Moses Returns to Egypt

¹⁸ Moses went back to ^(A)Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” ¹⁹ And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for ^(B)all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” ²⁰ So Moses took ^(C)his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took ^(D)the staff of God in his hand.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the ^(E)miracles that I have put in your power. But ^(F)I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. ²² Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, ^(G)Israel is my ^(H)firstborn son, ²³ and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I ^(I)will kill your firstborn son.’”

²⁴ At a lodging place on the way ^(J)the Lord met him and ^(K)sought to put him to death. ²⁵ Then ^(L)Zipporah took a ^(M)flint and cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses'^[a] feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” ²⁶ So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.

²⁷ The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness ^(N)to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the ^(O)mountain of God and kissed him. ²⁸ And Moses ^(P)told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak, and all ^(Q)the signs that he had commanded him to do. ²⁹ Then Moses and Aaron ^(R)went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. ^30 (S)Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. ³¹ And the people ^(T)believed; and when they heard that the Lord had ^(U)visited the people of Israel and that he had ^(V)seen their affliction, ^(W)they bowed their heads and worshiped.

Making Bricks Without Straw

5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold ^(X)a feast to me in the wilderness.’” ² But Pharaoh said, ^(Y)“Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, ^(Z)I will not let Israel go.” ³ Then they said, “The ^(AA)God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” ⁴ But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your ^(AB)burdens.” ⁵ And Pharaoh said, “Behold, ^(AC)the people of the land are now many,^[b] and you make them rest from their burdens!” ⁶ The same day Pharaoh commanded the ^(AD)taskmasters of the people and their ^(AE)foremen, ⁷ “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”

¹⁰ So the ^(AF)taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. ¹¹ Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’” ¹² So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³ The ^(AG)taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” ¹⁴ And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh's ^(AH)taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?”

¹⁵ Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? ¹⁶ No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” ¹⁷ But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” ¹⁹ The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.” ²⁰ They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; ²¹ and ^(AI)they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

²² Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? ²³ For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”

Lead Me to the Rock

To the choirmaster: with ^(A)stringed instruments. Of David.

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.]]