Moses Flees to Midian^(A)

¹¹ Now it came to pass in those days, ^(B)when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. ¹² So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he ^(C)killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ And ^(D)when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men ^(E)were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?”

¹⁴ Then he said, ^(F)“Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”

So Moses ^(G)feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!” ¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But ^(H)Moses fled from ^[a]the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of ^(I)Midian; and he sat down by ^(J)a well.

^16 (K)Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. ^(L)And they came and drew water, and they filled the ^(M)troughs to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷ Then the ^(N)shepherds came and ^(O)drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and ^(P)watered their flock.

¹⁸ When they came to ^(Q)Reuel^[b] their father, ^(R)he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?”

¹⁹ And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.”

²⁰ So he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may ^(S)eat bread.”

²¹ Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave ^(T)Zipporah his daughter to Moses. ²² And she bore him a son. He called his name ^(U)Gershom,^[c] for he said, “I have been ^(V)a ^[d]stranger in a foreign land.”

²³ Now it happened ^(W)in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel ^(X)groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and ^(Y)their cry came up to God because of the bondage. ²⁴ So God ^(Z)heard their groaning, and God ^(AA)remembered His ^(AB)covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. ²⁵ And God ^(AC)looked upon the children of Israel, and God ^(AD)acknowledged them.

Moses at the Burning Bush^(AE)

3 Now Moses was tending the flock of ^(AF)Jethro his father-in-law, ^(AG)the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to ^(AH)Horeb, ^(AI)the mountain of God. ² And ^(AJ)the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. ³ Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this ^(AK)great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

⁴ So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called ^(AL)to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

⁵ Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. ^(AM)Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” ⁶ Moreover He said, ^(AN)“I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for ^(AO)he was afraid to look upon God.

⁷ And the Lord said: ^(AP)“I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry ^(AQ)because of their taskmasters, ^(AR)for I know their ^[e]sorrows. ⁸ So ^(AS)I have come down to ^(AT)deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land ^(AU)to a good and large land, to a land ^(AV)flowing with milk and honey, to the place of ^(AW)the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. ⁹ Now therefore, behold, ^(AX)the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the ^(AY)oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ^10 (AZ)Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

¹¹ But Moses said to God, ^(BA)“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

¹² So He said, ^(BB)“I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a ^(BC)sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

¹³ Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

¹⁴ And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ^(BD)‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” ¹⁵ Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is ^(BE)My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ ¹⁶ Go and ^(BF)gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, ^(BG)“I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; ¹⁷ and I have said ^(BH)I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’ ¹⁸ Then ^(BI)they will heed your voice; and ^(BJ)you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has ^(BK)met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ ¹⁹ But I am sure that the king of Egypt ^(BL)will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. ²⁰ So I will ^(BM)stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with ^(BN)all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and ^(BO)after that he will let you go. ²¹ And ^(BP)I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. ^22 (BQ)But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, ^(BR)articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So ^(BS)you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

¹⁰ And His disciples asked Him, saying, ^(A)“Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹ Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming ^[a]first and will ^(B)restore all things. ^12 (C)But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they ^(D)did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise ^(E)the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.” ^13 (F)Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

A Boy Is Healed^(G)

^14 (H)And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, ¹⁵ “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is ^[b]an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶ So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”

¹⁷ Then Jesus answered and said, “O ^[c]faithless and ^(I)perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” ¹⁸ And Jesus ^(J)rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

²⁰ So Jesus said to them, “Because of your ^[d]unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, ^(K)if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. ^21 [e]However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Jesus Again Predicts His Death and Resurrection^(L)

^22 (M)Now while they were ^[f]staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, ²³ and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly ^(N)sorrowful.

Peter and His Master Pay Their Taxes

^24 (O)When they had come to ^[g]Capernaum, those who received the ^[h]temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?”

²⁵ He said, “Yes.”

And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from ^(P)strangers?”

²⁶ Peter said to Him, “From strangers.”

Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. ²⁷ Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a ^[i]piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.”

The Suffering, Praise, and Posterity of the Messiah

To the Chief Musician. Set to ^[a]“The Deer of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David.