First Encounter with Pharaoh

5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may ^[a]hold ^(A)a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ”

² And Pharaoh said, ^(B)“Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, ^(C)nor will I let Israel go.”

³ So they said, ^(D)“The God of the Hebrews has ^(E)met with us. Please, let us go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with ^(F)pestilence or with the sword.”

⁴ Then the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your ^(G)labor.” ⁵ And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are ^(H)many now, and you make them rest from their labor!”

⁶ So the same day Pharaoh commanded the ^(I)taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying, ⁷ “You shall no longer give the people straw to make ^(J)brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.”

¹⁰ And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, “Thus says Pharaoh: ‘I will not give you straw. ¹¹ Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it; yet none of your work will be reduced.’ ” ¹² So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. ¹³ And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, “Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there was straw.” ¹⁴ Also the ^(K)officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were ^(L)beaten and were asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?”

¹⁵ Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why are you dealing thus with your servants? ¹⁶ There is no straw given to your servants, and they say to us, ‘Make brick!’ And indeed your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your own people.”

¹⁷ But he said, “You are idle! Idle! Therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ Therefore go now and work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the quota of bricks.” ¹⁹ And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble after it was said, “You shall not reduce any bricks from your daily quota.”

²⁰ Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them. ^21 (M)And they said to them, “Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made ^[b]us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

Israel’s Deliverance Assured^(N)

²² So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? ²³ For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.”

God Renews His Promise to Israel

6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For ^(O)with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand ^(P)he will drive them out of his land.”

² And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am ^[c]the Lord. ^3 (Q)I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as ^(R)God Almighty, but by My name ^(S)Lord^[d] I was not known to them. ^4 (T)I have also ^[e]established My covenant with them, ^(U)to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their ^[f]pilgrimage, ^(V)in which they were ^[g]strangers. ⁵ And ^(W)I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. ⁶ Therefore say to the children of Israel: ^(X)‘I am the Lord; ^(Y)I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will ^(Z)rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with ^[h]an outstretched arm and with great judgments. ⁷ I will ^(AA)take you as My people, and ^(AB)I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out ^(AC)from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ⁸ And I will bring you into the land which I ^(AD)swore^[i] to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.’ ” ⁹ So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; ^(AE)but they did not heed Moses, because of ^(AF)anguish^[j] of spirit and cruel bondage.

¹⁰ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹ “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land.”

¹² And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for ^(AG)I am ^[k]of uncircumcised lips?”

¹³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a ^(AH)command^[l] for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

The Family of Moses and Aaron^(AI)

¹⁴ These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: ^(AJ)The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben. ^15 (AK)And the sons of Simeon were ^[m]Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These are the families of Simeon. ¹⁶ These are the names of ^(AL)the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven. ^17 (AM)The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimi according to their families. ¹⁸ And ^(AN)the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three. ^19 (AO)The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations.

²⁰ Now ^(AP)Amram took for himself ^(AQ)Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him ^(AR)Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven. ^21 (AS)The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. ²² And ^(AT)the sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri. ²³ Aaron took to himself Elisheba, daughter of ^(AU)Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him ^(AV)Nadab, Abihu, ^(AW)Eleazar, and Ithamar. ²⁴ And ^(AX)the sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites. ²⁵ Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and ^(AY)she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites according to their families.

²⁶ These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their ^(AZ)armies.”^{[n] 27} These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, ^(BA)to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are the same Moses and Aaron.

Aaron Is Moses’ Spokesman

²⁸ And it came to pass, on the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹ that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “I am the Lord. ^(BB)Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.”

³⁰ But Moses said before the Lord, “Behold, ^(BC)I am ^[o]of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?”

Paul’s Ministry on Malta

28 Now when they had escaped, they then found out that ^(A)the island was called Malta. ² And the ^(B)natives^[a] showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. ³ But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. ⁴ So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” ⁵ But he shook off the creature into the fire and ^(C)suffered no harm. ⁶ However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and ^(D)said that he was a god.

⁷ In that region there was an estate of the ^[b]leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days. ⁸ And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and ^(E)prayed, and ^(F)he laid his hands on him and healed him. ⁹ So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed. ¹⁰ They also honored us in many ^(G)ways; and when we departed, they provided such things as were ^(H)necessary.

Arrival at Rome

¹¹ After three months we sailed in ^(I)an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the ^[c]Twin Brothers, which had wintered at the island. ¹² And landing at Syracuse, we stayed three days. ¹³ From there we circled round and reached Rhegium. And after one day the south wind blew; and the next day we came to Puteoli, ¹⁴ where we found ^(J)brethren, and were invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome. ¹⁵ And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

¹⁶ Now when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard; but ^(K)Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him.

Paul’s Ministry at Rome

¹⁷ And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: “Men and brethren, ^(L)though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet ^(M)I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, ¹⁸ who, ^(N)when they had examined me, wanted to let me go, because there was no cause for putting me to death. ¹⁹ But when the ^[d]Jews spoke against it, ^(O)I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation. ²⁰ For this reason therefore I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because ^(P)for the hope of Israel I am bound with ^(Q)this chain.”

²¹ Then they said to him, “We neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren who came reported or spoken any evil of you. ²² But we desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning this sect, we know that ^(R)it is spoken against everywhere.”

²³ So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, ^(S)to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus ^(T)from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening. ²⁴ And ^(U)some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. ²⁵ So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to ^[e]our fathers, ²⁶ saying,

²⁸ “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent ^(W)to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” ^29 [f]And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves.

³⁰ Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, ^31 (X)preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

The Command to Love

3 Behold ^(A)what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that ^(B)we should be called children of ^[a]God! Therefore the world does not know ^[b]us, ^(C)because it did not know Him. ² Beloved, ^(D)now we are children of God; and ^(E)it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, ^(F)we shall be like Him, for ^(G)we shall see Him as He is. ^3 (H)And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Sin and the Child of God

⁴ Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and ^(I)sin is lawlessness. ⁵ And you know ^(J)that He was manifested ^(K)to take away our sins, and ^(L)in Him there is no sin. ⁶ Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

⁷ Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. ^8 (M)He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, ^(N)that He might destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ Whoever has been ^(O)born of God does not sin, for ^(P)His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

The Imperative of Love^(Q)

¹⁰ In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. ¹¹ For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, ^(R)that we should love one another, ¹² not as ^(S)Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

¹³ Do not marvel, my brethren, if ^(T)the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love ^[c]his brother abides in death. ^15 (U)Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that ^(V)no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

The Outworking of Love

^16 (W)By this we know love, ^(X)because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. ¹⁷ But ^(Y)whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

¹⁸ My little children, ^(Z)let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. ¹⁹ And by this we ^[d]know ^(AA)that we are of the truth, and shall ^[e]assure our hearts before Him. ^20 (AB)For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. ²¹ Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, ^(AC)we have confidence toward God. ²² And ^(AD)whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments ^(AE)and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. ²³ And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ ^(AF)and love one another, as He gave ^[f]us commandment.

The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error

²⁴ Now ^(AG)he who keeps His commandments ^(AH)abides in Him, and He in him. And ^(AI)by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.