A House Divided Cannot Stand^(A)

^22 (B)Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the ^[a]blind and mute man both spoke and saw. ²³ And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the ^(C)Son of David?”

^24 (D)Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by ^[b]Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

²⁵ But Jesus ^(E)knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶ If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. ²⁸ But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, ^(F)surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. ^29 (G)Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. ³⁰ He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

The Unpardonable Sin^(H)

³¹ “Therefore I say to you, ^(I)every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, ^(J)but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³² Anyone who ^(K)speaks a word against the Son of Man, ^(L)it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

A Tree Known by Its Fruit^(M)

³³ “Either make the tree good and ^(N)its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. ^34 (O)Brood^[c] of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? ^(P)For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ A good man out of the good treasure ^[d]of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. ³⁶ But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. ³⁷ For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Philosophers at Athens

¹⁶ Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, ^(A)his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was ^[a]given over to idols. ¹⁷ Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. ^18 [b]Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this ^[c]babbler want to say?”

Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them ^(B)Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹ And they took him and brought him to the ^[d]Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? ²⁰ For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” ²¹ For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.

Addressing the Areopagus

²² Then Paul stood in the midst of the ^[e]Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; ²³ for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:

TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.

Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: ^24 (C)God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is ^(D)Lord of heaven and earth, ^(E)does not dwell in temples made with hands. ²⁵ Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He ^(F)gives to all life, breath, and all things. ²⁶ And He has made from one ^[f]blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and ^(G)the boundaries of their dwellings, ^27 (H)so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, ^(I)though He is not far from each one of us; ²⁸ for ^(J)in Him we live and move and have our being, ^(K)as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ ²⁹ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, ^(L)we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. ³⁰ Truly, ^(M)these times of ignorance God overlooked, but ^(N)now commands all men everywhere to repent, ³¹ because He has appointed a day on which ^(O)He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by ^(P)raising Him from the dead.”

³² And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.” ³³ So Paul departed from among them. ³⁴ However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Rejoicing in Answered Prayer

A Psalm of David.

The Firstborn Consecrated

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^2 (A)“Consecrate^[a] to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”

The Feast of Unleavened Bread^(B)

³ And Moses said to the people: ^(C)“Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of ^[b]bondage; for ^(D)by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. ^(E)No leavened bread shall be eaten. ^4 (F)On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. ⁵ And it shall be, when the Lord ^(G)brings you into the ^(H)land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He ^(I)swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, ^(J)that you shall keep this service in this month. ^6 (K)Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. ⁷ Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And ^(L)no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. ⁸ And you shall ^(M)tell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.’ ⁹ It shall be as ^(N)a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. ^10 (O)You shall therefore keep this ^[c]ordinance in its season from year to year.

The Law of the Firstborn

¹¹ “And it shall be, when the Lord ^(P)brings you into the land of the ^(Q)Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, ^12 (R)that you shall ^[d]set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s. ¹³ But ^(S)every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons ^(T)you shall redeem. ^14 (U)So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ^(V)‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ¹⁵ And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that ^(W)the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶ It shall be as ^(X)a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

The Wilderness Way^(Y)

¹⁷ Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people ^(Z)change their minds when they see war, and ^(AA)return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ So God ^(AB)led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁹ And Moses took the ^(AC)bones of ^(AD)Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, ^(AE)“God will surely ^[e]visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”

²⁰ So ^(AF)they took their journey from ^(AG)Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ And ^(AH)the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. ²² He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

The Red Sea Crossing

14 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Speak to the children of Israel, ^(AI)that they turn and camp before ^(AJ)Pi Hahiroth, between ^(AK)Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. ³ For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ^(AL)‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’ ⁴ Then ^(AM)I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I ^(AN)will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, ^(AO)that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

⁵ Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and ^(AP)the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” ⁶ So he ^[f]made ready his chariot and took his people with him. ⁷ Also, he took ^(AQ)six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. ⁸ And the Lord ^(AR)hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and ^(AS)the children of Israel went out with boldness. ⁹ So the ^(AT)Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.

¹⁰ And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel ^(AU)cried out to the Lord. ^11 (AV)Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? ^12 (AW)Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

¹³ And Moses said to the people, ^(AX)“Do not be afraid. ^(AY)Stand still, and see the ^(AZ)salvation^[g] of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall ^(BA)see again no more forever. ^14 (BB)The Lord will fight for you, and you shall ^(BC)hold^[h] your peace.”

¹⁵ And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. ¹⁶ But ^(BD)lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. ¹⁷ And I indeed will ^(BE)harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will ^(BF)gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. ¹⁸ Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

¹⁹ And the Angel of God, ^(BG)who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. ²⁰ So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and ^(BH)made the sea into dry land, and the waters were ^(BI)divided. ²² So ^(BJ)the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were ^(BK)a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. ²³ And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

²⁴ Now it came to pass, in the morning ^(BL)watch, that ^(BM)the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He ^[i]troubled the army of the Egyptians. ²⁵ And He ^[j]took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord ^(BN)fights for them against the Egyptians.”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” ²⁷ And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea ^(BO)returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the Lord ^(BP)overthrew^[k] the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. ²⁸ Then ^(BQ)the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. ²⁹ But ^(BR)the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

³⁰ So the Lord ^(BS)saved^[l] Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel ^(BT)saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹ Thus Israel saw the great ^[m]work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and ^(BU)believed the Lord and His servant Moses.

The Song of Moses^(BV)

15 Then ^(BW)Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying:

¹⁹ For the ^(DK)horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and ^(DL)the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.

The Song of Miriam^(DM)

²⁰ Then Miriam ^(DN)the prophetess, ^(DO)the sister of Aaron, ^(DP)took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her ^(DQ)with timbrels and with dances. ²¹ And Miriam ^(DR)answered them:

Bitter Waters Made Sweet

²² So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of ^(DT)Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no ^(DU)water. ²³ Now when they came to ^(DV)Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called ^[q]Marah. ²⁴ And the people ^(DW)complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” ²⁵ So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. ^(DX)When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.

There He ^(DY)made a statute and an ^[r]ordinance for them, and there ^(DZ)He tested them, ²⁶ and said, ^(EA)“If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the ^(EB)diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord ^(EC)who heals you.”

^27 (ED)Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.