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?^(A) Up to seven times?”^(B)

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

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

²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him.^(H) ‘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.^[c] 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.”^(I)

The Plague on Livestock

9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship^(A) me.” ² If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, ³ the hand^(B) of the Lord will bring a terrible plague^(C) on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats. ⁴ But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt,^(D) so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’”

⁵ The Lord set a time and said, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.” ⁶ And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock^(E) of the Egyptians died,^(F) but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. ⁷ Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart^(G) was unyielding and he would not let the people go.^(H)

The Plague of Boils

⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. ⁹ It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils^(I) will break out on people and animals throughout the land.”

¹⁰ So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on people and animals. ¹¹ The magicians^(J) could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians. ¹² But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart^(K) and he would not listen^(L) to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.

The Plague of Hail

¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship^(M) me, ¹⁴ or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know^(N) that there is no one like^(O) me in all the earth. ¹⁵ For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people^(P) with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. ¹⁶ But I have raised you up^[a] for this very purpose,^(Q) that I might show you my power^(R) and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. ¹⁷ You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. ¹⁸ Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm^(S) that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now.^{(T) 19} Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’”

²⁰ Those officials of Pharaoh who feared^(U) the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. ²¹ But those who ignored^(V) the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.” ²³ When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder^(W) and hail,^(X) and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; ²⁴ hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.^{(Y) 25} Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree.^{(Z) 26} The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen,^(AA) where the Israelites were.^(AB)

²⁷ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,”^(AC) he said to them. “The Lord is in the right,^(AD) and I and my people are in the wrong. ²⁸ Pray^(AE) to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go;^(AF) you don’t have to stay any longer.”

²⁹ Moses replied, “When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands^(AG) in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth^(AH) is the Lord’s. ³⁰ But I know that you and your officials still do not fear^(AI) the Lord God.”

³¹ (The flax and barley^(AJ) were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. ³² The wheat and spelt,^(AK) however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)

³³ Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the Lord; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land. ³⁴ When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts. ³⁵ So Pharaoh’s heart^(AL) was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.