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¹⁹ When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

Miriam’s victory song

²⁰ Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed her playing tambourines and dancing. ²¹ Miriam sang the refrain back to them:

Turning bitter water sweet

²² Then Moses had Israel leave the Reed Sea^[a] and go out into the Shur desert. They traveled for three days in the desert and found no water. ²³ When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink Marah’s water because it was bitter. That’s why it was called Marah.^{[b] 24} The people complained against Moses, “What will we drink?” ²⁵ Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord pointed out a tree to him. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

The Lord made a regulation and a ruling there, and there he tested them. ²⁶ The Lord said, “If you are careful to obey the Lord your God, do what God thinks is right, pay attention to his commandments, and keep all of his regulations, then I won’t bring on you any of the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians. I am the Lord who heals you.”

²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. They camped there by the water.

Wilderness food: manna and quail

16 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Sin desert, which is located between Elim and Sinai. They set out on the fifteenth day of the second month^[c] after they had left the land of Egypt. ² The whole Israelite community complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert. ³ The Israelites said to them, “Oh, how we wish that the Lord had just put us to death while we were still in the land of Egypt. There we could sit by the pots cooking meat and eat our fill of bread. Instead, you’ve brought us out into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death.”

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I’m going to make bread rain down from the sky for you. The people will go out each day and gather just enough for that day. In this way, I’ll test them to see whether or not they follow my Instruction. ⁵ On the sixth day, when they measure out what they have collected, it will be twice as much as they collected on other days.” ⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ⁷ And in the morning you will see the Lord’s glorious presence, because your complaints against the Lord have been heard. Who are we? Why blame us?” ⁸ Moses continued, “The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning because the Lord heard the complaints you made against him. Who are we? Your complaints aren’t against us but against the Lord.”

⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole Israelite community, ‘Come near to the Lord, because he’s heard your complaints.’” ¹⁰ As Aaron spoke to the whole Israelite community, they turned to look toward the desert, and just then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared in the cloud.

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, ¹² “I’ve heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat. And in the morning you will have your fill of bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”

¹³ In the evening a flock of quail flew down and covered the camp. And in the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. ¹⁴ When the layer of dew lifted, there on the desert surface were thin flakes, as thin as frost on the ground. ¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What^[d] is it?” They didn’t know what it was.

Moses said to them, “This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶ This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Collect as much of it as each of you can eat, one omer^[e] per person. You may collect for the number of people in your household.’” ¹⁷ The Israelites did as Moses said, some collecting more, some less. ¹⁸ But when they measured it out by the omer, the ones who had collected more had nothing left over, and the ones who had collected less had no shortage. Everyone collected just as much as they could eat. ¹⁹ Moses said to them, “Don’t keep any of it until morning.” ²⁰ But they didn’t listen to Moses. Some kept part of it until morning, but it became infested with worms and stank. Moses got angry with them. ²¹ Every morning they gathered it, as much as each person could eat. But when the sun grew hot, it melted away.

²² On the sixth day the people collected twice as much food as usual, two omers per person. All the chiefs of the community came and told Moses. ²³ He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘Tomorrow is a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. But you can set aside and keep all the leftovers until the next morning.’” ²⁴ So they set the leftovers aside until morning, as Moses had commanded. They didn’t stink or become infested with worms. ²⁵ The next day Moses said, “Eat it today, because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. Today you won’t find it out in the field. ²⁶ Six days you will gather it. But on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be nothing to gather.”

²⁷ On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather bread, but they found nothing. ²⁸ The Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to obey my commandments and instructions? ²⁹ Look! The Lord has given you the Sabbath. Therefore, on the sixth day he gives you enough food for two days. Each of you should stay where you are and not leave your place on the seventh day.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ The Israelite people called it manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and tasted like honey wafers. ³² Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept safe for future generations so that they can see the food that I used to feed you in the desert when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

³³ Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put one full omer of manna in it. Then set it in the Lord’s presence, where it should be kept safe for future generations.” ³⁴ Aaron did as the Lord commanded Moses, and he put it in front of the covenant document for safekeeping. ³⁵ The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they came to a livable land. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. (³⁶ An omer^[f] is one-tenth of an ephah.)

Water from a rock

17 The whole Israelite community broke camp and set out from the Sin desert to continue their journey, as the Lord commanded. They set up their camp at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ² The people argued with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses said to them, “Why are you arguing with me? Why are you testing the Lord?”

³ But the people were very thirsty for water there, and they complained to Moses, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”

⁴ So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with this people? They are getting ready to stone me.”

⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of Israel’s elders with you. Take in your hand the shepherd’s rod that you used to strike the Nile River, and go. ⁶ I’ll be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Hit the rock. Water will come out of it, and the people will be able to drink.” Moses did so while Israel’s elders watched. ⁷ He called the place Massah^[g] and Meribah,^[h] because the Israelites argued with and tested the Lord, asking, “Is the Lord really with us or not?”

Parable of the wedding party

22 Jesus responded by speaking again in parables: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding party for his son. ³ He sent his servants to call those invited to the wedding party. But they didn’t want to come. ⁴ Again he sent other servants and said to them, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look, the meal is all prepared. I’ve butchered the oxen and the fattened cattle. Now everything’s ready. Come to the wedding party!” ’ ⁵ But they paid no attention and went away—some to their fields, others to their businesses. ⁶ The rest of them grabbed his servants, abused them, and killed them.

⁷ “The king was angry. He sent his soldiers to destroy those murderers and set their city on fire. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding party is prepared, but those who were invited weren’t worthy. ⁹ Therefore, go to the roads on the edge of town and invite everyone you find to the wedding party.’

¹⁰ “Then those servants went to the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding party was full of guests. ¹¹ Now when the king came in and saw the guests, he spotted a man who wasn’t wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to his servants, ‘Tie his hands and feet and throw him out into the farthest darkness. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.’

¹⁴ “Many people are invited, but few people are chosen.”

Question about taxes

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees met together to find a way to trap Jesus in his words. ¹⁶ They sent their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are genuine and that you teach God’s way as it really is. We know that you are not swayed by people’s opinions, because you don’t show favoritism. ¹⁷ So tell us what you think: Does the Law allow people to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸ Knowing their evil motives, Jesus replied, “Why do you test me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹  Show me the coin used to pay the tax.” And they brought him a denarion. ²⁰ “Whose image and inscription is this?” he asked.

²¹ “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” ²² When they heard this they were astonished, and they departed.

Question about resurrection

²³ That same day Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Jesus. ²⁴ They asked, “Teacher, Moses said, If a man who doesn’t have children dies, his brother must marry his wife and produce children for his brother.^{[a] 25} Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married, then died. Because he had no children he left his widow to his brother. ²⁶ The same thing happened with the second brother and the third, and in fact with all seven brothers. ²⁷ Finally, the woman died. ²⁸ At the resurrection, which of the seven brothers will be her husband? They were all married to her.”

²⁹ Jesus responded, “You are wrong because you don’t know either the scriptures or God’s power. ³⁰  At the resurrection people won’t marry nor will they be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like angels from God. ³¹  As for the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read what God told you, ³² I’m the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?^[b] He isn’t the God of the dead but of the living.” ³³ Now when the crowd heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

Psalm 27

Of David.

Danger of adultery

God leads the way

¹⁷ When Pharaoh let the people go, God didn’t lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, even though that was the shorter route. God thought, If the people have to fight and face war, they will run back to Egypt. ¹⁸ So God led the people by the roundabout way of the Reed Sea^[a] desert. The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt ready for battle. ¹⁹ Moses took with him Joseph’s bones just as Joseph had made Israel’s sons promise when he said to them, “When God takes care of you, you must carry my bones out of here with you.” ²⁰ They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. ²¹ The Lord went in front of them during the day in a column of cloud to guide them and at night in a column of lightning to give them light. This way they could travel during the day and at night. ²² The column of cloud during the day and the column of lightning at night never left its place in front of the people.

