Exodus 34–35

1 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Cut out for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain. 3 No one is to come up with you. Do not let anyone be seen anywhere on the mountain, and the flocks or herds may not graze in front of the mountain.”

4 So he cut out two tablets of stone like the first, and Moses rose up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone. 5 Then the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

8 Moses made haste and bowed to the ground and worshipped. 9 He said, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, for we are a stiff-necked people. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

10 Then He said: Indeed, I am going to make a covenant before all your people. I will do wonders such as have not been done in all the earth nor in any nation. And all the people among whom you live will see the work of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I will do with you. 11 Obey what I command you this day. Indeed, I am going to drive out before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 12 Watch yourself so that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it become a snare in your midst. 13 But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles 14 (for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they prostitute themselves with their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you to eat of his sacrifice. 16 And then you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters prostitute themselves after their gods. They will make your sons prostitute themselves after their gods.

17 You shall make no molded gods for yourselves.

18 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the month of Aviv, for in the month of Aviv you came out of Egypt.

19 Every firstborn of the womb belongs to Me, and every firstborn male among your livestock, whether ox or sheep. 20 But you must redeem with a lamb the firstborn of a donkey, and if you fail to redeem him, then you must break his neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons.

No one may appear before Me empty-handed.

21 You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you must rest. Even at the time of plowing and harvest you must rest.

22 You must observe the Feast of Weeks, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year. 23 Three times in the year all your males must appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your borders. No man will covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.

25 You must not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, nor is the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover to be left until the following morning.

26 The first of the first fruits of your land you must bring to the house of the Lord your God.

You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

27 Then the Lord said to Moses: Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. 28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He did not eat bread or drink water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of testimony in the hands of Moses, when he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, amazingly, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the children of Israel drew near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai.

33 When Moses finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he took the veil off until he came out. Then he came out and spoke to the children of Israel what he had been commanded. 35 The children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, and then Moses put the veil over his face again until he went in to speak with Him.

Chapter 35

1 Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them: These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do. 2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death. 3 You must not kindle fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.

4 Moses said to all the congregation of the children of Israel: This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying: 5 Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze, 6 and blue, purple, and scarlet, fine linen, goats’ hair, 7 rams’ skins dyed red, and porpoise skins, and acacia wood, 8 oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, 9 onyx stones, and gemstones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate.

10 Every skilled craftsman among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded: 11 the tabernacle with its tent and its covering, its hooks and its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; 12 the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the veil that conceals it; 13 the table with its poles, and all its utensils, and the showbread; 14 the lampstand also for the light and its utensils and its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 and the incense altar with its poles, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the hanging for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, and all its utensils, the basin and its stand; 17 the hangings of the court, its pillars and their sockets, and the curtain for the gate of the court; 18 the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court and their cords; 19 the woven garments for serving in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.

20 Then all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit was willing came and brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service and for the holy garments. 22 They came, both men and women, as many as had willing hearts, and brought brooches, earrings, rings and bracelets, all kinds of gold jewelry, and everyone that offered an offering of gold to the Lord. 23 Everyone who had blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and porpoise skins, brought them. 24 Everyone who was making a contribution of silver and bronze brought the Lord’s offering, and everyone who had acacia wood for any work of the service brought it. 25 All the women that were skilled spun with their hands and brought what they had spun, both of blue, purple, and scarlet, and of fine linen. 26 All the women whose hearts stirred them to action and were skilled spun goats’ hair. 27 The leaders brought onyx stones and gemstones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate, 28 and spice and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29 The children of Israel brought a willing offering to the Lord, every man and woman whose heart was willing to bring material for all the work which the Lord had commanded through Moses to be made.

30 Moses said to the children of Israel: See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31 And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of craftsmanship, 32 to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, 33 and in the cutting of stones for settings and in the carving of wood in order to make every manner of artistic work. 34 He also has put in his heart to teach, both he and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work as craftsmen; as designers; as embroiderers in blue, in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen; and as weavers: as craftsmen of every work and artistic designers.

Matthew 22:23–46

23 The same day the Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry his wife and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us. The first died after he married and, having no children, left his wife to his brother. 26 Likewise the second and third, on to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died also. 28 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be of the seven? For they all had her.”

29 Jesus answered, “You err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven. 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

34 When the Pharisees heard that He silenced the Sadducees, they came together. 35 One of them, who was a lawyer, tested Him by asking Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”

37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

41 While the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think of the Christ? Whose Son is He?”

They said to Him, “The Son of David.”

43 He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:

44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at My right hand,

until I make Your enemies

Your footstool”’?

45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” 46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare to ask Him any more questions.