God Renews His Promise to Israel

6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For ^(A)with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand ^(B)he will drive them out of his land.”

² And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am ^[a]the Lord. ^3 (C)I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as ^(D)God Almighty, but by My name ^(E)Lord^[b] I was not known to them. ^4 (F)I have also ^[c]established My covenant with them, ^(G)to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their ^[d]pilgrimage, ^(H)in which they were ^[e]strangers. ⁵ And ^(I)I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. ⁶ Therefore say to the children of Israel: ^(J)‘I am the Lord; ^(K)I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will ^(L)rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with ^[f]an outstretched arm and with great judgments. ⁷ I will ^(M)take you as My people, and ^(N)I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out ^(O)from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ⁸ And I will bring you into the land which I ^(P)swore^[g] to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.’ ” ⁹ So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; ^(Q)but they did not heed Moses, because of ^(R)anguish^[h] of spirit and cruel bondage.

¹⁰ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹ “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land.”

¹² And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for ^(S)I am ^[i]of uncircumcised lips?”

¹³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a ^(T)command^[j] for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

The Family of Moses and Aaron^(U)

¹⁴ These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: ^(V)The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben. ^15 (W)And the sons of Simeon were ^[k]Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These are the families of Simeon. ¹⁶ These are the names of ^(X)the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven. ^17 (Y)The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimi according to their families. ¹⁸ And ^(Z)the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three. ^19 (AA)The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations.

²⁰ Now ^(AB)Amram took for himself ^(AC)Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him ^(AD)Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven. ^21 (AE)The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. ²² And ^(AF)the sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri. ²³ Aaron took to himself Elisheba, daughter of ^(AG)Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him ^(AH)Nadab, Abihu, ^(AI)Eleazar, and Ithamar. ²⁴ And ^(AJ)the sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites. ²⁵ Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and ^(AK)she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites according to their families.

²⁶ These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their ^(AL)armies.”^{[l] 27} These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, ^(AM)to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are the same Moses and Aaron.

Aaron Is Moses’ Spokesman

²⁸ And it came to pass, on the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹ that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “I am the Lord. ^(AN)Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.”

³⁰ But Moses said before the Lord, “Behold, ^(AO)I am ^[m]of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?”

Moses Before Pharaoh

7 So the Lord said to Moses: “See, I have made you ^(AP)as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be ^(AQ)your prophet. ² You ^(AR)shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land. ³ And ^(AS)I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and ^(AT)multiply My ^(AU)signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. ⁴ But ^(AV)Pharaoh will not heed you, so ^(AW)that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My ^[n]armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt ^(AX)by great judgments. ⁵ And the Egyptians ^(AY)shall know that I am the Lord, when I ^(AZ)stretch out My hand on Egypt and ^(BA)bring out the children of Israel from among them.”

⁶ Then Moses and Aaron ^(BB)did so; just as the Lord commanded them, so they did. ⁷ And Moses was ^(BC)eighty years old and ^(BD)Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Miraculous Rod^(BE)

⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ⁹ “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ^(BF)‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ^(BG)‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.’ ” ¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just ^(BH)as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it ^(BI)became a serpent.

¹¹ But Pharaoh also ^(BJ)called the wise men and ^(BK)the ^[o]sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also ^(BL)did in like manner with their ^[p]enchantments. ¹² For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. ¹³ And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.

The First Plague: Waters Become Blood

¹⁴ So the Lord said to Moses: ^(BM)“Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the ^(BN)water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and ^(BO)the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. ¹⁶ And you shall say to him, ^(BP)‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, ^(BQ)that they may ^[q]serve Me in the wilderness”; but indeed, until now you would not hear! ¹⁷ Thus says the Lord: “By this ^(BR)you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and ^(BS)they shall be turned ^(BT)to blood. ¹⁸ And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will ^(BU)loathe^[r] to drink the water of the river.” ’ ”

¹⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and ^(BV)stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.’ ” ²⁰ And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he ^(BW)lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the ^(BX)waters that were in the river were turned to blood. ²¹ The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians ^(BY)could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

^22 (BZ)Then the magicians of Egypt did ^(CA)so with their ^[s]enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, ^(CB)as the Lord had said. ²³ And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this. ²⁴ So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. ²⁵ And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river.

The Second Plague: Frogs

8 And the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, ^(CC)that they may serve Me. ² But if you ^(CD)refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with ^(CE)frogs. ³ So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your ^(CF)bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. ⁴ And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants.” ’ ”

⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ^(CG)‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’ ” ⁶ So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and ^(CH)the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ^7 (CI)And the magicians did so with their ^[t]enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.

