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The Source of Sufficiency
4 [a] Moses answered again,[b] “And if[c] they do not believe me or pay attention to me,[d] but say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’?” 2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”[e] 3 The Lord[f] said, “Throw it to the ground.” So he threw it to the ground, and it became a snake,[g] and Moses ran from it. 4 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and grab it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand[h]— 5 “that they may believe that 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 also said to him, “Put your hand into your robe.”[i] So he put his hand into his robe, and when he brought it out—there was his hand,[j] leprous like snow![k] 7 He said, “Put your hand back into your robe.” So he put his hand back into his robe, and when he brought it out from his robe—there it was,[l] restored[m] like the rest of his skin![n] 8 “If[o] they do not believe you or pay attention to[p] the former sign, then they may[q] believe the latter sign.[r] 9 And if[s] they do not believe even these two signs or listen to you,[t] then take[u] some water from the Nile and pour it out on the dry ground. The water you take out of the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”[v]
10 Then Moses said to the Lord,[w] “O[x] my Lord,[y] I am not an eloquent man,[z] neither in the past[aa] nor since you have spoken to your servant, for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”[ab]
11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave[ac] a mouth to man, or who makes a person mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?[ad] 12 So now go, and I will be with your mouth[ae] and will teach you[af] what you must say.”[ag]
13 But Moses said,[ah] “O[ai] my Lord, please send anyone else whom you wish to send!”[aj]
14 Then the Lord became angry with[ak] Moses, and he said, “What about[al] your brother Aaron the Levite?[am] I know that he can speak very well.[an] Moreover, he is coming[ao] to meet you, and when he sees you he will be glad in his heart.[ap]
15 “So you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And as for me, I will be with your mouth[aq] and with his mouth,[ar] and I will teach you both[as] what you must do.[at] 16 He[au] will speak for you to the people, and it will be as if[av] he[aw] were your mouth[ax] and as if you were his God.[ay] 17 You will also take in your hand this staff, with which you will do the signs.”[az]
The Return of Moses
18 [ba] So Moses went back[bb] to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Let me go, so that I may return[bc] to my relatives[bd] in Egypt and see[be] if they are still alive.” Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 The Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back[bf] to Egypt, because all the men who were seeking your life are dead.”[bg] 20 Then Moses took[bh] his wife and sons[bi] and put them on a donkey and headed back[bj] to the land of Egypt, and Moses took the staff of God in his hand. 21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt,[bk] see that you[bl] do before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put under your control.[bm] But I will harden[bn] his heart[bo] and[bp] he will not let the people go. 22 You must say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord has said, “Israel is my son, my firstborn,[bq] 23 and I said to you, ‘Let my son go that he may serve[br] me,’ but since you have refused to let him go,[bs] I will surely kill[bt] your son, your firstborn!”’”
24 Now on the way, at a place where they stopped for the night,[bu] the Lord met Moses and sought to kill him.[bv] 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off the foreskin of her son and touched it to Moses’ feet,[bw] and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood[bx] to me.” 26 So the Lord[by] let him alone. (At that time[bz] she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” referring to[ca] the circumcision.)
27 The Lord said[cb] to Aaron, “Go to the wilderness to meet Moses. So he went and met him at the mountain of God[cc] and greeted him with a kiss.[cd] 28 Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had[ce] sent him and all the signs that he had commanded him. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and brought together all the Israelite elders.[cf] 30 Aaron spoke[cg] all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people, 31 and the people believed. When they heard[ch] that the Lord had attended to[ci] the Israelites and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed down close to the ground.[cj]
Opposition to the Plan of God
5 [ck] Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said, ‘Release[cl] my people so that they may hold a pilgrim feast[cm] to me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord[cn] that[co] I should obey him[cp] by releasing[cq] Israel? I do not know the Lord,[cr] and I will not release Israel!” 3 And they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us go a three-day journey[cs] into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice[ct] to the Lord our God, so that he does not strike us with plague or the sword.”[cu] 4 The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you cause the people to refrain from their work?[cv] Return to your labor!” 5 Pharaoh was thinking,[cw] “The people of the land are now many, and you are giving them rest from their labor.”
