Moses Given Powerful Signs

¹Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” ²The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, i“A staff.” ³And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. ⁴But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— ⁵“that they may jbelieve that the Lord, kthe God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” ⁶Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.”1 And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was lleprous2 like snow. ⁷Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, mit was restored like the rest of his flesh. ⁸“If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. ⁹If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile nwill become blood on the dry ground.”

¹⁰But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but oI am slow of speech and of tongue.” ¹¹Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹²Now therefore go, and pI will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” ¹³But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” ¹⁴Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, qhe is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. ¹⁵rYou shall speak to him and sput the words in his mouth, and pI will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. ¹⁶tHe shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and uyou shall be as God to him. ¹⁷And take in your hand vthis staff, with which you shall do the signs.”

Moses Returns to Egypt

¹⁸Moses went back to wJethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” ¹⁹And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for xall the men who were seeking your life are dead.” ²⁰So Moses took yhis wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took zthe staff of God in his hand.

²¹And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the amiracles that I have put in your power. But bI will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. ²²Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, cIsrael is my dfirstborn son, ²³and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I ewill kill your firstborn son.’”

²⁴At a lodging place on the way fthe Lord met him and gsought to put him to death. ²⁵Then hZipporah took a iflint and cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses'3 feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” ²⁶So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.

²⁷The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness jto meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the kmountain of God and kissed him. ²⁸And Moses ltold Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak, and all mthe signs that he had commanded him to do. ²⁹Then Moses and Aaron nwent and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. ³⁰oAaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. ³¹And the people pbelieved; and when they heard that the Lord had qvisited the people of Israel and that he had rseen their affliction, sthey bowed their heads and worshiped.

Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant

¹After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, bhe entered Capernaum. ²Now a centurion had a servant1 who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. ³When the centurion2 heard about Jesus, che sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. ⁴And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, d“He is worthy to have you do this for him, ⁵for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us eour synagogue.” ⁶And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, fdo not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. ⁷Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But gsay the word, and let my servant be healed. ⁸For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ⁹When Jesus heard these things, hhe marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such ifaith.” ¹⁰And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

Jesus Raises a Widow's Son

¹¹Soon afterward3 he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. ¹²As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, jthe only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. ¹³And when the Lord saw her, khe had compassion on her and lsaid to her, “Do not weep.” ¹⁴Then he came up and touched mthe bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, narise.” ¹⁵And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus4 ogave him to his mother. ¹⁶Fear seized them all, and pthey glorified God, saying, q“A great prophet has arisen among us!” and r“God has visited his people!” ¹⁷And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Messengers from John the Baptist

¹⁸stThe disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, ¹⁹calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one uwho is to come, or vshall we look for another?” ²⁰And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one uwho is to come, or vshall we look for another?’” ²¹In that hour whe healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and xon many who were blind he bestowed sight. ²²And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: ythe blind receive their sight, the lame walk, zlepers5 are cleansed, and athe deaf hear, bthe dead are raised up, cthe poor have good news preached to them. ²³And blessed is the one who is dnot offended by me.”

²⁴When John's messengers had gone, Jesus6 began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out einto the wilderness to see? fA reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts. ²⁶What then did you go out to see? gA prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷This is he of whom it is written,

h“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’

²⁸I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” ²⁹(iWhen all the people heard this, and jthe tax collectors too, they declared God just,7 jhaving been baptized with kthe baptism of John, ³⁰lbut the Pharisees and mthe lawyers nrejected othe purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

³¹“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? ³²They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,

“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

³³For John the Baptist has come peating no bread and qdrinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ ³⁴The Son of Man has come reating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, sa friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵Yet twisdom is justified by all her children.”

