The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday January 28, 2017 (NIV)

²² So Moses returned to the Lord and asked him, “Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? Why have you sent me here? ²³ Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has caused trouble for this people, and you have done nothing to deliver your people.”

God Promises to Deliver Israel

6 The Lord told Moses, “Now you’re about to see what I’ll do to Pharaoh. Indeed, he’ll send them out under compulsion^[a] and he’ll drive them out of his land violently.”^[b]

² Later, God told Moses, “I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty,^[c] and did I not reveal to them my name ‘Lord’? ⁴ I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land where they lived as resident aliens for a time. ⁵ Also, I’ve heard the groaning of the Israelis whom the Egyptians have forced to labor for them, and I’ve remembered my covenant. ⁶ Therefore, tell the Israelis, ‘I am the Lord. I’ll bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I’ll deliver you from their bondage. I’ll redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.^{[d] 7} I’ll take you for my own people,^[e] and I’ll be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ⁸ I’ll bring you to the land that I swore^[f] to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I’ll give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”

⁹ Then Moses reported this to the Israelis, but they did not listen to Moses due to their irritation and impatience because there was no deliverance^[g] and because of the cruel bondage.

¹⁰ Then the Lord told Moses, ¹¹ “Go, speak to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, that he should let the Israelis go out of his land.”

¹² Then Moses said right in front of the Lord, “Look, the Israelis didn’t listen to me, so how will Pharaoh? I’m not a persuasive speaker.”^{[h] 13} Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, issuing orders to them regarding the Israelis for delivery to Pharaoh, king of Egypt; that is, to bring the Israelis out of the land of Egypt.

Genealogies of Moses and Aaron

¹⁴ These are the heads of their ancestors’ households: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch and Pallu; Hezron and Carmi.

These are the families of Reuben, including ¹⁵ Simeon’s sons Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the Canaanite woman’s son. These are the families of Simeon.

¹⁶ These are the names of Levi’s sons according to their genealogies: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived^[i] 137 years. ¹⁷ Gershon’s sons were Libni and Shimei, according to their families. ¹⁸ Kohath’s descendants included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Now Kohath lived for 133 years. ¹⁹ The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the descendants of Levi, according to their genealogies.

²⁰ Amram married Jochebed, his father’s sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived for 137 years. ²¹ The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. ²² The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

²³ Then Aaron married Elisheba daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon. She bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ²⁴ The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These were the families of the descendants of Korah. ²⁵ Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of Putiel’s daughters, and she bore him Phineas. These are the heads of the ancestors of the descendants of Levi, according to their families.

²⁶ This is the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelis out of the land of Egypt by their tribal divisions.” ²⁷ They were the ones speaking to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the Israelis out of Egypt; this is that same Moses and Aaron.

Moses Doubts that Pharaoh will Listen

²⁸ And it happened when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt ²⁹ that the Lord told Moses, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, everything that I’m saying to you.”

³⁰ Moses said in the presence of the Lord, “Look, I’m not a persuasive speaker,^[j] so how will Pharaoh listen to me?”

God Appoints Aaron to Assist Moses

7 The Lord told Moses, “Listen! I’ve positioned you as God^[k] to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. ² You are to speak everything that I’ve commanded you, and then your brother Aaron will speak to Pharaoh, telling him to let the Israelis go out of his land. ³ I’ll harden Pharaoh’s heart and I’ll add more and more of my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. ⁴ When Pharaoh won’t listen to you, I’ll let loose my power^[l] upon Egypt. I’ll bring out my tribal divisions—my people the Israelis—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment.^{[m] 5} The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand over Egypt to bring the Israelis out from among them.” ⁶ Moses and Aaron did what the Lord commanded them. ⁷ Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Moses’ Staff Becomes a Snake

⁸ Then the Lord told Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miraculous sign,’ then you are to say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it in front of Pharaoh.’ It will become a serpent.”

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and did what the Lord had commanded them. Aaron threw his staff in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent. ¹¹ Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and sorcerers, and they—along with the Egyptian magicians—did the same thing with their secret arts. ¹² So each one threw down his staff and it became a serpent, but Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³ Yet Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn^[n] and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said would happen.

