The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven^(A)

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

² He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. ³ And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children,^(B) you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.^{(C) 4} Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.^{(D) 5} And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.^(E)

Causing to Stumble

⁶ “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.^{(F) 7} Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!^{(G) 8} If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble,^(H) cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to stumble,^(I) gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.^(J)

The Parable of the Wandering Sheep^(K)

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels^(L) in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. ^[11] [a]

¹² “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. ¹⁴ In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

Dealing With Sin in the Church

¹⁵ “If your brother or sister^[b] sins,^[c] go and point out their fault,^(M) just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’^{[d](N) 17} If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church;^(O) and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.^(P)

¹⁸ “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be^[e] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^[f] loosed in heaven.^(Q)

¹⁹ “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them^(R) by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”^(S)

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?^(T) Up to seven times?”^(U)

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.^[g](V)

²³ “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like^(W) a king who wanted to settle accounts^(X) with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold^[h] was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay,^(Y) the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold^(Z) to repay the debt.

²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him.^(AA) ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.^[i] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”^(AB)

The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread^(A)

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, ² “This month is to be for you the first month,^(B) the first month of your year. ³ Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb^[a](C) for his family, one for each household.^{(D) 4} If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. ⁵ The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect,^(E) and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. ⁶ Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month,^(F) when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.^{(G) 7} Then they are to take some of the blood^(H) and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. ⁸ That same night^(I) they are to eat the meat roasted^(J) over the fire, along with bitter herbs,^(K) and bread made without yeast.^{(L) 9} Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs.^{(M) 10} Do not leave any of it till morning;^(N) if some is left till morning, you must burn it. ¹¹ This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste;^(O) it is the Lord’s Passover.^(P)

¹² “On that same night I will pass through^(Q) Egypt and strike down^(R) every firstborn^(S) of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods^(T) of Egypt. I am the Lord.^{(U) 13} The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over^(V) you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.^(W)

¹⁴ “This is a day you are to commemorate;^(X) for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.^{(Y) 15} For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast.^(Z) On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off^(AA) from Israel. ¹⁶ On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work^(AB) at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.

¹⁷ “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread,^(AC) because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt.^(AD) Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.^{(AE) 18} In the first month^(AF) you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. ¹⁹ For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner^(AG) or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off^(AH) from the community of Israel. ²⁰ Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live,^(AI) you must eat unleavened bread.”^(AJ)

²¹ Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover^(AK) lamb. ²² Take a bunch of hyssop,^(AL) dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood^(AM) on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. ²³ When the Lord goes through the land to strike^(AN) down the Egyptians, he will see the blood^(AO) on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over^(AP) that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer^(AQ) to enter your houses and strike you down.

²⁴ “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance^(AR) for you and your descendants. ²⁵ When you enter the land^(AS) that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. ²⁶ And when your children^(AT) ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ ²⁷ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover^(AU) sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”^(AV) Then the people bowed down and worshiped.^{(AW) 28} The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded^(AX) Moses and Aaron.

²⁹ At midnight^(AY) the Lord^(AZ) struck down all the firstborn^(BA) in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock^(BB) as well. ³⁰ Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing^(BC) in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

The Exodus

³¹ During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship^(BD) the Lord as you have requested. ³² Take your flocks and herds,^(BE) as you have said, and go. And also bless^(BF) me.”

³³ The Egyptians urged the people to hurry^(BG) and leave^(BH) the country. “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!”^{(BI) 34} So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs^(BJ) wrapped in clothing. ³⁵ The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold^(BK) and for clothing.^{(BL) 36} The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed^(BM) toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered^(BN) the Egyptians.

³⁷ The Israelites journeyed from Rameses^(BO) to Sukkoth.^(BP) There were about six hundred thousand men^(BQ) on foot, besides women and children. ³⁸ Many other people^(BR) went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. ³⁹ With the dough the Israelites had brought from Egypt, they baked loaves of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out^(BS) of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.

⁴⁰ Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt^[b] was 430 years.^{(BT) 41} At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions^(BU) left Egypt.^{(BV) 42} Because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the Lord for the generations to come.^(BW)

Passover Restrictions

⁴³ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover meal:^(BX)

“No foreigner^(BY) may eat it. ⁴⁴ Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised^(BZ) him, ⁴⁵ but a temporary resident or a hired worker^(CA) may not eat it.

⁴⁶ “It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.^{(CB) 47} The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.

⁴⁸ “A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land.^(CC) No uncircumcised^(CD) male may eat it. ⁴⁹ The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner^(CE) residing among you.”

⁵⁰ All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded^(CF) Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹ And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt^(CG) by their divisions.^(CH)

Consecration of the Firstborn

13 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Consecrate to me every firstborn male.^(CI) The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”

³ Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt,^(CJ) out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand.^(CK) Eat nothing containing yeast.^{(CL) 4} Today, in the month of Aviv,^(CM) you are leaving. ⁵ When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites,^(CN) Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites^(CO)—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey^(CP)—you are to observe this ceremony^(CQ) in this month: ⁶ For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival^(CR) to the Lord. ⁷ Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. ⁸ On that day tell your son,^(CS) ‘I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹ This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand^(CT) and a reminder on your forehead^(CU) that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand.^{(CV) 10} You must keep this ordinance^(CW) at the appointed time^(CX) year after year.

¹¹ “After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites^(CY) and gives it to you, as he promised on oath^(CZ) to you and your ancestors,^{(DA) 12} you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord.^{(DB) 13} Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey,^(DC) but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.^(DD) Redeem^(DE) every firstborn among your sons.^(DF)

¹⁴ “In days to come, when your son^(DG) asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.^{(DH) 15} When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’^{(DI) 16} And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead^(DJ) that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”

Crossing the Sea

¹⁷ When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”^{(DK) 18} So God led^(DL) the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.^[c] The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.^(DM)

¹⁹ Moses took the bones of Joseph^(DN) with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.”^[d](DO)

²⁰ After leaving Sukkoth^(DP) they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.^{(DQ) 21} By day the Lord went ahead^(DR) of them in a pillar of cloud^(DS) to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. ²² Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left^(DT) its place in front of the people.