The Burning Bush

3 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law ^(A)Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the ^[a]west side of the wilderness and came to ^(B)Horeb, the ^(C)mountain of God. ² Then ^(D)the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of ^[b]a ^(E)bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed. ³ So Moses said, “^(F)I must turn aside and see this ^[c]marvelous sight, why the bush is not burning up!” ⁴ When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, ^(G)God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵ Then He said, “Do not come near here; ^(H)remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ And He said, “^(I)I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” ^(J)Then Moses hid his face, for he was ^(K)afraid to look at God.

⁷ And the Lord said, “I have certainly ^(L)seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. ⁸ So I have come down ^(M)to rescue them from the ^[d]power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a ^(N)good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of ^(O)the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. ⁹ And now, behold, ^(P)the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.

The Mission of Moses

¹⁰ And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, ^(Q)so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” ¹¹ But Moses said to God, “^(R)Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹² And He said, “Assuredly ^(S)I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: ^(T)when you have brought the people out of Egypt, ^(U)you shall ^[e]worship God at this mountain.”

¹³ Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” ¹⁴ And God said to Moses, “^[f](V)I AM WHO ^[g]I AM”; and He said, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘^[h]I AM has sent me to you.’” ¹⁵ God furthermore said to Moses, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘^(W)The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is the ^[i](X)name for ^[j]all generations to use to call upon Me. ¹⁶ Go and ^(Y)gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘^(Z)The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has appeared to me, saying, “^[k](AA)I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt. ¹⁷ So ^(AB)I said, I will bring you up out of the oppression of Egypt to the land of ^(AC)the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land ^(AD)flowing with milk and honey.”’ ¹⁸ Then ^(AE)they will ^[l]pay attention to what you say; and ^(AF)you with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt, and you will say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, please let us go a ^(AG)three days’ journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ ¹⁹ But I know that the king of Egypt ^(AH)will not permit you to go, ^(AI)except ^[m]under compulsion. ²⁰ So I will reach out with ^(AJ)My hand and strike Egypt with all My ^(AK)miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and ^(AL)after that he will let you go. ²¹ I will grant this people ^(AM)favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty-handed. ²² But every woman ^(AN)shall ask her neighbor and the woman who lives in her house for articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will ^(AO)plunder the Egyptians.”

Moses Given Signs

4 Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or ^(AP)listen ^[n]to what I say? For they may say, ‘^(AQ)The Lord has not appeared to you.’” ² The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “^(AR)A staff.” ³ Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and ^(AS)it turned into a serpent; and Moses fled from it. ⁴ But the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he reached out with his hand and caught it, and it turned into a staff in his ^[o]hand— ⁵ “so that ^(AT)they may believe that ^(AU)the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

⁶ The Lord furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand inside the fold of your robe.” So he put his hand inside the fold, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was ^(AV)leprous like snow. ⁷ Then He said, “Put your hand inside the fold of your robe again.” So he put his hand into the fold again, and when he took it out of the fold, behold, ^(AW)it was restored like the rest of his flesh. ⁸ “So if they will not believe you nor ^[p]pay attention to the ^[q]evidence of the first ^[r]sign, they may believe the ^[s]evidence of the last ^[t]sign. ⁹ But if they will not believe even these two ^[u]signs nor pay attention to what you say, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take from the Nile ^(AX)will turn into blood on the dry ground.”

¹⁰ Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, ^(AY)I have never been ^[v]eloquent, neither ^[w]recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am ^[x]slow of speech and ^[y]slow of tongue.” ¹¹ But the Lord said to him, “Who has made the human mouth? Or ^(AZ)who makes anyone unable to speak or deaf, or able to see or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹² Now then go, and ^(BA)I Myself will be with your mouth, and ^(BB)instruct you in what you are to say.” ¹³ But he said, “Please, Lord, now send the message by ^[z]whomever You will.”

Aaron to Be Moses’ Mouthpiece

¹⁴ Then the anger of the Lord burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that ^[aa]he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, ^(BC)he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be ^[ab]overjoyed. ¹⁵ So you are to speak to him and ^(BD)put the words in his mouth; and I Myself will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you in what you are to do. ^16 (BE)He shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him. ¹⁷ And you shall take in your hand ^(BF)this staff, ^(BG)with which you shall perform the signs.”