Israel crossing the sea

14 Then the Lord said to Moses: ² Tell the Israelites to turn back and set up camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea in front of Baal-zephon. You should set up camp in front of it by the sea. ³ Pharaoh will think to himself, The Israelites are lost and confused in the land. The desert has trapped them. ⁴ I’ll make Pharaoh stubborn, and he’ll chase them. I’ll gain honor at the expense of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. And they did exactly that.

⁵ When Egypt’s king was told that the people had run away, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people. They said, “What have we done, letting Israel go free from their slavery to us?” ⁶ So he sent for his chariot and took his army with him. ⁷ He took six hundred elite chariots and all of Egypt’s other chariots with captains on all of them. ⁸ The Lord made Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, stubborn, and he chased the Israelites, who were leaving confidently. ⁹ The Egyptians, including all of Pharaoh’s horse-drawn chariots, his cavalry, and his army, chased them and caught up with them as they were camped by the sea, by Pi-hahiroth in front of Baal-zephon.

¹⁰ As Pharaoh drew closer, the Israelites looked back and saw the Egyptians marching toward them. The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ They said to Moses, “Weren’t there enough graves in Egypt that you took us away to die in the desert? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt like this? ¹² Didn’t we tell you the same thing in Egypt? ‘Leave us alone! Let us work for the Egyptians!’ It would have been better for us to work for the Egyptians than to die in the desert.”

¹³ But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand your ground, and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never ever see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you. You just keep still.”

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to get moving. ¹⁶ As for you, lift your shepherd’s rod, stretch out your hand over the sea, and split it in two so that the Israelites can go into the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷ But me, I’ll make the Egyptians stubborn so that they will go in after them, and I’ll gain honor at the expense of Pharaoh, all his army, his chariots, and his cavalry. ¹⁸ The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I gain honor at the expense of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his cavalry.”

¹⁹ God’s messenger, who had been in front of Israel’s camp, moved and went behind them. The column of cloud moved from the front and took its place behind them. ²⁰ It stood between Egypt’s camp and Israel’s camp. The cloud remained there, and when darkness fell it lit up the night. They didn’t come near each other all night.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord pushed the sea back by a strong east wind all night, turning the sea into dry land. The waters were split into two. ²² The Israelites walked into the sea on dry ground. The waters formed a wall for them on their right hand and on their left. ²³ The Egyptians chased them and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry. ²⁴ As morning approached, the Lord looked down on the Egyptian camp from the column of lightning and cloud and threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. ²⁵ The Lord jammed their chariot wheels so that they wouldn’t turn easily. The Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites, because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water comes back and covers the Egyptians, their chariots, and their cavalry.” ²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. At daybreak, the sea returned to its normal depth. The Egyptians were driving toward it, and the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. ²⁸ The waters returned and covered the chariots and the cavalry, Pharaoh’s entire army that had followed them into the sea. Not one of them remained. ²⁹ The Israelites, however, walked on dry ground through the sea. The waters formed a wall for them on their right hand and on their left.

³⁰ The Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians that day. Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹ Israel saw the amazing power of the Lord against the Egyptians. The people were in awe of the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Moses’ victory song

15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

Jesus’ authority questioned

²³ When Jesus entered the temple, the chief priests and elders of the people came to him as he was teaching. They asked, “What kind of authority do you have for doing these things? Who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus replied, “I have a question for you. If you tell me the answer, I’ll tell you what kind of authority I have to do these things. ²⁵  Where did John get his authority to baptize? Did he get it from heaven or from humans?”

They argued among themselves, “If we say ‘from heaven,’ he’ll say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But we can’t say ‘from humans’ because we’re afraid of the crowd, since everyone thinks John was a prophet.” ²⁷ Then they replied, “We don’t know.”

Jesus also said to them, “Neither will I tell you what kind of authority I have to do these things.

Parable of two sons

²⁸ “What do you think? A man had two sons. Now he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’

²⁹ “‘No, I don’t want to,’ he replied. But later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰ “The father said the same thing to the other son, who replied, ‘Yes, sir.’ But he didn’t go.

³¹ “Which one of these two did his father’s will?”

They said, “The first one.”

Jesus said to them, “I assure you that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering God’s kingdom ahead of you. ³² For John came to you on the righteous road, and you didn’t believe him. But tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. Yet even after you saw this, you didn’t change your hearts and lives and you didn’t believe him.

Parable of the tenant farmers

³³ “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it to tenant farmers and took a trip. ³⁴ When it was time for harvest, he sent his servants to the tenant farmers to collect his fruit. ³⁵ But the tenant farmers grabbed his servants. They beat some of them, and some of them they killed. Some of them they stoned to death.

³⁶ “Again he sent other servants, more than the first group. They treated them in the same way. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸ “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him and we’ll have his inheritance.’ ³⁹ They grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

⁴⁰ “When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenant farmers?”

⁴¹ They said, “He will totally destroy those wicked farmers and rent the vineyard to other tenant farmers who will give him the fruit when it’s ready.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the scriptures, The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The Lord has done this, and it’s amazing in our eyes?^{[a] 43}  Therefore, I tell you that God’s kingdom will be taken away from you and will be given to a people who produce its fruit. ⁴⁴  Whoever falls on this stone will be crushed. And the stone will crush the person it falls on.”

⁴⁵ Now when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard the parable, they knew Jesus was talking about them. ⁴⁶ They were trying to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, who thought he was a prophet.

Psalm 26

Of David.

¹⁴ “This day will be a day of remembering for you. You will observe it as a festival to the Lord. You will observe it in every generation as a regulation for all time. ¹⁵ You will eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you must remove yeast from your houses because anyone who eats leavened bread anytime during those seven days will be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶ The first day and the seventh day will be a holy occasion for you. No work at all should be done on those days, except for preparing the food that everyone is going to eat. That is the only work you may do. ¹⁷ You should observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because on this precise day I brought you out of the land of Egypt in military formation. You should observe this day in every generation as a regulation for all time. ¹⁸ In the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day, you should eat unleavened bread. ¹⁹ For seven days no yeast should be found in your houses because whoever eats leavened bread will be cut off from the Israelite community, whether the person is an immigrant or a native of the land. ²⁰ You should not eat anything made with yeast in all your settlements. You should eat only unleavened bread.”

²¹ Then Moses called together all of Israel’s elders and said to them, “Go pick out one of the flock for your families, and slaughter the Passover lamb. ²² Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood that is in the bowl, and touch the beam above the door and the two doorposts with the blood in the bowl. None of you should go out the door of your house until morning. ²³ When the Lord comes by to strike down the Egyptians and sees the blood on the beam above the door and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door. He won’t let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you down. ²⁴ You should observe this ritual as a regulation for all time for you and your children. ²⁵ When you enter the land that the Lord has promised to give you, be sure that you observe this ritual. ²⁶ And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ritual mean to you?’ ²⁷ you will say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for the Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. When he struck down the Egyptians, he spared our houses.’” The people then bowed down and worshipped. ²⁸ The Israelites went and did exactly what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron to do.

Death of Egypt’s oldest children

²⁹ At midnight the Lord struck down all the first offspring in the land of Egypt, from the oldest child of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the oldest child of the prisoner in jail, and all the first offspring of the animals. ³⁰ When Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the Egyptians got up that night, a terrible cry of agony rang out across Egypt because every house had someone in it who had died. ³¹ Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron that night and said, “Get up! Get away from my people, both you and the Israelites! Go! Worship the Lord, as you said! ³² You can even take your flocks and herds, as you asked. Just go! And bring a blessing on me as well!”

Israel set free

³³ The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the land because they thought, We’ll all be dead. ³⁴ So the people picked up their bread dough before the yeast made it rise, with their bread pans wrapped in their robes on their shoulders. ³⁵ The Israelites did as Moses had told them and asked the Egyptians for their silver and gold jewelry as well as their clothing. ³⁶ The Lord made sure that the Egyptians were kind to the people so that they let them have whatever they asked for. And so they robbed the Egyptians.

³⁷ The Israelites traveled from Rameses to Succoth. They numbered about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. ³⁸ A diverse crowd also went up with them along with a huge number of livestock, both flocks and herds. ³⁹ They baked unleavened cakes from the dough they had brought out of Egypt. The dough didn’t rise because they were driven out of Egypt and they couldn’t wait. In fact, they didn’t have time to prepare any food for themselves.

