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Plague Eight: Locusts
10 [a] The Lord said[b] to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display[c] these signs of mine before him,[d] 2 and in order that in the hearing of your son and your grandson you may tell[e] how I made fools[f] of the Egyptians[g] and about[h] my signs that I displayed[i] among them, so that you may know[j] that I am the Lord.”
3 So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and told him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has said: ‘How long do you refuse[k] to humble yourself before me?[l] Release my people so that they may serve me! 4 But if you refuse to release my people, I am going to bring[m] locusts[n] into your territory[o] tomorrow. 5 They will cover[p] the surface[q] of the earth, so that you[r] will be unable to see the ground. They will eat the remainder of what escaped[s]—what is left over[t] for you—from the hail, and they will eat every tree that grows for you from the field. 6 They will fill your houses, the houses of your servants, and all the houses of Egypt, such as[u] neither[v] your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen since they have been[w] in the land until this day!’” Then Moses[x] turned and went out from Pharaoh.
7 Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long[y] will this man be a menace[z] to us? Release the people so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not know[aa] that Egypt is destroyed?”
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. Exactly who is going with you?”[ab] 9 Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our sheep and our cattle we will go, because we are to hold[ac] a pilgrim feast for the Lord.”
10 He said to them, “The Lord will need to be with you[ad] if I release you and your dependents![ae] Watch out![af] Trouble is right in front of you.[ag] 11 No![ah] Go, you men[ai] only, and serve the Lord, for that[aj] is what you want.”[ak] Then Moses and Aaron[al] were driven[am] out of Pharaoh’s presence.
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand over the land of Egypt for[an] the locusts, that they may come up over the land of Egypt and eat everything that grows[ao] in the ground, everything that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses extended his staff over the land of Egypt, and then the Lord[ap] brought[aq] an east wind on the land all that day and all night.[ar] The morning came,[as] and the east wind had brought up[at] the locusts! 14 The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled down in all the territory[au] of Egypt. It was very severe;[av] there had been no locusts like them before, nor will there be such ever again.[aw] 15 They covered[ax] the surface[ay] of all the ground so that the ground became dark with them,[az] and they ate all the vegetation of the ground and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green remained on the trees or on anything that grew in the fields throughout the whole land of Egypt.
16 [ba] Then Pharaoh quickly[bb] summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned[bc] against the Lord your God and against you! 17 So now, forgive my sin this time only, and pray to the Lord your God that he would only[bd] take this death[be] away from me.” 18 Moses[bf] went out[bg] from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord, 19 and the Lord turned a very strong west wind,[bh] and it picked up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea.[bi] Not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not release the Israelites.
Plague Nine: Darkness
21 [bj] The Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward heaven[bk] so that there may be[bl] darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness so thick it can be felt.”[bm]
22 So Moses extended his hand toward heaven, and there was absolute darkness[bn] throughout the land of Egypt for three days.[bo] 23 No one[bp] could see[bq] another person, and no one could rise from his place for three days. But the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.
24 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord—only your flocks and herds will be detained. Even your families[br] may go with you.”
25 But Moses said, “Will you also[bs] provide us[bt] with sacrifices and burnt offerings that we may present them[bu] to the Lord our God? 26 Our livestock must[bv] also go with us! Not a hoof is to be left behind! For we must take[bw] these animals[bx] to serve the Lord our God. Until we arrive there, we do not know what we must use to serve the Lord.”[by]
27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to release them. 28 Pharaoh said to him, “Go from me![bz] Watch out for yourself! Do not appear before me again,[ca] for when[cb] you see my face you will die!” 29 Moses said, “As you wish![cc] I will not see your face again.”[cd]
Plague Ten: Death
11 [ce] The Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will release you from this place. When he releases you,[cf] he will drive you out completely[cg] from this place. 2 Instruct[ch] the people that each man and each woman is to request[ci] from his or her neighbor[cj] items of silver and gold.”[ck]
3 (Now the Lord granted the people favor with[cl] the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, respected by Pharaoh’s servants and by the Egyptian people.)[cm]
4 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt,[cn] 5 and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh[co] who sits on his throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. 6 There will be a great cry throughout the whole land of Egypt, such as there has never been,[cp] nor ever will be again.[cq] 7 But against any of the Israelites not even a dog will bark[cr] against either people or animals,[cs] so that you may know that the Lord distinguishes[ct] between Egypt and Israel.’ 8 All these your servants will come down to me and bow down[cu] to me, saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow[cv] you,’ and after that I will go out.” Then Moses[cw] went out from Pharaoh in great anger.
