The Birth of Moses

2 Now a ^(A)man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. ² The woman conceived and bore a son, and ^(B)when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. ³ When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes^[a] and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the ^(C)reeds by the river bank. ⁴ And ^(D)his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. ⁵ Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. ⁶ When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews' children.” ⁷ Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” ⁸ And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child's mother. ⁹ And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became ^(E)her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I ^(F)drew him out of the water.”^[b]

Moses Flees to Midian

¹¹ One day, ^(G)when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their ^(H)burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.^{[c] 12} He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he ^(I)struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ When ^(J)he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” ¹⁴ He answered, ^(K)“Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” ¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But ^(L)Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by ^(M)a well.

¹⁶ Now the ^(N)priest of Midian had seven daughters, and ^(O)they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. ¹⁷ The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and ^(P)watered their flock. ¹⁸ When they came home to their father ^(Q)Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” ¹⁹ They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and ^(R)watered the flock.” ²⁰ He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may ^(S)eat bread.” ²¹ And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter ^(T)Zipporah. ²² She gave birth to a son, and he called his name ^(U)Gershom, for he said, “I have been a ^(V)sojourner^[d] in a foreign land.”

God Hears Israel's Groaning

^23 (W)During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel ^(X)groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. ^(Y)Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. ²⁴ And ^(Z)God heard their groaning, and God ^(AA)remembered his covenant with ^(AB)Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. ²⁵ God ^(AC)saw the people of Israel—and God ^(AD)knew.

The Burning Bush

3 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the ^(AE)mountain of God. ^2 (AF)And ^(AG)the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. ³ And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” ⁴ When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, ^(AH)God called to him ^(AI)out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵ Then he said, “Do not come near; ^(AJ)take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ And he said, ^(AK)“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for ^(AL)he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ Then the Lord said, ^(AM)“I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their ^(AN)taskmasters. I know their sufferings, ⁸ and ^(AO)I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and ^(AP)to bring them up out of that land to a ^(AQ)good and broad land, a land ^(AR)flowing with milk and honey, to the place of ^(AS)the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹ And now, behold, ^(AT)the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the ^(AU)oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ^10 (AV)Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” ¹¹ But Moses said to God, ^(AW)“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹² He said, ^(AX)“But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, ^(AY)you shall serve God on this mountain.”

¹³ Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”^[e] And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ^(AZ)‘I am has sent me to you.’” ¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord,^[f] the ^(BA)God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is ^(BB)my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. ¹⁶ Go and ^(BC)gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, ^(BD)“I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, ¹⁷ and I promise that ^(BE)I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land ^(BF)flowing with milk and honey.”’ ¹⁸ And ^(BG)they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel ^(BH)shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has ^(BI)met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ ¹⁹ But I know that the king of Egypt ^(BJ)will not let you go unless compelled ^(BK)by a mighty hand.^{[g] 20} So ^(BL)I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with ^(BM)all the wonders that I will do in it; ^(BN)after that he will let you go. ²¹ And ^(BO)I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, ²² but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for ^(BP)silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So ^(BQ)you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

Moses Given Powerful Signs

4 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” ² The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, ^(BR)“A staff.” ³ And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. ⁴ But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— ⁵ “that they may ^(BS)believe that the Lord, ^(BT)the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” ⁶ Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.”^[h] And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was ^(BU)leprous^[i] like snow. ⁷ Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, ^(BV)it was restored like the rest of his flesh. ⁸ “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. ⁹ If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile ^(BW)will become blood on the dry ground.”

¹⁰ But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but ^(BX)I am slow of speech and of tongue.” ¹¹ Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹² Now therefore go, and ^(BY)I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” ¹³ But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” ¹⁴ Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, ^(BZ)he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. ^15 (CA)You shall speak to him and ^(CB)put the words in his mouth, and ^(CC)I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. ^16 (CD)He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and ^(CE)you shall be as God to him. ¹⁷ And take in your hand ^(CF)this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”

Moses Returns to Egypt

¹⁸ Moses went back to ^(CG)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 ^(CH)all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” ²⁰ So Moses took ^(CI)his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took ^(CJ)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 ^(CK)miracles that I have put in your power. But ^(CL)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, ^(CM)Israel is my ^(CN)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 ^(CO)will kill your firstborn son.’”

²⁴ At a lodging place on the way ^(CP)the Lord met him and ^(CQ)sought to put him to death. ²⁵ Then ^(CR)Zipporah took a ^(CS)flint and cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses'^[j] 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 ^(CT)to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the ^(CU)mountain of God and kissed him. ²⁸ And Moses ^(CV)told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak, and all ^(CW)the signs that he had commanded him to do. ²⁹ Then Moses and Aaron ^(CX)went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. ^30 (CY)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 ^(CZ)believed; and when they heard that the Lord had ^(DA)visited the people of Israel and that he had ^(DB)seen their affliction, ^(DC)they bowed their heads and worshiped.

The Lame Beggar Healed

3 Now Peter and John were ^(A)going up to the temple at ^(B)the hour of prayer, ^(C)the ninth hour.^{[a] 2} And a man ^(D)lame from birth was being carried, ^(E)whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate ^(F)to ask alms of those entering the temple. ³ Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. ⁴ And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” ⁵ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. ⁶ But Peter said, ^(G)“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. ^(H)In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” ⁷ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. ⁸ And ^(I)leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. ⁹ And ^(J)all the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰ and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Peter Speaks in Solomon's Portico

^11 (K)While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in ^(L)the portico called Solomon's. ¹² And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? ^13 (M)The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, ^(N)the God of our fathers, ^(O)glorified his servant^[b] Jesus, whom ^(P)you delivered over and ^(Q)denied in the presence of Pilate, ^(R)when he had decided to release him. ¹⁴ But you denied ^(S)the Holy and ^(T)Righteous One, and ^(U)asked for a murderer to be granted to you, ¹⁵ and you killed ^(V)the Author of life, ^(W)whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. ¹⁶ And ^(X)his name—by ^(Y)faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is ^(Z)through Jesus^[c] has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

¹⁷ “And now, brothers, I know that ^(AA)you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. ¹⁸ But what God ^(AB)foretold ^(AC)by the mouth of all the prophets, that ^(AD)his Christ would ^(AE)suffer, he thus fulfilled. ^19 (AF)Repent therefore, and ^(AG)turn back, that ^(AH)your sins may be blotted out, ²⁰ that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ ^(AI)appointed for you, Jesus, ^21 (AJ)whom heaven must receive until the time for ^(AK)restoring all the things about which ^(AL)God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. ²² Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you ^(AM)a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen ^(AN)to him in whatever he tells you. ²³ And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet ^(AO)shall be destroyed from the people.’ ²⁴ And ^(AP)all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. ^25 (AQ)You are the sons of the prophets and of ^(AR)the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ^(AS)‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ ^26 (AT)God, ^(AU)having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, ^(AV)to bless you ^(AW)by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”