Moses and the Burning Bush

3 Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro,^[a] the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb,^[b] the mountain of God.^{(A) 2} Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush.^(B) As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. ³ So Moses thought, “I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?”

⁴ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

“Here I am,” he answered.

⁵ “Do not come closer,” he said. “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”^{(C) 6} Then he continued, “I am the God of your father,^[c] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”^(D) Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out^(E) because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings, ⁸ and I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey^(F)—the territory of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.^{(G) 9} So because the Israelites’ cry for help has come to me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing^(H) them, ¹⁰ therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

¹¹ But Moses asked God, “Who am I^(I) that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹² He answered, “I will certainly be with you,^(J) and this will be the sign to you that I am the one who sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship^[d] God at this mountain.”

¹³ Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?”

¹⁴ God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.^[e](K) This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” ¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever;^(L) this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.

¹⁶ “Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I have paid close attention to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt.^{(M) 17} And I have promised you that I will bring you up from the misery of Egypt^(N) to the land of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁸ They will listen to what you say. Then you, along with the elders of Israel, must go to the king of Egypt and say to him: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.^(O)

¹⁹ “However, I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go, even under force from a strong hand.^{(P) 20} But when I stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my miracles that I will perform in it, after that, he will let you go.^{(Q) 21} And I will give these people such favor with the Egyptians that when you go, you will not go empty-handed.^{(R) 22} Each woman will ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry, and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians.”^(S)

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

16 Now he said to the disciples, “There was a rich^(A) man who received an accusation that his manager^(B) was squandering^(C) his possessions. ² So he called the manager in and asked, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management,^(D) because you can no longer be my manager.’

³ “Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do since my master is taking the management away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig; I’m ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that when I’m removed from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’

⁵ “So he summoned each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first one.

⁶ “‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he said.

“‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘sit down quickly, and write fifty.’

⁷ “Next he asked another, ‘How much do you owe?’

“‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he said.

“‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘and write eighty.’

⁸ “The master praised the unrighteous manager^(E) because he had acted shrewdly. For the children of this age^(F) are more shrewd than the children of light^(G) in dealing with their own people.^{[a] 9} And I tell you, make friends^(H) for yourselves by means of worldly wealth^[b](I) so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings. ¹⁰ Whoever is faithful^(J) in very little^(K) is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much. ¹¹ So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will trust you with what is genuine? ¹² And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own? ¹³ No^(L) servant can serve two masters, since either he will hate^(M) one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Kingdom Values

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who were lovers of money,^(N) were listening to all these things and scoffing^(O) at him. ¹⁵ And he told them, “You are the ones who justify^(P) yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts.^(Q) For what is highly admired by people is revolting^(R) in God’s sight.

¹⁶ “The^(S) Law and the Prophets^(T) were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God^(U) has been proclaimed, and everyone is urgently invited to enter it.^{[c] 17} But it is easier^(V) for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the law to drop out.

¹⁸ “Everyone^(W) who divorces^(X) his wife and marries another woman commits adultery,^(Y) and everyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was a rich man who would dress in purple and fine linen,^(Z) feasting lavishly every day. ²⁰ But a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, was lying at his gate.^{(AA) 21} He longed to be filled^(AB) with what fell from the rich man’s table,^(AC) but instead the dogs^(AD) would come and lick his sores. ²² One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side.^[d](AE) The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ And being in torment^(AF) in Hades,^(AG) he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. ²⁴ ‘Father Abraham!’^(AH) he called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony^(AI) in this flame!’

²⁵ “‘Son,’^[e] Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things,^(AJ) just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here,^(AK) while you are in agony. ²⁶ Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’

²⁷ “‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house— ²⁸ because I have five brothers—to warn^(AL) them, so that they won’t also come to this place of torment.’

²⁹ “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets;^(AM) they should listen to them.’

³⁰ “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

³¹ “But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”^(AN)

Psalm 101

A Vow of Integrity

A psalm of David.