Exodus 9
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 9
Fifth Plague: The Pestilence. 1 Then the Lord said to Moses: Go to Pharaoh and tell him: Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to serve me. 2 For if you refuse to let them go and persist in holding them, 3 the hand of the Lord will strike your livestock in the field—your horses, donkeys, camels, herds and flocks—with a very severe pestilence. 4 But the Lord will distinguish between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that nothing belonging to the Israelites will die. 5 And the Lord set a definite time, saying: Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land. 6 And on the next day the Lord did it. All the livestock of the Egyptians died,(A) but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. 7 But although Pharaoh found upon inquiry that not even so much as one of the livestock of the Israelites had died, he remained obstinate and would not let the people go.
Sixth Plague: The Boils. 8 So the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Each of you take handfuls of soot from a kiln, and in the presence of Pharaoh let Moses scatter it toward the sky. 9 It will turn into fine dust over the whole land of Egypt and cause festering boils[a] on human being and beast alike throughout the land of Egypt.
10 So they took the soot from a kiln and appeared before Pharaoh. When Moses scattered it toward the sky, it caused festering boils on human being and beast alike. 11 Because of the boils the magicians could not stand in Moses’ presence, for there were boils on the magicians as well as on the rest of the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said to Moses.
Seventh Plague: The Hail. 13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: Early tomorrow morning present yourself to Pharaoh and say to him: Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to serve me, 14 for this time I will unleash all my blows upon you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me anywhere on earth. 15 For by now I should have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with such pestilence that you would have vanished from the earth. 16 But this is why I have let you survive: to show you[b] my power and to make my name resound throughout the earth!(B) 17 Will you continue to exalt yourself over my people and not let them go? 18 At this time tomorrow, therefore, I am going to rain down such fierce hail as there has never been in Egypt from the day it was founded up to the present. 19 Therefore, order your livestock and whatever else you have in the open fields to be brought to a place of safety. Whatever human being or animal is found in the fields and is not brought to shelter will die when the hail comes down upon them. 20 Those of Pharaoh’s servants who feared the word of the Lord hurried their servants and their livestock off to shelter. 21 But those who did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left their servants and their livestock in the fields.
22 The Lord then said to Moses: Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that hail may fall upon the entire land of Egypt, on human being and beast alike and all the vegetation of the fields in the land of Egypt. 23 So Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent forth peals of thunder and hail.(C) Lightning flashed toward the earth, and the Lord rained down hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 There was hail and lightning flashing here and there through the hail, and the hail was so fierce that nothing like it had been seen in Egypt since it became a nation. 25 Throughout the land of Egypt the hail struck down everything in the fields, human being and beast alike; it struck down all the vegetation of the fields and splintered every tree in the fields. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, was there no hail.
27 Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time! The Lord is the just one, and I and my people are the ones at fault. 28 Pray to the Lord! Enough of the thunder[c] and hail! I will let you go; you need stay no longer.” 29 Moses replied to him, “As soon as I leave the city I will extend my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail so that you may know that the earth belongs to the Lord. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.”
31 Now the flax and the barley were ruined, because the barley was in ear and the flax in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they grow later.
33 When Moses had left Pharaoh and gone out of the city, he extended his hands to the Lord. The thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured down upon the earth. 34 But Pharaoh, seeing that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, sinned again and became obstinate, both he and his servants. 35 In the hardness of his heart, Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.
Footnotes
- 9:9 Boils: the exact nature of the disease is not clear. Semitic cognates, for example, suggest the Hebrew root means “to be hot” and thus point to some sort of inflammation. The fact that soot taken from the kiln is the agent of the disease would point in the same direction. See further Lv 13:18–23; Dt 28:35; 2 Kgs 20:7.
- 9:16 To show you: some ancient versions such as the Septuagint read, “to show through you.” Cf. Rom 9:17.
- 9:28 Thunder: lit., “divine voices,” “voices of God,” or the like.
Psalm 36
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 36[a]
Human Wickedness and Divine Providence
1 For the leader. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
I
2 Sin directs the heart of the wicked man;
his eyes are closed to the fear of God.(A)
3 For he lives with the delusion:
his guilt will not be known and hated.[b]
4 Empty and false are the words of his mouth;
he has ceased to be wise and do good.
