Deliver Me, O Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

My Help Comes from the Lord

A Song of ^(J)Ascents.

The Passover Celebrated

9 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, ^(A)in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ² “Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. ^3 (B)On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it.” ⁴ So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. ⁵ And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did. ⁶ And there were certain men who were ^(C)unclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and ^(D)they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. ⁷ And those men said to him, “We are unclean through touching a dead body. Why are we kept from bringing the Lord's ^(E)offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?” ⁸ And Moses said to them, “Wait, that ^(F)I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”

⁹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to the Lord. ^11 (G)In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. ^(H)They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ^12 (I)They shall leave none of it until the morning, ^(J)nor break any of its bones; ^(K)according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it. ¹³ But if anyone who is clean and is not on a journey fails to keep the Passover, ^(L)that person shall be cut off from his people because he did not bring the Lord's ^(M)offering at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. ¹⁴ And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule, so shall he do. ^(N)You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.”

The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle

^15 (O)On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And ^(P)at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. ¹⁶ So it was always: the cloud covered it by day^[a] and the appearance of fire by night. ¹⁷ And whenever the cloud ^(Q)lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. ¹⁸ At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they camped. ^(R)As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. ¹⁹ Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel ^(S)kept the charge of the Lord and did not set out. ²⁰ Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the Lord they remained in camp; then according to the command of the Lord they set out. ²¹ And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. ²² Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel ^(T)remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. ²³ At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. ^(U)They kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.

Women Accompanying Jesus

8 Soon afterward he went on ^(A)through cities and villages, proclaiming and ^(B)bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, ² and also ^(C)some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: ^(D)Mary, called Magdalene, ^(E)from whom seven demons had gone out, ³ and ^(F)Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them^[a] out of their means.

The Parable of the Sower

^4 (G)And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, ^5 (H)“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶ And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, ^(I)it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷ And some fell among ^(J)thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. ⁸ And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded ^(K)a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, ^(L)“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

⁹ And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, ¹⁰ he said, ^(M)“To you it has been given to know ^(N)the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so ^(O)that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ ^11 (P)Now the parable is this: The seed is ^(Q)the word of God. ¹² The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not ^(R)believe and be saved. ¹³ And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it ^(S)with joy. But these have no root; they ^(T)believe for a while, and in time of testing ^(U)fall away. ¹⁴ And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but ^(V)as they go on their way they are choked by the ^(W)cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. ¹⁵ As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and ^(X)bear fruit ^(Y)with patience.

A Lamp Under a Jar

^16 (Z)(AA)“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ^17 (AB)For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. ^18 (AC)Take care then how you hear, ^(AD)for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

^19 (AE)Then his mother and ^(AF)his brothers^[b] came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. ²⁰ And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” ²¹ But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those ^(AG)who hear the word of God and do it.”

Jesus Calms a Storm

^22 (AH)One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of ^(AI)the lake.” So they set out, ²³ and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on ^(AJ)the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. ²⁴ And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and ^(AK)rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, ^(AL)and there was a calm. ²⁵ He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they ^(AM)were afraid, and they ^(AN)marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that ^(AO)he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”