Exodus 19; Exodus 20; Matthew 18:21-35

1 Exactly three months after the Israelites had left Egypt, they reached the Desert of Sinai.

2 When they left Rephidim, they came to the Desert of Sinai and camped in the desert in front of the mountain.

3 Then Moses went up on the mountain to God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, "Say this to the family of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel:

4 'Every one of you has seen what I did to the people of Egypt. You saw how I carried you out of Egypt, as if on eagle's wings. And I brought you here to me.

5 So now if you obey me and keep my agreement, you will be my own possession, chosen from all nations. Even though the whole earth is mine,

6 you will be my kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' You must tell the Israelites these words."

7 So Moses went down and called the older leaders of the people together. He told them all the words the Lord had commanded him to say.

8 All the people answered together, "We will do everything he has said." Then Moses took their answer back to the Lord.

9 And the Lord said to Moses, "I will come to you in a thick cloud and speak to you. The people will hear me speaking with you and will always trust you." Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.

10 The Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and have them spend today and tomorrow preparing themselves. They must wash their clothes

11 and be ready by the day after tomorrow. On that day I, the Lord, will come down on Mount Sinai, and all the people will see me.

12 But you must set a limit around the mountain that the people are not to cross. Tell them not to go up on the mountain and not to touch the foot of it. Anyone who touches the mountain must be put to death

13 with stones or shot with arrows. No one is allowed to touch him. Whether it is a person or an animal, he will not live. But the trumpet will make a long blast, and only then may the people go up on the mountain."

14 After Moses went down from the mountain to the people, he made them prepare themselves for service to God, and they washed their clothes.

15 Then Moses said to the people, "Be ready in three days. Do not have sexual relations during this time."

16 On the morning of the third day, there was thunder and lightning with a thick cloud on the mountain. There was a very loud blast from a trumpet, and all the people in the camp trembled.

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

18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lordcame down on it in fire. The smoke rose from the mountain like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook wildly.

19 The sound from the trumpet became louder. Then Moses spoke, and the voice of God answered him.

20 When the Lord came down on top of Mount Sinai, he called Moses to come up to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

21 The Lord said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people that they must not force their way through to see me. If they do, many of them will die.

22 Even the priests, who may come near me, must first prepare themselves. If they don't, I, the Lord, will punish them."

23 Moses told the Lord, "The people cannot come up on Mount Sinai, because you yourself told us, 'Set a limit around the mountain, and set it apart as holy.'"

24 The Lord said to him, "Go down and bring Aaron up with you, but don't allow the priests or the people to force their way through. They must not come up to the Lord, or I will punish them."

25 So Moses went down to the people and told them these things.

1 Then God spoke all these words:

2 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.

3 "You must not have any other gods except me.

4 "You must not make for yourselves an idol that looks like anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the water below the land.

5 You must not worship or serve any idol, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. If you hate me, I will punish your children, and even your grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

6 But I show kindness to thousands who love me and obey my commands.

7 "You must not use the name of the Lord your God thoughtlessly; the Lord will punish anyone who misuses his name.

8 "Remember to keep the Sabbath holy.

9 Work and get everything done during six days each week,

10 but the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the Lord your God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, your male or female slaves, your animals, or the foreigners living in your cities.

11 The reason is that in six days the Lord made everything -- the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. On the seventh day he rested. So the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 "Honor your father and your mother so that you will live a long time in the land that the Lord your God is going to give you.

13 "You must not murder anyone.

14 "You must not be guilty of adultery.

15 "You must not steal.

16 "You must not tell lies about your neighbor.

17 "You must not want to take your neighbor's house. You must not want his wife or his male or female slaves, or his ox or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

18 When the people heard the thunder and the trumpet, and when they saw the lightning and the smoke rising from the mountain, they shook with fear and stood far away from the mountain.

19 Then they said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself, and we will listen. But don't let God speak to us, or we will die."

20 Then Moses said to the people, "Don't be afraid, because God has come to test you. He wants you to respect him so you will not sin."

21 The people stood far away from the mountain while Moses went near the dark cloud where God was.

22 Then the Lord told Moses to say these things to the Israelites: "You yourselves have seen that I talked with you from heaven.

23 You must not use gold or silver to make idols for yourselves; do not worship these gods in addition to me.

24 "Make an altar of dirt for me, and sacrifice on it your whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. Worship me in every place that I choose, and I will come and bless you.

25 If you use stones to make an altar for me, don't use stones that you have shaped with tools. When you use any tools on them, you make them unsuitable for use in worship.

26 And you must not go up to my altar on steps, or people will be able to see under your clothes."

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, when my fellow believer sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?"

22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he does wrong to you seventy-seven times.

23 "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him.

24 When the king began to collect his money, a servant who owed him several million dollars was brought to him.

25 But the servant did not have enough money to pay his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant's wife and children. Then the money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.

26 "But the servant fell on his knees and begged, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.'

27 The master felt sorry for his servant and told him he did not have to pay it back. Then he let the servant go free.

28 "Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a few dollars. The servant grabbed him around the neck and said, 'Pay me the money you owe me!'

29 "The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.'

30 "But the first servant refused to be patient. He threw the other servant into prison until he could pay everything he owed.

31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very sorry. So they went and told their master all that had happened.

32 "Then the master called his servant in and said, 'You evil servant! Because you begged me to forget what you owed, I told you that you did not have to pay anything.

33 You should have showed mercy to that other servant, just as I showed mercy to you.'

34 The master was very angry and put the servant in prison to be punished until he could pay everything he owed.

35 "This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."