The Golden Calf

¹When the people saw that Moses vdelayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, w“Up, make us gods who shall xgo before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” ²So Aaron said to them, “Take off the yrings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” ³So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. ⁴zAnd he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden1 calf. And they said, a“These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” ⁵When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron bmade a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” ⁶And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And cthe people sat down to eat and drink and rose up dto play.

⁷And the Lord said to Moses, e“Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have fcorrupted themselves. ⁸They have turned aside quickly out of the way that gI commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” ⁹And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, hit is a stiff-necked people. ¹⁰Now therefore ilet me alone, that jmy wrath may burn hot against them and kI may consume them, in order that lI may make a great nation of you.”

¹¹But mMoses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? ¹²nWhy should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and orelent from this disaster against your people. ¹³Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you pswore by your own self, and said to them, q‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” ¹⁴And the Lord rrelented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

¹⁵Then sMoses turned and went down from the mountain with the ttwo tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. ¹⁶uThe tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. ¹⁷When vJoshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” ¹⁸But he said, “It is not the sound of wshouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” ¹⁹And as soon as he came near the camp and xsaw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.

²¹And Moses said to Aaron, y“What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” ²²And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. zYou know the people, that they are set on evil. ²³For athey said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ ²⁴So bI said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

²⁵And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, cto the derision of their enemies), ²⁶then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord's side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. ²⁷And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you dkill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’” ²⁸And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. ²⁹And Moses said, “Today you have been eordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”

³⁰The next day Moses said to the people, f“You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; gperhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” ³¹So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, fthis people has sinned a great sin. They have hmade for themselves gods of gold. ³²But now, if iyou will forgive their sin—but if not, please jblot me out of kyour book that you have written.” ³³But the Lord said to Moses, l“Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. ³⁴mBut now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; nbehold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”

³⁵Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.

The Death of Lazarus

¹Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of lMary and her sister Martha. ²mIt was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. ³So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, nhe whom you love is ill.” ⁴But when Jesus heard it he said, o“This illness does not lead to death. It is for pthe glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

⁵Now qJesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶So, when he heard that Lazarus1 was ill, rhe stayed two days longer in the place where he was. ⁷Then after this he said to the disciples, s“Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸The disciples said to him, t“Rabbi, uthe Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” ⁹Jesus answered, v“Are there not twelve hours in the day? wIf anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰But xif anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not xin him.” ¹¹After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus yhas fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” ¹²The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” ¹³Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. ¹⁴Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, ¹⁵and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” ¹⁶zSo Thomas, called the Twin,2 said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, athat we may die with him.”

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb bfour days. ¹⁸Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles3 off, ¹⁹and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary cto console them concerning their brother. ²⁰dSo when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹Martha said to eJesus, “Lord, fif you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, gGod will give you.” ²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴hMartha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in ithe resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵Jesus said to her, j“I am the resurrection and kthe life.4 Whoever believes in me, lthough he die, myet shall he live, ²⁶and everyone who lives and believes in me nshall never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷She said to him, “Yes, Lord; oI believe that pyou are the Christ, the Son of God, qwho is coming into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

²⁸When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, r“The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. ³⁰Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. ³¹When the Jews swho were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³²Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, t“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he uwas deeply moved5 in his spirit and vgreatly troubled. ³⁴And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵wJesus wept. ³⁶So the Jews said, “See xhow he loved him!” ³⁷But some of them said, “Could not he ywho opened the eyes of the blind man zalso have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus

³⁸Then Jesus, adeeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was ba cave, and ca stone lay against it. ³⁹Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for dhe has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰Jesus said to her, e“Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see fthe glory of God?” ⁴¹So they took away the stone. And Jesus glifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴²hI knew that you always hear me, but I said this ion account of the people standing around, jthat they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” ⁴⁴kThe man who had died came out, lhis hands and feet bound with linen strips, and mhis face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

⁴⁵nMany of the Jews therefore, owho had come with Mary and phad seen what he did, believed in him, ⁴⁶but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷So the chief priests and the Pharisees qgathered rthe council and said, s“What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. ⁴⁸If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and tthe Romans will come and take away both our uplace and our nation.” ⁴⁹But one of them, vCaiaphas, wwho was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. ⁵⁰Nor do you understand that xit is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” ⁵¹He did not say this of his own accord, but ybeing high priest that year zhe prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, ⁵²and anot for the nation only, but also bto gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. ⁵³So from that day on they cmade plans to put him to death.

⁵⁴Jesus therefore dno longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

⁵⁵Now ethe Passover of the Jews was at hand, and fmany went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover gto purify themselves. ⁵⁶hThey were looking for6 Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” ⁵⁷Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

The Blessings of Wisdom

¹Does not lwisdom call?

