Question 92

Berean Standard Bible. Public domain text and source credits.

Exodus 20:1-26

1And God spoke all these words:

2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3You shall have no other gods before Me.

4You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.

5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

6but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.

8Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

9Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates.

11For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

12Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

13You shall not murder.

14You shall not commit adultery.

15You shall not steal.

16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

18When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sounding of the ram’s horn, and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance.

19“Speak to us yourself and we will listen,” they said to Moses. “But do not let God speak to us, or we will die.”

20“Do not be afraid,” Moses replied. “For God has come to test you, so that the fear of Him may be before you, to keep you from sinning.”

21And the people stood at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

22Then the LORD said to Moses, “This is what you are to tell the Israelites: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven.

23You are not to make any gods alongside Me; you are not to make for yourselves gods of silver or gold.

24You are to make for Me an altar of earth, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats and cattle. In every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.

25Now if you make an altar of stones for Me, you must not build it with stones shaped by tools; for if you use a chisel on it, you will defile it.

26And you must not go up to My altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.’

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

1Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I declare in your hearing this day. Learn them and observe them carefully.

2The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.

3He did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with all of us who are alive here today.

4The LORD spoke with you face to face out of the fire on the mountain.

5At that time I was standing between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain. And He said:

6“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

7You shall have no other gods before Me.

8You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.

9You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

10but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

11You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.

12Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.

13Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

14but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox or donkey or any of your livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest as you do.

15Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

16Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

17You shall not murder.

18You shall not commit adultery.

19You shall not steal.

20You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

21You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or field, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

22The LORD spoke these commandments in a loud voice to your whole assembly out of the fire, the cloud, and the deep darkness on the mountain; He added nothing more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.

23And when you heard the voice out of the darkness while the mountain was blazing with fire, all the heads of your tribes and your elders approached me,

24and you said, “Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him.

25But now, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us, and we will die, if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer.

26For who of all flesh has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the fire, as we have, and survived?

27Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then you can tell us everything the LORD our God tells you; we will listen and obey.”

28And the LORD heard the words you spoke to me, and He said to me, “I have heard the words that these people have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken.

29If only they had such a heart to fear Me and keep all My commandments always, so that it might be well with them and with their children forever.

30Go and tell them: ‘Return to your tents.’

31But you stand here with Me, that I may speak to you all the commandments and statutes and ordinances you are to teach them to follow in the land that I am giving them to possess.”

32So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left.

33You must walk in all the ways that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.

Exodus 19:1-25

1In the third month, on the same day of the month that the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.

2After they had set out from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

3Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, “This is what you are to tell the house of Jacob and explain to the sons of Israel:

4‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.

5Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.

6And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.”

7So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him.

8And all the people answered together, “We will do everything that the LORD has spoken.” So Moses brought their words back to the LORD.

9The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in you.” And Moses relayed to the LORD what the people had said.

10Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes

11and be prepared by the third day, for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

12And you are to set up a boundary for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.

13No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows—whether man or beast, he must not live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”

14When Moses came down from the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.

15“Be prepared for the third day,” he said to the people. “Do not draw near to a woman.”

16On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the people in the camp trembled.

17Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

18Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.

19And as the sound of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder.

20The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the summit. So Moses went up,

21and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the LORD, lest many of them perish.

22Even the priests who approach the LORD must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.”

23But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, for You solemnly warned us, ‘Put a boundary around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”

24And the LORD replied, “Go down and bring Aaron with you. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the LORD, or He will break out against them.”

25So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.

Exodus 31:1-18

1Then the LORD said to Moses,

2“See, I have called by name Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

3And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of craftsmanship,

4to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze,

5to cut gemstones for settings, and to carve wood, so that he may be a master of every craft.

6Moreover, I have selected Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, as his assistant. I have also given skill to all the craftsmen, that they may fashion all that I have commanded you:

7the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat upon it, and all the other furnishings of the tent—

8the table with its utensils, the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense,

9the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin with its stand—

10as well as the woven garments, both the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons to serve as priests,

11in addition to the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them according to all that I have commanded you.”

12And the LORD said to Moses,

13“Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep My Sabbaths, for this will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

14Keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Anyone who profanes it must surely be put to death. Whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from among his people.

15For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must surely be put to death.

16The Israelites must keep the Sabbath, celebrating it as a permanent covenant for the generations to come.

17It is a sign between Me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”

18When the LORD had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.

Exodus 32:1-35

1Now when the people saw that Moses was delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him!”

2So Aaron told them, “Take off the gold earrings that are on your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.”

3Then all the people took off their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron.

4He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”

5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the calf and proclaimed: “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”

6So the next day they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to indulge in revelry.

7Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.

8How quickly they have turned aside from the way that I commanded them! They have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it. They have sacrificed to it and said, ‘These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’”

9The LORD also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people.

10Now leave Me alone, so that My anger may burn against them and consume them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

11But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God, saying, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people, whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?

12Why should the Egyptians declare, ‘He brought them out with evil intent, to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce anger and relent from doing harm to Your people.

13Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised, and it shall be their inheritance forever.’”

14So the LORD relented from the calamity He had threatened to bring on His people.

15Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.

16The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

17When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “The sound of war is in the camp.”

18But Moses replied: “It is neither the cry of victory nor the cry of defeat; I hear the sound of singing!”

19As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he burned with anger and threw the tablets out of his hands, shattering them at the base of the mountain.

20Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink it.

21“What did this people do to you,” Moses asked Aaron, “that you have led them into so great a sin?”

22“Do not be enraged, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know that the people are intent on evil.