⁴⁰ The length of time that the Israelites had lived in Egypt was four hundred thirty years. ⁴¹ At the end of four hundred thirty years, on that precise day, all the Lord’s people in military formation left the land of Egypt. ⁴² For the Lord, that was a night of intent watching, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For all Israelites in every generation, this same night is a time of intent watching to honor the Lord.

Instructions for observing Passover

⁴³ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: This is the regulation for the Passover. No foreigner may eat it. ⁴⁴ However, any slave who has been bought may eat it after he’s been circumcised. ⁴⁵ No temporary foreign resident or day laborer may eat it. ⁴⁶ It should be eaten in one house. You shouldn’t take any of the meat outside the house, and you shouldn’t break the bones. ⁴⁷ The whole Israelite community should observe it. ⁴⁸ If an immigrant who lives with you wants to observe the Passover to the Lord, then he and all his males should be circumcised. Then he may join in observing it. He should be regarded as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat it. ⁴⁹ There will be one Instruction for the native and for the immigrant who lives with you.

⁵⁰ All the Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹ On that precise day, the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt in military formation.

13 The Lord said to Moses: ² Dedicate to me all your oldest children. Each first offspring from any Israelite womb belongs to me, whether human or animal.

Unleavened bread

³ Moses said to the people, “Remember this day which is the day that you came out of Egypt, out of the place you were slaves, because the Lord acted with power to bring you out of there. No leavened bread may be eaten. ⁴ Today, in the month of Abib,^[a] you are going to leave. ⁵ The Lord will bring you to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. It is the land that the Lord promised your ancestors to give to you, a land full of milk and honey. You should perform this ritual in this month. ⁶ You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. The seventh day is a festival to the Lord. ⁷ Only unleavened bread should be eaten for seven days. No leavened bread and no yeast should be seen among you in your whole country. ⁸ You should explain to your child on that day, ‘It’s because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’

⁹ “It will be a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead so that you will often discuss the Lord’s Instruction, for the Lord brought you out of Egypt with great power. ¹⁰ So you should follow this regulation at its appointed time every year.

Dedication of Israel’s oldest offspring

¹¹ “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you as promised to you and your ancestors, ¹² you should set aside for the Lord whatever comes out of the womb first. All of the first males born to your animal belong to the Lord. ¹³ But every first male donkey you should ransom with a sheep. If you don’t ransom it, you must break its neck. You should ransom every oldest male among your children. ¹⁴ When in the future your child asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you should answer, ‘The Lord brought us with great power out of Egypt, out of the place we were slaves. ¹⁵ When Pharaoh refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the oldest offspring in the land of Egypt, from the oldest sons to the oldest male animals. That is why I offer to the Lord as a sacrifice every male that first comes out of the womb. But I ransom my oldest sons.’ ¹⁶ It will be a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with great power.”

Healing of two blind men

²⁹ As Jesus and his disciples were going out of Jericho a large crowd followed him. ³⁰ When two blind men sitting along the road heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Show us mercy, Lord, Son of David!”

³¹ Now the crowd scolded them and told them to be quiet. But they shouted even louder, “Show us mercy, Lord, Son of David!”

³² Jesus stopped in his tracks and called to them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³³ “Lord, we want to see,” they replied.

³⁴ Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they were able to see, and they followed him.

Entry into Jerusalem

21 When they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus gave two disciples a task. ² He said to them, “Go into the village over there. As soon as you enter, you will find a donkey tied up and a colt with it. Untie them and bring them to me. ³  If anybody says anything to you, say that the Lord needs it.” He sent them off right away. ⁴ Now this happened to fulfill what the prophet said, ⁵ Say to Daughter Zion, “Look, your king is coming to you, humble and riding on a donkey, and on a colt the donkey’s offspring.”^{[a] 6} The disciples went and did just as Jesus had ordered them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their clothes on them. Then he sat on them.

⁸ Now a large crowd spread their clothes on the road. Others cut palm branches off the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds in front of him and behind him shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!^[b] Hosanna in the highest!” ¹⁰ And when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up. “Who is this?” they asked. ¹¹ The crowds answered, “It’s the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Cleansing the temple

¹² Then Jesus went into the temple and threw out all those who were selling and buying there. He pushed over the tables used for currency exchange and the chairs of those who sold doves. ¹³ He said to them, “It’s written, My house will be called a house of prayer.^[c] But you’ve made it a hideout for crooks.”

¹⁴ People who were blind and lame came to Jesus in the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and legal experts saw the amazing things he was doing and the children shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were angry. ¹⁶ They said to Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”

“Yes,” he answered. “Haven’t you ever read, From the mouths of babies and infants you’ve arranged praise for yourself? ^[d]” ¹⁷ Then he left them and went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.

Cursing the fig tree

¹⁸ Early in the morning as Jesus was returning to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹ He saw a fig tree along the road, but when he came to it, he found nothing except leaves. Then he said to it, “You’ll never again bear fruit!” The fig tree dried up at once.

²⁰ When the disciples saw it, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree dry up so fast?” they asked.

²¹ Jesus responded, “I assure you that if you have faith and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree. You will even say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the lake.’ And it will happen. ²²  If you have faith, you will receive whatever you pray for.”

Invasion of locusts

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh. I’ve made him and his officials stubborn so that I can show them my signs ² and so that you can tell your children and grandchildren how I overpowered the Egyptians with the signs I did among them. You will know that I am the Lord.”

³ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the Hebrews’ God, says: How long will you refuse to respect me? Let my people go so that they can worship me. ⁴ Otherwise, if you refuse to let my people go, I’m going to bring locusts into your country tomorrow. ⁵ They will cover the landscape so that you won’t be able to see the ground. They will eat the last bit of vegetation that was left after the hail. They will eat all your trees growing in the fields. ⁶ The locusts will fill your houses and all your officials’ houses and all the Egyptians’ houses. Your parents and even your grandparents have never seen anything like it during their entire lifetimes in this fertile land.” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.

⁷ Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long will this man trap us in a corner like this? Let the people go so that they can worship the Lord their God. Don’t you get it? Egypt is being destroyed!”

⁸ So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go! Worship the Lord your God! But who exactly is going with you?”

⁹ Moses said, “We’ll go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we all must observe the Lord’s festival.”

¹⁰ Pharaoh said to them, “Yes, the Lord will be with you, all right, especially if I let your children go with you! Obviously, you are plotting some evil scheme. ¹¹ No way! Only your men can go and worship the Lord, because that’s what you asked for.” Then Pharaoh had them chased out of his presence.

¹² Then the Lord said to Moses: “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt so that the locusts will swarm over the land of Egypt and eat all of the land’s grain and everything that the hail left.” ¹³ So Moses stretched out his shepherd’s rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow over the land all that day and all that night. When morning came, the east wind had carried in the locusts. ¹⁴ The locusts swarmed over the whole land of Egypt and settled on the whole country. Such a huge swarming of locusts had never happened before and would never happen ever again. ¹⁵ They covered the whole landscape so that the land turned black with them. They ate all of the land’s grain and all of the orchards’ fruit that the hail had left. Nothing green was left in any orchard or in any grain field in the whole land of Egypt.

¹⁶ Pharaoh called urgently for Moses and Aaron and said, “I’ve sinned against the Lord your God and against you. ¹⁷ Please forgive my sin this time. Pray to the Lord your God just to take this deathly disaster away from me.”

¹⁸ So Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. ¹⁹ The Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind that lifted the locusts and drove them into the Reed Sea.^[a] Not a single locust was left in the whole country of Egypt. ²⁰ But the Lord made Pharaoh stubborn so that he wouldn’t let the Israelites go.

Darkness covers Egypt

²¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Raise your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over the land of Egypt, a darkness that you can feel.” ²² So Moses raised his hand toward the sky, and an intense darkness fell on the whole land of Egypt for three days. ²³ People couldn’t see each other, and they couldn’t go anywhere for three days. But the Israelites all had light where they lived.

²⁴ Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go! Worship the Lord! Only your flocks and herds need to stay behind. Even your children can go with you.”

