⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “When Pharaoh says to you, ^(A)‘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 ^(B)magicians of Egypt, also ^(C)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 ^(D)Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, ^(E)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 (F)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 ^(G)the staff that turned into a ^(H)serpent. ¹⁶ And you shall say to him, ‘The ^(I)Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, ^(J)that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed. ¹⁷ Thus says the Lord, “By this ^(K)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 ^(L)it shall turn into blood. ¹⁸ The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will ^(M)grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.”’” ¹⁹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and ^(N)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 ^(O)lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the ^(P)water in the Nile turned into blood. ²¹ And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians ^(Q)could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. ²² But ^(R)the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So ^(S)Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as ^(T)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 Wedding at Cana

2 On ^(A)the third day there was a wedding at ^(B)Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Jesus also was invited to the wedding with ^(C)his disciples. ³ When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ And Jesus said to her, ^(D)“Woman, ^(E)what does this have to do with me? ^(F)My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

⁶ Now there were six stone water jars there ^(G)for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty ^(H)gallons.^{[a] 7} Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. ⁹ When the master of the feast tasted ^(I)the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom ¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” ¹¹ This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested ^(J)his glory. And ^(K)his disciples believed in him.

¹² After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and ^(L)his brothers^[b] and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

^13 (M)The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus ^(N)went up to Jerusalem. ^14 (O)In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. ¹⁵ And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make ^(P)my Father's house a house of trade.” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it was written, ^(Q)“Zeal for your house will consume me.”

¹⁸ So the Jews said to him, ^(R)“What sign do you show us for doing these things?” ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, ^(S)“Destroy this temple, and in three days ^(T)I will raise it up.” ²⁰ The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,^[c] and will you raise it up in three days?” ²¹ But he was speaking about ^(U)the temple of his body. ²² When therefore he was raised from the dead, ^(V)his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed ^(W)the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Jesus Knows What Is in Man

²³ Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name ^(X)when they saw the signs that he was doing. ²⁴ But Jesus ^(Y)on his part did not entrust himself to them, because ^(Z)he knew all people ²⁵ and needed no one to bear witness about man, for ^(AA)he himself knew what was in man.

The Second Plague: Frogs

8 ^[a] Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that ^(A)they may serve me. ² But if you ^(B)refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with ^(C)frogs. ³ The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into ^(D)your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people,^[b] 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 [c] And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ^(E)‘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 ^(F)the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷ But ^(G)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, ^(H)“Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and ^(I)I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” ⁹ Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when ^(J)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 ^(K)that you may know that ^(L)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.^{[d] 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 ^(M)respite, he ^(N)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, ^(O)‘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 ^(P)there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. ¹⁸ The ^(Q)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 ^(R)the finger of God.” But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

Further Instructions

^2 (A)Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it ^(B)with thanksgiving. ³ At the same time, pray also for us, that God may ^(C)open to us a door for the word, ^(D)to declare the mystery of Christ, ^(E)on account of which I am in prison— ⁴ that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

^5 (F)Walk in wisdom toward ^(G)outsiders, making the best use of the time. ⁶ Let your speech always ^(H)be gracious, ^(I)seasoned with salt, ^(J)so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Final Greetings

⁷ Tychicus will tell you ^(K)all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant^[a] in the Lord. ⁸ I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, ⁹ and with him ^(L)Onesimus, our faithful and ^(M)beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.

^10 (N)Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark ^(O)the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—^(P)if he comes to you, welcome him), ¹¹ and Jesus who is called ^(Q)Justus. ^(R)These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and ^(S)they have been a comfort to me. ^12 (T)Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always ^(U)struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand ^(V)mature and fully assured in all the will of God. ¹³ For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. ^14 (W)Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does ^(X)Demas. ¹⁵ Give my greetings to the brothers^[b] at Laodicea, and to Nympha and ^(Y)the church in her house. ¹⁶ And when ^(Z)this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. ¹⁷ And say to ^(AA)Archippus, “See that you fulfill ^(AB)the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”

¹⁸ I, Paul, ^(AC)write this greeting with my own hand. ^(AD)Remember ^(AE)my chains. ^(AF)Grace be with you.