Water From the Rock

17 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin,^(A) traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim,^(B) but there was no water^(C) for the people to drink. ² So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water^(D) to drink.”^(E)

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”^(F)

³ But the people were thirsty^(G) for water there, and they grumbled^(H) against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die^(I) of thirst?”

⁴ Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone^(J) me.”

⁵ The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff^(K) with which you struck the Nile,^(L) and go. ⁶ I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb.^(M) Strike^(N) the rock, and water^(O) will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷ And he called the place Massah^[a](P) and Meribah^[b](Q) because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

The Amalekites Defeated

⁸ The Amalekites^(R) came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.^{(S) 9} Moses said to Joshua,^(T) “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff^(U) of God in my hands.”

¹⁰ So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur^(V) went to the top of the hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning,^(W) but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. ¹² When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.^{(X) 13} So Joshua overcame the Amalekite^(Y) army with the sword.

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write^(Z) this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out^(AA) the name of Amalek^(AB) from under heaven.”

¹⁵ Moses built an altar^(AC) and called^(AD) it The Lord is my Banner. ¹⁶ He said, “Because hands were lifted up against^[c] the throne of the Lord,^[d] the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites^(AE) from generation to generation.”^(AF)

Jethro Visits Moses

18 Now Jethro,^(AG) the priest of Midian^(AH) and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.^(AI)

² After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah,^(AJ) his father-in-law Jethro received her ³ and her two sons.^(AK) One son was named Gershom,^[e] for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”;^{(AL) 4} and the other was named Eliezer,^[f](AM) for he said, “My father’s God was my helper;^(AN) he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

⁵ Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain^(AO) of God. ⁶ Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

⁷ So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down^(AP) and kissed^(AQ) him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. ⁸ Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships^(AR) they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved^(AS) them.

⁹ Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things^(AT) the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰ He said, “Praise be to the Lord,^(AU) who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹ Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods,^(AV) for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.”^{(AW) 12} Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law,^(AX) brought a burnt offering^(AY) and other sacrifices^(AZ) to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal^(BA) with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence^(BB) of God.

¹³ The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. ¹⁴ When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”

¹⁵ Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.^{(BC) 16} Whenever they have a dispute,^(BD) it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”^(BE)

¹⁷ Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.^{(BF) 19} Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you.^(BG) You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes^(BH) to him. ²⁰ Teach them his decrees and instructions,^(BI) and show them the way they are to live^(BJ) and how they are to behave.^{(BK) 21} But select capable men^(BL) from all the people—men who fear^(BM) God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain^(BN)—and appoint them as officials^(BO) over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²² Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case^(BP) to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share^(BQ) it with you. ²³ If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

²⁴ Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. ²⁵ He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders^(BR) of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.^{(BS) 26} They served as judges^(BT) for the people at all times. The difficult cases^(BU) they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.^(BV)

²⁷ Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.^(BW)

Psalm 12^[a]

For the director of music. According to sheminith.^[b] A psalm of David.

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King^(A)(B)

21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives,^(C) Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill^(D) what was spoken through the prophet:

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks^(F) on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet^(J) from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus at the Temple^(K)

¹² Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying^(L) and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers^(M) and the benches of those selling doves.^{(N) 13} “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’^[e](O) but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’^[f]”^(P)

¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.^{(Q) 15} But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,”^(R) they were indignant.^(S)

¹⁶ “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

¹⁷ And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany,^(U) where he spent the night.

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree^(V)

¹⁸ Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.^(W)

²⁰ When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

²¹ Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt,^(X) not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. ²² If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for^(Y) in prayer.”

The Authority of Jesus Questioned^(Z)

²³ Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority^(AA) are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”^(AB)

²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸ “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’^(AC)

²⁹ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰ “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

³¹ “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors^(AD) and the prostitutes^(AE) are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness,^(AF) and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors^(AG) and the prostitutes^(AH) did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent^(AI) and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants^(AJ)

³³ “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted^(AK) a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower.^(AL) Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.^{(AM) 34} When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants^(AN) to the tenants to collect his fruit.

³⁵ “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.^{(AO) 36} Then he sent other servants^(AP) to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. ³⁷ Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸ “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir.^(AQ) Come, let’s kill him^(AR) and take his inheritance.’^{(AS) 39} So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

⁴⁰ “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

⁴¹ “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,”^(AT) they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants,^(AU) who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

⁴³ “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you^(AW) and given to a people who will produce its fruit. ⁴⁴ Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”^[i](AX)

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. ⁴⁶ They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.^(AY)