6 That same day Pharaoh commanded[cx] the slave masters and foremen[cy] who were[cz] over the people:[da] 7 “You must no longer[db] give straw to the people for making bricks[dc] as before.[dd] Let them go[de] and collect straw for themselves. 8 But you must require[df] of them the same quota of bricks that they were making before.[dg] Do not reduce it, for they are slackers.[dh] That is why they are crying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Make the work harder[di] for the men so they will keep at it[dj] and pay no attention to lying words!”[dk]
10 So the slave masters of the people and their foremen went to the Israelites and said,[dl] “Thus says Pharaoh: ‘I am not giving[dm] you straw. 11 You[dn] go get straw for yourselves wherever you can[do] find it, because there will be no reduction at all in your workload.’” 12 So the people spread out[dp] through all the land of Egypt to collect stubble for straw. 13 The slave masters were pressuring[dq] them, saying, “Complete[dr] your work for each day, just like when there was straw!” 14 The Israelite foremen whom Pharaoh’s slave masters had set over them were beaten and were asked,[ds] “Why did you not complete your requirement for brickmaking as in the past—both yesterday and today?”[dt]
15 [du] The Israelite foremen went and cried out to Pharaoh, “Why are you treating[dv] your servants this way? 16 No straw is given to your servants, but we are told,[dw] ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are even[dx] being beaten, but the fault[dy] is with your people.”
17 But Pharaoh replied,[dz] “You are slackers! Slackers![ea] That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’” 18 So now, get back to work![eb] You will not be given straw, but you must still produce[ec] your quota[ed] of bricks!” 19 The Israelite foremen saw[ee] that they[ef] were in trouble when they were told,[eg] “You must not reduce the daily quota of your bricks.”
20 When they went out from Pharaoh, they encountered Moses and Aaron standing there to meet them,[eh] 21 and they said to them, “May the Lord look on you and judge,[ei] because you have made us stink[ej] in the opinion of[ek] Pharaoh and his servants,[el] so that you have given them an excuse to kill us!”[em]
Questions About the Greatest
18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a child, had him stand among them, 3 and said, “I tell you the truth,[a] unless you turn around and become like little children,[b] you will never[c] enter the kingdom of heaven! 4 Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes[d] a child like this in my name welcomes me.
6 “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,[e] it would be better for him to have a huge millstone[f] hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea.[g] 7 Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It[h] is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come. 8 If[i] your hand or your foot causes you to sin,[j] cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have[k] two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to have[l] two eyes and be thrown into fiery hell.[m]
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10 “See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.[n] 12 What do you think? If someone[o] owns a hundred[p] sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray?[q] 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth,[r] he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost.
Restoring Christian Relationships
15 “If[s] your brother[t] sins,[u] go and show him his fault[v] when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.[w] 17 If[x] he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If[y] he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like[z] a Gentile[aa] or a tax collector.[ab]
18 “I tell you the truth,[ac] whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. 19 Again, I tell you the truth,[ad] if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.[ae] 20 For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.”
19 But you, O Lord, do not remain far away.
You are my source of strength.[a] Hurry and help me![b]
20 Deliver me[c] from the sword.
Save[d] my life[e] from the claws[f] of the wild dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lion,[g]
and from the horns of the wild oxen.[h]
You have answered me.[i]
22 I will declare your name to my countrymen.[j]
In the middle of the assembly I will praise you.
23 You loyal followers of the Lord,[k] praise him.
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him.
All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him.[l]
24 For he did not despise or detest the suffering[m] of the oppressed.[n]
He did not ignore him;[o]
when he cried out to him, he responded.[p]
25 You are the reason I offer praise[q] in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers.[r]
26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled.[s]
Let those who seek his help praise the Lord.
May you[t] live forever!
27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him.[u]
Let all the nations[v] worship you.[w]
28 For the Lord is king[x]
and rules over the nations.
29 All the thriving people[y] of the earth will join the celebration and worship;[z]
all those who are descending into the grave[aa] will bow before him,
including those who cannot preserve their lives.[ab]
30 A whole generation[ac] will serve him;
they will tell the next generation about the Lord.[ad]
31 They will come and tell about his saving deeds;[ae]
they will tell a future generation what he has accomplished.[af]
15 Drink water from your own cistern
and running water from your own well.[a]
16 Should your springs be dispersed[b] outside,
your streams of water in the wide plazas?[c]
17 Let them be for yourself[d] alone,
and not for strangers with you.[e]
18 May your fountain be blessed,[f]
and may you rejoice[g] in the wife you married in your youth[h]—
19 a loving doe,[i] a graceful deer;
may her breasts satisfy you at all times,
may you be captivated[j] by her love always.
20 But why should you be captivated,[k] my son, by an adulteress,
and embrace the bosom of a different woman?[l]
21 For the ways of a person[m] are in front of the Lord’s eyes,
and the Lord[n] weighs[o] all that person’s[p] paths.
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