Israel’s Suffering in Egypt

1 Now ^(A)these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob: ² Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; ³ Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; ⁴ Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. ⁵ All those ^[a]who were descendants of Jacob were ^(B)seventy^[b] persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already). ⁶ And ^(C)Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation. ^7 (D)But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and ^[c]grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.

⁸ Now there arose a new king over Egypt, ^(E)who did not know Joseph. ⁹ And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and ^(F)mightier than we; ^10 (G)come, let us ^(H)deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.” ¹¹ Therefore they set taskmasters over them ^(I)to afflict them with their ^(J)burdens. And they built for Pharaoh ^(K)supply cities, Pithom ^(L)and Raamses. ¹² But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. ¹³ So the Egyptians made the children of Israel ^(M)serve with ^[d]rigor. ¹⁴ And they ^(N)made their lives bitter with hard bondage—^(O)in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.

¹⁵ Then the king of Egypt spoke to the ^(P)Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; ¹⁶ and he said, “When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a ^(Q)son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” ¹⁷ But the midwives ^(R)feared God, and did not do ^(S)as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. ¹⁸ So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?”

¹⁹ And ^(T)the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they ^[e]are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.”

^20 (U)Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and ^[f]grew very mighty. ²¹ And so it was, because the midwives feared God, ^(V)that He ^[g]provided households for them.

²² So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, ^(W)“Every son who is ^[h]born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”

Moses Is Born^(X)

2 And ^(Y)a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. ² So the woman conceived and bore a son. And ^(Z)when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. ³ But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of ^(AA)bulrushes for him, daubed it with ^(AB)asphalt and ^(AC)pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds ^(AD)by the river’s bank. ^4 (AE)And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.

⁵ Then the ^(AF)daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. ⁶ And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

⁷ Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?”

⁸ And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother. ⁹ Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. ¹⁰ And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became ^(AG)her son. So she called his name ^[i]Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

Moses Flees to Midian^(AH)

¹¹ Now it came to pass in those days, ^(AI)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 ^(AJ)killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ And ^(AK)when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men ^(AL)were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?”

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

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

^16 (AR)Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. ^(AS)And they came and drew water, and they filled the ^(AT)troughs to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷ Then the ^(AU)shepherds came and ^(AV)drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and ^(AW)watered their flock.

¹⁸ When they came to ^(AX)Reuel^[k] their father, ^(AY)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 ^(AZ)eat bread.”

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

²³ Now it happened ^(BD)in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel ^(BE)groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and ^(BF)their cry came up to God because of the bondage. ²⁴ So God ^(BG)heard their groaning, and God ^(BH)remembered His ^(BI)covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. ²⁵ And God ^(BJ)looked upon the children of Israel, and God ^(BK)acknowledged them.

A Prayer for Help in Despondency

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath Leannoth.” A ^[a]Contemplation of ^(A)Heman the Ezrahite.

The Widow’s Two Mites^(A)

21 And He looked up ^(B)and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, ² and He saw also a certain ^(C)poor widow putting in two ^(D)mites.^{[a] 3} So He said, “Truly I say to you ^(E)that this poor widow has put in more than all; ⁴ for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings ^[b]for God, but she out of her poverty put in ^(F)all the livelihood that she had.”

Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple^(G)

^5 (H)Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was ^[c]adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, ⁶ “These things which you see—the days will come in which ^(I)not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.”

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age^(J)

⁷ So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?”

⁸ And He said: ^(K)“Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ ^[d]Therefore do not ^[e]go after them. ⁹ But when you hear of ^(L)wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.”

^10 (M)Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ And there will be great ^(N)earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. ^12 (O)But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and ^(P)prisons. ^(Q)You will be brought before kings and rulers ^(R)for My name’s sake. ¹³ But ^(S)it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. ^14 (T)Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will ^[f]answer; ¹⁵ for I will give you a mouth and wisdom ^(U)which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or ^[g]resist. ^16 (V)You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put ^(W)some of you to death. ¹⁷ And ^(X)you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. ^18 (Y)But not a hair of your head shall be lost. ¹⁹ By your patience possess your souls.

The Destruction of Jerusalem^(Z)

^20 (AA)“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. ²² For these are the days of vengeance, that ^(AB)all things which are written may be fulfilled. ^23 (AC)But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. ²⁴ And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles ^(AD)until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Coming of the Son of Man^(AE)

^25 (AF)“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; ²⁶ men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, ^(AG)for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see the Son of Man ^(AH)coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because ^(AI)your redemption draws near.”

The Parable of the Fig Tree^(AJ)

^29 (AK)Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. ³⁰ When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. ³¹ So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. ³² Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. ^33 (AL)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My ^(AM)words will by no means pass away.

The Importance of Watching^(AN)

³⁴ “But ^(AO)take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with ^[h]carousing, drunkenness, and ^(AP)cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. ³⁵ For ^(AQ)it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. ^36 (AR)Watch therefore, and ^(AS)pray always that you may ^[i]be counted ^(AT)worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and ^(AU)to stand before the Son of Man.”

^37 (AV)And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but ^(AW)at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet. ³⁸ Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.