The Plague of Locusts

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart^(A) and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs^(B) of mine among them ² that you may tell your children^(C) and grandchildren how I dealt harshly^(D) with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord.”^(E)

³ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble^(F) yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. ⁴ If you refuse^(G) to let them go, I will bring locusts^(H) into your country tomorrow. ⁵ They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left^(I) after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields.^{(J) 6} They will fill your houses^(K) and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians—something neither your parents nor your ancestors have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.’”^(L) Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.

⁷ Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long will this man be a snare^(M) to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?”^(N)

⁸ Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship^(O) the Lord your God,” he said. “But tell me who will be going.”

⁹ Moses answered, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival^(P) to the Lord.”

¹⁰ Pharaoh said, “The Lord be with you—if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil.^{[a] 11} No! Have only the men go and worship the Lord, since that’s what you have been asking for.” Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.

¹² And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand^(Q) over Egypt so that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail.”

¹³ So Moses stretched out his staff^(R) over Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts;^{(S) 14} they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts,^(T) nor will there ever be again. ¹⁵ They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured^(U) all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.

¹⁶ Pharaoh quickly summoned^(V) Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned^(W) against the Lord your God and against you. ¹⁷ Now forgive^(X) my sin once more and pray^(Y) to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me.”

¹⁸ Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord.^{(Z) 19} And the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea.^[b] Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. ²⁰ But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart,^(AA) and he would not let the Israelites go.

The Plague of Darkness

²¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness^(AB) spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” ²² So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness^(AC) covered all Egypt for three days. ²³ No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.^(AD)

²⁴ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go,^(AE) worship the Lord. Even your women and children^(AF) may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.”^(AG)

²⁵ But Moses said, “You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings^(AH) to present to the Lord our God. ²⁶ Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord.”

²⁷ But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart,^(AI) and he was not willing to let them go. ²⁸ Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.”

²⁹ “Just as you say,” Moses replied. “I will never appear^(AJ) before you again.”

The Plague on the Firstborn

11 Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go^(AK) from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely.^{(AL) 2} Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.”^{(AM) 3} (The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed^(AN) toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded^(AO) in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.)

⁴ So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight^(AP) I will go throughout Egypt.^{(AQ) 5} Every firstborn^(AR) son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill,^(AS) and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. ⁶ There will be loud wailing^(AT) throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. ⁷ But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction^(AU) between Egypt and Israel. ⁸ All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go,^(AV) you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave.”^(AW) Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.

⁹ The Lord had said to Moses, “Pharaoh will refuse to listen^(AX) to you—so that my wonders^(AY) may be multiplied in Egypt.” ¹⁰ Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart,^(AZ) and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

Psalm 24

Of David. A psalm.

A Prophet Without Honor^(A)

6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown,^(B) accompanied by his disciples. ² When the Sabbath came,^(C) he began to teach in the synagogue,^(D) and many who heard him were amazed.^(E)

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? ³ Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,^[a] Judas and Simon?^(F) Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.^(G)

⁴ Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.”^{(H) 5} He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on^(I) a few sick people and heal them. ⁶ He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve^(J)

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.^{(K) 7} Calling the Twelve to him,^(L) he began to send them out two by two^(M) and gave them authority over impure spirits.^(N)

⁸ These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. ⁹ Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. ¹⁰ Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹ And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet^(O) as a testimony against them.”

¹² They went out and preached that people should repent.^{(P) 13} They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil^(Q) and healed them.

John the Baptist Beheaded^(R)(S)

¹⁴ King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying,^[b] “John the Baptist^(T) has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

¹⁵ Others said, “He is Elijah.”^(U)

And still others claimed, “He is a prophet,^(V) like one of the prophets of long ago.”^(W)

¹⁶ But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”

¹⁷ For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison.^(X) He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. ¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”^{(Y) 19} So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, ²⁰ because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man.^(Z) When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled^[c]; yet he liked to listen to him.

²¹ Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet^(AA) for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.^{(AB) 22} When the daughter of^[d] Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” ²³ And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”^(AC)

²⁴ She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”

“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.

²⁵ At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

²⁶ The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. ²⁷ So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, ²⁸ and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. ²⁹ On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand^(AD)(AE)

³⁰ The apostles^(AF) gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.^{(AG) 31} Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat,^(AH) he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

³² So they went away by themselves in a boat^(AI) to a solitary place. ³³ But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.^(AJ) So he began teaching them many things.

³⁵ By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. ³⁶ Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

³⁷ But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”^(AK)

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages^[e]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

³⁸ “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”^(AL)

³⁹ Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.^(AM) Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² They all ate and were satisfied, ⁴³ and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴ The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

Jesus Walks on the Water^(AN)(AO)

⁴⁵ Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat^(AP) and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida,^(AQ) while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.^(AR)

⁴⁷ Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. ⁴⁸ He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, ⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost.^(AS) They cried out, ⁵⁰ because they all saw him and were terrified.

Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”^{(AT) 51} Then he climbed into the boat^(AU) with them, and the wind died down.^(AV) They were completely amazed, ⁵² for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.^(AW)

⁵³ When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there.^{(AX) 54} As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. ⁵⁵ They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak,^(AY) and all who touched it were healed.