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

³⁶uOne of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. ³⁷vAnd behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, ³⁸and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wwiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. ³⁹Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If xthis man were ya prophet, he zwould have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

⁴¹“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred adenarii, and the other fifty. ⁴²bWhen they could not pay, he ccancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” ⁴⁴Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; dyou gave me no water for my feet, but eshe has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵fYou gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to gkiss my feet. ⁴⁶hYou did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷Therefore I tell you, her sins, iwhich are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” ⁴⁸And he said to her, j“Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹Then those who were at table with him began to say among8 themselves, k“Who is this, who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰And he said to the woman, l“Your faith has saved you; mgo in peace.”

Job Replies: The Wicked Do Prosper

¹Then Job answered and said:

²k“Keep listening to my words,

and let this be your comfort.

³Bear with me, and I will speak,

and after I have spoken, lmock on.

⁴As for me, is my mcomplaint against man?

Why should I not be impatient?

⁵Look at me and be appalled,

and nlay your hand over your mouth.

⁶When I remember, I am dismayed,

and shuddering seizes my flesh.

⁷oWhy do the wicked live,

reach old age, and grow mighty in power?

⁸Their poffspring are established in their presence,

and their descendants before their eyes.

⁹Their houses are qsafe from fear,

and rno rod of God is upon them.

¹⁰Their bull breeds without fail;

their cow calves and sdoes not miscarry.

¹¹They send out their tlittle boys like a flock,

and their children dance.

¹²They sing to uthe tambourine and vthe lyre

and rejoice to the sound of vthe pipe.

¹³They wspend their days in prosperity,

and in xpeace they go down to ySheol.

¹⁴They say to God, z‘Depart from us!

We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.

¹⁵aWhat is the Almighty, that we should serve him?

And what bprofit do we get if we pray to him?’

¹⁶Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand?

cThe counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁷“How often is it that dthe lamp of the wicked is put out?

That their calamity comes upon them?

That God1 distributes pains in his anger?

¹⁸That they are like estraw before the wind,

and like fchaff that the storm carries away?

¹⁹You say, ‘God gstores up their iniquity for their hchildren.’

Let him pay it out to them, that they may iknow it.

²⁰Let their own eyes see their destruction,

and let them jdrink of the wrath of the Almighty.

²¹For what do they care for their houses after them,

when kthe number of their months is cut off?

²²lWill any teach God knowledge,

seeing that he mjudges those who are on high?

²³One dies in his full vigor,

being wholly at ease and secure,

²⁴his pails2 full of milk

and nthe marrow of his bones moist.

²⁵Another dies in obitterness of soul,

never having tasted of prosperity.

²⁶They plie down alike in the dust,

and qthe worms cover them.

²⁷“Behold, I know your thoughts

and your schemes to wrong me.

²⁸For you say, r‘Where is the house of the prince?

Where is sthe tent in which the wicked lived?’

²⁹Have you not asked those who travel the roads,

and do you not accept their testimony

³⁰that tthe evil man is spared in the day of calamity,

that he is rescued in the day of wrath?

³¹Who declares his way uto his face,

and who vrepays him for what he has done?

³²When he is wcarried to the grave,

watch is kept over his tomb.

³³xThe clods of the valley are sweet to him;

yall mankind follows after him,

and those who go before him are innumerable.

³⁴How then will you comfort me with empty nothings?

There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”

Food Offered to Idols

¹Now concerning1 mfood offered to idols: we know that n“all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” opuffs up, pbut love builds up. ²qIf anyone imagines that he knows something, rhe does not yet know as he ought to know. ³But if anyone loves God, she is known by God.2

⁴Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that t“an idol has no real existence,” and that u“there is no God but one.” ⁵For although there may be vso-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— ⁶yet wfor us there is one God, the Father, xfrom whom are all things and for whom we exist, and yone Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and zthrough whom we exist.

⁷However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, athrough former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and btheir conscience, being weak, is defiled. ⁸cFood will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. ⁹But take care dthat this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block eto the weak. ¹⁰For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating3 in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged,4 if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? ¹¹And so by your knowledge this weak person is fdestroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. ¹²Thus, sinning against your brothers5 and gwounding their conscience when it is weak, hyou sin against Christ. ¹³Therefore, iif food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.