¹⁸ Then Moses departed and returned to ^(BH)his father-in-law ^[ac]Jethro, and said to him, “Please, let me go, that I may return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” ¹⁹ Now the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go ^[ad]back to Egypt, for ^(BI)all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” ²⁰ So Moses took his wife and his ^(BJ)sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the ^(BK)staff of God in his hand.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go ^[ae]back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all ^(BL)the wonders which I have put in your ^[af]power; but ^(BM)I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. ²² Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: “^(BN)Israel is My son, My firstborn. ²³ So I said to you, ‘^(BO)Let My son go so that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, ^(BP)I am going to kill your son, your firstborn.”’”

²⁴ But it came about at the overnight encampment on the way, that the Lord met ^[ag]Moses, and ^(BQ)sought to put him to death. ²⁵ So Zipporah took ^(BR)a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and ^[ah]threw it at Moses’ feet; and she said, “You are indeed a groom of blood to me!” ²⁶ So He left him alone. At that time she said, “You are a groom of blood”—^[ai]because of the circumcision.

^27 (BS)Now the Lord said to Aaron, “Go to meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the ^(BT)mountain of God and kissed him. ^28 (BU)Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which He had sent him, and ^(BV)all the signs that He had commanded him to do. ²⁹ Then Moses and Aaron went and ^(BW)assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel; ³⁰ and ^(BX)Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. He then performed the ^(BY)signs in the sight of the people. ³¹ So ^(BZ)the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord ^[aj](CA)was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, ^(CB)they bowed low and worshiped.

Israel’s Labor Increased

5 And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “^(CC)This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘^(CD)Let My people go so that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’” ² But Pharaoh said, “^(CE)Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, ^(CF)I will not let Israel go.” ³ Then they said, “^(CG)The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, otherwise He will strike us with plague or with the sword.” ⁴ But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you let the people neglect their ^[ak]work? Get back to your ^(CH)labors!” ⁵ Again Pharaoh said, “Look, ^(CI)the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!” ⁶ So the same day Pharaoh commanded ^(CJ)the taskmasters over the people and their ^(CK)foremen, saying, ⁷ “You are no longer to give the people straw to make bricks as previously; have them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ But you shall impose on them the quota of bricks which they were making before; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are ^(CL)lazy, for that reason they cry ^[al]out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Let the labor be heavier on the men, and have them work at it so that they will pay no attention to false words.”

¹⁰ So ^(CM)the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am not going to give you any straw. ¹¹ You go, get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it; but none of your labor will be reduced.’” ¹² So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³ And the taskmasters pressed them, saying, “Complete your ^[am]work quota, ^[an]your daily amount, just as when ^[ao]you had straw.” ¹⁴ Moreover, ^(CN)the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, ^(CO)were beaten ^[ap]and asked, “Why have you not completed your required task of making bricks either yesterday or today, as before?”

¹⁵ Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you deal this way with your servants? ¹⁶ There is no straw given to your servants, yet they keep saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are being beaten; but it is the fault of your own people.” ¹⁷ But he said, “You are ^(CP)lazy, very lazy; for that reason you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ So go now and work; for you will be given no straw, but you must deliver the quota of bricks.” ¹⁹ The foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble, ^[aq]since they were told, “You must not reduce ^[ar]your daily amount of bricks.” ²⁰ When they left Pharaoh’s presence, they met Moses and Aaron as they were ^[as]waiting for them. ²¹ And ^(CQ)they said to them, “^(CR)May the Lord look upon you and judge you, because you have ^(CS)made ^[at]us repulsive in Pharaoh’s sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us!”

²² Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “^(CT)Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me? ²³ Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, ^(CU)and You have not rescued Your people at all.”

Preparing the Passover

22 ^(A)Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the ^(B)Passover, was approaching. ² And the chief priests and the scribes ^(C)were trying to find ^[a]a way to put Him to death, since they were afraid of the people.

^3 (D)And ^(E)Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, ^[b]who belonged to the number of the twelve. ⁴ And he left and discussed with the chief priests and ^(F)officers how he was to betray Him to them. ⁵ And they were delighted, and agreed to give him money. ⁶ And so he consented, and began looking for a good opportunity to betray Him to them ^[c]away from the crowd.

^7 (G)Now the first day of Unleavened Bread came, on which ^(H)the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. ⁸ And so Jesus sent ^(I)Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.” ⁹ They said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare it?” ¹⁰ And He said to them, “When you have entered the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him into the house that he enters. ¹¹ And you shall say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ ¹² And he will show you a large, furnished upstairs room; prepare it there.” ¹³ And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

The Lord’s Supper

^14 (J)When the hour came, He reclined at the table, and ^(K)the apostles with Him. ¹⁵ And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶ for I say to you, I shall not eat it again ^(L)until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ^17 (M)And when He had taken a cup and ^(N)given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; ¹⁸ for ^(O)I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ And when He had taken some bread and ^(P)given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁰ And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is ^(Q)poured out for you, is the ^(R)new covenant in My blood. ^21 (S)But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with ^[d]Mine on the table. ²² For indeed, the Son of Man is going ^(T)as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” ²³ And they began to debate among themselves which one of them it was who was going to do this.

