The Eighth Plague: Locusts

¹Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, ²and sthat you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, tthat you may know that I am the Lord.”

³So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to uhumble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. ⁴For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring vlocusts into your country, ⁵and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall weat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, ⁶and they shall fill xyour houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

⁷Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” ⁸So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, y“Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?” ⁹Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for zwe must hold a feast to the Lord.” ¹⁰But he said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your alittle ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind.1 ¹¹No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

¹²Then the Lord said to Moses, b“Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and ceat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” ¹³So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. ¹⁴dThe locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, esuch a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. ¹⁵They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and fthey ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt. ¹⁶Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, g“I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. ¹⁷Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and hplead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” ¹⁸So ihe went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. ¹⁹And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them jinto the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. ²⁰But the Lord khardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

²¹Then the Lord said to Moses, l“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be mdarkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” ²²So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. ²³They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but nall the people of Israel had light where they lived. ²⁴Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, o“Go, serve the Lord; pyour little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” ²⁵But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. ²⁶Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” ²⁷But the Lord qhardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. ²⁸Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” ²⁹Moses said, “As you say! rI will not see your face again.”

Repent or Perish

¹There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood pPilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ²And he answered them, q“Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? ³No, I tell you; but unless you rrepent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴Or those eighteen on whom the tower in sSiloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? ⁵No, I tell you; but unless you rrepent, you will all likewise perish.”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

⁶And he told this parable: “A man had ta fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. ⁷And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. uCut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ ⁸And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. ⁹Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

A Woman with a Disabling Spirit

¹⁰Now vhe was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹And behold, there was a woman who had had wa disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” ¹³And he xlaid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she yglorified God. ¹⁴But zthe ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus ahad healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, b“There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” ¹⁵Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! cDoes not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? ¹⁶And ought not this woman, da daughter of Abraham whom eSatan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” ¹⁷As he said these things, fall his adversaries were put to shame, and gall the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

¹⁸hHe said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? ¹⁹It is like ia grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”

²⁰And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? ²¹jIt is like leaven that a woman took and hid in kthree measures of flour, until it was lall leavened.”

The Narrow Door

²²mHe went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and njourneying toward Jerusalem. ²³And someone said to him, “Lord, owill those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, ²⁴p“Strive qto enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ²⁵rWhen once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, s‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, t‘I do not know where you come from.’ ²⁶Then you will begin to say, u‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁷But he will say, ‘I tell you, tI do not know where you come from. vDepart from me, all you workers of evil!’ ²⁸wIn that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see wAbraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but wyou yourselves cast out. ²⁹And wpeople will come from east and west, and from north and south, and xrecline at table in the kingdom of God. ³⁰And behold, ysome are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Lament over Jerusalem

³¹At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from zhere, for aHerod wants to kill you.” ³²And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day bI finish my course. ³³Nevertheless, cI dmust go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that ea prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ ³⁴fO Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that gkills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! hHow often would I have igathered jyour children together kas a hen gathers her brood lunder her wings, and myou were not willing! ³⁵Behold, nyour house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, o‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Job Continues: Where Is Wisdom?

¹“Surely there is a mine for silver,

and a place for gold that they yrefine.

²Iron is taken out of the earth,

and copper is smelted from the ore.

³Man puts an end to darkness

and searches out to the farthest limit

the ore in zgloom and adeep darkness.

⁴He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives;

they are forgotten by travelers;

they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro.

⁵As for the earth, bout of it comes bread,

but underneath it is turned up as by fire.

⁶Its stones are the place of csapphires,1

and it has dust of gold.

⁷“That path no bird of prey knows,

and the falcon's eye has not seen it.

⁸dThe proud beasts have not trodden it;

ethe lion has not passed over it.

⁹“Man puts his hand to fthe flinty rock

and overturns mountains by the roots.

¹⁰He cuts out channels in the rocks,

and his eye sees every precious thing.

¹¹He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,

and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.

¹²g“But where shall wisdom be found?

And where is the place of understanding?

¹³Man does not know its worth,

and it is not found in hthe land of the living.

¹⁴iThe deep says, ‘It is not in me,’

and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

¹⁵It jcannot be bought for gold,

and silver cannot be weighed as its price.

¹⁶It cannot be valued in kthe gold of lOphir,

in precious monyx or nsapphire.

¹⁷Gold and glass cannot equal it,

nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.

¹⁸No mention shall be made of ocoral or of crystal;

the price of wisdom is above oppearls.

¹⁹qThe topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,

nor can it be valued in pure gold.

²⁰“From where, then, does wisdom come?

And where is the place of understanding?

²¹It is hidden from the eyes of rall living

and concealed from the birds of the air.

²²sAbaddon and Death say,

‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

²³t“God understands the way to it,

and he knows its place.

²⁴For he ulooks to the ends of the earth

and sees everything under the heavens.

²⁵When he vgave to the wind its weight

and apportioned the waters by measure,

²⁶when he made a decree for the rain

and wa way for the lightning of the thunder,

²⁷then he saw it and declared it;

he established it, and searched it out.

²⁸And he said to man,

‘Behold, xthe fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,

and to yturn away from evil is understanding.’”

Prophecy and Tongues

¹sPursue love, and tearnestly desire the uspiritual gifts, especially that you may vprophesy. ²For wone who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. ³On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. ⁴The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. ⁵Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but xeven more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

⁶Now, brothers,1 if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some yrevelation or knowledge or prophecy or zteaching? ⁷If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? ⁸And aif the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? ⁹So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be bspeaking into the air. ¹⁰There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, ¹¹but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be ca foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. ¹²So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

¹³Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. ¹⁴For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. ¹⁵What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; dI will sing praise with my spirit, but I will esing with my mind also. ¹⁶Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider2 say f“Amen” to gyour thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? ¹⁷For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. ¹⁸I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. ¹⁹Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

²⁰Brothers, hdo not be children in your thinking. iBe infants in evil, but in your thinking be jmature. ²¹kIn the Law it is written, l“By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” ²²Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign3 not for unbelievers but for believers. ²³If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, mwill they not say that you are out of your minds? ²⁴But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, ²⁵nthe secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, ofalling on his face, he will worship God and pdeclare that God is really among you.

Orderly Worship

²⁶What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has qa hymn, ra lesson, ra revelation, sa tongue, or tan interpretation. uLet all things be done for building up. ²⁷If any speak in sa tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. ²⁸But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. ²⁹Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others vweigh what is said. ³⁰If a revelation is made to another sitting there, wlet the first be silent. ³¹For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, ³²and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. ³³For God is not a God of xconfusion but of peace.

As in yall the churches of the saints, ³⁴zthe women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but ashould be in submission, as bthe Law also says. ³⁵If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

³⁶Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? ³⁷cIf anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. ³⁸If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. ³⁹So, my brothers, dearnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. ⁴⁰eBut all things should be done decently and fin order.