A Final Plague Threatened

11 The Lord said to Moses, “Yet ^(A)one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. ^(B)When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. ² Speak now in the hearing of the people, that ^(C)they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” ^3 (D)And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people.

⁴ So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ^(E)‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, ⁵ and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is ^(F)behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. ^6 (G)There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. ⁷ But not a dog shall growl ^(H)against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord ^(I)makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ ⁸ And ^(J)all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(K)“Pharaoh will not listen to you, that ^(L)my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

¹⁰ Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord ^(M)hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.

The Passover

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ^2 (N)“This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. ³ Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb ^(O)according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. ⁴ And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. ⁵ Your lamb shall be ^(P)without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, ⁶ and you shall keep it until the ^(Q)fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.^[a]

⁷ “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the ^(R)two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ⁸ They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with ^(S)unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. ⁹ Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but ^(T)roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. ¹⁰ And ^(U)you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. ¹¹ In this manner you shall eat it: with ^(V)your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. ^(W)It is the Lord's Passover. ¹² For ^(X)I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on ^(Y)all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: ^(Z)I am the Lord. ^13 (AA)The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ “This day shall be ^(AB)for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a ^(AC)statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. ^15 (AD)Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, ^(AE)that person shall be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶ On the first day you shall hold a ^(AF)holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. ¹⁷ And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for ^(AG)on this very day I brought your ^(AH)hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. ^18 (AI)In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. ^19 (AJ)For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, ^(AK)that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, ^(AL)whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. ²⁰ You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”

²¹ Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves ^(AM)according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. ²² Take a bunch of ^(AN)hyssop and ^(AO)dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch ^(AP)the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. ^(AQ)None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. ^23 (AR)For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on ^(AS)the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and ^(AT)will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. ²⁴ You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. ²⁵ And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, ^(AU)as he has promised, you shall keep this service. ²⁶ And ^(AV)when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ ²⁷ you shall say, ^(AW)‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people ^(AX)bowed their heads and worshiped.

²⁸ Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

^29 (AY)At midnight the ^(AZ)Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, ^(BA)from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. ³⁰ And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was ^(BB)a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. ³¹ Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, ^(BC)both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. ^32 (BD)Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”

The Exodus

^33 (BE)The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” ³⁴ So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. ³⁵ The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had ^(BF)asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. ^36 (BG)And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that ^(BH)they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

³⁷ And the ^(BI)people of Israel journeyed from ^(BJ)Rameses to Succoth, ^(BK)about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. ³⁸ A ^(BL)mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. ³⁹ And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because ^(BM)they were thrust out of Egypt and ^(BN)could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

⁴⁰ The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. ⁴¹ At the end of ^(BO)430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. ⁴² It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a ^(BP)night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.

Institution of the Passover

⁴³ And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, ⁴⁴ but every slave^[b] that is ^(BQ)bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. ^45 (BR)No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. ⁴⁶ It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and ^(BS)you shall not break any of its bones. ^47 (BT)All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. ^48 (BU)If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he ^(BV)shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. ⁴⁹ There shall be ^(BW)one law for the native and for the ^(BX)stranger who sojourns among you.”

⁵⁰ All the people of Israel did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹ And on that very day the ^(BY)Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their ^(BZ)hosts.

The King of Glory

A Psalm of David.

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

24 ^(A)Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. ² But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, ^(B)there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

³ As he sat on ^(C)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him ^(D)privately, saying, “Tell us, ^(E)when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your ^(F)coming and of ^(G)the end of the age?” ⁴ And Jesus answered them, ^(H)“See that no one leads you astray. ⁵ For ^(I)many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am ^(J)the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you ^(K)are not alarmed, for this ^(L)must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For ^(M)nation will rise against nation, and ^(N)kingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^(O)famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are but the beginning of ^(P)the birth pains.

⁹ “Then ^(Q)they will deliver you up ^(R)to tribulation and ^(S)put you to death, and ^(T)you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. ¹⁰ And then many will fall away^[a] and ^(U)betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many ^(V)false prophets will arise ^(W)and lead many astray. ¹² And because lawlessness will be increased, ^(X)the love of many will grow cold. ^13 (Y)But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom ^(Z)will be proclaimed throughout the whole world ^(AA)as a testimony ^(AB)to all nations, and ^(AC)then the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

¹⁵ “So when you see the abomination of desolation ^(AD)spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in ^(AE)the holy place (^(AF)let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ^17 (AG)Let the one who is on ^(AH)the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, ¹⁸ and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. ¹⁹ And ^(AI)alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰ Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be ^(AJ)great tribulation, ^(AK)such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. ²² And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for ^(AL)the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (AM)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For ^(AN)false christs and ^(AO)false prophets will arise and ^(AP)perform great signs and wonders, ^(AQ)so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, ^(AR)I have told you beforehand. ²⁶ So, if they say to you, ‘Look, ^(AS)he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ^27 (AT)For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be ^(AU)the coming of the Son of Man. ^28 (AV)Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹ “Immediately after ^(AW)the tribulation of those days ^(AX)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(AY)the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then ^(AZ)will appear in heaven ^(BA)the sign of the Son of Man, and then ^(BB)all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and ^(BC)they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven ^(BD)with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(BE)he will send out his angels with a loud ^(BF)trumpet call, and they will ^(BG)gather ^(BH)his elect from ^(BI)the four winds, ^(BJ)from one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

³² “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, ^(BK)at the very gates. ^34 (BL)Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^35 (BM)Heaven and earth will pass away, but ^(BN)my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

³⁶ “But concerning that day and hour ^(BO)no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, ^(BP)nor the Son,^{[b] (BQ)}but the Father only. ^37 (BR)For as were the days of Noah, ^(BS)so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ^38 (BT)For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^(BU)marrying and giving in marriage, until ^(BV)the day when Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, ^(BW)so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. ^41 (BX)Two women will be grinding ^(BY)at the mill; one will be taken and one left. ⁴² Therefore, ^(BZ)stay awake, for you do not know on what day ^(CA)your Lord is coming. ^43 (CB)But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night ^(CC)the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ^(CD)ready, for ^(CE)the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

⁴⁵ “Who then is ^(CF)the faithful and ^(CG)wise servant,^[c] whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? ^46 (CH)Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly, I say to you, ^(CI)he will set him over all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master ^(CJ)is delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants^[d] and eats and drinks with ^(CK)drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come ^(CL)on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know ⁵¹ and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place ^(CM)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.