5 On his bed he hatches plots;
he sets out on a wicked way;
he does not reject evil.(B)
II
6 [c]Lord, your mercy reaches to heaven;
your fidelity, to the clouds.(C)
7 Your justice is like the highest mountains;
your judgments, like the mighty deep;
human being and beast you sustain, Lord.
8 How precious is your mercy, O God!
The children of Adam take refuge in the shadow of your wings.[d](D)
9 They feast on the rich food of your house;
from your delightful stream(E) you give them drink.
10 For with you is the fountain of life,(F)
and in your light we see light.(G)
11 Show mercy on those who know you,
your just defense to the upright of heart.
12 Do not let the foot of the proud overtake me,
nor the hand of the wicked disturb me.
13 There make the evildoers fall;
thrust them down, unable to rise.
Footnotes
- Psalm 36 A Psalm with elements of wisdom (Ps 36:2–5), the hymn (Ps 36:6–10), and the lament (Ps 36:11–13). The rule of sin over the wicked (Ps 36:2–5) is contrasted with the rule of divine love and mercy over God’s friends (Ps 36:6–10). The Psalm ends with a prayer that God’s guidance never cease (Ps 36:11–12).
- 36:3 Hated: punished by God.
- 36:6–7 God actively controls the entire world.
- 36:8 The shadow of your wings: metaphor for divine protection. It probably refers to the winged cherubim in the holy of holies in the Temple, cf. 1 Kgs 6:23–28, 32; 2 Chr 3:10–13; Ez 1:4–9.
Matthew 20:17-34
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
17 (A)As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve [disciples] aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, 18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, 19 and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
The Request of James and John.[a] 20 (B)Then the mother[b] of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. 21 He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking.[c] Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” 23 He replied, “My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left [, this] is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24 (C)When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. 26 But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; 27 (D)whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. 28 (E)Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom[d] for many.”
The Healing of Two Blind Men.[e] 29 (F)As they left Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 (G)Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “[Lord,][f] Son of David, have pity on us!” 31 The crowd warned them to be silent, but they called out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on us!” 32 Jesus stopped and called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They answered him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 Moved with pity, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight, and followed him.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 20:20–28 Cf. Mk 10:35–45. The request of the sons of Zebedee, made through their mother, for the highest places of honor in the kingdom, and the indignation of the other ten disciples at this request, show that neither the two brothers nor the others have understood that what makes for greatness in the kingdom is not lordly power but humble service. Jesus gives the example, and his ministry of service will reach its highest point when he gives his life for the deliverance of the human race from sin.
- 20:20–21 The reason for Matthew’s making the mother the petitioner (cf. Mk 10:35) is not clear. Possibly he intends an allusion to Bathsheba’s seeking the kingdom for Solomon; see 1 Kgs 1:11–21. Your kingdom: see note on Mt 16:28.
- 20:22 You do not know what you are asking: the Greek verbs are plural and, with the rest of the verse, indicate that the answer is addressed not to the woman but to her sons. Drink the cup: see note on Mk 10:38–40. Matthew omits the Marcan “or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized” (Mk 10:38).
- 20:28 Ransom: this noun, which occurs in the New Testament only here and in the Marcan parallel (Mk 10:45), does not necessarily express the idea of liberation by payment of some price. The cognate verb is used frequently in the LXX of God’s liberating Israel from Egypt or from Babylonia after the Exile; see Ex 6:6; 15:13; Ps 77:16 (76 LXX); Is 43:1; 44:22. The liberation brought by Jesus’ death will be for many; cf. Is 53:12. Many does not mean that some are excluded, but is a Semitism designating the collectivity who benefit from the service of the one, and is equivalent to “all.” While there are few verbal contacts between this saying and the fourth Servant Song (Is 52:13–53:12), the ideas of that passage are reflected here.
- 20:29–34 The cure of the blind men is probably symbolic of what will happen to the disciples, now blind to the meaning of Jesus’ passion and to the necessity of their sharing his suffering. As the men are given sight, so, after the resurrection, will the disciples come to see that to which they are now blind. Matthew has abbreviated his Marcan source (Mk 10:46–52) and has made Mark’s one man two. Such doubling is characteristic of this gospel; see Mt 8:28–34 (// Mk 5:1–20) and the note on Mt 9:27–31.
- 20:30 [Lord,]: some important textual witnesses omit this, but that may be because copyists assimilated this verse to Mt 9:27. Son of David: see note on Mt 9:27.
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