1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and speak to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. 2 For if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them, 3 behold, the hand of the Lord will come with a very severe plague on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks. 4 But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.”’” 5 And the Lord set a definite time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” 6 So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but not one of the livestock of the sons of Israel died. 7 And Pharaoh sent men, and they learned that, behold, not even one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of soot from a kiln, and Moses shall toss it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 Then it will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and will turn into boils breaking out with sores on every person and animal through all the land of Egypt.” 10 So they took soot from a kiln, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses tossed it toward the sky, and it became boils breaking out with sores on every person and animal. 11 The soothsayer priests could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the soothsayer priests as well as on all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. 14 For this time I am going to send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. 15 For had I now put out My hand and struck you and your people with plague, you would then have been eliminated from the earth. 16 But indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name throughout the earth. 17 Still you exalt yourself against My people by not letting them go.
18 Behold, about this time tomorrow, I will send a very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 So now, send word, bring your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. Every person and animal that is found in the field and is not brought home, when the hail comes down on them, will die.”’” 20 Everyone among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring his servants and his livestock into the houses; 21 but everyone who did not pay regard to the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.
22 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that hail may fall on all the land of Egypt, on every person and animal, and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 So Moses reached out with his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire flashing intermittently in the midst of the hail, which was very heavy, such as had not occurred in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 The hail struck everything that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, from people to animals; the hail also struck every plant of the field, and shattered every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, was there no hail.
27 Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time; the Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. 28 Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail; and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease and there will no longer be hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.” 31 (Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they ripen late.) 33 So Moses left the city from his meeting with Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to the Lord; and the thunder and the hail stopped, and rain no longer poured on the earth. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had stopped, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.
1 Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 3 Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.
4 “Now I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! 6 Are five sparrows not sold for two assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. 7 But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.
8 “Now I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God; 9 but the one who denies Me before people will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. 11 Now when they bring you before the synagogues and the officials and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
13 Now someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14 But He said to him, “You there—who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over the two of you?” 15 But He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.” 16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. 17 And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. 19 And I will say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is demanded of you; and as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ 21 Such is the one who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”
22 And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I tell you, do not worry about your life, as to what you are to eat; nor for your body, as to what you are to wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! 25 And which of you by worrying can add a day to his life’s span? 26 Therefore if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about the other things? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither labor nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 28 Now if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 For all these things are what the nations of the world eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek His kingdom, and these things will be provided to you. 32 Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.
33 “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor does a moth destroy. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
35 “Be prepared, and keep your lamps lit. 36 You are also to be like people who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door for him when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will prepare himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and he will come up and serve them. 38 Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
39 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 40 You too, be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think He will.”
41 Peter said, “Lord, are You telling this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 44 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will take a long time to come,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; 46 then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. 47 And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accordance with his will, will receive many blows, 48 but the one who did not know it, and committed acts deserving of a beating, will receive only a few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.
49 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I came to provide peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; 52 for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
54 And He was also saying to the crowds, “Whenever you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. 55 And whenever you feel a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it that you do not know how to analyze this present time?
57 “And why do you not even judge by yourselves what is right? 58 For when you are going with your accuser to appear before the magistrate, on the way, make an effort to settle with him, so that he does not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid up the very last lepton.”
1 Job again took up his discourse and said,
2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,
3 For as long as life is in me,
And the breath of God is in my nostrils,
4 My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will my tongue mutter deceit.
5 Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Until I die, I will not give up my integrity.
6 I have kept hold of my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not rebuke any of my days.
7 “May my enemy be as the wicked,
And my opponent as the criminal.
8 For what is the hope of the godless when he makes an end of life,
When God requires his life?
9 Will God hear his cry
When distress comes upon him?
10 Or will he take pleasure in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 I will instruct you in the power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you talk of nothing?
13 “This is the portion of a wicked person from God,
And the inheritance which tyrants receive from the Almighty:
14 Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword;
And his descendants will not be satisfied with bread.
15 His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And their widows will not be able to weep.
16 Though he piles up silver like dust,
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,
17 He may prepare it, but the righteous will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He has built his house like the spider’s web,
Or a hut which the watchman has made.
19 He lies down rich, but never again;
He opens his eyes, and it no longer exists.
20 Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A storm steals him away in the night.
21 The east wind carries him away, and he is gone;
For it sweeps him away from his place.
22 For it will hurl at him without mercy;
He will certainly try to flee from its power.
23 People will clap their hands at him,
And will whistle at him from their places.
1 If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give away all my possessions to charity, and if I surrender my body so that I may glory, but do not have love, it does me no good.
4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. 5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, 6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with. 9 For we know in part and prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known. 13 But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
