First Encounter with Pharaoh

5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may ^[a]hold ^(A)a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ”

² And Pharaoh said, ^(B)“Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, ^(C)nor will I let Israel go.”

³ So they said, ^(D)“The God of the Hebrews has ^(E)met with us. Please, let us go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with ^(F)pestilence or with the sword.”

⁴ Then the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your ^(G)labor.” ⁵ And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are ^(H)many now, and you make them rest from their labor!”

⁶ So the same day Pharaoh commanded the ^(I)taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying, ⁷ “You shall no longer give the people straw to make ^(J)brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.”

¹⁰ And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, “Thus says Pharaoh: ‘I will not give you straw. ¹¹ Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it; yet none of your work will be reduced.’ ” ¹² So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. ¹³ And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, “Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there was straw.” ¹⁴ Also the ^(K)officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were ^(L)beaten and were asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?”

¹⁵ Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why are you dealing thus with your servants? ¹⁶ There is no straw given to your servants, and they say to us, ‘Make brick!’ And indeed your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your own people.”

¹⁷ But he said, “You are idle! Idle! Therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ Therefore go now and work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the quota of bricks.” ¹⁹ And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble after it was said, “You shall not reduce any bricks from your daily quota.”

²⁰ Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them. ^21 (M)And they said to them, “Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made ^[b]us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

Israel’s Deliverance Assured^(N)

²² So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? ²³ For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.”

God Renews His Promise to Israel

6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For ^(O)with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand ^(P)he will drive them out of his land.”

² And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am ^[c]the Lord. ^3 (Q)I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as ^(R)God Almighty, but by My name ^(S)Lord^[d] I was not known to them. ^4 (T)I have also ^[e]established My covenant with them, ^(U)to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their ^[f]pilgrimage, ^(V)in which they were ^[g]strangers. ⁵ And ^(W)I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. ⁶ Therefore say to the children of Israel: ^(X)‘I am the Lord; ^(Y)I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will ^(Z)rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with ^[h]an outstretched arm and with great judgments. ⁷ I will ^(AA)take you as My people, and ^(AB)I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out ^(AC)from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ⁸ And I will bring you into the land which I ^(AD)swore^[i] to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.’ ” ⁹ So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; ^(AE)but they did not heed Moses, because of ^(AF)anguish^[j] of spirit and cruel bondage.

¹⁰ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹ “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land.”

¹² And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for ^(AG)I am ^[k]of uncircumcised lips?”

¹³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a ^(AH)command^[l] for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

The Family of Moses and Aaron^(AI)

¹⁴ These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: ^(AJ)The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben. ^15 (AK)And the sons of Simeon were ^[m]Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These are the families of Simeon. ¹⁶ These are the names of ^(AL)the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven. ^17 (AM)The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimi according to their families. ¹⁸ And ^(AN)the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three. ^19 (AO)The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations.

²⁰ Now ^(AP)Amram took for himself ^(AQ)Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him ^(AR)Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven. ^21 (AS)The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. ²² And ^(AT)the sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri. ²³ Aaron took to himself Elisheba, daughter of ^(AU)Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him ^(AV)Nadab, Abihu, ^(AW)Eleazar, and Ithamar. ²⁴ And ^(AX)the sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites. ²⁵ Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and ^(AY)she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites according to their families.

²⁶ These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their ^(AZ)armies.”^{[n] 27} These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, ^(BA)to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are the same Moses and Aaron.

Aaron Is Moses’ Spokesman

²⁸ And it came to pass, on the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹ that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “I am the Lord. ^(BB)Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.”

³⁰ But Moses said before the Lord, “Behold, ^(BC)I am ^[o]of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?”

Moses Before Pharaoh

7 So the Lord said to Moses: “See, I have made you ^(BD)as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be ^(BE)your prophet. ² You ^(BF)shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land. ³ And ^(BG)I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and ^(BH)multiply My ^(BI)signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. ⁴ But ^(BJ)Pharaoh will not heed you, so ^(BK)that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My ^[p]armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt ^(BL)by great judgments. ⁵ And the Egyptians ^(BM)shall know that I am the Lord, when I ^(BN)stretch out My hand on Egypt and ^(BO)bring out the children of Israel from among them.”

⁶ Then Moses and Aaron ^(BP)did so; just as the Lord commanded them, so they did. ⁷ And Moses was ^(BQ)eighty years old and ^(BR)Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Miraculous Rod^(BS)

⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ⁹ “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ^(BT)‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ^(BU)‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.’ ” ¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just ^(BV)as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it ^(BW)became a serpent.

¹¹ But Pharaoh also ^(BX)called the wise men and ^(BY)the ^[q]sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also ^(BZ)did in like manner with their ^[r]enchantments. ¹² For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. ¹³ And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.

