The Command to Leave Sinai

33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you ^(A)and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ^(B)‘To your descendants I will give it.’ ^2 (C)And I will send My Angel before you, ^(D)and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. ³ Go up ^(E)to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest ^(F)I ^[a]consume you on the way, for you are a ^(G)stiff-necked^[b] people.”

⁴ And when the people heard this bad news, ^(H)they mourned, ^(I)and no one put on his ornaments. ⁵ For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ^[c]ornaments, that I may ^(J)know what to do to you.’ ” ⁶ So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.

Moses Meets with the Lord

⁷ Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and ^(K)called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who ^(L)sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. ⁸ So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood ^(M)at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. ⁹ And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord ^(N)talked with Moses. ¹⁰ All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and ^(O)worshiped, each man in his tent door. ¹¹ So ^(P)the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but ^(Q)his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

The Promise of God’s Presence

¹² Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, ^(R)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, ^(S)‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ ¹³ Now therefore, I pray, ^(T)if I have found grace in Your sight, ^(U)show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is ^(V)Your people.”

¹⁴ And He said, ^(W)“My Presence will go with you, and I will give you ^(X)rest.”

¹⁵ Then he said to Him, ^(Y)“If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. ¹⁶ For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, ^(Z)except You go with us? So we ^(AA)shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”

¹⁷ So the Lord said to Moses, ^(AB)“I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”

¹⁸ And he said, “Please, show me ^(AC)Your glory.”

¹⁹ Then He said, “I will make all My ^(AD)goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. ^(AE)I will be gracious to whom I will be ^(AF)gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” ²⁰ But He said, “You cannot see My face; for ^(AG)no man shall see Me, and live.” ²¹ And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. ²² So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you ^(AH)in the cleft of the rock, and will ^(AI)cover you with My hand while I pass by. ²³ Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall ^(AJ)not be seen.”

Moses Makes New Tablets^(AK)

34 And the Lord said to Moses, ^(AL)“Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and ^(AM)I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. ² So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there ^(AN)on the top of the mountain. ³ And no man shall ^(AO)come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain.”

⁴ So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone.

⁵ Now the Lord descended in the ^(AP)cloud and stood with him there, and ^(AQ)proclaimed the name of the Lord. ⁶ And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord ^(AR)God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in ^(AS)goodness and ^(AT)truth, ^7 (AU)keeping mercy for thousands, ^(AV)forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, ^(AW)by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

⁸ So Moses made haste and ^(AX)bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. ⁹ Then he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, ^(AY)let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a ^(AZ)stiff-necked^[d] people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as ^(BA)Your inheritance.”

The Covenant Renewed^(BB)

¹⁰ And He said: “Behold, ^(BC)I make a covenant. Before all your people I will ^(BD)do ^[e]marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is ^(BE)an awesome thing that I will do with you. ^11 (BF)Observe what I command you this day. Behold, ^(BG)I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. ^12 (BH)Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. ¹³ But you shall ^(BI)destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and ^(BJ)cut down their wooden images ¹⁴ (for you shall worship ^(BK)no other god, for the Lord, whose ^(BL)name is Jealous, is a ^(BM)jealous God), ¹⁵ lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they ^(BN)play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them ^(BO)invites you and you ^(BP)eat of his sacrifice, ¹⁶ and you take of ^(BQ)his daughters for your sons, and his daughters ^(BR)play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods.

^17 (BS)“You shall make no molded gods for yourselves.

¹⁸ “The Feast of ^(BT)Unleavened Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the ^(BU)month of Abib you came out from Egypt.

^19 (BV)“All ^[f]that open the womb are Mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep. ²⁰ But ^(BW)the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem.

“And none shall appear before Me ^(BX)empty-handed.

^21 (BY)“Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

²² “And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end.

^23 (BZ)“Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel. ²⁴ For I will ^(CA)cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.

²⁵ “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, ^(CB)nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left until morning.

^26 (CC)“The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

²⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write ^(CD)these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” ^28 (CE)So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And ^(CF)He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ^[g]Ten Commandments.

The Shining Face of Moses

²⁹ Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the ^(CG)two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that ^(CH)the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. ³⁰ So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. ³¹ Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them. ³² Afterward all the children of Israel came near, ^(CI)and he gave them as commandments all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. ³³ And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put ^(CJ)a veil on his face. ³⁴ But ^(CK)whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. ³⁵ And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.

The Hope of the Faithful, and the Messiah’s Victory

A ^(A)Michtam of David.

The Damascus Road: Saul Converted^(A)

9 Then ^(B)Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ² and asked ^(C)letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

^3 (D)As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. ⁴ Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, ^(E)why are you persecuting Me?”

⁵ And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”

Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ^[a]It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

⁶ So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷ And ^(F)the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. ⁸ Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. ⁹ And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Ananias Baptizes Saul

¹⁰ Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus ^(G)named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.”

And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

¹¹ So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul ^(H)of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. ¹² And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”

¹³ Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, ^(I)how much ^[b]harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all ^(J)who call on Your name.”

¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for ^(K)he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before ^(L)Gentiles, ^(M)kings, and the ^(N)children^[c] of Israel. ¹⁶ For ^(O)I will show him how many things he must suffer for My ^(P)name’s sake.”

^17 (Q)And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and ^(R)laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord ^[d]Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and ^(S)be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.

¹⁹ So when he had received food, he was strengthened. ^(T)Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.

Saul Preaches Christ

²⁰ Immediately he preached ^[e]the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.

²¹ Then all who heard were amazed, and said, ^(U)“Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?”

²² But Saul increased all the more in strength, ^(V)and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

Saul Escapes Death

²³ Now after many days were past, ^(W)the Jews plotted to kill him. ^24 (X)But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. ²⁵ Then the disciples took him by night and ^(Y)let him down through the wall in a large basket.

Saul at Jerusalem

²⁶ And ^(Z)when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. ^27 (AA)But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, ^(AB)and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. ²⁸ So ^(AC)he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. ²⁹ And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the ^(AD)Hellenists,^{[f] (AE)}but they attempted to kill him. ³⁰ When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.

The Church Prospers

^31 (AF)Then the ^[g]churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were ^(AG)edified.^[h] And walking in the ^(AH)fear of the Lord and in the ^(AI)comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were ^(AJ)multiplied.

Aeneas Healed

³² Now it came to pass, as Peter went ^(AK)through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. ³³ There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. ³⁴ And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, ^(AL)Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. ³⁵ So all who dwelt at Lydda and ^(AM)Sharon saw him and ^(AN)turned to the Lord.

Dorcas Restored to Life

³⁶ At Joppa there was a certain disciple named ^[i]Tabitha, which is translated ^[j]Dorcas. This woman was full ^(AO)of good works and charitable deeds which she did. ³⁷ But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in ^(AP)an upper room. ³⁸ And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. ³⁹ Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. ⁴⁰ But Peter ^(AQ)put them all out, and ^(AR)knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he ^(AS)said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. ⁴¹ Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. ⁴² And it became known throughout all Joppa, ^(AT)and many believed on the Lord. ⁴³ So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with ^(AU)Simon, a tanner.