The Burning Bush

3 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the ^(A)mountain of God. ^2 (B)And ^(C)the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. ³ And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” ⁴ When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, ^(D)God called to him ^(E)out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵ Then he said, “Do not come near; ^(F)take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ And he said, ^(G)“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for ^(H)he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ Then the Lord said, ^(I)“I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their ^(J)taskmasters. I know their sufferings, ⁸ and ^(K)I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and ^(L)to bring them up out of that land to a ^(M)good and broad land, a land ^(N)flowing with milk and honey, to the place of ^(O)the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹ And now, behold, ^(P)the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the ^(Q)oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ^10 (R)Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” ¹¹ But Moses said to God, ^(S)“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹² He said, ^(T)“But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, ^(U)you shall serve God on this mountain.”

¹³ Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”^[a] And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ^(V)‘I am has sent me to you.’” ¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord,^[b] the ^(W)God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is ^(X)my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. ¹⁶ Go and ^(Y)gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, ^(Z)“I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, ¹⁷ and I promise that ^(AA)I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land ^(AB)flowing with milk and honey.”’ ¹⁸ And ^(AC)they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel ^(AD)shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has ^(AE)met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ ¹⁹ But I know that the king of Egypt ^(AF)will not let you go unless compelled ^(AG)by a mighty hand.^{[c] 20} So ^(AH)I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with ^(AI)all the wonders that I will do in it; ^(AJ)after that he will let you go. ²¹ And ^(AK)I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, ²² but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for ^(AL)silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So ^(AM)you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

Moses Given Powerful Signs

4 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” ² The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, ^(AN)“A staff.” ³ And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. ⁴ But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— ⁵ “that they may ^(AO)believe that the Lord, ^(AP)the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” ⁶ Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.”^[d] And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was ^(AQ)leprous^[e] like snow. ⁷ Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, ^(AR)it was restored like the rest of his flesh. ⁸ “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. ⁹ If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile ^(AS)will become blood on the dry ground.”

¹⁰ But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but ^(AT)I am slow of speech and of tongue.” ¹¹ Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹² Now therefore go, and ^(AU)I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” ¹³ But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” ¹⁴ Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, ^(AV)he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. ^15 (AW)You shall speak to him and ^(AX)put the words in his mouth, and ^(AY)I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. ^16 (AZ)He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and ^(BA)you shall be as God to him. ¹⁷ And take in your hand ^(BB)this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”

He Will Tread Down Our Foes

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Shushan Eduth. A ^(B)Miktam^[a] of David; ^(C)for instruction; when he ^(D)strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

Jesus Delivered to Pilate

15 ^(A)And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests ^(B)held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And ^(C)they bound Jesus and ^(D)led him away and ^(E)delivered him over to ^(F)Pilate. ^2 (G)And Pilate asked him, ^(H)“Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, ^(I)“You have said so.” ³ And the chief priests accused him of many things. ⁴ And Pilate again asked him, ^(J)“Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” ⁵ But Jesus ^(K)made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

^6 (L)Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. ⁷ And among the rebels in prison, who had ^(M)committed murder ^(N)in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. ⁸ And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. ⁹ And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰ For he perceived that ^(O)it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. ¹² And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with ^(P)the man you call the King of the Jews?” ¹³ And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” ¹⁴ And Pilate said to them, “Why? ^(Q)What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” ¹⁵ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having ^(R)scourged^[a] Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

^16 (S)And the soldiers led him away inside ^(T)the palace (that is, ^(U)the governor's headquarters),^[b] and they called together the whole ^(V)battalion.^{[c] 17} And they clothed him in ^(W)a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. ¹⁸ And they began to salute him, ^(X)“Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ And they were striking his head with a reed and ^(Y)spitting on him and ^(Z)kneeling down in homage to him. ²⁰ And when they had ^(AA)mocked him, they stripped him of ^(AB)the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they ^(AC)led him out to crucify him.

