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Then God spoke all these words, saying,
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.
“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,
but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
“Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.
“For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance.
Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.”
Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.”
So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.
‘You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves.
‘You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.
‘If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it.
‘And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that your nakedness will not be exposed on it.’
Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them:
“Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and observe them carefully.
“The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.
“The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all those of us alive here today.
“The Lord spoke to you face to face at the mountain from the midst of the fire,
while I was standing between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain. He said,
‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
‘You shall have no other gods before Me.
‘You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
‘You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,
but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
‘Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.
‘Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
‘You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.
‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you.
‘You shall not murder.
‘You shall not commit adultery.
‘You shall not steal.
‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’
“These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly at the mountain from the midst of the fire, of the cloud and of the thick gloom, with a great voice, and He added no more. He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
“And when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders.
“You said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives.
‘Now then why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer, then we will die.
‘For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
‘Go near and hear all that the Lord our God says; then speak to us all that the Lord our God speaks to you, and we will hear and do it.’
“The Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken.
‘Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!
‘Go, say to them, “Return to your tents.”
‘But as for you, stand here by Me, that I may speak to you all the commandments and the statutes and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I give them to possess.’
“So you shall observe to do just as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left.
“You shall walk in all the way which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you will possess.
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
“So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
“But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
“But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
“So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
“Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
‘Give us this day our daily bread.
‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’
“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
“But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
“Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
“But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face
so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
“But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
“And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
“And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’
“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
“For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.’
“But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,”
he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
“You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:
‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
‘But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ ”
After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand.
“It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”
Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?”
But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted.
“Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
Peter said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.”
Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also?
“Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?
“But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.
“These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”
Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon.
And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.”
But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.”
But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.
Departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there.
And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them.
So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”
The disciples said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?”
And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
And He directed the people to sit down on the ground;
and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full.
And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.
And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan.
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,
saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;
therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.
“They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.
“But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.
“They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues,
and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.
“But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.
“Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.
“Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.
“But the greatest among you shall be your servant.
“Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’
“You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?
“And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’
“You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering?
“Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it.
“And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it.
“And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
“You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.
“You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
“So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
“So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
“Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers.
“You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?
“Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,
so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
“Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.
“Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!
“For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem,
and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed.
(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders;
and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.)
The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?”
And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
‘But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’
“Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”
He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.
“For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to be put to death’;
but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’
you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother;
thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:
there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.
“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable.
And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him,
because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.)
And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.
“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
“All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”
Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; yet He could not escape notice.
But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet.
Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
But she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.”
And He said to her, “Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”
And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.
Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis.
They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they implored Him to lay His hand on him.
Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva;
and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!”
And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly.
And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it.
They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him.
And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.
And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins.
And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them;
for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”
And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said,
“As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”
They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”
And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them.
“When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.”
Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,
and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
“But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake.
“It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.
“So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;
for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.
“But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death,
and you will be hated by all because of My name.
“Yet not a hair of your head will perish.
“By your endurance you will gain your lives.
“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near.
“Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city;
because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.
“Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people;
and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
“There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,
men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
“Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
“But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Then He told them a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees;
as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near.
“So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.
“Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
“Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;
for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.
“But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Now during the day He was teaching in the temple, but at evening He would go out and spend the night on the mount that is called Olivet.
And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.
And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.
And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins.
And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them;
for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”
But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,
to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.