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Proof for Moses
4 Then Moses answered, “What if ·the people of Israel [L they] do not ·believe [trust] me or listen to ·me [L my voice]? What if they say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”
2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
Moses answered, “It is my ·walking stick [staff; C representing the presence of God].”
3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”
So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a ·snake [serpent]. Moses ·ran [fled] from the ·snake [serpent], 4 but the Lord said to him, “·Reach out [L Send out your hand] and ·grab [grasp; catch] the ·snake [serpent] by its tail.” When ·Moses [L he] ·reached out [L sent out his hand] and ·took hold of [snatched] ·the snake [L it], it again became a ·stick [staff] in his hand. 5 The Lord said, “This is so that the ·Israelites [L they] will ·believe [trust] that the Lord appeared to you. I am the God of their ·ancestors [fathers], the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your ·coat [cloak; L bosom].” So Moses put his hand inside his ·coat [cloak; L bosom]. When he took it out, it was ·white [L like snow] with ·a skin disease [T leprosy; C the word is used for a variety of skin diseases].
7 Then he said, “Now put your hand inside your ·coat [cloak; L bosom] again.” So Moses put his hand inside his ·coat [cloak; L bosom] again. When he took it out [L of his coat/cloak/bosom], ·his hand was healthy again, like the rest of his skin [L it was restored like his flesh].
8 Then the Lord said, “If the people do not ·believe [trust] you or ·pay attention to [listen to the evidence of] the first ·miracle [sign], they may ·believe [trust] you when you show them this second ·miracle [sign]. 9 After these two ·miracles [signs], if they still do not ·believe [trust] or listen to ·you [L your voice], take some water from the Nile River and pour it on the dry ground. The water will become blood ·when it touches [L on] the ground.”
10 But Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been a ·skilled speaker [L man of words]. Even now, after talking to you, I cannot speak well. I ·speak slowly and can’t find the best words [L have a heavy/slow mouth and a heavy/slow tongue].”
11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who made a person’s mouth? And who makes someone deaf or ·not able to speak [mute]? Or who gives a person sight or blindness? It is I, the Lord. 12 Now go! I will ·help you speak [L be with your mouth], and I will teach you what to say.”
13 But Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone ·else [L you want to send].”
14 The Lord became angry with Moses and said, “[L Do I not know that…?] Your brother Aaron, from the family of Levi, is a ·skilled [fluent; smooth] speaker. He is already coming to meet you, and ·he will be happy [L his heart will rejoice] when he sees you. 15 You will speak to Aaron and ·tell him what to say [L place your words in his mouth]. I will ·help both of you to speak [L be with your mouth and with his mouth] and will teach you what to do. 16 Aaron will speak to the people for you. ·You will tell him what God says, and he will speak for you [L He will be your mouth and you will be like God to him]. 17 Take your ·walking stick [staff; 4:2] ·with you [L in your hand], and use it to do the ·miracles [signs].”
Moses Returns to Egypt
18 Moses went back to Jethro, his father-in-law, and said to him, “Let me go back to my ·people [relatives; brothers; kindred] in Egypt. I want to see if they are still alive.”
Jethro said to Moses, “·Go! I wish you well [L Go in peace].”
19 While Moses was still in Midian, the Lord said to him, “Go back to Egypt, because the men who ·wanted to kill you [L were seeking your life] are dead now.”
20 So Moses took his wife and his sons, put them on a donkey, and started back to Egypt. He took ·with him [L in his hand] the ·walking stick [staff] of God.
21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you get back to Egypt, do all the miracles I have ·given you the power to do [L set in our hand]. Show them to ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh]. But I will ·make the king very stubborn [L harden his heart], and he will not let the people go. 22 Then say to ·the king [L Pharaoh], ‘·This is what [Thus] the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son [C the privileged child]. 23 I told you to let my son go so he may ·worship [serve] me. But you refused to let Israel go, so I will kill your firstborn son [11:1–10].’”