The Crucifixion

^21 (AD)And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. ^22 (AE)And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). ²³ And they offered him wine mixed with ^(AF)myrrh, but he did not take it. ²⁴ And they crucified him and ^(AG)divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. ²⁵ And ^(AH)it was the third hour^[d] when they crucified him. ²⁶ And the inscription of the charge against him read, ^(AI)“The King of the Jews.” ²⁷ And with him they crucified two ^(AJ)robbers, ^(AK)one on his right and one on his left.^{[e] 29} And ^(AL)those who passed by derided him, ^(AM)wagging their heads and saying, ^(AN)“Aha! ^(AO)You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, ³⁰ save yourself, and come down from the cross!” ³¹ So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, ^(AP)“He saved others; ^(AQ)he cannot save himself. ³² Let ^(AR)the Christ, ^(AS)the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may ^(AT)see and believe.” ^(AU)Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.

The Death of Jesus

³³ And when the sixth hour^[f] had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.^{[g] 34} And at the ninth hour Jesus ^(AV)cried with a loud voice, ^(AW)“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ³⁵ And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” ³⁶ And someone ran and filled a sponge with ^(AX)sour wine, put it on a reed ^(AY)and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” ³⁷ And Jesus ^(AZ)uttered a loud cry and ^(BA)breathed his last. ³⁸ And ^(BB)the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. ^39 (BC)And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he^[h] breathed his last, he said, ^(BD)“Truly this man was the Son^[i] of God!”

⁴⁰ There were also ^(BE)women looking on ^(BF)from a distance, among whom were ^(BG)Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and ^(BH)Salome. ⁴¹ When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ^(BI)ministered to him, and there were also many other women who ^(BJ)came up with him to Jerusalem.

Jesus Is Buried

^42 (BK)And when evening had come, since it was ^(BL)the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, ^(BM)a respected member of the council, who ^(BN)was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died.^[j] And summoning ^(BO)the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. ⁴⁵ And when he learned from ^(BP)the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. ⁴⁶ And Joseph^[k] bought ^(BQ)a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and ^(BR)laid him in a tomb ^(BS)that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled ^(BT)a stone against the entrance of the tomb. ^47 (BU)Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

The Resurrection

16 ^(BV)(BW)When the Sabbath was past, ^(BX)Mary Magdalene, ^(BY)Mary the mother of James, and ^(BZ)Salome ^(CA)bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. ² And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ³ And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away ^(CB)the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” ⁴ And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—^(CC)it was very large. ⁵ And ^(CD)entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, ^(CE)dressed in ^(CF)a white robe, and ^(CG)they were alarmed. ⁶ And he said to them, ^(CH)“Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter that ^(CI)he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, ^(CJ)just as he told you.” ⁸ And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

[Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:9–20.]^[l]

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

⁹ [[Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, ^(CK)he appeared first to ^(CL)Mary Magdalene, ^(CM)from whom he had cast out seven demons. ^10 (CN)She went and told those who had been with him, ^(CO)as they ^(CP)mourned and wept. ¹¹ But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they ^(CQ)would not believe it.

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples

^12 (CR)After these things ^(CS)he appeared in ^(CT)another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. ^13 (CU)And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

The Great Commission

¹⁴ Afterward ^(CV)he appeared ^(CW)to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their ^(CX)unbelief and ^(CY)hardness of heart, because ^(CZ)they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. ¹⁵ And he said to them, ^(DA)“Go into all the world and ^(DB)proclaim the gospel to ^(DC)the whole creation. ^16 (DD)Whoever believes and is ^(DE)baptized ^(DF)will be saved, but ^(DG)whoever ^(DH)does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ And ^(DI)these signs will accompany those who believe: ^(DJ)in my name they will cast out demons; ^(DK)they will speak in new tongues; ^18 (DL)they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; ^(DM)they will lay their hands ^(DN)on the sick, and they will recover.”

¹⁹ So then the Lord Jesus, ^(DO)after he had spoken to them, ^(DP)was taken up into heaven and ^(DQ)sat down at the right hand of God. ²⁰ And they went out and preached everywhere, while ^(DR)the Lord worked with them and confirmed ^(DS)the message ^(DT)by accompanying signs.]]