9 The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my wonders[cx] may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”
10 So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not release the Israelites from his land.
The Institution of the Passover
12 [cy] The Lord said[cz] to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,[da] 2 “This month is to be your beginning of months; it will be your first month of the year.[db] 3 Tell the whole community of Israel, ‘On the tenth day of this month they each[dc] must take a lamb[dd] for themselves according to their families[de]—a lamb for each household.[df] 4 If any household is too small[dg] for a lamb,[dh] the man[di] and his next-door neighbor[dj] are to take[dk] a lamb according to the number of people—you will make your count for the lamb according to how much each one can eat.[dl] 5 Your lamb must be[dm] perfect,[dn] a male, one year old;[do] you may take[dp] it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 You must care for it[dq] until the fourteenth day of this month, and then the whole community[dr] of Israel will kill it around sundown.[ds] 7 They will take some of the blood and put it on the two side posts and top of the doorframe of the houses where they will eat it. 8 They will eat the meat the same night;[dt] they will eat it roasted over the fire with bread made without yeast[du] and with bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat it raw[dv] or boiled in water, but roast it over the fire with its head, its legs, and its entrails. 10 You must leave nothing until morning, but you must burn with fire whatever remains of it until morning. 11 This is how you are to eat it—dressed to travel,[dw] your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.[dx]
12 ‘I will pass through[dy] the land of Egypt in the same[dz] night, and I will attack[ea] all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals,[eb] and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment.[ec] I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, so that when I see[ed] the blood I will pass over you,[ee] and this plague[ef] will not fall on you to destroy you[eg] when I attack[eh] the land of Egypt.[ei]
Workers in the Vineyard
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner[a] who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 And after agreeing with the workers for the standard wage,[b] he sent them into his vineyard. 3 When it was about nine o’clock in the morning,[c] he went out again and saw others standing around in the marketplace[d] without work. 4 He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and I will give you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went. When[e] he went out again about noon and three o’clock that afternoon,[f] he did the same thing. 6 And about five o’clock that afternoon[g] he went out and found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day without work?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go and work in the vineyard too.’ 8 When[h] it was evening[i] the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages[j] starting with the last hired until the first.’ 9 When those hired about five o’clock came, each received a full day’s pay.[k] 10 And when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But each one also received the standard wage. 11 When[l] they received it, they began to complain[m] against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last fellows worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us who bore the hardship and burning heat of the day.’ 13 And the landowner[n] replied to one of them,[o] ‘Friend, I am not treating you unfairly. Didn’t you agree with me to work for the standard wage?[p] 14 Take what is yours and go. I[q] want to give to this last man[r] the same as I gave to you. 15 Am I not[s] permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’[t] 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”
Third Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
17 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve[u] aside privately and said to them on the way, 18 “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the experts in the law.[v] They will condemn him to death, 19 and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged severely[w] and crucified.[x] Yet[y] on the third day, he will be raised.”
A Request for James and John
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling down she asked him for a favor.[z] 21 He said to her, “What do you want?” She replied,[aa] “Permit[ab] these two sons of mine to sit, one at your[ac] right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus[ad] answered, “You don’t know what you are asking![ae] Are you able to drink the cup I am about to drink?”[af] They said to him, “We are able.”[ag] 23 He told them, “You will drink my cup,[ah] but to sit at my right and at my left is not mine to give. Rather, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
24 Now[ai] when the other ten[aj] heard this,[ak] they were angry with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. 26 It must not be this way among you! Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave[al]— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom[am] for many.”
Psalm 25[a]
By David.
25 O Lord, I come before you in prayer.[b]
2 My God, I trust in you.
Please do not let me be humiliated;
do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me.
3 Certainly none who rely on you will be humiliated.
Those who deal in treachery will be thwarted[c] and humiliated.
4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord.
Teach me your paths.[d]
5 Guide me into your truth[e] and teach me.
For you are the God who delivers me;
on you I rely all day long.
6 Remember[f] your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord,
for you have always acted in this manner.[g]
7 Do not hold against me[h] the sins of my youth[i] or my rebellious acts.
Because you are faithful to me, extend to me your favor, O Lord.[j]
8 The Lord is both kind and fair;[k]
that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live.[l]
9 May he show[m] the humble what is right.[n]
May he teach[o] the humble his way.
10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable[p]
to those who follow the demands of his covenant.[q]
11 For the sake of your reputation,[r] O Lord,
forgive my sin, because it is great.[s]
12 The Lord shows his faithful followers
the way they should live.[t]
13 They experience his favor;[u]
their descendants[v] inherit the land.[w]
14 The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance,[x]
and he reveals his covenantal demands to them.[y]
15 I continually look to the Lord for help,[z]
for he will free my feet from the enemy’s net.[aa]
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;[a]
observe her[b] ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
overseer, or[c] ruler,
8 yet it would prepare[d] its food in the summer;
it gathered at the harvest what it will eat.[e]
9 How long, you sluggard, will you lie there?
When will you rise from your sleep?[f]
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to relax,[g]
11 and your poverty will come like a robber,[h]
and your need like an armed man.[i]
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