The Wilderness Way^(A)

¹⁷ Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people ^(B)change their minds when they see war, and ^(C)return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ So God ^(D)led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁹ And Moses took the ^(E)bones of ^(F)Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, ^(G)“God will surely ^[a]visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”

²⁰ So ^(H)they took their journey from ^(I)Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ And ^(J)the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. ²² He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

The Red Sea Crossing

14 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Speak to the children of Israel, ^(K)that they turn and camp before ^(L)Pi Hahiroth, between ^(M)Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. ³ For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ^(N)‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’ ⁴ Then ^(O)I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I ^(P)will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, ^(Q)that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

⁵ Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and ^(R)the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” ⁶ So he ^[b]made ready his chariot and took his people with him. ⁷ Also, he took ^(S)six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. ⁸ And the Lord ^(T)hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and ^(U)the children of Israel went out with boldness. ⁹ So the ^(V)Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.

¹⁰ And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel ^(W)cried out to the Lord. ^11 (X)Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? ^12 (Y)Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

¹³ And Moses said to the people, ^(Z)“Do not be afraid. ^(AA)Stand still, and see the ^(AB)salvation^[c] of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall ^(AC)see again no more forever. ^14 (AD)The Lord will fight for you, and you shall ^(AE)hold^[d] your peace.”

A Man Healed at the Pool of Bethesda

5 After ^(A)this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus ^(B)went up to Jerusalem. ² Now there is in Jerusalem ^(C)by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, ^[a]Bethesda, having five porches. ³ In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, ^[b]paralyzed, ^[c]waiting for the moving of the water. ⁴ For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. ⁵ Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

⁷ The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

⁸ Jesus said to him, ^(D)“Rise, take up your bed and walk.” ⁹ And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.

And ^(E)that day was the Sabbath. ¹⁰ The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; ^(F)it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.”

¹¹ He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’ ”

¹² Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” ¹³ But the one who was ^(G)healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. ¹⁴ Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. ^(H)Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”

¹⁵ The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

Honor the Father and the Son

¹⁶ For this reason the Jews ^(I)persecuted Jesus, ^[d]and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. ¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, ^(J)“My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”

¹⁸ Therefore the Jews ^(K)sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, ^(L)making Himself equal with God. ¹⁹ Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(M)the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. ²⁰ For ^(N)the Father loves the Son, and ^(O)shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. ²¹ For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, ^(P)even so the Son gives life to whom He will. ²² For the Father judges no one, but ^(Q)has committed all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. ^(R)He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

¹⁵ And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. ¹⁶ But ^(A)lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. ¹⁷ And I indeed will ^(B)harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will ^(C)gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. ¹⁸ Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

¹⁹ And the Angel of God, ^(D)who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. ²⁰ So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and ^(E)made the sea into dry land, and the waters were ^(F)divided. ²² So ^(G)the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were ^(H)a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. ²³ And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

²⁴ Now it came to pass, in the morning ^(I)watch, that ^(J)the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He ^[a]troubled the army of the Egyptians. ²⁵ And He ^[b]took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord ^(K)fights for them against the Egyptians.”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” ²⁷ And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea ^(L)returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the Lord ^(M)overthrew^[c] the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. ²⁸ Then ^(N)the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. ²⁹ But ^(O)the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

³⁰ So the Lord ^(P)saved^[d] Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel ^(Q)saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹ Thus Israel saw the great ^[e]work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and ^(R)believed the Lord and His servant Moses.

Walk in Unity

4 I, therefore, the prisoner ^[a]of the Lord, ^[b]beseech you to ^(A)walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, ² with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, ³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit ^(B)in the bond of peace. ^4 (C)There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; ^5 (D)one Lord, ^(E)one faith, ^(F)one baptism; ^6 (G)one God and Father of all, who is above all, and ^(H)through all, and in ^[c]you all.

Spiritual Gifts

⁷ But ^(I)to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore He says:

^9 (K)(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also ^[d]first descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is also the One ^(L)who ascended far above all the heavens, ^(M)that He might fill all things.)

¹¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, ^(N)for the ^[e]edifying of ^(O)the body of Christ, ¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith ^(P)and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to ^(Q)a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ that we should no longer be ^(R)children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of ^(S)deceitful plotting, ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the ^(T)head—Christ— ^16 (U)from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.