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Moses Helps His People
11 Moses grew and became a man. He saw that his own people, the Hebrews, were forced to work very hard. One day he saw an Egyptian man beating a Hebrew man. 12 Moses looked around and saw that no one was watching, so he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.
13 The next day Moses saw two Hebrew men fighting each other. He saw that one man was wrong and said to him, “Why are you hurting your neighbor?”
14 The man answered, “Did anyone say you could be our ruler and judge? Tell me, will you kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday[a]?”
Then Moses was afraid. He thought to himself, “Now everyone knows what I did.”
15 Pharaoh heard about what Moses did, so he decided to kill him. But Moses ran away from Pharaoh and went to the land of Midian.
Moses in Midian
Moses stopped near a well in Midian. 16 There was a priest there who had seven daughters. These girls came to that well to get water for their father’s sheep. They were trying to fill the water trough with water. 17 But there were some shepherds there who chased the girls away and would not let them get water. So Moses helped the girls and gave water to their animals.
18 Then they went back to their father, Reuel.[b] He asked them, “Why have you come home early today?”
19 The girls answered, “The shepherds chased us away, but an Egyptian rescued us. He got water for us and gave it to our animals.”
20 So Reuel said to his daughters, “Where is this man? Why did you leave him? Go invite him to eat with us.”
21 Moses was happy to stay with that man. Reuel let Moses marry his daughter, Zipporah. 22 Zipporah became pregnant and had a son. Moses named him Gershom[c] because Moses was a stranger in a land that was not his own.
God Decides to Help Israel
23 A long time passed and that king of Egypt died. But the Israelites were still forced to work very hard. They cried for help, and God heard them. 24 God heard their painful cries and remembered the agreement he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 God saw the troubles of the Israelites, and he knew that he would soon help them.
The Burning Bush
3 Moses’ father-in-law was named Jethro.[d] Jethro was a priest of Midian. Moses took care of Jethro’s sheep. One day Moses led the sheep to the west side of the desert. He went to a mountain called Horeb,[e] the mountain of God. 2 On that mountain, Moses saw the angel of the Lord in a burning bush.
Moses saw a bush that was burning without being destroyed. 3 So he decided to go closer to the bush and see how a bush could continue burning without being burned up.
4 The Lord saw Moses was coming to look at the bush. So he called to him from the bush. He said, “Moses, Moses!”
Moses said, “Yes, Lord.”
5 Then God said, “Don’t come any closer. Take off your sandals. You are standing on holy ground. 6 I am the God of your ancestors. I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
Moses covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the Lord said, “I have seen the troubles my people have suffered in Egypt, and I have heard their cries when the Egyptians hurt them. I know about their pain. 8 Now I will go down and save my people from the Egyptians. I will take them from that land and lead them to a good land where they can be free from these troubles.[f] It is a land filled with many good things.[g] Many different people live in that land: the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 9 I have heard the cries of the Israelites, and I have seen the way the Egyptians have made life hard for them. 10 So now I am sending you to Pharaoh. Go! Lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “I am not a great man! How can I be the one to go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 God said, “You can do it because I will be with you. This will be the proof that I am sending you: After you lead the people out of Egypt, you will come and worship me on this mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “But if I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me,’ then the people will ask, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?”
14 Then God said to Moses, “Tell them, ‘I Am Who I Am.’[h] When you go to the Israelites, tell them, ‘I Am’ sent me to you.” 15 And God said, “Tell the Israelites that you were sent by Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. This will always be my name. It is how I want the people to remember me from now on.
16 “Now go and call together the elders of the people. Tell them that Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—appeared to you. Give them this message from me: ‘I have been watching over you and have seen what people in Egypt have done to you. 17 And I have decided that I will take you away from the troubles you are suffering in Egypt. I will lead you to the land that now belongs to others—the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. I will lead you to a land filled with many good things.’
18 “The elders will listen to you. And then you and the elders will go to the Pharaoh. You will tell him, ‘Yahweh[i] is the God of the Hebrews.[j] He came to us and told us to travel three days into the desert. There we must offer sacrifices to Yahweh our God.’
19 “But I know that the Pharaoh will not let you go. Only a great power will force him to let you go, 20 so I will use my great power against Egypt. I will cause amazing things to happen in that land. After I do this, he will let you go. 21 And I will cause the Egyptians to be kind to the Israelites. They will give many gifts to your people when they leave Egypt.
22 “All the Hebrew women will ask their Egyptian neighbors and the Egyptian women living in their houses for gifts. And those Egyptian women will give them gifts of silver, gold, and fine clothing. Then you will put those gifts on your children. In this way you will take away the wealth of the Egyptians.”
