Matthew 15:1-20
[1]
Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, [2]
“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do
not wash their hands when they eat.” [3] He answered them, “And why do
you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? [4] For
God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever
reviles father or mother must surely die.’ [5] But you say, ‘If anyone
tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is
given to God,” [6] he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of
your tradition you have made void the word of God. [7] You hypocrites!
Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
[8] “‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
[9] in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
[10] And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and
understand: [11] it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a
person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” [12]
Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees
were offended when they heard this saying?” [13] He answered, “Every
plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. [14]
Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind,
both will fall into a pit.” [15] But Peter said to him, “Explain the
parable to us.” [16] And he said, “Are you also still without
understanding? [17] Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth
passes into the stomach and is expelled? [18] But what comes out of the
mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. [19] For out
of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality,
theft, false witness, slander. [20] These are what defile a person. But
to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”
Acts 21:1-26
[1]
And when we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight
course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. [2]
And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set
sail. [3] When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we
sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload
its cargo. [4] And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for
seven days. And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on
to Jerusalem. [5] When our days there were ended, we departed and went
on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, accompanied us
until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach, we
prayed [6] and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the
ship, and they returned home.
[7]
When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and
we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for one day. [8] On the
next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of
Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.
[9] He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied. [10] While we were
staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. [11]
And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands
and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem
will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of
the Gentiles.’” [12] When we heard this, we and the people there urged
him not to go up to Jerusalem. [13] Then Paul answered, “What are you
doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be
imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
[14] And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the
will of the Lord be done.”
[15]
After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. [16] And some
of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of
Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.
[17]
When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. [18] On
the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders
were present. [19] After greeting them, he related one by one the things
that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. [20] And
when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, “You see,
brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have
believed. They are all zealous for the law, [21] and they have been told
about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to
forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk
according to our customs. [22] What then is to be done? They will
certainly hear that you have come. [23] Do therefore what we tell you.
We have four men who are under a vow; [24] take these men and purify
yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave
their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have
been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of
the law. [25] But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a
letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been
sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled,
and from sexual immorality.” [26] Then Paul took the men, and the next
day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving
notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the
offering presented for each one of them.
Psalm 35
Of David.
[1] Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me!
[2] Take hold of shield and buckler
and rise for my help!
[3] Draw the spear and javelin
against my pursuers!
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation!”
[4] Let them be put to shame and dishonor
who seek after my life!
Let them be turned back and disappointed
who devise evil against me!
[5] Let them be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the LORD driving them away!
[6] Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the LORD pursuing them!
[7] For without cause they hid their net for me;
without cause they dug a pit for my life.
[8] Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it!
And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it—to his destruction!
[9] Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD,
exulting in his salvation.
[10] All my bones shall say,
“O LORD, who is like you,
delivering the poor
from him who is too strong for him,
the poor and needy from him who robs him?”
[11] Malicious witnesses rise up;
they ask me of things that I do not know.
[12] They repay me evil for good;
my soul is bereft.
[13] But I, when they were sick—
I wore sackcloth;
I afflicted myself with fasting;
I prayed with head bowed on my chest.
[14] I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;
as one who laments his mother,
I bowed down in mourning.
[15] But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;
they gathered together against me;
wretches whom I did not know
tore at me without ceasing;
[16] like profane mockers at a feast,
they gnash at me with their teeth.
[17] How long, O Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their destruction,
my precious life from the lions!
[18] I will thank you in the great congregation;
in the mighty throng I will praise you.
[19] Let not those rejoice over me
who are wrongfully my foes,
and let not those wink the eye
who hate me without cause.
[20] For they do not speak peace,
but against those who are quiet in the land
they devise words of deceit.
[21] They open wide their mouths against me;
they say, “Aha, Aha!
Our eyes have seen it!”
[22] You have seen, O LORD; be not silent!
O Lord, be not far from me!
[23] Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication,
for my cause, my God and my Lord!
[24] Vindicate me, O LORD, my God,
according to your righteousness,
and let them not rejoice over me!
[25] Let them not say in their hearts,
“Aha, our heart’s desire!”
Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”
[26] Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether
who rejoice at my calamity!
Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor
who magnify themselves against me!
[27] Let those who delight in my righteousness
shout for joy and be glad
and say evermore,
“Great is the LORD,
who delights in the welfare of his servant!”
[28] Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness
and of your praise all the day long.
Exodus 32
[1]
When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain,
the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up,
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.” [2] So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings 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] And he received the gold
from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden
calf. And they said, “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 made 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 the people sat down to
eat and drink and rose up to play.
[7]
And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought
up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. [8] They have
turned aside quickly out of the way that I 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, it is a stiff-necked people. [10] Now therefore
let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume
them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”
[11]
But Moses 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] Why 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 relent from this disaster against your
people. [13] Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom
you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘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 relented from the disaster that he had spoken of
bringing on his people.
[15]
Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two 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] The tablets were
the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the
tablets. [17] When Joshua 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 shouting 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 saw 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, “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. You know the people, that they are set on
evil. [23] For they 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 I 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, to 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 kill 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 ordained 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, “You have sinned a great sin.
And now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your
sin.” [31] So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Alas, this people
has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. [32]
But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out
of your book that you have written.” [33] But the LORD said to Moses,
“Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. [34] But now
go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you;
behold, 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.
Exodus 33
[1]
The LORD said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you and 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 your offspring I will
give it.’ [2] I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the
Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and
the Jebusites. [3] Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I
will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a
stiff-necked people.”
[4]
When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one
put on his ornaments. [5] For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the
people of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment
I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take 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 he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who
sought 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 each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he
had gone into the tent. [9] When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of
cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD
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 the LORD used to speak to
Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned
again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man,
would not depart from the tent.
[12]
Moses said to the LORD, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’
but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have
said, ‘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 show me
now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight.
Consider too that this nation is your people.” [14] And he said, “My
presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” [15] And he said
to him, “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? Is it not in your going with us, so 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, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”
[18] Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” [19] And he said, “I will
make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my
name ‘The LORD.’ And I 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 man 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 cleft of the
rock, and I will cover 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 not be seen.”
