God Promises Deliverance

6 But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with ^(A)a strong hand he will ^(B)drive them out of his land.”

² God spoke to Moses and said to him, ^(C)“I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as ^(D)God Almighty,^[a] but by my name the ^(E)Lord I did not make myself known to them. ^4 (F)I also established my covenant with them ^(G)to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. ⁵ Moreover, ^(H)I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. ⁶ Say therefore to the people of Israel, ^(I)‘I am the Lord, and ^(J)I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and ^(K)I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. ⁷ I ^(L)will take you to be my people, and ^(M)I will be your God, and you shall know that ^(N)I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out ^(O)from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ⁸ I will bring you into ^(P)the land that I ^(Q)swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. ^(R)I am the Lord.’” ⁹ Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they ^(S)did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.

¹⁰ So the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.” ¹² But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the people of Israel have ^(T)not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for ^(U)I am of uncircumcised lips?” ¹³ But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron

¹⁴ These are the heads of their fathers' houses: the ^(V)sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben. ¹⁵ The ^(W)sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon. ¹⁶ These are the names of the ^(X)sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the years of the life of Levi being 137 years. ¹⁷ The ^(Y)sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their clans. ¹⁸ The ^(Z)sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, the years of the life of Kohath being 133 years. ¹⁹ The ^(AA)sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their generations. ^20 (AB)Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father's sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years. ^21 (AC)The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. ²² The ^(AD)sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. ²³ Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of ^(AE)Amminadab and the sister of ^(AF)Nahshon, and she bore him ^(AG)Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ²⁴ The ^(AH)sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the clans of the Korahites. ²⁵ Eleazar, Aaron's son, took as his wife one of the daughters of Putiel, and ^(AI)she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites by their clans.

²⁶ These are the Aaron and Moses ^(AJ)to whom the Lord said: “Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt ^(AK)by their hosts.” ²⁷ It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the people of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron.

²⁸ On the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹ the Lord said to Moses, ^(AL)“I am the Lord; ^(AM)tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” ³⁰ But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, ^(AN)I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?”

Moses and Aaron Before Pharaoh

7 And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like ^(AO)God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your ^(AP)prophet. ^2 (AQ)You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. ³ But ^(AR)I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I ^(AS)multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, ⁴ Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. ⁵ The Egyptians ^(AT)shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.” ⁶ Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them. ⁷ Now Moses was ^(AU)eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “When Pharaoh says to you, ^(AV)‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’” ¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. ¹¹ Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the ^(AW)magicians of Egypt, also ^(AX)did the same by their secret arts. ¹² For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³ Still ^(AY)Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, ^(AZ)as the Lord had said.

The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. ^15 (BA)Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand ^(BB)the staff that turned into a ^(BC)serpent. ¹⁶ And you shall say to him, ‘The ^(BD)Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, ^(BE)that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed. ¹⁷ Thus says the Lord, “By this ^(BF)you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and ^(BG)it shall turn into blood. ¹⁸ The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will ^(BH)grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.”’” ¹⁹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and ^(BI)stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”

²⁰ Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he ^(BJ)lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the ^(BK)water in the Nile turned into blood. ²¹ And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians ^(BL)could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. ²² But ^(BM)the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So ^(BN)Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as ^(BO)the Lord had said. ²³ Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. ²⁴ And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.

²⁵ Seven full days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.

The Second Plague: Frogs

8 ^[b] Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that ^(BP)they may serve me. ² But if you ^(BQ)refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with ^(BR)frogs. ³ The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into ^(BS)your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people,^[c] and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. ⁴ The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’” ^5 [d] And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ^(BT)‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt!’” ⁶ So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and ^(BU)the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷ But ^(BV)the magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

⁸ Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, ^(BW)“Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and ^(BX)I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” ⁹ Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when ^(BY)I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” ¹⁰ And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so ^(BZ)that you may know that ^(CA)there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹ The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.” ¹² So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh.^{[e] 13} And the Lord did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. ¹⁴ And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was a ^(CB)respite, he ^(CC)hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The Third Plague: Gnats

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ^(CD)‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’” ¹⁷ And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and ^(CE)there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. ¹⁸ The ^(CF)magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. ¹⁹ Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is ^(CG)the finger of God.” But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The Fourth Plague: Flies

²⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(CH)“Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, ^(CI)“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 and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. ²² But on that day ^(CJ)I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, ^(CK)that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.^{[f] 23} Thus I will put a division^[g] between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.”’” ²⁴ And the Lord did so. ^(CL)There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants' houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.