24 ·As Moses was on his way to Egypt [L On the way], he stopped at a resting place for the night. The Lord met him there and tried to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife and ·circumcised [L cut the foreskin of] her son. Taking the skin, she touched Moses’ feet [C a euphemism for his genitalia] with it and said to him, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me.” 26 She said, “You are a bridegroom of blood,” ·because she had to circumcise her son [L by circumcision]. So the Lord let Moses alone [C this event is difficult to interpret, but shows that circumcision is important to God].
27 Meanwhile the Lord said to Aaron, “Go out into the ·desert [wilderness] to meet Moses.” When Aaron went, he met Moses at Sinai, the mountain of God, and kissed him. 28 Moses ·told [reported to] Aaron everything the Lord had said to him when he sent him to Egypt. He also told him about the miracles [signs] which the Lord had commanded him to do.
29 Moses and Aaron gathered all the elders of the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], 30 and Aaron told them everything that the Lord had told Moses. Then Moses did the ·miracles [signs] for all the people to see, 31 and the ·Israelites [L people] ·believed [trusted]. When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their ·troubles [afflictions; humiliation], they bowed down and worshiped him.
Moses and Aaron Before Pharaoh
5 After Moses and Aaron talked to the people, they went to ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh] and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go so they may ·hold a feast [celebrate a festival; or make a pilgrimage] for me in the ·desert [wilderness].’”
2 But ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh] said, “Who is the Lord? Why should I ·obey him [L listen to his voice] and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”
3 Then Aaron and Moses said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us travel three days into the ·desert [wilderness] to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we don’t do this, he may kill us with a ·disease [pestilence; plague] or in war.”
4 But the king [L of Egypt] said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Go back to your ·jobs [labor]! 5 ·There are very many Hebrews [L They are more numerous than the people of the land], and now you want them to quit working!”
6 That same day ·the king [L Pharaoh] gave a command to the slave masters and ·foremen [supervisors]. 7 He said, “Don’t give the people straw to make bricks as you used to do. Let them gather their own straw. 8 But they must still make the same number of bricks as they did before. Do not accept fewer. They have become lazy, and that is why they ·are asking me [cry; whine], ‘Let us go to offer sacrifices to our God.’ 9 Make these people work harder and ·keep them busy [L they will labor on it]; then they will ·not have time to listen to the lies of Moses [L pay no attention to false words/reports].”
Moses Complains to God
10 So the slave masters [L of the people] and ·foremen [supervisors] went ·to the Israelites [L out] and said [L to the people], “This is what ·the king [L Pharaoh] says: I will no longer give you straw. 11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it. But ·you must make as many bricks as you made before [L your work will not dimish at all].” 12 So the people ·went everywhere in [L scattered throughout] Egypt ·looking for dry stalks [L gathering stubble] to use for straw. 13 The slave masters ·kept forcing the people to work harder [L were urgent]. They said, “You must ·make just as many bricks [L finish your work, the same daily assignment] as you did when you were given straw.” 14 ·The king’s [L Pharaoh’s] slave masters had made the Israelite ·foremen [supervisors] responsible for the work the people did. The Egyptian slave masters beat these men and asked them, “Why ·aren’t you making as many bricks as you made in the past [L did you not complete the number of bricks yesterday and today, as you did before]?”
15 Then the Israelite ·foremen [supervisors] went to ·the king [L Pharaoh] and ·complained [protested], “Why are you treating us, your servants, this way? 16 You give ·us [L your servants] no straw, but we are commanded to make bricks. Our slave masters beat us, but it is your own people’s ·fault [offense; sin].”
17 ·The king [L He] answered, “You are lazy! ·You don’t want to work [L Lazy]! ·That is why you ask to leave here [L Therefore you say, “Let us go…”] and make sacrifices to the Lord. 18 Now, go back to work! We will not give you any straw, but you must make just as many bricks as you did before.”
19 The Israelite ·foremen [supervisors] knew they were in trouble, because ·the king had told them [L they were told], “You must make just as many bricks each day as you did before.” 20 As they were leaving the meeting with ·the king [L Pharaoh], they met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them. 21 So they said to Moses and Aaron, “May the Lord ·punish you [L look on you and judge]. You ·caused the king and his officers to hate us [L have made us a bad odor in the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants]. You have ·given them an excuse [L placed a sword in their hands] to kill us.”