The First Plague: Waters Become Blood

¹⁴ So the Lord said to Moses: ^(CA)“Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the ^(CB)water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and ^(CC)the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. ¹⁶ And you shall say to him, ^(CD)‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, ^(CE)that they may ^[s]serve Me in the wilderness”; but indeed, until now you would not hear! ¹⁷ Thus says the Lord: “By this ^(CF)you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and ^(CG)they shall be turned ^(CH)to blood. ¹⁸ And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will ^(CI)loathe^[t] to drink the water of the river.” ’ ”

¹⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and ^(CJ)stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.’ ” ²⁰ And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he ^(CK)lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the ^(CL)waters that were in the river were turned to blood. ²¹ The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians ^(CM)could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

^22 (CN)Then the magicians of Egypt did ^(CO)so with their ^[u]enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, ^(CP)as the Lord had said. ²³ And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this. ²⁴ So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. ²⁵ And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river.

The Second Plague: Frogs

8 And the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, ^(CQ)that they may serve Me. ² But if you ^(CR)refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with ^(CS)frogs. ³ So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your ^(CT)bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. ⁴ And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants.” ’ ”

⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ^(CU)‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’ ” ⁶ So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and ^(CV)the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ^7 (CW)And the magicians did so with their ^[v]enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.

⁸ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, ^(CX)“Entreat^[w] the Lord that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people ^(CY)go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.”

⁹ And Moses said to Pharaoh, “Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.”

¹⁰ So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that ^(CZ)there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹ And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.”

¹² Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses ^(DA)cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. ¹³ So the Lord did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. ¹⁴ They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was ^(DB)relief, ^(DC)he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said.

The Third Plague: Lice

¹⁶ So the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become ^[x]lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’ ” ¹⁷ And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and ^(DD)it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

¹⁸ Now ^(DE)the magicians so worked with their ^[y]enchantments to bring forth lice, but they ^(DF)could not. So there were lice on man and beast. ¹⁹ Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is ^(DG)the^[z] finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s ^(DH)heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.

The Fourth Plague: Flies

²⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(DI)“Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(DJ)“Let My people go, that they may serve Me. ²¹ Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. ²² And in that day ^(DK)I will set apart the land of ^(DL)Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may ^(DM)know that I am the Lord in the midst of the ^(DN)land. ²³ I will ^[aa]make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this ^(DO)sign shall be.” ’ ” ²⁴ And the Lord did so. ^(DP)Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.

²⁵ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.”

²⁶ And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing ^(DQ)the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not ^[ab]stone us? ²⁷ We will go ^(DR)three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as ^(DS)He will command us.”

²⁸ So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. ^(DT)Intercede for me.”

²⁹ Then Moses said, “Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the Lord, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not ^(DU)deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

³⁰ So Moses went out from Pharaoh and ^(DV)entreated the Lord. ³¹ And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. ³² But Pharaoh ^(DW)hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men ^(A)always ought to pray and not lose heart, ² saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor ^[a]regard man. ³ Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ^[b]‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ ⁴ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, ^5 (B)yet because this widow troubles me I will ^[c]avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ”

⁶ Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. ⁷ And ^(C)shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? ⁸ I tell you ^(D)that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ Also He spoke this parable to some ^(E)who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee ^(F)stood and prayed thus with himself, ^(G)‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ ¹³ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; ^(H)for everyone who exalts himself will be ^[d]humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children^(I)

^15 (J)Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for ^(K)of such is the kingdom of God. ^17 (L)Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”

Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler^(M)

^18 (N)Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁹ So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but ^(O)One, that is, God. ²⁰ You know the commandments: ^(P)‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ^(Q)‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”

²¹ And he said, “All ^(R)these things I have kept from my youth.”

²² So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. ^(S)Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

²³ But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

With God All Things Are Possible^(T)

²⁴ And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, ^(U)“How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶ And those who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁷ But He said, ^(V)“The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

^28 (W)Then Peter said, “See, we have left ^[e]all and followed You.”

²⁹ So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, ^(X)there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, ^30 (Y)who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Jesus a Third Time Predicts His Death and Resurrection^(Z)

^31 (AA)Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things ^(AB)that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be ^[f]accomplished. ³² For ^(AC)He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. ³³ They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”

^34 (AD)But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.

A Blind Man Receives His Sight^(AE)

^35 (AF)Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. ³⁶ And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. ³⁷ So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. ³⁸ And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, ^(AG)Son of David, have mercy on me!”

³⁹ Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁰ So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, ⁴¹ saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

⁴² Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; ^(AH)your faith has made you well.” ⁴³ And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, ^(AI)glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.