6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand^(A) he will let them go;^(B) because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”^(C)

² God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.^{(D) 3} I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,^[a](E) but by my name^(F) the Lord^[b](G) I did not make myself fully known to them. ⁴ I also established my covenant^(H) with them to give them the land^(I) of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.^{(J) 5} Moreover, I have heard the groaning^(K) of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.^(L)

⁶ “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.^(M) I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem^(N) you with an outstretched arm^(O) and with mighty acts of judgment.^{(P) 7} I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.^(Q) Then you will know^(R) that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. ⁸ And I will bring you to the land^(S) I swore^(T) with uplifted hand^(U) to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.^(V) I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”^(W)

⁹ Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.^(X)

¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Go, tell^(Y) Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”^(Z)

¹² But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen^(AA) to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips^[c]?”^(AB)

Family Record of Moses and Aaron

¹³ Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.^(AC)

²⁶ It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt^(AY) by their divisions.”^{(AZ) 27} They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh^(BA) king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—this same Moses and Aaron.^(BB)

Aaron to Speak for Moses

²⁸ Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, ²⁹ he said to him, “I am the Lord.^(BC) Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”

³⁰ But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips,^(BD) why would Pharaoh listen to me?”

7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God^(BE) to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.^{(BF) 2} You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. ³ But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,^(BG) and though I multiply my signs and wonders^(BH) in Egypt, ⁴ he will not listen^(BI) to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment^(BJ) I will bring out my divisions,^(BK) my people the Israelites. ⁵ And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord^(BL) when I stretch out my hand^(BM) against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

⁶ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded^(BN) them. ⁷ Moses was eighty years old^(BO) and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,^(BP)’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”^(BQ)

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. ¹¹ Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers,^(BR) and the Egyptian magicians^(BS) also did the same things by their secret arts:^{(BT) 12} Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³ Yet Pharaoh’s heart^(BU) became hard and he would not listen^(BV) to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Blood

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding;^(BW) he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river.^(BX) Confront him on the bank of the Nile,^(BY) and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. ¹⁶ Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship^(BZ) me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.^{(CA) 17} This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord:^(CB) With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.^{(CC) 18} The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink;^(CD) the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”^(CE)

¹⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff^(CF) and stretch out your hand^(CG) over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels^[e] of wood and stone.”

²⁰ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded.^(CH) He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile,^(CI) and all the water was changed into blood.^{(CJ) 21} The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

²² But the Egyptian magicians^(CK) did the same things by their secret arts,^(CL) and Pharaoh’s heart^(CM) became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. ²³ Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. ²⁴ And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water^(CN), because they could not drink the water of the river.

The Plague of Frogs

²⁵ Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.

Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy^(A)

¹⁴ When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. ¹⁵ “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures^(B) and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

¹⁷ “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” ¹⁸ Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁰ He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith^(C) as small as a mustard seed,^(D) you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.^(E) Nothing will be impossible for you.” ^[21] [a]

Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time

²² When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man^(F) is going to be delivered into the hands of men. ²³ They will kill him,^(G) and on the third day^(H) he will be raised to life.”^(I) And the disciples were filled with grief.

The Temple Tax

²⁴ After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax^(J) came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

²⁵ “Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes^(K)—from their own children or from others?”

²⁶ “From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. ²⁷ “But so that we may not cause offense,^(L) go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”