⁸ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, ^(CJ)“Entreat^[u] the Lord that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people ^(CK)go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.”

⁹ And Moses said to Pharaoh, “Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.”

¹⁰ So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that ^(CL)there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹ And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.”

¹² Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses ^(CM)cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. ¹³ So the Lord did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. ¹⁴ They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was ^(CN)relief, ^(CO)he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said.

The Third Plague: Lice

¹⁶ So the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become ^[v]lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’ ” ¹⁷ And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and ^(CP)it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

¹⁸ Now ^(CQ)the magicians so worked with their ^[w]enchantments to bring forth lice, but they ^(CR)could not. So there were lice on man and beast. ¹⁹ Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is ^(CS)the^[x] finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s ^(CT)heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.

The Fourth Plague: Flies

²⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(CU)“Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(CV)“Let My people go, that they may serve Me. ²¹ Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. ²² And in that day ^(CW)I will set apart the land of ^(CX)Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may ^(CY)know that I am the Lord in the midst of the ^(CZ)land. ²³ I will ^[y]make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this ^(DA)sign shall be.” ’ ” ²⁴ And the Lord did so. ^(DB)Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.

²⁵ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.”

²⁶ And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing ^(DC)the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not ^[z]stone us? ²⁷ We will go ^(DD)three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as ^(DE)He will command us.”

²⁸ So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. ^(DF)Intercede for me.”

²⁹ Then Moses said, “Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the Lord, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not ^(DG)deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

³⁰ So Moses went out from Pharaoh and ^(DH)entreated the Lord. ³¹ And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. ³² But Pharaoh ^(DI)hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.

Jesus Handed Over to Pontius Pilate^(A)

23 Then ^(B)the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to ^(C)Pilate. ² And they began to ^(D)accuse Him, saying, “We found this fellow ^(E)perverting ^[a]the nation, and ^(F)forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying ^(G)that He Himself is Christ, a King.”

^3 (H)Then Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

He answered him and said, “It is as you say.”

⁴ So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, ^(I)“I find no fault in this Man.”

⁵ But they were the more fierce, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from ^(J)Galilee to this place.”

Jesus Faces Herod

⁶ When Pilate heard ^[b]of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean. ⁷ And as soon as he knew that He belonged to ^(K)Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸ Now when Herod saw Jesus, ^(L)he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because ^(M)he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. ⁹ Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him ^(N)nothing. ¹⁰ And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him. ^11 (O)Then Herod, with his ^[c]men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹² That very day ^(P)Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

Taking the Place of Barabbas^(Q)

^13 (R)Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, ¹⁴ said to them, ^(S)“You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, ^(T)having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; ¹⁵ no, neither did Herod, for ^[d]I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. ^16 (U)I will therefore chastise Him and release Him” ^17 (V)(for^[e] it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).

¹⁸ And ^(W)they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”— ¹⁹ who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.

²⁰ Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. ²¹ But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

²² Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.”

²³ But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men ^[f]and of the chief priests prevailed. ²⁴ So ^(X)Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. ^25 (Y)And he released ^[g]to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

The King on a Cross^(Z)

^26 (AA)Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.

²⁷ And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. ²⁸ But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ^29 (AB)For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ ³⁰ Then they will begin ^(AC)‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’ ^31 (AD)For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”

^32 (AE)There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. ³³ And ^(AF)when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. ^34 [h]Then Jesus said, “Father, ^(AG)forgive them, for ^(AH)they do not know what they do.”

And ^(AI)they divided His garments and cast lots. ³⁵ And ^(AJ)the people stood looking on. But even the ^(AK)rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”

³⁶ The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him ^(AL)sour wine, ³⁷ and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”

^38 (AM)And an inscription also was ^[i]written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

^39 (AN)Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, ^[j]“If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”

⁴⁰ But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done ^(AO)nothing wrong.” ⁴² Then he said ^[k]to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

⁴³ And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in ^(AP)Paradise.”

Jesus Dies on the Cross^(AQ)

^44 (AR)Now it ^[l]was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. ⁴⁵ Then the sun was ^[m]darkened, and ^(AS)the veil of the temple was torn in ^[n]two. ⁴⁶ And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ^(AT)‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” ^(AU)Having said this, He breathed His last.

^47 (AV)So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”

⁴⁸ And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. ^49 (AW)But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb^(AX)

^50 (AY)Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. ⁵¹ He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, ^(AZ)who^[o] himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵² This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ^53 (BA)Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. ⁵⁴ That day was ^(BB)the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.

⁵⁵ And the women ^(BC)who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and ^(BD)they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then they returned and ^(BE)prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath ^(BF)according to the commandment.