Does not munderstanding raise her voice?

²On nthe heights beside the way,

at the crossroads she takes her stand;

³beside othe gates in front of pthe town,

at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:

⁴“To you, O qmen, I call,

and my cry is to qthe children of man.

⁵O rsimple ones, learn sprudence;

O tfools, learn sense.

⁶Hear, for I will speak unoble things,

and from my lips will come vwhat is right,

⁷for my wmouth will utter truth;

wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

⁸All the words of my mouth are righteous;

there is nothing xtwisted or crooked in them.

⁹They are all ystraight to him who understands,

and right to those who find knowledge.

¹⁰zTake my instruction instead of silver,

and knowledge rather than choice gold,

¹¹afor wisdom is better than jewels,

and ball that you may desire cannot compare with her.

¹²“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,

and I find knowledge and cdiscretion.

¹³dThe fear of the Lord is ehatred of evil.

fPride and arrogance and the way of evil

and gperverted speech I hate.

¹⁴I have hcounsel and isound wisdom;

I have insight; jI have strength.

¹⁵By me kkings reign,

and rulers decree what is just;

¹⁶by me princes rule,

and nobles, all who govern justly.1

¹⁷lI love those who love me,

and mthose who seek me diligently find me.

¹⁸nRiches and honor are with me,

oenduring wealth and orighteousness.

¹⁹My fruit is pbetter than qgold, even fine gold,

and my yield than rchoice silver.

²⁰I walk in the way of righteousness,

in the paths of justice,

²¹granting an inheritance to those who love me,

and filling their treasuries.

²²s“The Lord tpossessed2 me at the beginning of his work,3

the first of his acts uof old.

²³Ages ago I was vset up,

at the first, wbefore the beginning of the earth.

²⁴When there were no xdepths I was ybrought forth,

when there were no springs abounding with water.

²⁵Before the mountains zhad been shaped,

abefore the hills, I was brought forth,

²⁶before he had made the earth with its fields,

or the first of the dust of the world.

²⁷When he bestablished the heavens, I was there;

when he drew ca circle on the face of the deep,

²⁸when he dmade firm the skies above,

when he established4 the fountains of the deep,

²⁹when he eassigned to the sea its flimit,

so that the waters might not transgress his command,

when he marked out gthe foundations of the earth,

³⁰then hI was beside him, like a master workman,

and I was daily his5 idelight,

rejoicing before him always,

³¹jrejoicing in his kinhabited world

and delighting in the children of man.

³²“And now, lO sons, listen to me:

mblessed are those who keep my ways.

³³nHear instruction and be wise,

and do not neglect it.

³⁴oBlessed is the one who listens to me,

watching daily at my gates,

waiting beside my doors.

³⁵For pwhoever finds me qfinds life

and robtains favor from the Lord,

³⁶but he who fails to find me sinjures himself;

all who thate me ulove death.”

Greeting

¹Paul, aan apostle of Christ Jesus bby the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and care faithful1 in Christ Jesus:

²dGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

³eBlessed be fthe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing gin the heavenly places, ⁴heven as he ichose us in him jbefore the foundation of the world, that we should be kholy and blameless before him. In love ⁵lhe predestined us2 for madoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, naccording to the purpose of his will, ⁶oto the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in pthe Beloved. ⁷qIn him we have rredemption sthrough his blood, tthe forgiveness of our trespasses, uaccording to the riches of his grace, ⁸which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ⁹vmaking known3 to us the mystery of his will, naccording to his purpose, which he wset forth in Christ ¹⁰as a plan for xthe fullness of time, yto unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

¹¹In him we have obtained zan inheritance, ahaving been predestined baccording to the purpose of him who works all things according to cthe counsel of his will, ¹²so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be dto the praise of his glory. ¹³In him you also, when you heard ethe word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, fwere sealed with the gpromised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is hthe guarantee4 of our iinheritance until jwe acquire kpossession of it,5 lto the praise of his glory.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

¹⁵For this reason, mbecause I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love6 toward all the saints, ¹⁶I ndo not cease to give thanks for you, oremembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷that pthe God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, qmay give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸rhaving the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is sthe hope to which he has called you, what are tthe riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, uaccording to the working of vhis great might ²⁰that he worked in Christ wwhen he raised him from the dead and xseated him at his right hand yin the heavenly places, ²¹zfar above aall rule and authority and power and dominion, and above bevery name that is named, not only in cthis age but also in the one to come. ²²And dhe put all things under his feet and gave him as ehead over all things to the church, ²³fwhich is his body, gthe fullness of him hwho fills iall in all.