The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday January 29, 2017 (NIV)

The Plague of Frogs

²⁵ Seven days after^[a] the Lord had struck the Nile River,^[b] 8 ^1 [c]he told Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Let my people go so they may serve^[d] me. ² And if you refuse to let them go, then I’m going to strike all your territory with frogs. ³ The Nile will swarm with frogs. They’ll come up and enter your house, your bedroom, your bed, and your servants’ houses. They’ll jump on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading troughs. ⁴ The frogs will be all over you and your servants.”’”

^5 [e]Then the Lord told Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the Nile River,^[f] and over the ponds, and bring up frogs over the land of Egypt.’” ⁶ So Aaron stretched his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷ But the magicians did the same thing^[g] with their secret arts, and they brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.

⁸ Then Pharaoh called to Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord so that he may remove the frogs from me and my people. I’ll let the people go so they can offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

⁹ Moses told Pharaoh, “You decide^[h] when I should plead for you, your servants, and your people to remove^[i] the frogs from you and your household. They’ll remain only in the Nile River.^[j]”

¹⁰ Pharaoh^[k] said, “Tomorrow.”

Moses^[l] said, “It will be just as you say,^[m] so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹ The frogs will leave you, your house, your officials,^[n] and your people. They’ll remain only in the Nile River.^[o]”

¹² Then Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh’s presence, and Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs which he had sent^[p] on Pharaoh. ¹³ The Lord did just as Moses asked,^[q] and the frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards, and in the fields. ¹⁴ They gathered them up into large piles and the land smelled terrible. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.

The Plague of Gnats

¹⁶ Then the Lord told Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff, strike the dust of the ground, and the dust^[r] will become gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’” ¹⁷ They did this.^[s] Aaron stretched his hand out with his staff, struck the dust of the land, and gnats came on people and animals—all the dust of the ground became gnats throughout the land of Egypt. ¹⁸ The magicians tried^[t] to do the same thing^[u] with their secret arts, but they were unable to bring out the gnats. The gnats were on the people and the animals.

¹⁹ The magicians told Pharaoh, “It is the finger of God!”^[v] But Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn^[w] and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.

²⁰ The Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he’s going down to the water. You are to say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Let my people go so they can serve^[x] me. ²¹ But if you don’t let my people go, I’ll send swarms of insects upon you, your servants, your people, and your households. The houses of Egypt—and even the ground on which they stand—will be filled with swarms of insects. ²² On that day I’ll treat the land of Goshen where my people live^[y] differently so that swarms of insects won’t be there. As a result, you will know that I the Lord am in the midst of the land. ²³ I’ll make a distinction between my people and your people, and this sign will occur tomorrow.”’”

²⁴ The Lord did this, and dense swarms of insects came into the house of Pharaoh and into the houses of his servants. The land was ruined throughout^[z] Egypt because of the swarms of insects. ²⁵ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, offer sacrifices to your God in the land.”

²⁶ “It wouldn’t be right to sacrifice in this way,”^[aa] Moses replied, “because if we do,^[ab] we will sacrifice to the Lord our God what is offensive to the Egyptians.^[ac] If we offer sacrifices that are offensive to the Egyptians^[ad] in front of them, they’ll stone us, won’t they? ²⁷ We must go a three-day journey into the desert, and we’ll offer sacrifices to the Lord our God just as he has told us.”

²⁸ Then Pharaoh said, “I’ll let you go so you can offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the desert. But you must not go very far away. Pray for me.”

²⁹ Moses said, “Right now I’m going to leave you, and I’ll pray to the Lord that the swarms of insects may depart from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people tomorrow. But Pharaoh, don’t continue lying by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

³⁰ Then Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and prayed to the Lord. ³¹ The Lord did what Moses asked,^[ae] and the swarms of insects departed from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Not one remained. ³² But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart, and he did not let the people go.

The Plague on the Egyptian Cattle

9 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord God of the Hebrews says: “Let my people go so they may serve^[af] me. ² But if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them, ³ then the hand of the Lord will come^[ag] with a very severe plague on your livestock in the fields, on horses, on donkeys, on camels, on cattle, and on sheep. ⁴ The Lord will distinguish between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of the Egyptians, so that nothing that belongs to the Israelis will die.”’”

⁵ The Lord set the time: “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” ⁶ The Lord did this thing the next day, and all the livestock of the Egyptians died. But not one of the livestock died that belonged to the Israelis. ⁷ Then Pharaoh inquired and discovered^[ah] that not a single one of the livestock of Israel had died, but Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn^[ai] and he would not let the people go.

The Plague of Boils

⁸ Then the Lord told Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a kiln, and let Moses throw it into the air^[aj] in front of Pharaoh. ⁹ The soot^[ak] will become dust over the entire land of Egypt, and it will become boils erupting into sores on people and animals throughout the land of Egypt.”