10 The followers asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come[a] before the Messiah comes?”
11 Jesus answered, “They are right to say Elijah is coming. And it is true that Elijah will make all things the way they should be. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come. People did not know who he was, and they treated him badly, doing whatever they wanted to do. It is the same with the Son of Man. Those same people will make the Son of Man suffer.” 13 Then the followers understood that when Jesus said Elijah, he was really talking about John the Baptizer.
Jesus Frees a Boy From an Evil Spirit(A)
14 Jesus and the followers went back to the people. A man came to Jesus and bowed before him. 15 The man said, “Lord, be kind to my son. He suffers so much from the seizures he has. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your followers, but they could not heal him.”
17 Jesus answered, “You people today have no faith. Your lives are so wrong! How long must I stay with you? How long must I continue to be patient with you? Bring the boy here.” 18 Jesus gave a strong command to the demon inside the boy. The demon came out of the boy, and the boy was healed.
19 Then the followers came to Jesus alone. They said, “We tried to force the demon out of the boy, but we could not. Why were we not able to make the demon go out?”
20 Jesus answered, “You were not able to make the demon go out, because your faith is too small. Believe me when I tell you, if your faith is only as big as a mustard seed you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. You will be able to do anything.” 21 [b]
Jesus Talks About His Death(B)
22 Later, the followers met together in Galilee. Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man will be handed over to the control of other men, 23 who will kill him. But on the third day he will be raised from death.” The followers were very sad to hear that Jesus would be killed.
Jesus Teaches About Paying Taxes
24 Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. There the men who collect the two-drachma Temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your teacher pay the Temple tax?”
25 Peter answered, “Yes, he does.”
Peter went into the house where Jesus was. Before Peter could speak, Jesus said to him, “The kings on the earth get different kinds of taxes from people. But who are those who pay the taxes? Are they the king’s children? Or do other people pay the taxes? What do you think?”
26 Peter answered, “The other people pay the taxes.”
Jesus said, “Then the children of the king don’t have to pay taxes. 27 But we don’t want to upset these tax collectors. So do this: Go to the lake and fish. After you catch the first fish, open its mouth. Inside its mouth you will find a four-drachma coin. Take that coin and give it to the tax collectors. That will pay the tax for you and me.”
To the director: To the tune “The Deer of Dawn.”[a] A song of David.
22 My God, my God, why have you left me?
You seem too far away to save me,
too far to hear my cries for help!
2 My God, I kept calling by day,
and I was not silent at night.
But you did not answer me.
3 God, you are the Holy One.
You sit as King upon the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted you.
Yes, they trusted you, and you saved them.
5 They called to you for help and escaped their enemies.
They trusted you and were not disappointed!
6 But I feel like a worm, less than human!
People insult me and look down on me.
7 Everyone who sees me makes fun of me.
They shake their heads and stick out their tongues at me.
8 They say, “Call to the Lord for help.
Maybe he will save you.
If he likes you so much, surely he will rescue you!”
9 God, the truth is, you are the one who brought me into this world.
You made me feel safe while I was still at my mother’s breasts.
10 You have been my God since the day I was born.
I was thrown into your arms as I came from my mother’s womb.
11 So don’t leave me!
Trouble is near, and there is no one to help me.
12 My enemies surround me like angry bulls.
They are like the powerful bulls of Bashan, and they are all around me.
13 Their mouths are opened wide,
like a lion roaring and tearing at its prey.
14 My strength is gone,
like water poured out on the ground.
My bones have separated.
My courage is gone.[b]
15 My mouth[c] is as dry as a piece of baked pottery.
My tongue is sticking to the roof of my mouth.
You have left me dying in the dust.
16 The “dogs” are all around me—
a pack[d] of evil people has trapped me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.[e]
17 I can see each one of my bones.
My enemies are looking at me;
they just keep staring.
18 They divide my clothes among themselves,
and they throw lots for what I am wearing.
7 Now, my sons, listen to me. Don’t forget the words I say. 8 Stay away from the woman who commits adultery. Don’t even go near her house. 9 If you do, others will get the honor you should have had. Some stranger will get everything you worked years to get. 10 People you don’t know will take all your wealth. Others will get what you worked for. 11 At the end of your life, you will be sad that you ruined your health and lost everything you had. 12-13 Then you will say, “Why didn’t I listen to my parents? Why didn’t I pay attention to my teachers? I didn’t want to be disciplined. I refused to be corrected. 14 So now I have suffered through just about every kind of trouble anyone can have, and everyone knows it.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International