The Covenant Sealed

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders—and you are to worship at a distance.

²Moses alone shall approach the LORD, but the others must not come near. And the people may not go up with him.”

³When Moses came and told the people all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all responded with one voice: “All the words that the LORD has spoken, we will do.”

⁴And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD.Early the next morning he got up and built an altar at the base of the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

⁵Then he sent out some young men of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD.

⁶Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splattered on the altar.

⁷Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people, who replied, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”

⁸So Moses took the blood, splattered it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

⁹Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,

¹⁰and they saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was a work like a pavement made of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.

¹¹But God did not lay His hand on the nobles of Israel; they saw Him, and they ate and drank.

Moses on the Mountain

¹²Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay here, so that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”

¹³So Moses set out with Joshua his attendant and went up on the mountain of God.

¹⁴And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has a dispute can go to them.”

¹⁵When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it,

¹⁶and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered it, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud.

¹⁷And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop in the eyes of the Israelites.

¹⁸Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Israel at Mount Sinai

¹In the third month, on the same day of the monththat the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.

²After they had set out from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

³Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, “This is what you are to tell the house of Jacob and explain to the sons of Israel:

⁴‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.

⁵Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.

⁶And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.”

⁷So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him.

⁸And all the people answered together, “We will do everything that the LORD has spoken.”So Moses brought their words back to the LORD.

⁹The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in you.”And Moses relayed to the LORD what the people had said.

¹⁰Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes

¹¹and be prepared by the third day, for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

¹²And you are to set up a boundary for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.

¹³No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows—whether man or beast, he must not live.’Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”

¹⁴When Moses came down from the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.

¹⁵“Be prepared for the third day,” he said to the people. “Do not draw near to a woman.”

The LORD Visits Sinai

¹⁶On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the people in the camp trembled.

¹⁷Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

¹⁸Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.

¹⁹And as the sound of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder.

²⁰The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the summit. So Moses went up,

²¹and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the LORD, lest many of them perish.

²²Even the priests who approach the LORD must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.”

²³But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, for You solemnly warned us, ‘Put a boundary around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”

²⁴And the LORD replied, “Go down and bring Aaron with you. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the LORD, or He will break out against them.”

²⁵So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.

Saul’s Disobedience

¹Then Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people Israel. Now therefore, listen to the words of the LORD.

²This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them on their way up from Egypt.

³Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destructionall that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

⁴So Saul summoned the troops and numbered them at Telaim—200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah.

⁵Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley.

⁶And he warned the Kenites, “Since you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt, go on and get away from the Amalekites. Otherwise I will sweep you away with them.”So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.

⁷Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt.

⁸He captured Agag king of Amalek alive, but devoted all the others to destruction with the sword.

⁹Saul and his troops spared Agag, along with the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calvesand lambs, and the best of everything else. They were unwilling to devote them to destruction, but they devoted to destruction all that was despised and worthless.

Samuel Denounces Saul

¹⁰Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying,

¹¹“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.”And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night.

¹²Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel, and behold, he has set up a monument for himself and has turned and gone down to Gilgal.”

¹³When Samuel reached him, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”

¹⁴But Samuel replied, “Then what is this bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle that I hear?”

¹⁵Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but the rest we devoted to destruction.”

¹⁶“Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.”“Tell me,” Saul replied.

¹⁷And Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, have you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel

¹⁸and sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and devote to destruction the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have wiped them out.’

¹⁹So why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you rush upon the plunder and do evil in the sight of the LORD?”

²⁰“But I did obey the LORD,” Saul replied. “I went on the mission that the LORD gave me. I brought back Agag king of Amalek and devoted the Amalekites to destruction.

²¹The troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of the things devoted to destruction, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”

²²But Samuel declared:“Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrificesas much as in obedience to His voice?Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice,and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.

²³For rebellion is like the sin of divination,and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry.Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,He has rejected you as king.”

Saul’s Confession

²⁴Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have transgressed the LORD’s commandment and your instructions, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

²⁵Now therefore, please forgive my sin and return with me so I can worship the LORD.”

²⁶“I will not return with you,” Samuel replied. “For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and He has rejected you as king over Israel.”

²⁷As Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore.

²⁸So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.

²⁹Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”

³⁰“I have sinned,” Saul replied. “Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God.”

³¹So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD.

³²Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.”Agag came to him cheerfully,for he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”

³³But Samuel declared:“As your sword has made women childless,so your mother will be childless among women.”And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.

³⁴Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.

³⁵And to the day of his death, Samuel never again visited Saul. Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

The King’s Heart

¹The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD;He directs it where He pleases.

²All a man’s ways seem right to him,but the LORD weighs the heart.

³To do righteousness and justiceis more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.

⁴Haughty eyes and a proud heart—the guides of the wicked—are sin.

⁵The plans of the diligent bring plenty,as surely as haste leads to poverty.

⁶Making a fortune by a lying tongueis a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.

⁷The violence of the wicked will sweep them awaybecause they refuse to do what is just.

⁸The way of a guilty man is crooked,but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

⁹Better to live on a corner of the roofthan to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

¹⁰The soul of the wicked man craves evil;his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.

¹¹When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;and when a wise man is instructed, he acquires knowledge.

¹²The Righteous Oneconsiders the house of the wickedand brings the wicked to ruin.

¹³Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,he too shall cry out and receive no answer.

¹⁴A gift in secret soothes anger,and a covert bribepacifies great wrath.

¹⁵Justice executed is a joy to the righteous,but a terror to the workers of iniquity.

¹⁶The man who strays from the path of understandingwill rest in the assembly of the dead.

¹⁷He who loves pleasure will become poor;the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich.

¹⁸The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,and the faithless for the upright.

¹⁹Better to live in the desertthan with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.

²⁰Precious treasures and oil are in the dwelling of the wise,but a foolish man consumes them.

²¹He who pursues righteousness and loving devotionfinds life, righteousness, and honor.

²²A wise man scales the city of the mightyand pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.

²³He who guards his mouth and tonguekeeps his soul from distress.

²⁴Mocker is the name of the proud and arrogant man—of him who acts with excessive pride.

²⁵The craving of the slacker kills himbecause his hands refuse to work.

²⁶All day long he covets more,but the righteous give without restraint.

²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—how much more so when brought with ill intent!

²⁸A lying witness will perish,but the man who listens to truth will speak forever.

²⁹A wicked man hardens his face,but the upright man makes his way sure.

³⁰There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counselthat can prevail against the LORD.

³¹A horse is prepared for the day of battle,but victory is of the LORD.