EXODUS 20

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The Ten Commandments  20:1 Then God spoke all these words, saying,
    2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
    3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
    4 “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. 5 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, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
    7 “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.
    8 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 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. 11 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.
    12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
    13 “You shall not murder.
    14 “You shall not commit adultery.
    15 “You shall not steal.
    16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
    17 “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.”
    18 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. 19 Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.” 20 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.” 21 So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.
    22 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. 23 You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. 24 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. 25 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. 26 And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that your nakedness will not be exposed on it.’

PSALM 29

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The Voice of the LORD in the Storm.A Psalm of David.
29:1 Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty,

Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name;

Worship the LORD in holy array.

3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters;

The God of glory thunders,

The LORD is over many waters.

4 The voice of the LORD is powerful,

The voice of the LORD is majestic.

5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;

Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,

And Sirion like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire.

8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;

The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve

And strips the forests bare;

And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

10 The LORD sat as King at the flood;

Yes, the LORD sits as King forever.

11 The LORD will give strength to His people;

The LORD will bless His people with peace.

PSALM 30

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Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death.A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David.
30:1 I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up,

And have not let my enemies rejoice over me.

2 O LORD my God,

I cried to You for help, and You healed me.

3 O LORD, You have brought up my soul from Sheol;

You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit.

4 Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones,

And give thanks to His holy name.

5 For His anger is but for a moment,

His favor is for a lifetime;

Weeping may last for the night,

But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

6 Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,

“I will never be moved.”

7 O LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong;

You hid Your face, I was dismayed.

8 To You, O LORD, I called,

And to the Lord I made supplication:

9 “What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the pit?

Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness?

10 “Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me;

O LORD, be my helper.”

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,

12 That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.

O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

PROVERBS 13

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Contrast the Upright and the Wicked13:1 A wise son accepts his father’s discipline,

But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

2 From the fruit of a man’s mouth he enjoys good,

But the desire of the treacherous is violence.

3 The one who guards his mouth preserves his life;

The one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,

But the soul of the diligent is made fat.

5 A righteous man hates falsehood,

But a wicked man acts disgustingly and shamefully.

6 Righteousness guards the one whose way is blameless,

But wickedness subverts the sinner.

7 There is one who pretends to be rich, but has nothing;

Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth.

8 The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth,

But the poor hears no rebuke.

9 The light of the righteous rejoices,

But the lamp of the wicked goes out.

10 Through insolence comes nothing but strife,

But wisdom is with those who receive counsel.

11 Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles,

But the one who gathers by labor increases it.

12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

13 The one who despises the word will be in debt to it,

But the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

14 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,

To turn aside from the snares of death.

15 Good understanding produces favor,

But the way of the treacherous is hard.

16 Every prudent man acts with knowledge,

But a fool displays folly.

17 A wicked messenger falls into adversity,

But a faithful envoy brings healing.

18 Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline,

But he who regards reproof will be honored.

19 Desire realized is sweet to the soul,

But it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil.

20 He who walks with wise men will be wise,

But the companion of fools will suffer harm.

21 Adversity pursues sinners,

But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.

22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,

And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

23 Abundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor,

But it is swept away by injustice.

24 He who withholds his rod hates his son,

But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

25 The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,

But the stomach of the wicked is in need.