The Eighth Plague: Locusts

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, ² and ^(A)that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, ^(B)that you may know that I am the Lord.”

³ So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to ^(C)humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. ⁴ For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring ^(D)locusts into your country, ⁵ and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall ^(E)eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, ⁶ and they shall fill ^(F)your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

⁷ Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” ⁸ So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, ^(G)“Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?” ⁹ Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for ^(H)we must hold a feast to the Lord.” ¹⁰ But he said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your ^(I)little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind.^{[a] 11} No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(J)“Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and ^(K)eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” ¹³ So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. ^14 (L)The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, ^(M)such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. ¹⁵ They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and ^(N)they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt. ¹⁶ Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, ^(O)“I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. ¹⁷ Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and ^(P)plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” ¹⁸ So ^(Q)he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. ¹⁹ And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them ^(R)into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. ²⁰ But the Lord ^(S)hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

²¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(T)“Stretch out your hand towards heaven, that there may be ^(U)darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” ²² So Moses stretched out his hand towards heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. ²³ They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but ^(V)all the people of Israel had light where they lived. ²⁴ Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, ^(W)“Go, serve the Lord; ^(X)your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” ²⁵ But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. ²⁶ Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” ²⁷ But the Lord ^(Y)hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. ²⁸ Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” ²⁹ Moses said, “As you say! ^(Z)I will not see your face again.”

Repent or Perish

13 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood ^(A)Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ² And he answered them, ^(B)“Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? ³ No, I tell you; but unless you ^(C)repent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen on whom the tower in ^(D)Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, I tell you; but unless you ^(E)repent, you will all likewise perish.”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

⁶ And he told this parable: “A man had ^(F)a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. ⁷ And he said to the vine dresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. ^(G)Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ ⁸ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig round it and put on manure. ⁹ Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

A Woman with a Disabling Spirit

¹⁰ Now ^(H)he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹ And there was a woman who had had ^(I)a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” ¹³ And he ^(J)laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she ^(K)glorified God. ¹⁴ But ^(L)the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus ^(M)had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, ^(N)“There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” ¹⁵ Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! ^(O)Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? ¹⁶ And ought not this woman, ^(P)a daughter of Abraham whom ^(Q)Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” ¹⁷ As he said these things, ^(R)all his adversaries were put to shame, and ^(S)all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

^18 (T)He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? ¹⁹ It is like ^(U)a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”

²⁰ And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? ^21 (V)It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in ^(W)three measures of flour, until it was ^(X)all leavened.”

The Narrow Door

^22 (Y)He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and ^(Z)journeying towards Jerusalem. ²³ And someone said to him, “Lord, ^(AA)will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, ^24 (AB)“Strive ^(AC)to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ^25 (AD)When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ^(AE)‘Lord, open to us’, then he will answer you, ^(AF)‘I do not know where you come from.’ ²⁶ Then you will begin to say, ^(AG)‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁷ But he will say, ‘I tell you, ^(AH)I do not know where you come from. ^(AI)Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ ^28 (AJ)In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see ^(AK)Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but ^(AL)you yourselves cast out. ²⁹ And ^(AM)people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and ^(AN)recline at table in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ And behold, ^(AO)some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Lament over Jerusalem

³¹ At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from ^(AP)here, for ^(AQ)Herod wants to kill you.” ³² And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day ^(AR)I finish my course. ³³ Nevertheless, ^(AS)I ^(AT)must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that ^(AU)a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ ^34 (AV)O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that ^(AW)kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! ^(AX)How often would I have ^(AY)gathered ^(AZ)your children together ^(BA)as a hen gathers her brood ^(BB)under her wings, and ^(BC)you would not! ³⁵ Behold, ^(BD)your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ^(BE)‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Job Continues: Where Is Wisdom?