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Exodus 14

The Israelites Cross the Red Sea

    ²Tell the people of Israel to turn back and camp across from Pi-Hahiroth near Baal-Zephon, between Migdol and the Red Sea. ^{[a] 3}The king ^[b] will think they were afraid to cross the desert and that they are wandering around, trying to find another way to leave the country. ⁴I will make the king stubborn again, and he will try to catch you. Then I will destroy him and his army. People everywhere will praise me for my victory, and the Egyptians will know that I really am the LORD. The Israelites obeyed the LORD and camped where he told them.

    ⁵When the king of Egypt heard that the Israelites had finally left, he and his officials changed their minds and said, " Look what we have done! We let them get away, and they will no longer be our slaves."

    ⁶The king got his war chariot and army ready. ⁷He commanded his officers in charge of his six hundred best chariots and all his other chariots to start after the Israelites. ⁸The LORD made the king so stubborn that he went after them, even though the Israelites proudly ^[c] went on their way. ⁹But the king's horses and chariots and soldiers caught up with them while they were camping by the Red Sea near Pi-Hahiroth and Baal-Zephon. ¹⁰When the Israelites saw the king coming with his army, they were frightened and begged the LORD for help. ¹¹They also complained to Moses, " Wasn't there enough room in Egypt to bury us? Is that why you brought us out here to die in the desert? Why did you bring us out of Egypt anyway? ¹²While we were there, didn't we tell you to leave us alone? We had rather be slaves in Egypt than die in this desert!"

    ¹³But Moses answered, " Don't be afraid! Be brave, and you will see the LORD save you today. These Egyptians will never bother you again. ¹⁴The LORD will fight for you, and you won't have to do a thing."

    ¹⁵The LORD said to Moses, " Why do you keep calling out to me for help? Tell the Israelites to move forward. ¹⁶Then hold your walking stick over the sea. The water will open up and make a road where they can walk through on dry ground. ¹⁷I will make the Egyptians so stubborn that they will go after you. Then I will be praised because of what happens to the king and his chariots and cavalry. ¹⁸The Egyptians will know for sure that I am the LORD."

    ¹⁹All this time God's angel had gone ahead of Israel's army, but now he moved behind them. A large cloud had also gone ahead of them, ²⁰but now it moved between the Egyptians and the Israelites. The cloud gave light to the Israelites, but made it dark for the Egyptians, and during the night they could not come any closer.

    ²¹Moses stretched his arm over the sea, and the LORD sent a strong east wind that blew all night until there was dry land where the water had been. The sea opened up, ²²and the Israelites walked through on dry land with a wall of water on each side.

    ²³The Egyptian chariots and cavalry went after them. ²⁴But before daylight the LORD looked down at the Egyptian army from the fiery cloud and made them panic. ²⁵Their chariot wheels got stuck, ^[d] and it was hard for them to move. So the Egyptians said to one another, " Let's leave these people alone! The LORD is on their side and is fighting against us." ²⁶The LORD told Moses, " Stretch your arm toward the sea--the water will cover the Egyptians and their cavalry and chariots." ²⁷Moses stretched out his arm, and at daybreak the water rushed toward the Egyptians. They tried to run away, but the LORD drowned them in the sea. ²⁸The water came and covered the chariots, the cavalry, and the whole Egyptian army that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them was left alive. ²⁹But the sea had made a wall of water on each side of the Israelites; so they walked through on dry land.

    ³⁰On that day, when the Israelites saw the bodies of the Egyptians washed up on the shore, they knew that the LORD had saved them. ³¹Because of the mighty power he had used against the Egyptians, the Israelites worshiped him and trusted him and his servant Moses.

Exodus 15

The Song of Moses

   I sing praises to the LORD

   for his great victory!

   He has thrown the horses

   and their riders

   into the sea.

    ²The LORD is my strength,

   the reason for my song,

   because he has saved me.

   I praise and honor the LORD--

   he is my God

   and the God

   of my ancestors.

    ³The LORD is his name,

   and he is a warrior!

    ⁴He threw the chariots and army

   of Egypt's king ^[e] into the Red Sea, ^[f] and he drowned the best

   of the king's officers.

    ⁵They sank to the bottom

   just like stones.

