7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God^(A) to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.^{(B) 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,^(C) and though I multiply my signs and wonders^(D) in Egypt, ⁴ he will not listen^(E) to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment^(F) I will bring out my divisions,^(G) my people the Israelites. ⁵ And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord^(H) when I stretch out my hand^(I) against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

⁶ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded^(J) them. ⁷ Moses was eighty years old^(K) 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,^(L)’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”^(M)

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,^(N) and the Egyptian magicians^(O) also did the same things by their secret arts:^{(P) 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^(Q) became hard and he would not listen^(R) to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Blood

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding;^(S) he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river.^(T) Confront him on the bank of the Nile,^(U) 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^(V) me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.^{(W) 17} This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord:^(X) With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.^{(Y) 18} The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink;^(Z) the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”^(AA)

¹⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff^(AB) and stretch out your hand^(AC) 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^[a] of wood and stone.”

²⁰ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded.^(AD) He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile,^(AE) and all the water was changed into blood.^{(AF) 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^(AG) did the same things by their secret arts,^(AH) and Pharaoh’s heart^(AI) 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^(AJ), 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 on the Sabbath

3 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue,^(A) and a man with a shriveled hand was there. ² Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely^(B) to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.^{(C) 3} Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

⁴ Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

⁵ He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. ⁶ Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians^(D) how they might kill Jesus.^(E)

Crowds Follow Jesus^(F)

⁷ Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed.^{(G) 8} When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.^{(H) 9} Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. ¹⁰ For he had healed many,^(I) so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.^{(J) 11} Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”^{(K) 12} But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.^(L)

Jesus Appoints the Twelve^(M)

¹³ Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.^{(N) 14} He appointed twelve^[a](O) that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵ and to have authority to drive out demons.^{(P) 16} These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter),^{(Q) 17} James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law^(R)(S)

²⁰ Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered,^(T) so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.^{(U) 21} When his family^[b] heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”^(V)

²² And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem^(W) said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul!^(X) By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”^(Y)

²³ So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables:^(Z) “How can Satan^(AA) drive out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶ And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. ²⁷ In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.^{(AB) 28} Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”^(AC)

³⁰ He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

³¹ Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived.^(AD) Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. ³² A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

³³ “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

³⁴ Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”