His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

Israel Increases Greatly in Egypt

1 ^(A)These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: ² Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, ³ Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, ⁴ Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. ⁵ All the descendants of Jacob were ^(B)seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. ⁶ Then ^(C)Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. ^7 (D)But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

Pharaoh Oppresses Israel

⁸ Now there arose a new king over Egypt, ^(E)who did not know Joseph. ⁹ And he said to his people, “Behold, ^(F)the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. ^10 (G)Come, ^(H)let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” ¹¹ Therefore they set taskmasters over them ^(I)to afflict them with heavy ^(J)burdens. They built for Pharaoh ^(K)store cities, Pithom and ^(L)Raamses. ¹² But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. ¹³ So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel ^(M)work as slaves ¹⁴ and ^(N)made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

¹⁵ Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, ¹⁶ “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” ¹⁷ But the midwives ^(O)feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. ¹⁸ So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” ¹⁹ The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” ^20 (P)So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. ²¹ And because the midwives feared God, ^(Q)he gave them families. ²² Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, ^(R)“Every son that is born to the Hebrews^[a] you shall cast into ^(S)the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

The Cost of Following Jesus

¹⁸ Now ^(A)when Jesus saw a crowd around him, ^(B)he gave orders to go over to the other side. ^19 (C)And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” ²⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ²¹ Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ²² And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave ^(D)the dead to bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms a Storm

^23 (E)And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴ And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but ^(F)he was asleep. ²⁵ And they went and woke him, saying, ^(G)“Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” ²⁶ And he said to them, “Why are you ^(H)afraid, ^(I)O you of little faith?” Then he rose and ^(J)rebuked the winds and the sea, and ^(K)there was a great calm. ²⁷ And the men ^(L)marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even ^(M)winds and sea obey him?”

Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons

^28 (N)And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes,^[a] two ^(O)demon-possessed^[b] men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ And behold, they ^(P)cried out, “What have you to do with us, ^(Q)O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us ^(R)before the time?” ³⁰ Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. ³¹ And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” ³² And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. ³³ The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the ^(S)demon-possessed men. ³⁴ And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, ^(T)they begged him to leave their region.