⁸ Now there arose a new king over Egypt, ^(A)who did not know Joseph. ⁹ And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and ^(B)mightier than we; ^10 (C)come, let us ^(D)deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.” ¹¹ Therefore they set taskmasters over them ^(E)to afflict them with their ^(F)burdens. And they built for Pharaoh ^(G)supply cities, Pithom ^(H)and Raamses. ¹² But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. ¹³ So the Egyptians made the children of Israel ^(I)serve with ^[a]rigor. ¹⁴ And they ^(J)made their lives bitter with hard bondage—^(K)in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.

¹⁵ Then the king of Egypt spoke to the ^(L)Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; ¹⁶ and he said, “When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a ^(M)son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” ¹⁷ But the midwives ^(N)feared God, and did not do ^(O)as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. ¹⁸ So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?”

¹⁹ And ^(P)the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they ^[b]are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.”

^20 (Q)Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and ^[c]grew very mighty. ²¹ And so it was, because the midwives feared God, ^(R)that He ^[d]provided households for them.

²² So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, ^(S)“Every son who is ^[e]born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”

Moses Is Born^(T)

2 And ^(U)a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. ² So the woman conceived and bore a son. And ^(V)when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. ³ But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of ^(W)bulrushes for him, daubed it with ^(X)asphalt and ^(Y)pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds ^(Z)by the river’s bank. ^4 (AA)And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.

⁵ Then the ^(AB)daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. ⁶ And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion 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 a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?”

⁸ And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother. ⁹ Then 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 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became ^(AC)her son. So she called his name ^[f]Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

The Lord Comforts Zion^(A)

Living Sacrifices to God

12 I ^(A)beseech^[a] you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies ^(B)a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your ^[b]reasonable service. ² And ^(C)do not be conformed to this world, but ^(D)be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may ^(E)prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Serve God with Spiritual Gifts

³ For I say, ^(F)through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, ^(G)not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt ^(H)to each one a measure of faith. ⁴ For ^(I)as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, ⁵ so ^(J)we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. ⁶ Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is ^(K)given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us ^(L)prophesy in proportion to our faith; ⁷ or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; ^(M)he who teaches, in teaching; ^8 (N)he who exhorts, in exhortation; ^(O)he who gives, with liberality; ^(P)he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, ^(Q)with cheerfulness.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ^(A)

¹³ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ^(B)“Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

¹⁴ So they said, ^(C)“Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or ^(D)one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do ^(E)you say that I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered and said, ^(F)“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, ^(G)for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but ^(H)My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I also say to you that ^(I)you are Peter, and ^(J)on this rock I will build My church, and ^(K)the gates of Hades shall not ^[a]prevail against it. ^19 (L)And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth ^[b]will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

^20 (M)Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.