 ram skins dyed red,s fine leather,t acacias wood,6 oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for fragrant incense,7 onyx stones, and other gems to be set in the ephod and in the breastpiece.8 Let them maket for me a sanctuary,t so that I may live among them.

9 According to all that I am showing yout – the pattern of the tabernacles and the pattern of all its furnishings – yout must make it exactly so.s

The Ark of the Covenant

10 s “They are to make an arkt of acacia wood – its length is to be three feet nine inches, its width two feet three inches, and its height two feet three inches.t11 You are to overlayt it with pure gold – both inside and outside you must overlay it,t and you are to make a surrounding bordert of gold over it.12 You are to cast four gold rings for it and put them on its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other side.13 You are to make poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold,14 and put the poles into the rings at the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them.15 The poles must remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed from it.

16 You are to put into the ark the testimonys that I will give to you.
17 “You are to make an atonement lidt of pure gold;t its length is to be three feet nine inches, and its width is to be two feet three inches.18 You are to make two cherubimt of gold; you are to make them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid.19 Maket one cherub on one endt and one cherub on the other end; from the atonement lids you are to make the cherubim on the two ends.20 The cherubim are to be spreading their wings upward, overshadowingt the atonement lid with their wings, and the cherubim are to face each other,t lookingt toward the atonement lid.21 You are to put the atonement lid on top of the ark, and in the ark you are to put the testimony I am giving you.

22 I will meet with you there,s andt from above the atonement lid, from between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will command you for the Israelites.

The Table for the Bread of the Presence

23 s “You are to make a table of acacia wood; its length is to be three feet, its width one foot six inches, and its height two feet three inches.24 You are to overlay it witht pure gold, and you are to make a surrounding border of gold for it.25 You are to make a surrounding frames for it about three inches broad, and you are to make a surrounding border of gold for its frame.26 You are to make four rings of gold for it and attacht the rings at the four corners where its four legs are.t27 The rings are to be close to the frame to provide placest for the poles to carry the table.28 You are to make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that the table may be carried with them.t29 You are to make its plates,t its ladles,t its pitchers, and its bowls, to be used in pouring out offerings;t you are to make them of pure gold.

30 You are to set the Bread of the Presences on the table before me continually.

The Lampstand

31 s “You are to make a lampstandt of pure gold. The lampstand is to be made of hammered metal; its base and its shaft, its cups,s its buds, and its blossoms are to be from the same piece.t32 Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand,t three branches of the lampstand from one side of it and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it.t33 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, and three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on the nextt branch, and the samet for the six branches extending from the lampstand.34 On the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms,35 with a bud under the firstt two branches from it, and a bud under the nextt two branches from it, and a bud under the thirdt two branches from it, according to the six branches that extend from the lampstand.

36 Their buds and their branches will be one piece,t all of it one hammered piece of pure gold.
37 “You are to make its seven lamps,t and then sett its lamps up on it, so that it will give lightt to the area in front of it.38 Its trimmers and its trayss are to bet of pure gold.39 About seventy-five poundst of pure gold is to be used for itt and for all these utensils.

40 Now be sure to maket them according to the pattern you were shownt on the mountain.s