The Ten Commandments

¹And God spoke all these words:

²“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

³You shall have no other gods before Me.

⁴You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.

⁵You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

⁶but showing loving devotion to a thousand generationsof those who love Me and keep My commandments.

⁷You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.

⁸Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates.

¹¹For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

¹²Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

¹³You shall not murder.

¹⁴You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵You shall not steal.

¹⁶You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

¹⁷You shall not covetyour neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Moses Comforts the People

¹⁸When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sounding of the ram’s horn, and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance.

¹⁹“Speak to us yourself and we will listen,” they said to Moses. “But do not let God speak to us, or we will die.”

²⁰“Do not be afraid,” Moses replied. “For God has come to test you, so that the fear of Him may be before you, to keep you from sinning.”

²¹And the people stood at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

Idolatry Forbidden

²²Then the LORD said to Moses, “This is what you are to tell the Israelites: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven.

²³You are not to make any gods alongside Me; you are not to make for yourselves gods of silver or gold.

²⁴You are to make for Me an altar of earth, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats and cattle. In every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.

²⁵Now if you make an altar of stones for Me, you must not build it with stones shaped by tools; for if you use a chisel on it, you will defile it.

²⁶And you must not go up to My altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.’

Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

¹In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”

²Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying,

³“Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

⁴Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard,the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

⁵“Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I will surely heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the house of the LORD.

⁶I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for My sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”

⁷Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” So they brought it and applied it to the boil, and Hezekiah recovered.

⁸Now Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I will go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?”

⁹And Isaiah had replied, “This will be a sign to you from the LORD that He will do what He has promised: Would you like the shadow to go forward ten steps, or back ten steps?”

¹⁰“It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps,” answered Hezekiah, “but not for it to go back ten steps.”

¹¹So Isaiah the prophet called out to the LORD, and He brought the shadow back the ten steps it had descended on the stairway of Ahaz.

Hezekiah Shows His Treasures

¹²At that time Merodach-baladanson of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard about Hezekiah’s illness.

¹³And Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, as well as his armory—all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his palace or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

¹⁴Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, “Where did those men come from, and what did they say to you?”“They came from a distant land,” Hezekiah replied, “from Babylon.”

¹⁵“What have they seen in your palace?” Isaiah asked.“They have seen everything in my palace,” answered Hezekiah. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

¹⁶Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD:

¹⁷The time will surely come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD.

¹⁸And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, will be taken away to be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

¹⁹But Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Will there not at least be peace and security in my lifetime?”

Manasseh Succeeds Hezekiah

²⁰As for the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, along with all his might and how he constructed the pool and the tunnelto bring water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

²¹And Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and his son Manasseh reigned in his place.

Hezekiah Shows His Treasures

¹At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard about Hezekiah’s illness and recovery.

²And Hezekiah welcomed the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, as well as his entire armory—all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his palace or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

³Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, “Where did those men come from, and what did they say to you?”“They came to me from a distant land,” Hezekiah replied, “from Babylon.”

⁴“What have they seen in your palace?” Isaiah asked.“They have seen everything in my palace,” answered Hezekiah. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

⁵Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of Hosts:

⁶The time will surely come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD.

⁷And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, will be taken away to be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

⁸But Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “At least there will be peace and security in my lifetime.”

Do Not Envy

Saying 20

¹Do not envy wicked menor desire their company;

²for their hearts devise violence,and their lips declare trouble.

Saying 21

³By wisdom a house is builtand by understanding it is established;

⁴through knowledge its rooms are filledwith every precious and beautiful treasure.

Saying 22

⁵A wise man is strong,and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.

⁶Only with sound guidance should you wage war,and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.

Saying 23

⁷Wisdom is too high for a fool;he does not open his mouth in the meeting place.

Saying 24

⁸He who plots evilwill be called a schemer.

⁹A foolish scheme is sin,and a mocker is detestable to men.

Saying 25

¹⁰If you faint in the day of distress,how small is your strength!

¹¹Rescue those being led away to death,and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.

¹²If you say, “Behold, we did not know about this,”does not He who weighs hearts consider it?Does not the One who guards your life know?Will He not repay a man according to his deeds?

Saying 26

¹³Eat honey, my son, for it is good,and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.

¹⁴Know therefore that wisdom is sweet to your soul.If you find it, there is a future for you,and your hope will never be cut off.

Saying 27

¹⁵Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous;do not destroy his resting place.

¹⁶For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up;but the wicked stumble in bad times.

Saying 28

¹⁷Do not gloat when your enemy falls,and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,

¹⁸or the LORD will see and disapprove,and turn His wrath away from him.

Saying 29

¹⁹Do not fret over evildoers,and do not be envious of the wicked.

²⁰For the evil man has no future;the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.

Saying 30

²¹My son, fear the LORD and the king,and do not associate with the rebellious.

²²For they will bring sudden destruction.Who knows what ruin they can bring?

Further Sayings of the Wise

²³These also are sayings of the wise:To show partiality in judgmentis not good.

²⁴Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;

²⁵but it will go well with those who convict the guilty,and rich blessing will come upon them.

²⁶An honest answer givenis like a kiss on the lips.

²⁷Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field;after that, you may build your house.

²⁸Do not testify against your neighbor without cause,and do not deceive with your lips.

²⁹Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;I will repay the man according to his work.”

³⁰I went past the field of a slackerand by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.

³¹Thorns had grown up everywhere,thistles had covered the ground,and the stone wall was broken down.

³²I observed and took it to heart;I looked and received instruction:

³³A little sleep, a little slumber,a little folding of the hands to rest,

³⁴and poverty will come upon you like a robber,and need like a bandit.