Moses went on up the mountain into the cloud. There he stayed for forty days and nights.

I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets on which was written the covenant that the LORD had made with you. I stayed there forty days and nights and did not eat or drink anything.

If the owner of a house knew the time when the thief would come, you can be sure that he would stay awake and not let the thief break into his house.

and will ask, "He promised to come, didn't he? Where is he? Our ancestors have already died, but everything is still the same as it was since the creation of the world!"

Then Lot went to the men that his daughters were going to marry, and said, "Hurry up and get out of here; the LORD is going to destroy this place." But they thought he was joking.

When they had gone only a short distance from the city, Joseph said to the servant in charge of his house, "Hurry after those men. When you catch up with them, ask them, 'Why have you paid back evil for good?

Get up! Purify the people and get them ready to come before me. Tell them to be ready tomorrow, because I, the LORD God of Israel, have this to say: 'Israel, you have in your possession some things that I ordered you to destroy! You cannot stand against your enemies until you get rid of these things!'

"Worship no god but me.

Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, because I am the LORD your God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generation.

"When the LORD spoke to you from the fire on Mount Sinai, you did not see any form. For your own good, then, make certain

animal or bird,

So they said to Aaron, 'Make us some gods who will lead us. We do not know what has happened to that man Moses, who brought us out of Egypt.'

Since we are God's children, we should not suppose that his nature is anything like an image of gold or silver or stone, shaped by human art and skill.

Now, you can see and hear for yourselves what this fellow Paul is doing. He says that hand-made gods are not gods at all, and he has succeeded in convincing many people, both here in Ephesus and in nearly the whole province of Asia.

During the day the LORD went in front of them in a pillar of cloud to show them the way, and during the night he went in front of them in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel night and day.

You are going to a rich and fertile land. But I will not go with you myself, because you are a stubborn people, and I might destroy you on the way."

The LORD said, "I will go with you, and I will give you victory."

Moses replied, "If you do not go with us, don't make us leave this place.

The LORD said to Moses, "Hurry and go back down, because your people, whom you led out of Egypt, have sinned and rejected me.

But Moses pleaded with the LORD his God and said, " LORD, why should you be so angry with your people, whom you rescued from Egypt with great might and power?

They said to Moses, "Weren't there any graves in Egypt? Did you have to bring us out here in the desert to die? Look what you have done by bringing us out of Egypt!

and said to them, "We wish that the LORD had killed us in Egypt. There we could at least sit down and eat meat and as much other food as we wanted. But you have brought us out into this desert to starve us all to death."

The LORD sent a prophet to rescue the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and to take care of them.

I brought you out of Egypt; I rescued you from slavery; I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you.

Abimelech said, "I don't know who did this. You didn't tell me about it, and this is the first I have heard of it."

He refused and said to her, "Look, my master does not have to concern himself with anything in the house, because I am here. He has put me in charge of everything he has.

and Joseph said, "What have you done? Didn't you know that a man in my position could find you out by practicing divination?"

But if he is a bad servant, he will tell himself that his master will not come back for a long time,

and will ask, "He promised to come, didn't he? Where is he? Our ancestors have already died, but everything is still the same as it was since the creation of the world!"