23They told me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him!’

24So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, let him take it off,’ and they gave it to me. And when I threw it into the fire, out came this calf!”

25Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them run wild and become a laughingstock to their enemies.

26So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered around him.

27He told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each of you men is to fasten his sword to his side, go back and forth through the camp from gate to gate, and slay his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”

28The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people fell dead.

29Afterward, Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for service to the LORD, since each man went against his son and his brother; so the LORD has bestowed a blessing on you this day.”

30The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. Now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

31So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made gods of gold for themselves.

32Yet now, if You would only forgive their sin.... But if not, please blot me out of the book that You have written.”

33The LORD replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot out of My book.

34Now go, lead the people to the place I described. Behold, My angel shall go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will punish them for their sin.”

35And the LORD sent a plague on the people because of what they had done with the calf that Aaron had made.

Exodus 34:1-35

1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.

2Be ready in the morning, and come up on Mount Sinai to present yourself before Me on the mountaintop.

3No one may go up with you; in fact, no one may be seen anywhere on the mountain—not even the flocks or herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

4So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the originals. He rose early in the morning, and taking the two stone tablets in his hands, he went up Mount Sinai as the LORD had commanded him.

5And the LORD descended in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name, the LORD.

6Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,

7maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers on their children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

8Moses immediately bowed down to the ground and worshiped.

9“O Lord,” he said, “if I have indeed found favor in Your sight, my Lord, please go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our iniquity and sin, and take us as Your inheritance.”

10And the LORD said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will perform wonders that have never been done in any nation in all the world. All the people among whom you live will see the LORD’s work, for it is an awesome thing that I am doing with you.

11Observe what I command you this day. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

12Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land you are entering, lest they become a snare in your midst.

13Rather, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and chop down their Asherah poles.

14For you must not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

15Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.

16And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same.

17You shall make no molten gods for yourselves.

18You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, you are to eat unleavened bread as I commanded you. For in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.

19The first offspring of every womb belongs to Me, including all the firstborn males among your livestock, whether cattle or sheep.

20You must redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb; but if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one shall appear before Me empty-handed.

21Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in the seasons of plowing and harvesting, you must rest.

22And you are to celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.

23Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.

24For I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD your God.

25Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to Me along with anything leavened, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Feast remain until morning.

26Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

27The LORD also said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

28So Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.

29And when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was unaware that his face had become radiant from speaking with the LORD.

30Aaron and all the Israelites looked at Moses, and behold, his face was radiant. And they were afraid to approach him.

31But Moses called out to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke to them.

32And after this all the Israelites came near, and Moses commanded them to do everything that the LORD had told him on Mount Sinai.

33When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

34But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out. And when he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded,

35and the Israelites would see that the face of Moses was radiant. So Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.

Deuteronomy 4:1-49

1Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.

2You must not add to or subtract from what I command you, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you.

3Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for the LORD your God destroyed from among you all who followed Baal of Peor.

4But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive to this day, every one of you.

5See, I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the LORD my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land that you are about to enter and possess.

6Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

7For what nation is great enough to have a god as near to them as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call on Him?

8And what nation is great enough to have righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?

9Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.

10The day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, “Gather the people before Me to hear My words, so that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach them to their children.”

11You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.

12And the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.

13He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to follow—the Ten Commandments that He wrote on two tablets of stone.

14At that time the LORD commanded me to teach you the statutes and ordinances you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

15So since you saw no form of any kind on the day the LORD spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb, be careful

16that you do not act corruptly and make an idol for yourselves of any form or shape, whether in the likeness of a male or female,

17of any beast that is on the earth or bird that flies in the air,

18or of any creature that crawls on the ground or fish that is in the waters below.

19When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.

20Yet the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of His inheritance, as you are today.

21The LORD, however, was angry with me on account of you, and He swore that I would not cross the Jordan to enter the good land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

22For I will not be crossing the Jordan, because I must die in this land. But you shall cross over and take possession of that good land.

23Be careful that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God that He made with you; do not make an idol for yourselves in the form of anything He has forbidden you.

24For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

25After you have children and grandchildren and you have been in the land a long time, if you then act corruptly and make an idol of any form—doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God and provoking Him to anger—

26I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it, but will be utterly destroyed.

27Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.

28And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.

29But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

30When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.

31For the LORD your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers, which He swore to them by oath.

32Indeed, ask now from one end of the heavens to the other about the days that long preceded you, from the day that God created man on earth: Has anything as great as this ever happened or been reported?

33Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, as you have, and lived?

34Or has any god tried to take as his own a nation out of another nation—by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors—as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes?

35You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.

36He let you hear His voice from heaven to discipline you, and on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the fire.

37Because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt by His presence and great power,

38to drive out before you nations greater and mightier than you, and to bring you into their land and give it to you for your inheritance, as it is this day.

39Know therefore this day and take to heart that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.

40Keep His statutes and commandments, which I am giving you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.

41Then Moses set aside three cities across the Jordan to the east

42to which a manslayer could flee after killing his neighbor unintentionally without prior malice. To save one’s own life, he could flee to one of these cities:

43Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau belonging to the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the Gadites, or Golan in Bashan belonging to the Manassites.

44This is the law that Moses set before the Israelites.

45These are the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances that Moses proclaimed to them after they had come out of Egypt,

46while they were in the valley across the Jordan facing Beth-peor in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites after they had come out of Egypt.

47They took possession of the land belonging to Sihon and to Og king of Bashan—the two Amorite kings across the Jordan to the east—

48extending from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Siyon (that is, Hermon),

49including all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan and as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the slopes of Pisgah.