²⁵ But Moses said, “You need to let us have sacrifices and entirely burned offerings to present to the Lord our God. ²⁶ So our livestock must go with us. Not one animal can be left behind. We’ll need some of them for worshipping the Lord our God. We won’t know which to use to worship the Lord until we get there.”

²⁷ But the Lord made Pharaoh stubborn so that he wasn’t willing to let them go. ²⁸ Pharaoh said to him, “Get out of here! Make sure you never see my face again, because the next time you see my face you will die.”

²⁹ Moses said, “You’ve said it! I’ll never see your face again!”

God announces the final disaster

11 The Lord said to Moses, “I’ll bring one more disaster on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he’ll let you go from here. In fact, when he lets you go, he’ll eagerly chase you out of here. ² Tell every man to ask his neighbor and every woman to ask her neighbor for all their silver and gold jewelry.” ³ The Lord made sure that the Egyptians were kind to the Hebrew people. In addition, Pharaoh’s officials and the Egyptian people even came to honor Moses as a great and important man in the land.

⁴ Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: At midnight I’ll go throughout Egypt. ⁵ Every oldest child in the land of Egypt will die, from the oldest child of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the oldest child of the servant woman by the millstones, and all the first offspring of the animals. ⁶ Then a terrible cry of agony will echo through the whole land of Egypt unlike any heard before or that ever will be again. ⁷ But as for the Israelites, not even a dog will growl at them, at the people, or at their animals. By this, you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. ⁸ Then all your officials will come down to me, bow to me, and say, ‘Get out, you and all your followers!’ After that I’ll leave.” Then Moses, furious, left Pharaoh.

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh won’t listen to you so that I can perform even more amazing acts in the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰ Now Moses and Aaron did all these amazing acts in front of Pharaoh, but the Lord made Pharaoh stubborn so that he didn’t let the Israelites go from his land.

First Passover

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ² “This month will be the first month; it will be the first month of the year for you.^{[b] 3} Tell the whole Israelite community: On the tenth day of this month they must take a lamb for each household, a lamb per house. ⁴ If a household is too small for a lamb, it should share one with a neighbor nearby. You should divide the lamb in proportion to the number of people who will be eating it. ⁵ Your lamb should be a flawless year-old male. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ⁶ You should keep close watch over it until the fourteenth day of this month. At twilight on that day, the whole assembled Israelite community should slaughter their lambs. ⁷ They should take some of the blood and smear it on the two doorposts and on the beam over the door of the houses in which they are eating. ⁸ That same night they should eat the meat roasted over the fire. They should eat it along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ⁹ Don’t eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over fire with its head, legs, and internal organs. ¹⁰ Don’t let any of it remain until morning, and burn any of it left over in the morning. ¹¹ This is how you should eat it. You should be dressed, with your sandals on your feet and your walking stick in your hand. You should eat the meal in a hurry. It is the Passover of the Lord. ¹² I’ll pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I’ll strike down every oldest child in the land of Egypt, both humans and animals. I’ll impose judgments on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. ¹³ The blood will be your sign on the houses where you live. Whenever I see the blood, I’ll pass over^[c] you. No plague will destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Workers in the vineyard

20 “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² After he agreed with the workers to pay them a denarion,^[a] he sent them into his vineyard.

³ “Then he went out around nine in the morning and saw others standing around the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I’ll pay you whatever is right.’ ⁵ And they went.

“Again around noon and then at three in the afternoon, he did the same thing. ⁶ Around five in the afternoon he went and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why are you just standing around here doing nothing all day long?’

⁷ “‘Because nobody has hired us,’ they replied.

“He responded, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and give them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and moving on finally to the first.’ ⁹ When those who were hired at five in the afternoon came, each one received a denarion. ¹⁰ Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But each of them also received a denarion. ¹¹ When they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, ¹² ‘These who were hired last worked one hour, and they received the same pay as we did even though we had to work the whole day in the hot sun.’

¹³ “But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I did you no wrong. Didn’t I agree to pay you a denarion? ¹⁴  Take what belongs to you and go. I want to give to this one who was hired last the same as I give to you. ¹⁵  Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you resentful because I’m generous?’ ¹⁶  So those who are last will be first. And those who are first will be last.”

Jesus predicts his death and resurrection

¹⁷ As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve aside by themselves on the road. He told them, ¹⁸ “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Human One^[b] will be handed over to the chief priests and legal experts. They will condemn him to death. ¹⁹  They will hand him over to the Gentiles to be ridiculed, tortured, and crucified. But he will be raised on the third day.”

Request from James and John’s mother

²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus along with her sons. Bowing before him, she asked a favor of him.

²¹ “What do you want?” he asked.

She responded, “Say that these two sons of mine will sit, one on your right hand and one on your left, in your kingdom.”

²² Jesus replied, “You don’t know what you’re asking! Can you drink from the cup that I’m about to drink from?”

They said to him, “We can.”

²³ He said to them, “You will drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left hand isn’t mine to give. It belongs to those for whom my Father prepared it.”

²⁴ Now when the other ten disciples heard about this, they became angry with the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them over and said, “You know that those who rule the Gentiles show off their authority over them and their high-ranking officials order them around. ²⁶  But that’s not the way it will be with you. Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant. ²⁷  Whoever wants to be first among you will be your slave— ²⁸ just as the Human One^[c] didn’t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people.”

Psalm 25^[a]

Of David.

Invasion of frogs

8 ^[a] Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him: This is what the Lord says: Let my people go so that they can worship me. ² If you refuse to let them go, then I’ll send a plague of frogs over your whole country. ³ The Nile will overflow with frogs. They’ll get into your palace, into your bedroom and onto your bed, into your officials’ houses, and among all your people, and even into your ovens and bread pans. ⁴ The frogs will crawl up on you, your people, and all your officials.” ⁵ And^[b] the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your shepherd’s rod over the rivers, the canals, and the marshes, and make the frogs crawl up all over the land of Egypt.’” ⁶ So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt. The frogs crawled up and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷ However, the Egyptian religious experts were able to do the same thing by their secret knowledge. They too made frogs crawl up onto the land of Egypt.

⁸ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “If you pray to the Lord to get rid of the frogs from me and my people, then I’ll let the people go so that they can offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

⁹ Moses said to Pharaoh, “Have it your way. When should I pray for you and your officials and your people to remove the frogs from your houses, courtyards, and fields? They’ll stay only in the Nile.”

¹⁰ Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow!”

Moses said, “Just as you say! That way you will know that there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹ The frogs will leave you, your houses, your officials, and your people. They’ll stay only in the Nile.” ¹² After Moses and Aaron had left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs that the Lord had brought on Pharaoh. ¹³ The Lord did as Moses asked. The frogs died inside the houses, out in the yards, and in the fields. ¹⁴ They gathered them together in big piles, and the land began to stink. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that the disaster was over, he became stubborn again and wouldn’t listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

Swarming lice

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your shepherd’s rod and hit the land’s dirt so that lice^[c] appear in the whole land of Egypt.’” ¹⁷ They did this. Aaron stretched out his hand with his shepherd’s rod, hit the land’s dirt, and lice appeared on both people and animals. All the land’s dirt turned into lice throughout the whole land of Egypt.

¹⁸ The religious experts^[d] tried to produce lice by their secret knowledge, but they weren’t able to do it. There were lice on people and animals. ¹⁹ The religious experts said to Pharaoh, “This is something only God could do!” But Pharaoh was stubborn, and he wouldn’t listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

Insects fill Egypt

²⁰ The Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes out to the water. Say to him, This is what the Lord says: Let my people go so that they can worship me. ²¹ If you refuse to let my people go, I’ll send swarms of insects^[e] on you, your officials, your people, and your houses. All Egyptian houses will be filled with swarms of insects and also the ground that they cover. ²² But on that day I’ll set apart the land of Goshen, where my people live. No swarms of insects will come there so you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. ²³ I’ll put a barrier between my people and your people. This sign will happen tomorrow.” ²⁴ The Lord did this. Great swarms of insects came into the houses of Pharaoh and his officials and into the whole land of Egypt. The land was ruined by the insects.

²⁵ Then Pharaoh called in Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, offer sacrifices to your God within the land.”

²⁶ Moses replied, “It wouldn’t be right to do that, because the sacrifices that we offer to the Lord our God will offend Egyptians. If we openly offer sacrifices that offend Egyptians, won’t they stone us to death? ²⁷ We need to go for a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God as he has ordered us.”

²⁸ So Pharaoh said, “I’ll let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the desert, provided you don’t go too far away and you pray for me.”

²⁹ Moses said, “I’ll leave you now, and I’ll pray to the Lord. Tomorrow the swarms of insects will leave Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Just don’t let Pharaoh lie to us again and not let the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

³⁰ So Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. ³¹ The Lord did as Moses asked and removed the swarms of insects from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people. Not one insect remained. ³² But Pharaoh was stubborn once again, and he wouldn’t let the people go.

Animals sick and dying

9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, This is what the Lord, the Hebrews’ God, says: Let my people go so that they can worship me. ² If you refuse to let them go and you continue to hold them back, ³ the Lord will send a very deadly disease on your livestock in the field: on horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, and flocks. ⁴ But the Lord will distinguish Israel’s livestock from Egypt’s livestock so that not one that belongs to the Israelites will die.” ⁵ The Lord set a time and said, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.” ⁶ And the next day the Lord did it. All of the Egyptian livestock died, but not one animal that belonged to the Israelites died. ⁷ Pharaoh asked around and found out that not one of Israel’s livestock had died. But Pharaoh was stubborn, and he wouldn’t let the people go.

Skin sores and blisters

⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of ashes from a furnace and have Moses throw it up in the air in front of Pharaoh. ⁹ The ashes will turn to soot over the whole land of Egypt. It will cause skin sores that will break out in blisters on people and animals in the whole land of Egypt.” ¹⁰ So they took ashes from the furnace, and they stood in front of Pharaoh. Moses threw the ash up in the air, and it caused skin sores and blisters to break out on people and animals. ¹¹ The religious experts^[f] couldn’t stand up to Moses because of the skin sores, because there were skin sores on the religious experts as well as on all the Egyptians. ¹² But the Lord made Pharaoh stubborn, and Pharaoh wouldn’t listen to them, just as the Lord had said to Moses.

Hail and thunder

¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh. Say to him, This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go so that they can worship me. ¹⁴ This time I’m going to send all my plagues on you, your officials, and your people so that you will know that there is no one like me in the whole world. ¹⁵ By now I could have used my power to strike you and your people with a deadly disease so that you would have disappeared from the earth. ¹⁶ But I’ve left you standing for this reason: in order to show you my power and in order to make my name known in the whole world. ¹⁷ You are still abusing your power against my people, and you refuse to let them go. ¹⁸ Tomorrow at this time I’ll cause the heaviest hail to fall on Egypt that has ever fallen from the day Egypt was founded until now. ¹⁹ So bring under shelter your livestock and all that belongs to you that is out in the open. Every person or animal that is out in the open field and isn’t brought inside will die when the hail rains down on them.” ²⁰ Some of Pharaoh’s officials who took the Lord’s word seriously rushed to bring their servants and livestock inside for shelter. ²¹ Others who didn’t take the Lord’s word to heart left their servants and livestock out in the open field.

²² The Lord said to Moses, “Raise your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall on the whole land of Egypt, on people and animals and all the grain in the fields in the land of Egypt.” ²³ Then Moses raised his shepherd’s rod toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. The Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. ²⁴ The hail and the lightning flashing in the middle of the hail were so severe that there had been nothing like it in the entire land of Egypt since it first became a nation. ²⁵ The hail beat down everything that was in the open field throughout the entire land of Egypt, both people and animals. The hail also beat down all the grain in the fields, and it shattered every tree out in the field. ²⁶ The only place where hail didn’t fall was in the land of Goshen where the Israelites lived.

²⁷ Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I’ve sinned. The Lord is right, and I and my people are wrong. ²⁸ Pray to the Lord! Enough of God’s thunder and hail! I’m going to let you go. You don’t need to stay here any longer.”

²⁹ Moses said to him, “As soon as I’ve left the city, I’ll spread out my hands to the Lord. Then the thunder and the hail will stop and won’t return so that you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord. ³⁰ But I know that you and your officials still don’t take the Lord God seriously.” (³¹ Now the flax and the barley were destroyed, because the barley had ears of grain and the flax had buds. ³² But both durum and spelt wheat weren’t ruined, because they hadn’t come up.) ³³ Moses left Pharaoh and the city, and spread out his hands to the Lord. Then the thunder and the hail stopped, and the rain stopped pouring down on the earth. ³⁴ But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he sinned again. Pharaoh and his officials became stubborn. ³⁵ Because of his stubbornness, Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had told Moses.

Jesus blesses children

¹³ Some people brought children to Jesus so that he would place his hands on them and pray. But the disciples scolded them. ¹⁴ “Allow the children to come to me,” Jesus said. “Don’t forbid them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like these children.” ¹⁵ Then he blessed the children and went away from there.

A rich man’s question

¹⁶ A man approached him and said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?”

¹⁷ Jesus said, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There’s only one who is good. If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸ The man said, “Which ones?”

Then Jesus said, “Don’t commit murder. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t steal. Don’t give false testimony. ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother,^[a] and love your neighbor as you love yourself.”^[b]

²⁰ The young man replied, “I’ve kept all these. What am I still missing?”

²¹ Jesus said, “If you want to be complete, go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come follow me.”

²² But when the young man heard this, he went away saddened, because he had many possessions.

Teaching about giving up things

²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I assure you that it will be very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴  In fact, it’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”

²⁵ When his disciples heard this, they were stunned. “Then who can be saved?” they asked.

²⁶ Jesus looked at them carefully and said, “It’s impossible for human beings. But all things are possible for God.”

²⁷ Then Peter replied, “Look, we’ve left everything and followed you. What will we have?”

²⁸ Jesus said to them, “I assure you who have followed me that, when everything is made new, when the Human One^[c] sits on his magnificent throne, you also will sit on twelve thrones overseeing the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And all who have left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or farms because of my name will receive one hundred times more and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last. And many who are last will be first.

Psalm 24

A psalm of David.

Wise advice

²² Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “My Lord, why have you abused this people? Why did you send me for this? ²³ Ever since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has abused this people. And you’ve done absolutely nothing to rescue your people.”

God reassures Moses

6 The Lord replied to Moses, “Now you will see what I’ll do to Pharaoh. In fact, he’ll be so eager to let them go that he’ll drive them out of his land by force.”

² God also said to Moses: “I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty,^[a] but I didn’t reveal myself to them by my name ‘The Lord.’ ⁴ I also set up my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan where they lived as immigrants. ⁵ I’ve also heard the cry of grief of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians have turned into slaves, and I’ve remembered my covenant. ⁶ Therefore, say to the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord. I’ll bring you out from Egyptian forced labor. I’ll rescue you from your slavery to them. I’ll set you free with great power and with momentous events of justice. ⁷ I’ll take you as my people, and I’ll be your God. You will know that I, the Lord, am your God, who has freed you from Egyptian forced labor. ⁸ I’ll bring you into the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I’ll give it to you as your possession. I am the Lord.’” ⁹ Moses told this to the Israelites. But they didn’t listen to Moses, because of their complete exhaustion and their hard labor.

¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Go and tell Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, to let the Israelites out of his land.”

¹² But Moses said to the Lord, “The Israelites haven’t even listened to me. How can I expect Pharaoh to listen to me, especially since I’m not a very good speaker?” ¹³ Nevertheless, the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, giving them orders to let the Israelites go from the land of Egypt.

Family line of Moses and Aaron

¹⁴ These were the leaders of their households.

The descendants of Reuben, Israel’s oldest son: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

These were Reuben’s clans. ¹⁵ The Simeonites: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, a Canaanite woman’s son. These were Simeon’s clans.

¹⁶ These were the Levites’ names by their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years. ¹⁷ The Gershonites: Libni and Shimei and their clans. ¹⁸ The Kohathites: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years. ¹⁹ The Merarites: Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their generations.

²⁰ Amram married Jochebed, his father’s sister. She gave birth to Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years. ²¹ The Izharites: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. ²² The Uzzielites: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. ²³ Aaron married Elisheba, Amminadab’s daughter and Nahshon’s sister. She gave birth to Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ²⁴ The Korahites: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans. ²⁵ Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of Putiel’s daughters. She gave birth to Phinehas. These were the leaders of Levite households by their clans.

²⁶ It was this same Aaron and Moses whom the Lord commanded, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt in military formation.” ²⁷ It was also this same Moses and Aaron who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

²⁸ At the time the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹ the Lord said to him, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, everything that I’ve said to you.”

³⁰ But Moses replied to the Lord, “Look, I’m not a very good speaker. How is Pharaoh ever going to listen to me?”

7 The Lord said to Moses, “See, I’ve made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. ² You will say everything that I command you, and your brother Aaron will tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites out of his land. ³ But I’ll make Pharaoh stubborn, and I’ll perform many of my signs and amazing acts in the land of Egypt. ⁴ When Pharaoh refuses to listen to you, then I’ll act against Egypt and I’ll bring my people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt in military formation by momentous events of justice. ⁵ The Egyptians will come to know that I am the Lord, when I act against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.” ⁶ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. ⁷ Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Turning rods into snakes

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Do one of your amazing acts,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your shepherd’s rod and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will turn into a cobra.’”^[b]

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw down his shepherd’s rod in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it turned into a cobra. ¹¹ Then Pharaoh called together his wise men and wizards, and Egypt’s religious experts^[c] did the same thing by using their secret knowledge. ¹² Each one threw down his rod, and they turned into cobras. But then Aaron’s rod swallowed up each of their rods. ¹³ However, Pharaoh remained stubborn. He wouldn’t listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

Water into blood

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh is stubborn. He still refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning. As he is going out to the water, make sure you stand at the bank of the Nile River so you will run into him. Bring along the shepherd’s rod that turned into a snake. ¹⁶ Say to him, The Lord, the Hebrews’ God, has sent me to you with this message: Let my people go so that they can worship me in the desert. Up to now you still haven’t listened. ¹⁷ This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord. I’m now going to hit the water of the Nile River with this rod in my hand, and it will turn into blood. ¹⁸ The fish in the Nile are going to die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians won’t be able to drink water from the Nile.” ¹⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your shepherd’s rod and stretch out your hand over Egypt’s waters—over their rivers, their canals, their marshes, and all their bodies of water—so that they turn into blood. There will be blood all over the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.’”

²⁰ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded. He raised the shepherd’s rod and hit the water in the Nile in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood. ²¹ The fish in the Nile died, and the Nile began to stink so that the Egyptians couldn’t drink water from the Nile. There was blood all over the land of Egypt. ²² But the Egyptian religious experts did the same thing with their secret knowledge. As a result, Pharaoh remained stubborn, and he wouldn’t listen to them, just as the Lord had said. ²³ Pharaoh turned and went back to his palace. He wasn’t impressed even by this. ²⁴ Meanwhile, all the Egyptians had to dig for drinking water along the banks of the Nile River, because they couldn’t drink the water of the Nile itself. ²⁵ Seven days went by after the Lord had struck the Nile River.

Parable of the unforgiving servant

²¹ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Should I forgive as many as seven times?”

²² Jesus said, “Not just seven times, but rather as many as seventy-seven times.^{[a] 23} Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he began to settle accounts, they brought to him a servant who owed him ten thousand bags of gold.^{[b] 25} Because the servant didn’t have enough to pay it back, the master ordered that he should be sold, along with his wife and children and everything he had, and that the proceeds should be used as payment. ²⁶ But the servant fell down, kneeled before him, and said, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I’ll pay you back.’ ²⁷ The master had compassion on that servant, released him, and forgave the loan.

²⁸ “When that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred coins.^[c] He grabbed him around the throat and said, ‘Pay me back what you owe me.’

²⁹ “Then his fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I’ll pay you back.’ ³⁰ But he refused. Instead, he threw him into prison until he paid back his debt.

³¹ “When his fellow servants saw what happened, they were deeply offended. They came and told their master all that happened. ³² His master called the first servant and said, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you appealed to me. ³³ Shouldn’t you also have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ His master was furious and handed him over to the guard responsible for punishing prisoners, until he had paid the whole debt.

³⁵ “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you if you don’t forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Teaching about divorce

19 When Jesus finished saying these things, he left Galilee and came to the area of Judea on the east side of the Jordan. ² Large crowds followed him, and he healed them. ³ Some Pharisees came to him. In order to test him, they said, “Does the Law allow a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

⁴ Jesus answered, “Haven’t you read that at the beginning the creator made them male and female?^{[d] 5} And God said, ‘Because of this a man should leave his father and mother and be joined together with his wife, and the two will be one flesh.’^{[e] 6}  So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, humans must not pull apart what God has put together.”

⁷ The Pharisees said to him, “Then why did Moses command us to give a divorce certificate and divorce her?”^[f]

⁸ Jesus replied, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because your hearts are unyielding. But it wasn’t that way from the beginning. ⁹  I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

¹⁰ His disciples said to him, “If that’s the way things are between a man and his wife, then it’s better not to marry.”

¹¹ He replied, “Not everybody can accept this teaching, but only those who have received the ability to accept it. ¹²  For there are eunuchs who have been eunuchs from birth. And there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by other people. And there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs because of the kingdom of heaven. Those who can accept it should accept it.”

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

Signs of power

4 Then Moses replied, “But what if they don’t believe me or pay attention to me? They might say to me, ‘The Lord didn’t appear to you!’”

² The Lord said to him, “What’s that in your hand?”

Moses replied, “A shepherd’s rod.”

³ The Lord said, “Throw it down on the ground.” So Moses threw it on the ground, and it turned into a snake. Moses jumped back from it. ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out and grab the snake by the tail.” So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a rod in his hand. ⁵ “Do this so that they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, Abraham’s God, Isaac’s God, and Jacob’s God has in fact appeared to you.”

⁶ Again, the Lord said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your coat.” So Moses put his hand inside his coat. When he took his hand out, his hand had a skin disease flaky like snow. ⁷ Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your coat.” So Moses put his hand back inside his coat. When he took it back out again, the skin of his hand had returned to normal. ⁸ “If they won’t believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second sign. ⁹ If they won’t believe even these two signs or pay attention to you, then take some water from the Nile River and pour it out on dry ground. The water that you take from the Nile will turn into blood on the dry ground.”

¹⁰ But Moses said to the Lord, “My Lord, I’ve never been able to speak well, not yesterday, not the day before, and certainly not now since you’ve been talking to your servant. I have a slow mouth and a thick tongue.”

¹¹ Then the Lord said to him, “Who gives people the ability to speak? Who’s responsible for making them unable to speak or hard of hearing, sighted or blind? Isn’t it I, the Lord? ¹² Now go! I’ll help you speak, and I’ll teach you what you should say.”

¹³ But Moses said, “Please, my Lord, just send someone else.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord got angry at Moses and said, “What about your brother Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak very well. He’s on his way out to meet you now, and he’s looking forward to seeing you. ¹⁵ Speak to him and tell him what he’s supposed to say. I’ll help both of you speak, and I’ll teach both of you what to do. ¹⁶ Aaron will speak for you to the people. He’ll be a spokesperson for you, and you will be like God for him. ¹⁷ Take this shepherd’s rod with you too so that you can do the signs.”

Moses goes back to Egypt

¹⁸ Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me go back to my family in Egypt and see whether or not they are still living.”

Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”

¹⁹ The Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt because everyone there who wanted to kill you has died.” ²⁰ So Moses took his wife and his children, put them on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. Moses also carried the shepherd’s rod from God in his hand.

²¹ The Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, make sure that you appear before Pharaoh and do all the amazing acts that I’ve given you the power to do. But I’ll make him stubborn so that he won’t let the people go. ²² Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my oldest son. ²³ I said to you, “Let my son go so he could worship me.” But you refused to let him go. As a result, now I’m going to kill your oldest son.’”

²⁴ During their journey, as they camped overnight, the Lord met Moses^[a] and tried to kill him. ²⁵ But Zipporah took a sharp-edged flint stone and cut off her son’s foreskin. Then she touched Moses’ genitals^[b] with it, and she said, “You are my bridegroom because of bloodshed.” ²⁶ So the Lord let him alone. At that time, she announced, “A bridegroom because of bloodshed by circumcision.”

²⁷ The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the desert to meet Moses.” So he went, and Aaron met him at God’s mountain and greeted him with a kiss. ²⁸ Moses told Aaron what the Lord had said about his mission and all the signs that the Lord had told him to do. ²⁹ Then Moses and Aaron called together all the Israelite elders. ³⁰ Aaron told them everything that the Lord had told to Moses, and he performed the signs in front of the people. ³¹ The people believed. When they heard that the Lord had paid attention to the Israelites and had seen their oppression, they bowed down and worshipped.

First meeting with Pharaoh

5 Afterward, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, Israel’s God, says: ‘Let my people go so that they can hold a festival for me in the desert.’”

² But Pharaoh said, “Who is this Lord whom I’m supposed to obey by letting Israel go? I don’t know this Lord, and I certainly won’t let Israel go.”

³ Then they said, “The Hebrews’ God has appeared to us. Let us go on a three-day journey into the desert so we can offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. Otherwise, the Lord will give us a deadly disease or violence.”

⁴ The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you making the people slack off from their work? Do the hard work yourselves!” ⁵ Pharaoh continued, “The land’s people are now numerous. Yet you want them to stop their hard work?”

⁶ On the very same day Pharaoh commanded the people’s slave masters and supervisors, ⁷ “Don’t supply the people with the straw they need to make bricks like you did before. Let them go out and gather the straw for themselves. ⁸ But still make sure that they produce the same number of bricks as they made before. Don’t reduce the number! They are weak and lazy, and that’s why they cry, ‘Let’s go and offer sacrifices to our God.’ ⁹ Make the men’s work so hard that it’s all they can do, and they can’t focus on these empty lies.”

¹⁰ So the people’s slave masters and supervisors came out and spoke to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says, ‘I’m not giving you straw anymore. ¹¹ Go and get the straw on your own, wherever you can find it. But your work won’t be reduced at all.’” ¹² So the people spread out all through the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³ The slave masters drove them hard and said, “Make sure you make the same daily quota as when you had the straw.” ¹⁴ The Israelite supervisors, whom Pharaoh’s slave masters had set over them, were also beaten and asked, “Why didn’t you produce the same number of bricks yesterday and today as you did before?”

¹⁵ Then the Israelite supervisors came and pleaded to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? ¹⁶ No straw is supplied to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look at how your servants are being beaten! Your own people are to blame!”

¹⁷ Pharaoh replied, “You are lazy bums, nothing but lazy bums. That’s why you say, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ Go and get back to work! No straw will be given to you, but you still need to make the same number of bricks.”

¹⁹ The Israelite supervisors saw how impossible their situation was when they were commanded, “Don’t reduce your daily quota of bricks.” ²⁰ When they left Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them. ²¹ The supervisors said to them, “Let the Lord see and judge what you’ve done! You’ve made us stink in the opinion of Pharaoh and his servants. You’ve given them a reason to kill us.”

Greatest in the kingdom

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

² Then he called a little child over to sit among the disciples, ³ and said, “I assure you that if you don’t turn your lives around and become like this little child, you will definitely not enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Those who humble themselves like this little child will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Falling into sin

⁶ “As for whoever causes these little ones who believe in me to trip and fall into sin, it would be better for them to have a huge stone hung around their necks and be drowned in the bottom of the lake. ⁷ How terrible it is for the world because of the things that cause people to trip and fall into sin! Such things have to happen, but how terrible it is for the person who causes those things to happen! ⁸ If your hand or your foot causes you to fall into sin, chop it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter into life crippled or lame than to be thrown into the eternal fire with two hands or two feet. ⁹ If your eye causes you to fall into sin, tear it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter into life with one eye than to be cast into a burning hell with two eyes.

Parable of the lost sheep

¹⁰ “Be careful that you don’t look down on one of these little ones. I say to you that their angels in heaven are always looking into the face of my Father who is in heaven.^{[a] 12} What do you think? If someone had one hundred sheep and one of them wandered off, wouldn’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillsides and go in search for the one that wandered off? ¹³ If he finds it, I assure you that he is happier about having that one sheep than about the ninety-nine who didn’t wander off. ¹⁴ In the same way, my Father who is in heaven doesn’t want to lose one of these little ones.

Sinning brother or sister

¹⁵ “If your brother or sister sins against you, go and correct them when you are alone together. If they listen to you, then you’ve won over your brother or sister. ¹⁶  But if they won’t listen, take with you one or two others so that every word may be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses.^{[b] 17}  But if they still won’t pay attention, report it to the church. If they won’t pay attention even to the church, treat them as you would a Gentile and tax collector. ¹⁸  I assure you that whatever you fasten on earth will be fastened in heaven. And whatever you loosen on earth will be loosened in heaven. ¹⁹  Again I assure you that if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, then my Father who is in heaven will do it for you. ²⁰  For where two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there with them.”

Moses Flees to Midian

¹¹ One day, ^(A)when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their ^(B)burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.^{[a] 12} He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he ^(C)struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ When ^(D)he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” ¹⁴ He answered, ^(E)“Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” ¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But ^(F)Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by ^(G)a well.

¹⁶ Now the ^(H)priest of Midian had seven daughters, and ^(I)they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. ¹⁷ The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and ^(J)watered their flock. ¹⁸ When they came home to their father ^(K)Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” ¹⁹ They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and ^(L)watered the flock.” ²⁰ He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may ^(M)eat bread.” ²¹ And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter ^(N)Zipporah. ²² She gave birth to a son, and he called his name ^(O)Gershom, for he said, “I have been a ^(P)sojourner^[b] in a foreign land.”

God Hears Israel's Groaning

^23 (Q)During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel ^(R)groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. ^(S)Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. ²⁴ And ^(T)God heard their groaning, and God ^(U)remembered his covenant with ^(V)Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. ²⁵ God ^(W)saw the people of Israel—and God ^(X)knew.

The Burning Bush

3 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the ^(Y)mountain of God. ^2 (Z)And ^(AA)the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. ³ And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” ⁴ When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, ^(AB)God called to him ^(AC)out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵ Then he said, “Do not come near; ^(AD)take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ And he said, ^(AE)“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for ^(AF)he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ Then the Lord said, ^(AG)“I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their ^(AH)taskmasters. I know their sufferings, ⁸ and ^(AI)I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and ^(AJ)to bring them up out of that land to a ^(AK)good and broad land, a land ^(AL)flowing with milk and honey, to the place of ^(AM)the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹ And now, behold, ^(AN)the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the ^(AO)oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ^10 (AP)Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” ¹¹ But Moses said to God, ^(AQ)“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹² He said, ^(AR)“But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, ^(AS)you shall serve God on this mountain.”

¹³ Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”^[c] And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ^(AT)‘I am has sent me to you.’” ¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord,^[d] the ^(AU)God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is ^(AV)my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. ¹⁶ Go and ^(AW)gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, ^(AX)“I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, ¹⁷ and I promise that ^(AY)I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land ^(AZ)flowing with milk and honey.”’ ¹⁸ And ^(BA)they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel ^(BB)shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has ^(BC)met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ ¹⁹ But I know that the king of Egypt ^(BD)will not let you go unless compelled ^(BE)by a mighty hand.^{[e] 20} So ^(BF)I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with ^(BG)all the wonders that I will do in it; ^(BH)after that he will let you go. ²¹ And ^(BI)I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, ²² but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for ^(BJ)silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So ^(BK)you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

¹⁰ And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say ^(A)that first Elijah must come?” ¹¹ He answered, “Elijah does come, and ^(B)he will restore all things. ¹² But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but ^(C)did to him whatever they pleased. ^(D)So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” ^13 (E)Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

^14 (F)And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, ¹⁵ said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has ^(G)seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. ¹⁶ And I brought him to your disciples, and ^(H)they could not heal him.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered, “O faithless and ^(I)twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? ^(J)How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” ¹⁸ And Jesus ^(K)rebuked the demon,^[a] and it^[b] came out of him, and ^(L)the boy was healed instantly.^{[c] 19} Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁰ He said to them, ^(M)“Because of your little faith. For ^(N)truly, I say to you, ^(O)if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, ^(P)you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and ^(Q)nothing will be impossible for you.”^[d]

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

^22 (R)As they were gathering^[e] in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, ²³ and they will kill him, and he will be raised on ^(S)the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

The Temple Tax

^24 (T)When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of ^(U)the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” ²⁵ He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ^(V)“What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or ^(W)tax? From their sons or from others?” ²⁶ And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. ²⁷ However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.^[f] Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

50 Then Joseph ^(A)fell on his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. ² And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to ^(B)embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. ³ Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians ^(C)wept for him seventy days.

⁴ And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, ^(D)“If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, ⁵ ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb ^(E)that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.’” ⁶ And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.” ⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, ⁸ as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left ^(F)in the land of Goshen. ⁹ And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. ¹⁰ When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, ^(G)they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he ^(H)made a mourning for his father seven days. ¹¹ When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim;^[a] it is beyond the Jordan. ¹² Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, ¹³ for ^(I)his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham ^(J)bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. ¹⁴ After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

God's Good Purposes

¹⁵ When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” ¹⁶ So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ¹⁷ ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of ^(K)the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸ His brothers also came and ^(L)fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” ¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for ^(M)am I in the place of God? ²⁰ As for you, you meant evil against me, but ^(N)God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people^[b] should be kept alive, as they are today. ²¹ So do not fear; ^(O)I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

The Death of Joseph

²² So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years. ²³ And Joseph saw Ephraim's children ^(P)of the third generation. The ^(Q)children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were ^(R)counted as Joseph's own.^{[c] 24} And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but ^(S)God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land ^(T)that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” ²⁵ Then ^(U)Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” ²⁶ So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They ^(V)embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Israel Increases Greatly in Egypt

1 ^(W)These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: ² Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, ³ Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, ⁴ Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. ⁵ All the descendants of Jacob were ^(X)seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. ⁶ Then ^(Y)Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. ^7 (Z)But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

Pharaoh Oppresses Israel

⁸ Now there arose a new king over Egypt, ^(AA)who did not know Joseph. ⁹ And he said to his people, “Behold, ^(AB)the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. ^10 (AC)Come, ^(AD)let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” ¹¹ Therefore they set taskmasters over them ^(AE)to afflict them with heavy ^(AF)burdens. They built for Pharaoh ^(AG)store cities, Pithom and ^(AH)Raamses. ¹² But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. ¹³ So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel ^(AI)work as slaves ¹⁴ and ^(AJ)made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

¹⁵ Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, ¹⁶ “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” ¹⁷ But the midwives ^(AK)feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. ¹⁸ So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” ¹⁹ The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” ^20 (AL)So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. ²¹ And because the midwives feared God, ^(AM)he gave them families. ²² Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, ^(AN)“Every son that is born to the Hebrews^[d] you shall cast into ^(AO)the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

The Birth of Moses

2 Now a ^(AP)man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. ² The woman conceived and bore a son, and ^(AQ)when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. ³ When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes^[e] and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the ^(AR)reeds by the river bank. ⁴ And ^(AS)his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. ⁵ Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. ⁶ When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews' children.” ⁷ Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” ⁸ And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child's mother. ⁹ And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became ^(AT)her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I ^(AU)drew him out of the water.”^[f]

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^13 (A)Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say ^(B)John the Baptist, others say ^(C)Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, ^(D)“You are ^(E)the Christ, ^(F)the Son of ^(G)the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, ^(H)“Blessed are you, ^(I)Simon Bar-Jonah! For ^(J)flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, ^(K)but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, ^(L)you are Peter, and ^(M)on this rock^[a] I will build my church, and ^(N)the gates of ^(O)hell^[b] shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you ^(P)the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and ^(Q)whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed^[c] in heaven.” ^20 (R)Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

^21 (S)From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that ^(T)he must go to Jerusalem and ^(U)suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^(V)the third day be raised. ²² And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!^[d] This shall never happen to you.” ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, ^(W)“Get behind me, Satan! You are ^(X)a hindrance^[e] to me. For you ^(Y)are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^(Z)deny himself and ^(AA)take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For ^(AB)whoever would save his life^[f] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For ^(AC)what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or ^(AD)what shall a man give in return for his soul? ^27 (AE)For the Son of Man is going to come with ^(AF)his angels in the glory of his Father, and ^(AG)then he will repay each person according to what he has done. ²⁸ Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not ^(AH)taste death ^(AI)until they see the Son of Man ^(AJ)coming in his kingdom.”

The Transfiguration

17 ^(AK)And after six days Jesus took with him ^(AL)Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² And he was ^(AM)transfigured before them, and ^(AN)his face shone like the sun, and ^(AO)his clothes became white as light. ³ And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴ And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for ^(AP)Elijah.” ⁵ He was still speaking when, behold, ^(AQ)a bright cloud overshadowed them, and ^(AR)a voice from the cloud said, ^(AS)“This is my beloved Son,^[g] with whom I am well pleased; ^(AT)listen to him.” ⁶ When ^(AU)the disciples heard this, ^(AV)they fell on their faces and were terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and ^(AW)touched them, saying, “Rise, and ^(AX)have no fear.” ⁸ And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

^9 (AY)And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, ^(AZ)“Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”

The King Rejoices in the Lord's Strength

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

Warning Against Adultery

Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

48 After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ² And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. ³ And Jacob said to Joseph, ^(A)“God Almighty^[a] appeared to me at ^(B)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, ⁴ and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you ^(C)for an everlasting possession.’ ⁵ And now your ^(D)two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, ^(E)are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. ⁶ And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. ⁷ As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow ^(F)Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance^[b] to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

⁸ When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, “Who are these?” ⁹ Joseph said to his father, ^(G)“They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that ^(H)I may bless them.” ¹⁰ Now ^(I)the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, ^(J)and he kissed them and embraced them. ¹¹ And Israel said to Joseph, ^(K)“I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” ¹² Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. ¹³ And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him. ^14 (L)And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, ^(M)crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). ¹⁵ And he blessed Joseph and said,

¹⁷ When Joseph saw that his father ^(S)laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. ¹⁸ And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” ¹⁹ But his father refused and said, ^(T)“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, ^(U)his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude^[d] of nations.” ²⁰ So he blessed them that day, saying,

Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but ^(W)God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. ²² Moreover, I have given to ^(X)you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope^[e] that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”

Jacob Blesses His Sons

49 ^(Y)Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you ^(Z)in days to come.

Jacob's Death and Burial

²⁸ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. ²⁹ Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am to be ^(BQ)gathered to my people; ^(BR)bury me with my fathers ^(BS)in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰ in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, ^(BT)which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. ^31 (BU)There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There ^(BV)they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— ³² the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites.” ³³ When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and ^(BW)was gathered to his people.

Jesus Heals Many

^29 (A)Jesus went on from there and walked ^(B)beside the Sea of Galilee. And he ^(C)went up on the mountain and sat down there. ³⁰ And great crowds came to him, bringing with them ^(D)the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, ^31 (E)so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, ^(F)the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And ^(G)they glorified ^(H)the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

^32 (I)Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ^(J)“I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” ³³ And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” ³⁴ And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, ^(K)“Seven, and a few small fish.” ³⁵ And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, ³⁶ he took the seven loaves and the fish, and ^(L)having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ³⁷ And ^(M)they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. ³⁸ Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹ And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of ^(N)Magadan.

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

16 ^(O)And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and ^(P)to test him ^(Q)they asked him to show them ^(R)a sign from heaven. ² He answered them,^{[a] (S)}“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^(T)You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret ^(U)the signs of the times. ^4 (V)An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So ^(W)he left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

⁵ When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶ Jesus said to them, “Watch and ^(X)beware of ^(Y)the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷ And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” ⁸ But ^(Z)Jesus, aware of this, said, ^(AA)“O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? ^9 (AB)Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember ^(AC)the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹⁰ Or ^(AD)the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹¹ How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? ^(AE)Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ^12 (AF)Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of ^(AG)the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.