The Song of Moses and Miriam

15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song^(A) to the Lord:

¹⁹ When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen^[e] went into the sea,^(BB) the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.^{(BC) 20} Then Miriam^(BD) the prophet,^(BE) Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels^(BF) and dancing.^{(BG) 21} Miriam sang^(BH) to them:

The Waters of Marah and Elim

²² Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert^(BK) of Shur.^(BL) For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.^{(BM) 23} When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.^[f](BN)) ²⁴ So the people grumbled^(BO) against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”^(BP)

²⁵ Then Moses cried out^(BQ) to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw^(BR) it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.

There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.^{(BS) 26} He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep^(BT) all his decrees,^(BU) I will not bring on you any of the diseases^(BV) I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals^(BW) you.”

²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped^(BX) there near the water.

Manna and Quail

16 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin,^(BY) which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt.^{(BZ) 2} In the desert the whole community grumbled^(CA) against Moses and Aaron. ³ The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt!^(CB) There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food^(CC) we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”^(CD)

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven^(CE) for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test^(CF) them and see whether they will follow my instructions. ⁵ On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice^(CG) as much as they gather on the other days.”

⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt,^{(CH) 7} and in the morning you will see the glory^(CI) of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling^(CJ) against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?”^{(CK) 8} Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling^(CL) against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”^(CM)

⁹ Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’”

¹⁰ While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory^(CN) of the Lord appearing in the cloud.^(CO)

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the grumbling^(CP) of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”^(CQ)

¹³ That evening quail^(CR) came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew^(CS) around the camp. ¹⁴ When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost^(CT) on the ground appeared on the desert floor. ¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know^(CU) what it was.

Moses said to them, “It is the bread^(CV) the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶ This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer^[g](CW) for each person you have in your tent.’”

¹⁷ The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. ¹⁸ And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.^(CX) Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

¹⁹ Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”^(CY)

²⁰ However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell.^(CZ) So Moses was angry^(DA) with them.

²¹ Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. ²² On the sixth day, they gathered twice^(DB) as much—two omers^[h] for each person—and the leaders of the community^(DC) came and reported this to Moses. ²³ He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath^(DD) to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”

²⁴ So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. ²⁵ “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. ²⁶ Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath,^(DE) there will not be any.”

²⁷ Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. ²⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you^[i] refuse to keep my commands^(DF) and my instructions? ²⁹ Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ The people of Israel called the bread manna.^[j](DG) It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. ³² Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’”

³³ So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna^(DH) in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.”

³⁴ As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law,^(DI) so that it might be preserved. ³⁵ The Israelites ate manna^(DJ) forty years,^(DK) until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.^(DL)

³⁶ (An omer^(DM) is one-tenth of an ephah.)^(DN)

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like^(A) a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.^{(B) 2} He agreed to pay them a denarius^[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

³ “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴ He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ ⁵ So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. ⁶ About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

⁷ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸ “When evening came,^(C) the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

⁹ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they began to grumble^(D) against the landowner. ¹² ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat^(E) of the day.’

¹³ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend.^(F) Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵ Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’^(G)

¹⁶ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”^(H)

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time^(I)

¹⁷ Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, ¹⁸ “We are going up to Jerusalem,^(J) and the Son of Man^(K) will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law.^(L) They will condemn him to death ¹⁹ and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged^(M) and crucified.^(N) On the third day^(O) he will be raised to life!”^(P)

A Mother’s Request^(Q)

²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons^(R) came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down,^(S) asked a favor of him.

²¹ “What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”^(T)

²² “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup^(U) I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

²³ Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup,^(V) but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

²⁴ When the ten heard about this, they were indignant^(W) with the two brothers. ²⁵ Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,^{(X) 27} and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— ²⁸ just as the Son of Man^(Y) did not come to be served, but to serve,^(Z) and to give his life as a ransom^(AA) for many.”

Two Blind Men Receive Sight^(AB)

²⁹ As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David,^(AC) have mercy on us!”

³¹ The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³² Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³³ “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

³⁴ Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.