Water is Turned into Blood

¹⁴ Then the Lord told Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hard. He has refused to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he’s going down to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile River^[o] and meet him. Be sure to take with you^[p] the staff that was turned into a snake. ¹⁶ Then say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you. He says, “Let my people go so they may serve^[q] me in the desert, but until now you haven’t obeyed.”’^[r]

¹⁷ “‘This is what the Lord says: “This is how you’ll know that I am the Lord: Right now I’m going to strike the water of the Nile River^[s] with the staff that’s in my hand, and it will be turned to blood. ¹⁸ The fish in the Nile River^[t] will die and the river^[u] will stink. The Egyptians will be unable^[v] to drink water from the Nile River.^[w]”’”

¹⁹ The Lord also told Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their Nile River^[x], over their ponds, and over their reservoirs,^[y] and they’ll become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in their^[z] wood and stone containers.’”^[aa]

²⁰ Moses and Aaron did just what the Lord had commanded. Aaron^[ab] raised his staff and struck the water in the Nile River^[ac] in front of^[ad] Pharaoh and his^[ae] officials,^[af] and all the water in the Nile River^[ag] turned to blood. ²¹ The fish in the Nile River^[ah] died and the river^[ai] stank. The Egyptians were not able to drink water from the Nile River,^[aj] and blood was throughout the land of Egypt. ²² But the Egyptian magicians did the same thing^[ak] with their secret arts. Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn,^[al] and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. ²³ Then Pharaoh turned away, went to his palace, and paid no attention to any of this. ²⁴ All the Egyptians dug around the Nile River^[am] for water to drink because they could not drink from the water in the Nile River.^[an]

The Parable about an Unforgiving Servant

²¹ Then Peter came up and asked him, “Lord, how many times may my brother sin against me and I have to forgive him? Seven times?”

²² Jesus told him, “I tell you, not just seven times, but 77 times!^{[a] 23} “That is why the kingdom from^[b] heaven may be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he had begun to settle the accounts, a person who owed him 10,000 talents^[c] was brought to him. ²⁵ Because he couldn’t pay, his master ordered him, his wife, his children, and everything that he owned to be sold so that payment could be made. ²⁶ Then the servant fell down and bowed low before him, saying, ‘Be patient^[d] with me, and I will repay you everything!’ ²⁷ The master of that servant had compassion and released him, canceling his debt.

²⁸ “But when that servant went away, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.^[e] He grabbed him, seized him by the throat, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’ ²⁹ Then his fellow servant fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me and I will repay you!’ ³⁰ But he refused and had him thrown into prison until he could repay the debt.

³¹ “When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were very disturbed and went and reported to their master everything that had occurred. ³² Then his master sent for him and told him, ‘You evil servant! I canceled that entire debt for you because you begged me. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers until he could repay the entire debt. ³⁵ This is how my heavenly Father will treat each one of you unless you forgive your brother from your hearts.”

Teaching about Divorce^(A)

19 When Jesus had finished saying these things,^[f] he left Galilee and went to the territory of Judea on the other side^[g] of the Jordan. ² Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ Some Pharisees came to him in order to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man^[h] to divorce his wife for any reason?”

⁴ He answered them, “Haven’t you read that the one who made^[i] them at the beginning ‘made them male and female’^{[j] 5} and said, ‘That is why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?^{[k] 6} So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must never separate.”

⁷ They asked him, “Why, then, did Moses order us ‘to give a certificate of divorce and divorce her’?”^[l]

⁸ He told them, “It was because of your hardness of heart that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives. But from the beginning it was not this way. ⁹ I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”^[m]

¹⁰ His disciples asked him, “If that is the relationship of a man with his wife, it’s not worth getting married!”

¹¹ “Not everyone can accept this saying,” he replied, “except those to whom celibacy^[n] has been granted, ¹² because some men are celibate from birth,^[o] while some are celibate because they have been made that way by others. Still others are celibate because they have made themselves that way for the sake of the kingdom from^[p] heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”

A Davidic Psalm.

The Lord Shepherds His People