Feb 9th

You shall not follow the masses in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a case so as to turn aside after the masses in order to cause justice to be turned aside;

nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his case.

“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him.

If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with him.

“You shall not cause the justice due to your needy brother to be turned aside in his case.

Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not justify the guilty.

“And you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just.

“And you shall not oppress a sojourner, since you yourselves know the soul of a sojourner, for you also were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

“Now you shall sow your land for six years and gather in its produce,

but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. Thus you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove.

“Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your maidservant, as well as your sojourner, may refresh themselves.

Now concerning everything which I have said to you, beware; and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth.

“Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me.

You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed.

Also you shall keep the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field.

Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord Yahweh.

“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor is the fat of My feast to remain overnight until morning.

“You shall bring the choice first fruits of your ground into the house of Yahweh your God.

“You shall not boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.

“Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to keep you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.

Keep watch of yourself before him and listen to his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him.

But if you truly listen to his voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I will annihilate them.

You shall not worship their gods, you shall not serve them, and you shall not do according to their deeds; but you shall utterly pull them down and shatter their sacred pillars in pieces.

But you shall serve Yahweh your God, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst.

There shall be no one miscarrying or barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.

I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.

And I will send hornets ahead of you so that they will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you.

I will not drive them out before you in a single year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.

I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become fruitful and take the land as an inheritance.

And I will set your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River; for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out from before you.

You shall cut no covenant with them or with their gods.

They shall not live in your land, lest they make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”

Then He said to Moses, “Come up to Yahweh, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you all shall worship at a distance.

Moses alone, however, shall come near to Yahweh, but they shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.”

Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of Yahweh and all the judgments; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which Yahweh has spoken we will do!”

And Moses wrote down all the words of Yahweh. Then he arose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

And he sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to Yahweh.

And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!”

So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which Yahweh has cut with you in accordance with all these words.”

Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,

and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.

Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they beheld God, and they ate and drank.

Now Yahweh said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction.”

So Moses arose with Joshua his attendant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.

But to the elders he said, “Remain here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a legal matter, let him approach them.”

Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.

And the glory of Yahweh dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.

And the appearance of the glory of Yahweh was like a consuming fire on the mountain top, in the eyes of the sons of Israel.

Then Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Then Jesus *came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and *said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed.

Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”

And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”

And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour?

He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.”

And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.

And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more.

Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.

And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came up, and with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him.”

And immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

And Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him.

And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew out his sword and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.

Then Jesus *said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.

Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me.

But all this has taken place in order that the Scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left Him and fled.

Now those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together.

But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome.