Let the Children Come to Me

13 (A)Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples (B)rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, (C)“Let the little children (D)come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

The Rich Young Man

16 (E)And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to (F)have (G)eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. (H)If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, (I)“You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, (J)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, (K)“All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be (L)perfect, go, (M)sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have (N)treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 (O)When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

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The Little Children and Jesus(A)

13 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them(B) and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs(C) to such as these.”(D) 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

The Rich and the Kingdom of God(E)

16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life(F)?”(G)

17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”(H)

18 “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery,(I) you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’[a](J) and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’[b](K)

20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect,(L) go, sell your possessions and give to the poor,(M) and you will have treasure in heaven.(N) Then come, follow me.”

22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 19:19 Exodus 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20
  2. Matthew 19:19 Lev. 19:18

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. 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.” (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.

So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: (E)‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, 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. (G)There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. 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.’ 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. 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 Plague on the Firstborn

11 Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go(A) from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely.(B) Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.”(C) (The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed(D) toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded(E) in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.)

So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight(F) I will go throughout Egypt.(G) Every firstborn(H) son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill,(I) and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing(J) throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction(K) between Egypt and Israel. All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go,(L) you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave.”(M) Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.

The Lord had said to Moses, “Pharaoh will refuse to listen(N) to you—so that my wonders(O) may be multiplied in Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart,(P) and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.