The Ninth Plague: Darkness

²¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(A)“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be ^(B)darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” ²² So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. ²³ They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but ^(C)all the people of Israel had light where they lived. ²⁴ Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, ^(D)“Go, serve the Lord; ^(E)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 ^(F)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! ^(G)I will not see your face again.”

A Final Plague Threatened

11 The Lord said to Moses, “Yet ^(H)one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. ^(I)When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. ² Speak now in the hearing of the people, that ^(J)they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” ^3 (K)And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people.

⁴ So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ^(L)‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, ⁵ and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is ^(M)behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. ^6 (N)There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. ⁷ But not a dog shall growl ^(O)against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord ^(P)makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ ⁸ And ^(Q)all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.

How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song?

¹³ Since we have ^(A)the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ^(B)“I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, ¹⁴ knowing that ^(C)he who raised the Lord Jesus ^(D)will raise us also with Jesus and ^(E)bring us with you into his presence. ¹⁵ For ^(F)it is all for your sake, so that as ^(G)grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, ^(H)to the glory of God.

¹⁶ So we do not lose heart. ^(I)Though our outer self^[a] is wasting away, ^(J)our inner self ^(K)is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For ^(L)this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ^18 (M)as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

^46 (A)And they came to Jericho. And ^(B)as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, ^(C)a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. ⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was ^(D)Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸ And many ^(E)rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹ And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, ^(F)“Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” ⁵⁰ And throwing off his ^(G)cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹ And Jesus said to him, ^(H)“What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, ^(I)“Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” ⁵² And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; ^(J)your faith has ^(K)made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.