Moses and Aaron Confront Pharaoh

5 Later Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Let my people go into the desert to celebrate a festival in my honor.”

² Pharaoh asked, “Who is the Lord? Why should I obey him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I won’t let Israel go.”

³ They replied, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us travel three days into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we don’t go, he may kill us with a plague or a war.”

⁴ The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their work? Get back to work!” ⁵ Then Pharaoh added, “Look how many people there are in the land! Do you want them to quit working?”

Pharaoh Increases the Israelites’ Labor

⁶ That same day Pharaoh gave these orders to the slave drivers and foremen:

Jesus Dies on the Cross^(A)

³³ At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ³⁴ At three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

³⁵ When some of the people standing there heard him say that, they said, “Listen! He’s calling Elijah.” ³⁶ Someone ran and soaked a sponge in vinegar. Then he put it on a stick and offered Jesus a drink. The man said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”

³⁷ Then Jesus cried out in a loud voice and died. ³⁸ The curtain in the temple was split in two from top to bottom.

³⁹ When the officer who stood facing Jesus saw how he gave up his spirit, he said, “Certainly, this man was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰ Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary from Magdala, Mary (the mother of young James and Joseph), and Salome. ⁴¹ They had followed him and supported him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come to Jerusalem with him were there too.

Jesus Is Placed in a Tomb^(B)

⁴² It was Friday evening, before the day of rest—a holy day, ⁴³ when Joseph arrived. He was from the city of Arimathea and was an important member of the Jewish council. He, too, was waiting for God’s kingdom. Joseph boldly went to Pilate’s quarters to ask for the body of Jesus.

⁴⁴ Pilate wondered if Jesus had already died. So he summoned the officer to ask him if Jesus was, in fact, dead. ⁴⁵ When the officer had assured him that Jesus was dead, Pilate let Joseph have the corpse.

⁴⁶ Joseph had purchased some linen cloth. He took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in the cloth. Then he laid the body in a tomb, which had been cut out of rock, and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. ⁴⁷ Mary from Magdala and Mary (the mother of Joses) watched where Jesus was laid.