²⁵ Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” ²⁶ But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an ^(CM)abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings ^(CN)abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? ²⁷ We must go ^(CO)three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God ^(CP)as he tells us.” ²⁸ So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. ^(CQ)Plead for me.” ²⁹ Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh ^(CR)cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” ³⁰ So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. ³¹ And the Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. ³² But Pharaoh ^(CS)hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go.

Jesus Before Pilate

23 ^(A)Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. ² And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man ^(B)misleading our nation and ^(C)forbidding us to give tribute to ^(D)Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, ^(E)a king.” ^3 (F)And Pilate asked him, ^(G)“Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, ^(H)“You have said so.” ⁴ Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, ^(I)“I find no guilt in this man.” ⁵ But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, ^(J)from Galilee even to this place.”

Jesus Before Herod

⁶ When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. ⁷ And when he learned that he belonged to ^(K)Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸ When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, ^(L)for he had long desired to see him, ^(M)because he had heard about him, and he was hoping ^(N)to see some sign done by him. ⁹ So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. ¹⁰ The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹ And Herod with his soldiers ^(O)treated him with contempt and ^(P)mocked him. Then, ^(Q)arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. ¹² And ^(R)Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.

¹³ Pilate then called together the chief priests and ^(S)the rulers and the people, ¹⁴ and said to them, “You brought me this man ^(T)as one who was misleading the people. And ^(U)after examining him before you, behold, I ^(V)did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. ¹⁵ Neither did Herod, for ^(W)he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. ^16 (X)I will therefore punish and release him.”^[a]

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

^18 (Y)But they all cried out together, ^(Z)“Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— ¹⁹ a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and ^(AA)for murder. ²⁰ Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, ²¹ but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” ²² A third time he said to them, “Why? ^(AB)What evil has he done? ^(AC)I have found in him no guilt deserving death. ^(AD)I will therefore punish and release him.” ²³ But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. ²⁴ So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. ²⁵ He released the man who had been thrown into prison ^(AE)for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, ^(AF)but he delivered Jesus over to their will.

The Crucifixion

^26 (AG)And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷ And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were ^(AH)mourning and lamenting for him. ²⁸ But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For behold, ^(AI)the days are coming when they will say, ^(AJ)‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ ^30 (AK)Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ ³¹ For ^(AL)if they do these things when ^(AM)the wood is green, what will happen ^(AN)when it is dry?”

^32 (AO)Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. ^33 (AP)And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, ^(AQ)one on his right and one on his left. ³⁴ And Jesus said, “Father, ^(AR)forgive them, ^(AS)for they know not what they do.”^[b] And they cast lots ^(AT)to divide his garments. ³⁵ And ^(AU)the people stood by, watching, ^(AV)but ^(AW)the rulers ^(AX)scoffed at him, saying, ^(AY)“He saved others; ^(AZ)let him save himself, ^(BA)if he is ^(BB)the Christ of God, ^(BC)his Chosen One!” ³⁶ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and ^(BD)offering him sour wine ³⁷ and saying, ^(BE)“If you are ^(BF)the King of the Jews, save yourself!” ^38 (BG)There was also an inscription over him,^[c] “This is ^(BH)the King of the Jews.”

^39 (BI)One of the criminals who were hanged ^(BJ)railed at him,^[d] saying, “Are you not ^(BK)the Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he said, “Jesus, remember me ^(BL)when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in ^(BM)paradise.”

The Death of Jesus

^44 (BN)It was now about the sixth hour,^[e] and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,^{[f] 45} while the sun's light failed. And ^(BO)the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Then Jesus, ^(BP)calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, ^(BQ)into your hands I ^(BR)commit my spirit!” And having said this ^(BS)he breathed his last. ⁴⁷ Now ^(BT)when the centurion saw what had taken place, ^(BU)he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” ⁴⁸ And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home ^(BV)beating their breasts. ⁴⁹ And all ^(BW)his acquaintances and ^(BX)the women who had followed him from Galilee ^(BY)stood at a distance watching these things.

Jesus Is Buried

^50 (BZ)Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, ⁵¹ who had not consented to their decision and action; and he ^(CA)was looking for the kingdom of God. ⁵² This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³ Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and ^(CB)laid him in a tomb cut in stone, ^(CC)where no one had ever yet been laid. ⁵⁴ It was the day of ^(CD)Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.^{[g] 55 (CE)}The women ^(CF)who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then they returned and ^(CG)prepared spices and ointments.

On the Sabbath they rested ^(CH)according to the commandment.