    ⁶With the tremendous force

   of your right arm, our LORD,

   you crushed your enemies.

    ⁷What a great victory was yours,

   as you defeated everyone

   who opposed you.

   Your fiery anger wiped them out,

   as though they were straw.

    ⁸You were so furious

   that the sea piled up

   like a wall,

   and the ocean depths

   curdled like cheese.

    ⁹Your enemies boasted

   that they would

   pursue and capture us,

   divide up our possessions,

   treat us as they wished,

   then take out their swords

   and kill us right there.

    ¹⁰But when you got furious,

   they sank like lead,

   swallowed by ocean waves.

    ¹¹Our LORD, no other gods

   compare with you--

   Majestic and holy!

   Fearsome and glorious!

   Miracle worker!

    ¹²When you signaled

   with your right hand,

   your enemies were swallowed

   deep into the earth.

    ¹³The people you rescued

   were led by your powerful love

   to your holy place.

    ¹⁴Nations learned of this

   and trembled--

   Philistines shook with horror.

    ¹⁵The leaders of Edom and of Moab

   were terrified.

   Everyone in Canaan fainted,

    ¹⁶struck down by fear.

   Our LORD, your powerful arm

   kept them still as a rock

   until the people you rescued

   for your very own

   had marched by.

    ¹⁷You will let your people settle

   on your chosen mountain,

   where you built your home

   and your temple.

    ¹⁸Our LORD, you will rule forever!

The Song of Miriam

   " Sing praises to the LORD

   for his great victory!

   He has thrown the horses

   and their riders into the sea."

Bitter Water at Marah

   At Marah the LORD tested his people and also gave them some laws and teachings. ²⁶Then he said, " I am the LORD your God, and I cure your diseases. If you obey me by doing right and by following my laws and teachings, I won't punish you with the diseases I sent on the Egyptians."

    ²⁷Later the Israelites came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees. So they camped there.

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Matthew 17

The True Glory of Jesus

(Mark 9.2-13; Luke 9.28-36)

    ³All at once Moses and Elijah were there talking with Jesus. ⁴So Peter said to him, "Lord, it is good for us to be here! Let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

    ⁵While Peter was still speaking, the shadow of a bright cloud passed over them. From the cloud a voice said, "This is my own dear Son, and I am pleased with him. Listen to what he says!" ⁶When the disciples heard the voice, they were so afraid that they fell flat on the ground. ⁷But Jesus came over and touched them. He said, "Get up and don't be afraid!" ⁸When they opened their eyes, they saw only Jesus.

    ⁹On their way down from the mountain, Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Son of Man had been raised from death.

    ¹⁰The disciples asked Jesus, "Don't the teachers of the Law of Moses say that Elijah must come before the Messiah does?"

    ¹¹Jesus told them, "Elijah certainly will come and get everything ready. ¹²In fact, he has already come. But the people did not recognize him and treated him just as they wanted to. They will soon make the Son of Man suffer in the same way." ¹³Then the disciples understood that Jesus was talking to them about John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy

(Mark 9.14-29; Luke 9.37-43a)

    ¹⁷Jesus said, "You people are too stubborn to have any faith! How much longer must I be with you? Why do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy here." ¹⁸Then Jesus spoke sternly to the demon. It went out of the boy, and right then he was healed.

    ¹⁹Later the disciples went to Jesus in private and asked him, "Why couldn't we force out the demon?"

    ^20-21Jesus replied:

   It is because you don't have enough faith! But I can promise you this. If you had faith no larger than a mustard seed, you could tell this mountain to move from here to there. And it would. Everything would be possible for you. ^[a]

Jesus Again Speaks about His Death

(Mark 9.30-32; Luke 9.43b-45)

Paying the Temple Tax

    ²⁵"Yes, he does," Peter answered.

   After they had returned home, Jesus went up to Peter and asked him, "Simon, what do you think? Do the kings of this earth collect taxes and fees from their own people or from foreigners?" ^{[b] 26}Peter answered, "From foreigners."

   Jesus replied, "Then their own people ^[c] don't have to pay. ²⁷But we don't want to cause trouble. So go cast a line into the lake and pull out the first fish you hook. Open its mouth, and you will find a coin. Use it to pay your taxes and mine."