The Second Plague: Frogs

¹1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that nthey may serve me. ²But if you orefuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with pfrogs. ³The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into qyour bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people,2 and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. ⁴The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’” ⁵3 And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, r‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt!’” ⁶So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and sthe frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷But tthe magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

⁸Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, u“Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and vI will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” ⁹Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when uI am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” ¹⁰And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so wthat you may know that xthere is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.” ¹²So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh.4 ¹³And the Lord did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. ¹⁴And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. ¹⁵But when Pharaoh saw that there was a yrespite, he zhardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The Third Plague: Gnats

¹⁶Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, a‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’” ¹⁷And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and bthere were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. ¹⁸The cmagicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. ¹⁹Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is dthe finger of God.” But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The Fourth Plague: Flies

²⁰Then the Lord said to Moses, e“Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, f“Let my people go, that they may serve me. ²¹Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. ²²But on that day gI will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, hthat you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.5 ²³Thus I will put a division6 between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.”’” ²⁴And the Lord did so. iThere came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants' houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.

²⁵Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” ²⁶But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an jabomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings jabominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? ²⁷We must go kthree days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God las he tells us.” ²⁸So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. mPlead for me.” ²⁹Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh ncheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” ³⁰So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. ³¹And the Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. ³²But Pharaoh ohardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go.

The Lord's Prayer

¹Now Jesus1 was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, gas John taught his disciples.” ²And he said to them, h“When you pray, say:

i“Father, jhallowed be kyour name.

lYour kingdom come.

³mGive us neach day our daily bread,2

⁴and oforgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And plead us not into temptation.”

⁵And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ⁷and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? ⁸I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything qbecause he is his friend, yet because of his impudence3 he will rise and give him whatever he needs. ⁹And I tell you, rask, and sit will be given to you; tseek, and you will find; uknock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹What father among you, if his son asks for4 a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹²or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³If you then, wwho are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father xgive the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus and Beelzebul

¹⁴yNow he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. ¹⁵But some of them said, “He casts out demons zby Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” ¹⁶while others, ato test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. ¹⁷bBut he, cknowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. ¹⁸And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, dby whom do eyour sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰But if it is by fthe finger of God that I cast out demons, then gthe kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ²²hbut when one stronger than he attacks him and iovercomes him, he takes away his jarmor in which he trusted and kdivides his spoil. ²³lWhoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

²⁴m“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through nwaterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And othe last state of that person is worse than the first.”

True Blessedness

²⁷As he said these things, pa woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, q“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” ²⁸But he said, r“Blessed rather are those swho hear the word of God and tkeep it!”

The Sign of Jonah

²⁹uWhen the crowds were increasing, he began to say, v“This generation is an evil generation. wIt seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰For as xJonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ³¹yThe queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and zcondemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, asomething greater than Solomon is here. ³²bThe men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and zcondemn it, for cthey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, asomething greater than Jonah is here.

The Light in You

³³d“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ³⁴Your eye is ethe lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is fbad, your body is full of darkness. ³⁵eTherefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. ³⁶If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, gas when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷While Jesus5 was speaking, ha Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. ³⁸The Pharisee was astonished to see ithat he did not first wash before dinner. ³⁹And the Lord said to him, j“Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of kgreed and wickedness. ⁴⁰lYou fools! jDid not he who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹But mgive as alms those things that are within, and behold, neverything is clean for you.

⁴²o“But woe to you Pharisees! For pyou tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect qjustice and rthe love of God. sThese you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ⁴³Woe to you Pharisees! For tyou love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴Woe to you! uFor you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵One of vthe lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” ⁴⁶And he said, “Woe to you wlawyers also! For xyou load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ⁴⁷yWoe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. ⁴⁸zSo you are witnesses and you aconsent to the deeds of byour fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹Therefore also cthe Wisdom of God said, d‘I will send them eprophets and apostles, fsome of whom they will gkill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰so that hthe blood of all the prophets, shed ifrom the foundation of the world, may be jcharged against this generation, ⁵¹from the blood of kAbel to the blood of lZechariah, who perished between mthe altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be jrequired of this generation. ⁵²Woe to you nlawyers! oFor you have taken away the key of pknowledge. You qdid not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, ⁵⁴rlying in wait for him, sto catch him in something he might say.

Job 25

Bildad Speaks: Man Cannot Be Righteous

¹Then oBildad the Shuhite answered and said:

²“Dominion and fear are with God;1

he makes peace in his high heaven.

³Is there any number to his parmies?

Upon whom does his qlight not arise?

⁴How then can man be rin the right before God?

How can he who is sborn of woman be tpure?

⁵Behold, even the moon is not bright,

and the stars are not pure in his eyes;

⁶uhow much less man, who is va maggot,

and wthe son of man, who is a worm!”

Job 26

Job Replies: God's Majesty Is Unsearchable

¹Then Job answered and said:

²“How you have xhelped him who has no power!

How you have saved ythe arm that has no strength!

³How you have zcounseled him who has no wisdom,

and plentifully declared sound knowledge!

⁴With whose help have you uttered words,

and whose breath ahas come out from you?

⁵The bdead tremble

under the waters and their inhabitants.

⁶Sheol is cnaked before God,1

and dAbaddon has no covering.

⁷He estretches out the north over fthe void

and hangs the earth on nothing.

⁸He gbinds up the waters in his thick clouds,

and the cloud is not split open under them.

⁹He covers the face of the full moon2

and hspreads over it his cloud.

¹⁰He has inscribed ia circle on the face of the waters

at the boundary between light and darkness.

¹¹jThe pillars of heaven tremble

and are astounded at his krebuke.

¹²By his power he lstilled the sea;

by his understanding he shattered mRahab.

¹³nBy his wind the heavens were made fair;

his hand pierced othe fleeing serpent.

¹⁴Behold, these are but the outskirts of his pways,

and how small qa whisper do we hear of him!

But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

Spiritual Gifts

¹Now mconcerning1 spiritual gifts,2 brothers,3 I do not want you to be uninformed. ²You know that nwhen you were pagans oyou were led astray to pmute idols, however you were led. ³Therefore I want you to understand that qno one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is raccursed!” and sno one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

⁴Now tthere are varieties of gifts, but uthe same Spirit; ⁵and vthere are varieties of service, but uthe same Lord; ⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is uthe same God who empowers them all in everyone. ⁷wTo each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of xwisdom, and to another the utterance of yknowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹to another zfaith by the same Spirit, to another agifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰to another bthe working of miracles, to another cprophecy, to another dthe ability to distinguish between spirits, to another evarious kinds of tongues, to another fthe interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, gwho apportions to each one individually has he wills.

One Body with Many Members

¹²For just as ithe body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, jso it is with Christ. ¹³For kin one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—lJews or Greeks, slaves4 or free—and mall were made to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴For the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? ¹⁸But as it is, nGod arranged the members in the body, each one of them, oas he chose. ¹⁹If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰As it is, there are many parts,5 yet one body.

²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²²On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, ²⁴which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, ²⁵that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, pall rejoice together.

²⁷Now qyou are the body of Christ and individually rmembers of it. ²⁸And sGod has appointed in the church first tapostles, second uprophets, third teachers, then vmiracles, then wgifts of healing, xhelping, yadministrating, and vvarious kinds of tongues. ²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹But zearnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.