Who Is Greatest

²⁴ And ^(U)a dispute also developed among them as to which one of them was regarded as being the greatest. ^25 (V)And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles domineer over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ ²⁶ But it is not this way for you; ^(W)rather, the one who is the greatest among you must become like ^(X)the youngest, and the leader like the servant. ²⁷ For ^(Y)who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But ^(Z)I am among you as the one who serves.

²⁸ “You are the ones who have stood by Me in My ^(AA)trials; ²⁹ and just as My Father has granted Me a ^(AB)kingdom, I grant you ³⁰ that you may ^(AC)eat and drink at My table in My ^(AD)kingdom, and ^(AE)you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

³¹ “Simon, Simon, behold, ^(AF)Satan has ^[e]demanded to ^(AG)sift you men like wheat; ³² but I ^(AH)have prayed for ^[f]you, that ^[g]your faith will not fail; and ^[h]you, when you have ^[i]turned back, ^(AI)strengthen your brothers.” ^33 (AJ)But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death!” ³⁴ But He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”

³⁵ And He said to them, “^(AK)When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They said, “No, nothing.” ³⁶ And He said to them, “But now, ^[j]whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and ^[k]whoever has no sword is to sell his ^[l]cloak and buy one. ³⁷ For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me: ‘^(AL)And He was counted with wrongdoers’; for ^(AM)that which refers to Me has its ^[m]fulfillment.” ³⁸ They said, “Lord, look, here are two ^(AN)swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”

The Garden of Gethsemane

^39 (AO)And He came out and went, ^(AP)as was His habit, to ^(AQ)the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. ^40 (AR)Now when He arrived at the place, He said to them, “^(AS)Pray that you do not come into temptation.” ⁴¹ And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He ^(AT)knelt down and began to pray, ⁴² saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this ^(AU)cup from Me; ^(AV)yet not My will, but Yours be done.” ⁴³ [^[n]Now an ^(AW)angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. ⁴⁴ And ^(AX)being in agony, He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground]. ⁴⁵ When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, ⁴⁶ and He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and ^(AY)pray that you do not come into temptation.”

Jesus Betrayed by Judas

^47 (AZ)While He was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading the way for them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. ⁴⁸ But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” ⁴⁹ When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the ^(BA)sword?” ⁵⁰ And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. ⁵¹ But Jesus responded and said, “^[o]Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him. ⁵² And Jesus said to the chief priests and ^(BB)officers of the temple and elders who had come against Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs ^(BC)as you would against a man inciting a revolt? ⁵³ While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but ^[p]this hour and the power of darkness are yours.”

Jesus’ Arrest

^54 (BD)Now they arrested Him and led Him away, and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but ^(BE)Peter was following at a distance. ^55 (BF)After they kindled a fire in the middle of ^(BG)the courtyard and sat down together, Peter was sitting among them. ⁵⁶ And a slave woman, seeing him as he sat in the firelight, and staring at him, said, “This man was with Him as well.” ⁵⁷ But he denied it, saying, “I do not know Him, woman!” ⁵⁸ And a little later, ^(BH)another person saw him and said, “You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” ⁵⁹ And after about an hour had passed, some other man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, ^(BI)for he, too, is a Galilean.” ⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” And immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. ⁶¹ And then ^(BJ)the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “^(BK)Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” ⁶² And he went out and wept bitterly.

^63 (BL)The men who were holding ^[q]Jesus in custody began mocking Him and beating Him, ⁶⁴ and they blindfolded Him and repeatedly asked Him, saying, “^(BM)Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?” ⁶⁵ And they were saying many other things against Him, ^(BN)blaspheming.

Jesus before the Sanhedrin

^66 (BO)When it was day, ^(BP)the ^[r]Council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their ^(BQ)council chamber, saying, ⁶⁷ “^(BR)If You are the ^[s]Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; ⁶⁸ and if I ask a question, you will not answer. ^69 (BS)But from now on ^(BT)the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” ⁷⁰ And they all said, “So You are ^(BU)the Son of God?” And He said to them, “^(BV)You say correctly that I am.” ⁷¹ And then they said, “What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth!”