Matthew 3; Exodus 24; Proverbs 11

Matthew 3

1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Wilderness of Judea

2 and saying, "Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!"

3 For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way for the Lord; make His paths straight!"

4 John himself had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

5 Then [people from] Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were flocking to him,

6 and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

7 When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to the place of his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

8 Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance.

9 And don't presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

10 Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 "I baptize you with water for repentance, but the One who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to take off His sandals. He Himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

12 His winnowing shovel is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn. But the chaff He will burn up with fire that never goes out."

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.

14 But John tried to stop Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and yet You come to me?"

15 Jesus answered him, "Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him [to be baptized].

16 After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him.

17 And there came a voice from heaven: This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him!

Exodus 24

1 Then He said to Moses, "Go up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of Israel's elders, and bow in worship at a distance.

2 Moses alone is to approach the Lord, but the others are not to approach, and the people are not to go up with him."

3 Moses came and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. Then all the people responded with a single voice, "We will do everything that the Lord has commanded."

4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early the next morning and set up an altar and 12 pillars for the 12 tribes of Israel at the base of the mountain.

5 Then he sent out young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord.

6 Moses took half the blood and set it in basins; the [other] half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

7 He then took the covenant scroll and read [it] aloud to the people. They responded, "We will do and obey everything that the Lord has commanded."

8 Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words."

9 Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of Israel's elders,

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

11 God did not harm the Israelite nobles; they saw Him, and they ate and drank.

12 The Lord said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there so that I may give you the stone tablets with the law and commands I have written for their instruction."

13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and went up the mountain of God.

14 He told the elders, "Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has a dispute should go to them."

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

16 The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day He called to Moses from the cloud.

17 The appearance of the Lord's glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop.

18 Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain, and he remained on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.

Proverbs 11

1 Dishonest scales are detestable to the Lord, but an accurate weight is His delight.

2 When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.

3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the perversity of the treacherous destroys them.

4 Wealth is not profitable on a day of wrath, but righteousness rescues from death.

5 The righteousness of the blameless clears his path, but the wicked person will fall because of his wickedness.

6 The righteousness of the upright rescues them, but the treacherous are trapped by their own desires.

7 When the wicked dies, his expectation comes to nothing, and hope placed in wealth vanishes.

8 The righteous is rescued from trouble; in his place, the wicked goes in.

9 With his mouth the ungodly destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous are rescued.

10 When the righteous thrive, a city rejoices, and when the wicked die, there is joyful shouting.

11 A city is built up by the blessing of the upright, but it is torn down by the mouth of the wicked.

12 Whoever shows contempt for his neighbor lacks sense, but a man with understanding keeps silent.

13 A gossip goes around revealing a secret, but the trustworthy keeps a confidence.

14 Without guidance, people fall, but with many counselors there is deliverance.

15 If someone puts up security for a stranger, he will suffer for it, but the one who hates such agreements is protected.

16 A gracious woman gains honor, but violent men gain [only] riches.

17 A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings disaster on himself.

18 The wicked man earns an empty wage, but the one who sows righteousness, a true reward.

19 Genuine righteousness [leads] to life, but pursuing evil [leads] to death.

20 Those with twisted minds are detestable to the Lord, but those with blameless conduct are His delight.

21 Be assured that the wicked will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will escape.

22 A beautiful woman who rejects good sense is like a gold ring in a pig's snout.

23 The desire of the righteous [turns out] well, but the hope of the wicked [leads to] wrath.

24 One person gives freely, yet gains more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.

25 A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water.

26 People will curse anyone who hoards grain, but a blessing will come to the one who sells it.

27 The one who searches for what is good finds favor, but if someone looks for trouble, it will come to him.

28 Anyone trusting in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage.

29 The one who brings ruin on his household will inherit the wind, and a fool will be a slave to someone whose heart is wise.

30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, but violence takes lives.

31 If the righteous will be repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and sinful.