Book of Common Prayer

³⁰ `When forty years had passed, he was in the wilderness near the hill called Sinai. There he saw fire in a small tree. An angel of the Lord was in the fire.

³¹ Moses looked at it. He was very much surprised. He came closer to look at it better. Then he heard the Lord speak to him.

³² The Lord said, "I am the God of your fathers. I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob." Moses began to shake. He was afraid to look.

³³ Then the Lord said, "Take off your shoes. You are standing on holy ground.

³⁴ I have looked and seen the trouble my people have in Egypt. I have heard them crying and I have come to make them free. Now come, I will send you to Egypt."

³⁵ `This is the same Moses the people would not accept when they said, "Who made you our ruler and our judge?" This is the one God sent to be their ruler and to make them free when he spoke through the angel in the small tree.

³⁶ It was Moses who led the people out of Egypt. He had done wonderful things and signs there, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness, for forty years.

³⁷ `This is the same Moses who said, "God will raise up one of your brothers to be a prophet, as he did me. Listen to him."

³⁸ This is the same Moses who was with God's people in the wilderness at the hill called Mount Sinai. He was with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers of long ago . It was he who received the words of life to give to us.

³⁹ `Our fathers would not obey Moses. They did not want him to lead them. They wished they were back in Egypt.

⁴⁰ They said to Aaron, "Make gods to lead us. We do not know what has happened to this Moses who brought us out of Egypt."

⁴¹ They made a young cow at that time and gave sacrifices to this god which was not the true God. They were very happy. What they had made pleased them.

⁴² `Then God turned away from them. He let them worship the sun, moon, and the many stars in the sky. The prophets of God wrote about it long ago. They said, "You people of Israel, did you sacrifice animals to me forty years in the wilderness?

⁴³ You carried the house of the god called Moloch and the star of the god called Rephan. You made gods of them to worship. I will carry you away to the other side of Babylon."

³⁹ Then Jesus went out of the room and went to the hill called the Mount of Olives where he often went. His disciples went with him.

⁴⁰ He said to them, `Talk with God so that you will not do wrong.'

⁴¹ He went away from them about as far as a person can throw a stone. Then he kneeled down to talk with God.

⁴² He said, `Father, if you will, take this cup away from me. But do not do what I want but what you want.'

⁴³ Then an angel came to him from heaven and helped to make him strong.

⁴⁴ His heart was troubled very much. So he talked with God more than before. His sweat was like big drops of blood falling on the ground.

⁴⁵ He stopped talking with God and got up. He went to his disciples and found them sleeping because they were sad.

⁴⁶ He said to them, `Why are you sleeping? Get up. Talk with God so that you will not do wrong.'

⁴⁷ As Jesus was saying this, many men came. One of the twelve disciples, named Judas, was leading the people. He came near Jesus to kiss him.

⁴⁸ Jesus said to him, `Judas, will you give over the Son of Man to his enemies with a kiss?'

⁴⁹ The disciples around Jesus saw what was going to happen. They said, `Lord, shall we fight with our swords?'

⁵⁰ One of them hit the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

⁵¹ Jesus said, `Just let me do this.' And he touched the man's ear and healed him.