Aaron’s Miraculous Rod^(A)

⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ⁹ “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ^(B)‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ^(C)‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.’ ” ¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just ^(D)as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it ^(E)became a serpent.

¹¹ But Pharaoh also ^(F)called the wise men and ^(G)the ^[a]sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also ^(H)did in like manner with their ^[b]enchantments. ¹² For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. ¹³ And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.

The First Plague: Waters Become Blood

¹⁴ So the Lord said to Moses: ^(I)“Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the ^(J)water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and ^(K)the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. ¹⁶ And you shall say to him, ^(L)‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, ^(M)that they may ^[c]serve Me in the wilderness”; but indeed, until now you would not hear! ¹⁷ Thus says the Lord: “By this ^(N)you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and ^(O)they shall be turned ^(P)to blood. ¹⁸ And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will ^(Q)loathe^[d] to drink the water of the river.” ’ ”

¹⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and ^(R)stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.’ ” ²⁰ And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he ^(S)lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the ^(T)waters that were in the river were turned to blood. ²¹ The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians ^(U)could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

^22 (V)Then the magicians of Egypt did ^(W)so with their ^[e]enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, ^(X)as the Lord had said. ²³ And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this. ²⁴ So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. ²⁵ And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river.

Water Turned to Wine

2 On the third day there was a ^(A)wedding in ^(B)Cana of Galilee, and the ^(C)mother of Jesus was there. ² Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. ³ And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”

⁴ Jesus said to her, ^(D)“Woman, ^(E)what does your concern have to do with Me? ^(F)My hour has not yet come.”

⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

⁶ Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, ^(G)according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. ⁷ Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. ⁹ When the master of the feast had tasted ^(H)the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. ¹⁰ And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”

¹¹ This ^(I)beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, ^(J)and ^[a]manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

¹² After this He went down to ^(K)Capernaum, He, His mother, ^(L)His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple^(M)

^13 (N)Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ^14 (O)And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers ^[b]doing business. ¹⁵ When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. ¹⁶ And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make ^(P)My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” ¹⁷ Then His disciples remembered that it was written, ^(Q)“Zeal for Your house ^[c]has eaten Me up.”

¹⁸ So the Jews answered and said to Him, ^(R)“What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?”

¹⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, ^(S)“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

²⁰ Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”

²¹ But He was speaking ^(T)of the temple of His body. ²² Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, ^(U)His disciples remembered that He had said this ^[d]to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

The Discerner of Hearts

²³ Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the ^(V)signs which He did. ²⁴ But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He ^(W)knew all men, ²⁵ and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for ^(X)He knew what was in man.

The Second Plague: Frogs

8 And the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, ^(A)that they may serve Me. ² But if you ^(B)refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with ^(C)frogs. ³ So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your ^(D)bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. ⁴ And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants.” ’ ”

⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ^(E)‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to 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 (G)And the magicians did so with their ^[a]enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.

⁸ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, ^(H)“Entreat^[b] the Lord that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people ^(I)go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.”

⁹ And Moses said to Pharaoh, “Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.”

¹⁰ So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that ^(J)there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹ And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.”

¹² Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses ^(K)cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. ¹³ So the Lord did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. ¹⁴ They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was ^(L)relief, ^(M)he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said.

The Third Plague: Lice

¹⁶ So the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become ^[c]lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’ ” ¹⁷ And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and ^(N)it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

¹⁸ Now ^(O)the magicians so worked with their ^[d]enchantments to bring forth lice, but they ^(P)could not. So there were lice on man and beast. ¹⁹ Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is ^(Q)the^[e] finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s ^(R)heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.

Christian Graces

^2 (A)Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it ^(B)with thanksgiving; ^3 (C)meanwhile praying also for us, that God would ^(D)open to us a door for the word, to speak ^(E)the ^[a]mystery of Christ, ^(F)for which I am also in chains, ⁴ that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.

^5 (G)Walk in ^(H)wisdom toward those who are outside, ^(I)redeeming the time. ⁶ Let your speech always be ^(J)with grace, ^(K)seasoned with salt, ^(L)that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Final Greetings^(M)

^7 (N)Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. ^8 (O)I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that ^[b]he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, ⁹ with ^(P)Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here.

^10 (Q)Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with ^(R)Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), ¹¹ and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me.

^12 (S)Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always ^(T)laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand ^(U)perfect and ^[c]complete in all the will of God. ¹³ For I bear him witness that he has a great ^[d]zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis. ^14 (V)Luke the beloved physician and ^(W)Demas greet you. ¹⁵ Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and ^[e]Nymphas and ^(X)the church that is in ^[f]his house.

Closing Exhortations and Blessing

¹⁶ Now when ^(Y)this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. ¹⁷ And say to ^(Z)Archippus, “Take heed to ^(AA)the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”

^18 (AB)This salutation by my own hand—Paul. ^(AC)Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen.