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4 “They will never believe me or listen to me!” Moses protested. “They will say, ‘The Lord didn’t appear to you.’ ”
2 Then the Lord asked him, “What’s that in your hand?”
He answered, “A shepherd’s staff.”
3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”
When Moses threw it on the ground, it became a snake, and he ran away from it.
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out and grab the snake by its tail.” He reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a staff as he held it. 5 ⌞The Lord explained,⌟ “This is to convince the people that the Lord God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, appeared to you.”
6 The Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your shirt.” So Moses did this, and when he took his hand out, it had a skin disease. It looked as ⌞flaky as⌟ snow. 7 “Now put your hand back inside your shirt,” the Lord said. Moses put it back, and when he took it out this time, it was healthy again like the rest of his body.
8 ⌞Then the Lord said,⌟ “If they won’t believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. 9 But if they won’t believe these two miraculous signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile River and pour it on the ground. The water you take from the Nile will turn into blood on the ground.”
10 Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I’m not a good speaker. I’ve never been a good speaker, and I’m not now, even though you’ve spoken to me. I speak slowly, and I become tongue-tied easily.”
11 The Lord asked him, “Who gave humans their mouths? Who makes humans unable to talk or hear? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? It is I, the Lord! 12 Now go, and I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
13 But Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”
14 Then the Lord became angry with Moses and asked, “What about your brother Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He’s already on his way to meet you, and he will be very glad to see you. 15 You will speak to him and tell him what to say. I will help both of you speak, and I will teach you both what to do. 16 Aaron will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and you will be like God. 17 Take that shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to do the miraculous signs.”
Moses Returns to Egypt
18 Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro. Moses said to him, “Please let me go back to my own people in Egypt. I would like to see if they’re still alive.”
Jethro said to Moses, “You may go.”
19 Now, the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, because all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.”
20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and started out for Egypt. He also brought with him the staff God had told him to take.
21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you get back to Egypt, see that you show Pharaoh all the amazing things that I have given you the power to do. But I will make him stubborn so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then tell Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. 23 I told you to let my son go so that he may worship me. But you refused to let him go. So now I’m going to kill your firstborn son.’ ”
24 Along the way they stopped for the night. The Lord met Moses and tried to kill him. 25 Then Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched Moses’ feet ⌞with it⌟. She said, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26 So the Lord let him alone. It was because of the circumcision that she said at that time, “You are a bridegroom of blood!”
Moses and Aaron Tell the People What the Lord Said
27 Meanwhile, the Lord had told Aaron to meet Moses in the desert.
When Aaron met Moses at the mountain of God, he kissed him. 28 Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say and all the miraculous signs the Lord had commanded him to do.
29 Then Moses and Aaron went ⌞to Egypt⌟ and assembled all the leaders of the people of Israel. 30 Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also did the miraculous signs for the people, 31 and the people believed them. When they heard that the Lord was concerned about the people of Israel and that he had seen their misery, they knelt, bowing with their faces touching the ground.
Moses and Aaron Confront Pharaoh
5 Later Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Let my people go into the desert to celebrate a festival in my honor.”
2 Pharaoh asked, “Who is the Lord? Why should I obey him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I won’t let Israel go.”
3 They replied, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us travel three days into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we don’t go, he may kill us with a plague or a war.”
4 The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their work? Get back to work!” 5 Then Pharaoh added, “Look how many people there are in the land! Do you want them to quit working?”
Pharaoh Increases the Israelites’ Labor
6 That same day Pharaoh gave these orders to the slave drivers and foremen: 7 “Don’t give the people any more straw to make bricks as you have been doing. Let them gather their own straw, 8 but insist that they make the same number of bricks they were making before. Making fewer bricks will not be acceptable. They’re lazy! That’s why they’re crying, ‘Let us go offer sacrifices to our God.’ 9 Make the work harder for these people so that they will be too busy to listen to lies.”
10 The slave drivers and foreman went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says: I’m no longer giving you straw. 11 Get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work load will not be reduced one bit.”
12 So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The slave drivers kept hurrying them. They said, “Finish the same amount of work each day, just as when you had straw.”
14 Pharaoh’s slave drivers had placed Israelite foremen in charge of the people. The slave drivers beat the foremen and said, “You didn’t finish all the bricks you were ordered to make yesterday or today. Why didn’t you make as many as you used to?”
15 Then the Israelite foremen complained to Pharaoh. They asked, “Why are you treating us this way? 16 We’re given no straw, and yet we’re told to make bricks. We’re being beaten, but your men are at fault.”
17 “You’re lazy! ⌞Just plain⌟ lazy!” Pharaoh answered. “That’s why you keep saying, ‘Let us go offer sacrifices to the Lord.’ 18 Now get back to work! You won’t be given any straw, but you must still make the same number of bricks.”
19 The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when they were told, “Don’t make fewer bricks each day than you’re supposed to.”
20 As they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting for them. 21 So they said, “May the Lord see what you have done and judge you! You have made Pharaoh and his officials hate us. You have given them an excuse to kill us.”
Greatness in the Kingdom(A)
18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 Then he said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever becomes like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me.
Causing Others to Lose Faith(B)
6 “These little ones believe in me. It would be best for the person who causes one of them to lose faith to be drowned in the sea with a large stone hung around his neck. 7 How horrible it will be for the world because it causes people to lose their faith. Situations that cause people to lose their faith will arise. How horrible it will be for the person who causes someone to lose his faith!
8 “If your hand or your foot causes you to lose your faith, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life disabled or injured than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into everlasting fire. 9 If your eye causes you to lose your faith, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hellfire.
10 “Be careful not to despise these little ones. I can guarantee that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father, who is in heaven.[a]
The Lost Sheep(C)
12 “What do you think? Suppose a man has 100 sheep and one of them strays. Won’t he leave the 99 sheep in the hills to look for the one that has strayed? 13 I can guarantee this truth: If he finds it, he is happier about it than about the 99 that have not strayed. 14 In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want one of these little ones to be lost.
Dealing with Believers When They Do Wrong
15 “If a believer does something wrong,[b] go, confront him when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won back that believer. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you so that every accusation may be verified by two or three witnesses. 17 If he ignores these witnesses, tell it to the community of believers. If he also ignores the community, deal with him as you would a heathen or a tax collector. 18 I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you imprison, God will imprison. And whatever you set free, God will set free.
19 “I can guarantee again that if two of you agree on anything here on earth, my Father in heaven will accept it. 20 Where two or three have come together in my name, I am there among them.”
19 Do not be so far away, O Lord.
Come quickly to help me, O my strength.
20 Rescue my soul from the sword,
my life from vicious dogs.
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion
and from the horns of wild oxen.
You have answered me.
22 I will tell my people about your name.
I will praise you within the congregation.
23 All who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him!
Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel.
24 The Lord has not despised or been disgusted
with the plight of the oppressed one.
He has not hidden his face from that person.
The Lord heard when that oppressed person
cried out to him for help.
25 My praise comes from you while I am among those assembled for worship.
I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who fear the Lord.
26 Oppressed people will eat until they are full.
Those who look to the Lord will praise him.
May you live forever.
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and return to the Lord.
All the families from all the nations will worship you
28 because the kingdom belongs to the Lord
and he rules the nations.
29 All prosperous people on earth will eat and worship.
All those who go down to the dust will kneel in front of him,
even those who are barely alive.
30 There will be descendants who serve him,
a generation that will be told about the Lord.
31 They will tell people yet to be born about his righteousness—
that he has finished it.
15 Drink water out of your own cistern
and running water from your own well.
16 Why should water flow out of your spring?
Why should your streams flow into the streets?
17 They should be yours alone,
so do not share them with strangers.
18 Let your own fountain be blessed,
and enjoy the girl you married when you were young,
19 a loving doe and a graceful deer.[a]
Always let her breasts satisfy you.
Always be intoxicated with her love.
20 Why should you, my son,
be intoxicated with an adulterous woman
and fondle a loose woman’s breast?
21 Each person’s ways are clearly seen by the Lord,
and he surveys all his actions.
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