¹⁰ So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. Then Moses threw it into the air,^[al] and it became boils producing running sores on people and animals. ¹¹ The magicians were not able to stand before Moses because of the boils, because the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. ¹² The Lord made Pharaoh’s heart stubborn^[am] so that he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had told Moses.

The Plague of Hail

¹³ Then the Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning, present yourself to Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord God of the Hebrews says: “Let my people go so they may serve^[an] me. ¹⁴ Indeed, this time I’m sending all my plagues against you^[ao], your officials,^[ap] and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. ¹⁵ Indeed, by now I could have sent forth my hand and struck you and your people with a plague, and you would have been destroyed from the earth. ¹⁶ However, I’ve kept you standing^[aq] in order to show you my power and to declare my name in all the earth. ¹⁷ You are still acting arrogantly against my people by not letting them go. ¹⁸ Look! About this time tomorrow, I’ll send a severe hail storm, such as has not happened in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. ¹⁹ So send for your livestock and everything that belongs to you that’s out in the field, because^[ar] every person and animal found in the field that has not been brought inside to shelters will die when the hail comes down on them.”’”

²⁰ Whoever feared the message from the Lord among Pharaoh’s officials^[as] made his servants and livestock flee into shelters. ²¹ But whoever did not pay attention^[at] to the message from the Lord left his servants and his livestock outside in the fields.

²² Then the Lord told Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be hail in all the land of Egypt, on people, animals, and all the vegetation of the field throughout the land of Egypt.” ²³ When Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. The Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt.

²⁴ There was very heavy hail, and lightning was flashing continuously in the midst of the hail. There had not been anything like it in the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. ²⁵ The hail struck everything, including people and animals, outside in the fields throughout the land of Egypt. The hail struck all the vegetation of the fields and shattered all the trees in the orchards. ²⁶ Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelis were, was there no hail.

²⁷ Pharaoh sent word^[au] and called for Moses and Aaron. “I’ve sinned this time,” he told them. “The Lord is righteous, but I and my people are wicked. ²⁸ Pray to the Lord! There has been enough of God’s thunder and hail! I’ll let you go, and you need not stay any longer.”

²⁹ Moses told him, “When I leave the city I’ll spread out my hands to the Lord. The thunder will cease and the hail won’t continue, so that you may know that the earth belongs to the Lord. ³⁰ But as for you and your officials,^[av] I know that you don’t yet fear the Lord God.” ³¹ (Now the flax and the barley were ruined because the barley was in ear and the flax was in bud. ³² The wheat and the wild grain^[aw] were not ruined because they were late crops.)

³³ Then Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to the Lord. The thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured out on the land. ³⁴ When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he continued to sin. He, along with his officials,^[ax] hardened his heart. ³⁵ Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn,^[ay] and he did not let the Israelis go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.

Jesus Blesses the Little Children^(A)

¹³ Then some little children were brought to him so that he might lay his hands on them and pray. But the disciples rebuked those who brought^[a] them. ¹⁴ Jesus, however, said, “Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom from^[b] heaven belongs to people like these.” ¹⁵ When he had laid his hands on them, he went on from there.

A Rich Man Comes to Jesus^(B)

¹⁶ Just then a man came up to Jesus.^[c] “Teacher,”^[d] he asked, “what good deed should I do to have eternal life?”

¹⁷ Jesus^[e] asked him, “Why ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good.^[f] If you want to get into that life, you must keep the commandments.”

¹⁸ The young man^[g] asked him, “Which ones?”

Jesus said, “‘You must not murder,^[h] you must not commit adultery,^[i] you must not steal,^[j] you must not give false testimony,^{[k] 19} honor your father and mother,’^[l] and, ‘you must love your neighbor as yourself.’”^[m]

²⁰ The young man told him, “I have kept all of these.^[n] What do I still lack?”

²¹ Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money^[o] to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me.” ²² But when the young man heard this statement he went away sad, because he had many possessions.

Salvation and Reward^(C)

²³ Then Jesus told his disciples, “I tell all of you^[p] with certainty, it will be hard for a rich person to get into the kingdom from^[q] heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were completely astonished. “Who, then, can be saved?” they asked.

²⁶ Jesus looked at them intently and said, “For humans this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

²⁷ “Look!” Peter replied. “We have left everything and followed you. So what will we get?”

²⁸ Jesus told them, “I tell all of you^[r] with certainty, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne in the renewed creation, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, governing the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ In fact, everyone who has left his homes, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times as much^[s] and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

A Davidic Psalm.

A Song for the King of Glory

The Folly of Guaranteeing Loans