6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand^(A) he will let them go;^(B) because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”^(C)

² God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.^{(D) 3} I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,^[a](E) but by my name^(F) the Lord^[b](G) I did not make myself fully known to them. ⁴ I also established my covenant^(H) with them to give them the land^(I) of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.^{(J) 5} Moreover, I have heard the groaning^(K) of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.^(L)

⁶ “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.^(M) I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem^(N) you with an outstretched arm^(O) and with mighty acts of judgment.^{(P) 7} I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.^(Q) Then you will know^(R) that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. ⁸ And I will bring you to the land^(S) I swore^(T) with uplifted hand^(U) to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.^(V) I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”^(W)

⁹ Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.^(X)

¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Go, tell^(Y) Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”^(Z)

¹² But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen^(AA) to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips^[c]?”^(AB)

Family Record of Moses and Aaron

¹³ Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.^(AC)

²⁶ It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt^(AY) by their divisions.”^{(AZ) 27} They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh^(BA) king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—this same Moses and Aaron.^(BB)

Aaron to Speak for Moses

²⁸ Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, ²⁹ he said to him, “I am the Lord.^(BC) Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”

³⁰ But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips,^(BD) why would Pharaoh listen to me?”

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve^(A)(B)

9 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons^(C) and to cure diseases,^{(D) 2} and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God^(E) and to heal the sick. ³ He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt.^{(F) 4} Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. ⁵ If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”^{(G) 6} So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.

⁷ Now Herod^(H) the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John^(I) had been raised from the dead,^{(J) 8} others that Elijah had appeared,^(K) and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.^{(L) 9} But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him.^(M)

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand^(N)(O)

¹⁰ When the apostles^(P) returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida,^{(Q) 11} but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God,^(R) and healed those who needed healing.

¹² Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”

¹³ He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” ¹⁴ (About five thousand men were there.)

But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. ¹⁶ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them.^(S) Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. ¹⁷ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah^(T)(U)

¹⁸ Once when Jesus was praying^(V) in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

¹⁹ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist;^(W) others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”^(X)

²⁰ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”^(Y)

Jesus Predicts His Death

²¹ Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.^{(Z) 22} And he said, “The Son of Man^(AA) must suffer many things^(AB) and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law,^(AC) and he must be killed^(AD) and on the third day^(AE) be raised to life.”^(AF)

²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.^{(AG) 24} For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.^{(AH) 25} What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? ²⁶ Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them^(AI) when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.^(AJ)

²⁷ “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration^(AK)

²⁸ About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James^(AL) with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.^{(AM) 29} As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. ³⁰ Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. ³¹ They spoke about his departure,^[a](AN) which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. ³² Peter and his companions were very sleepy,^(AO) but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. ³³ As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master,^(AP) it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

³⁴ While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen;^(AQ) listen to him.”^{(AR) 36} When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.^(AS)

Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy^(AT)

³⁷ The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. ³⁸ A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. ³⁹ A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. ⁴⁰ I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”

⁴¹ “You unbelieving and perverse generation,”^(AU) Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

⁴² Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³ And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.

Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time

While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, ⁴⁴ “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”^{(AV) 45} But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it,^(AW) and they were afraid to ask him about it.

⁴⁶ An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.^{(AX) 47} Jesus, knowing their thoughts,^(AY) took a little child and had him stand beside him. ⁴⁸ Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.^(AZ) For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”^(BA)

⁴⁹ “Master,”^(BB) said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”

⁵⁰ “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”^(BC)

Samaritan Opposition

⁵¹ As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven,^(BD) Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.^{(BE) 52} And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan^(BF) village to get things ready for him; ⁵³ but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When the disciples James and John^(BG) saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them^[b]?”^{(BH) 55} But Jesus turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ Then he and his disciples went to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus^(BI)

⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road,^(BJ) a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man^(BK) has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹ He said to another man, “Follow me.”^(BL)

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”^(BM)

⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”^(BN)

⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Job

23 Then Job replied:

Warnings From Israel’s History

10 For I do not want you to be ignorant^(A) of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud^(B) and that they all passed through the sea.^{(C) 2} They were all baptized into^(D) Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ³ They all ate the same spiritual food^{(E) 4} and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock^(F) that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. ⁵ Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.^(G)

⁶ Now these things occurred as examples^(H) to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. ⁷ Do not be idolaters,^(I) as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”^{[a](J) 8} We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.^{(K) 9} We should not test Christ,^[b](L) as some of them did—and were killed by snakes.^{(M) 10} And do not grumble, as some of them did^(N)—and were killed^(O) by the destroying angel.^(P)

¹¹ These things happened to them as examples^(Q) and were written down as warnings for us,^(R) on whom the culmination of the ages has come.^{(S) 12} So, if you think you are standing firm,^(T) be careful that you don’t fall! ¹³ No temptation^[c] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful;^(U) he will not let you be tempted^[d] beyond what you can bear.^(V) But when you are tempted,^[e] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Idol Feasts and the Lord’s Supper

¹⁴ Therefore, my dear friends,^(W) flee from idolatry.^{(X) 15} I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. ¹⁶ Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break^(Y) a participation in the body of Christ?^{(Z) 17} Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body,^(AA) for we all share the one loaf.

¹⁸ Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices^(AB) participate in the altar? ¹⁹ Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?^{(AC) 20} No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons,^(AD) not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. ²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.^{(AE) 22} Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy?^(AF) Are we stronger than he?^(AG)

The Believer’s Freedom

²³ “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial.^(AH) “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. ²⁴ No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.^(AI)

²⁵ Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,^{(AJ) 26} for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”^[f](AK)

²⁷ If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you^(AL) without raising questions of conscience. ²⁸ But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience.^{(AM) 29} I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom^(AN) being judged by another’s conscience? ³⁰ If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?^(AO)

³¹ So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.^{(AP) 32} Do not cause anyone to stumble,^(AQ) whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God^(AR)— ³³ even as I try to please everyone in every way.^(AS) For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many,^(AT) so that they may be saved.^(AU)