Who Is the Greatest?(A)
18 At that time the ·followers [disciples] came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Jesus called a little child to him and stood the child before his ·followers [disciples]. 3 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you must ·change [or turn from your sins; convert; L turn] and become like little children. Otherwise, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 The greatest person in the kingdom of heaven [L therefore] is the one who makes himself humble [and becomes] like this [little] child.
5 “[L And] Whoever ·accepts [welcomes; receives] a child ·in my name [C as a representative or follower of Jesus] ·accepts [welcomes; receives] me [C indicates concern for the lowly; children had low social status]. 6 If someone causes one of these little children who believes in me to ·sin [lose faith; stumble], it would be better for that person to have a ·large stone [large millstone; L millstone of a donkey] tied around the neck and be ·drowned [L thrown] in the [L depths of the] sea. 7 ·How terrible for [L Woe to] ·the people of the world [L the world] because of ·the things that cause them to sin [temptations to sin; L stumbling blocks]. ·Such things will happen [L It is necessary for stumbling blocks to come], but ·how terrible for [L woe to] the one ·who causes them to happen [L through whom the stumbling block comes]! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to ·sin [lose faith; stumble], cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you ·to lose part of your body and live forever [L to enter life maimed or crippled] than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the ·fire that burns forever [eternal fire]. 9 If your eye causes you to ·sin [lose faith; stumble], ·take [tear; gouge] it out and throw it away. It is better for you to ·have only one eye and live forever [L enter life one-eyed] than to have two eyes and be thrown into the ·fire of hell [L Gehenna of fire; 5:22].
A Lost Sheep(B)
10 “Be careful [Watch out; or See that you…]. Don’t ·think these little children are worth nothing [L despise/look down on one of these little ones]. [L For] I tell you that they have angels in heaven who are always ·with [in the presence of; L see the face of] my Father in heaven. |11 The Son of Man came to save ·lost people [that which was lost].|[a]
12 “[L What do you think?] If a man has a hundred sheep but one of the sheep ·gets lost [goes astray; wanders off], ·he will [L won’t he…?] leave the other ninety-nine on the ·hill [L hills; mountains] and go to look for the lost sheep. 13 I tell you the truth, if he finds it he ·is happier about [rejoices more over] that one sheep than ·about [over] the ninety-nine that ·were never lost [never went astray/wandered off]. 14 In the same way, your Father in heaven ·does not want [is not willing that] any of these little children to ·be lost [perish].
When a Person Sins Against You(C)
15 “If your ·fellow believer [L brother (or sister)] sins against you,[b] go and ·tell him what he did wrong [L reprove/convict/correct him] ·in private [L between you and him alone]. If he listens to you, you have ·helped that person to be your brother or sister again [L gained/won back your brother (or sister)]. 16 But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you. ‘Every ·case [matter; charge] may be proved by [the testimony of; L the mouth of] two or three witnesses’ [Deut. 19:15]. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a ·person who does not believe in God [pagan; Gentile] or like a tax collector.
18 “I tell you the truth, ·the things [whatever] you ·don’t allow [forbid; L bind] on earth will be ·the things God does not allow [forbidden/bound in heaven]. And ·the things [whatever] you ·allow [permit; L loose] on earth will be ·the things that God allows [permitted/L loosed in heaven].”
19 “·Also [Again], I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something ·and pray for it [L for which you have asked], it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 ·This is true because if [L For where] two or three people ·come [are assembled/gathered] together in my name, I am there ·with them [among them; in their midst].”
19 But, Lord, don’t be far away.
You are my ·strength [or help]; hurry to help me.
20 ·Save [Rescue; T Deliver] me from the sword;
save my life from the dogs.
21 ·Rescue [Save; T Deliver] me from the lion’s mouth;
·save [L answer] me from the horns of the bulls.
22 Then I will ·tell my brothers and sisters about you [L recount your name/reputation to my brothers];
I will praise you in the ·public meeting [assembly; congregation].
23 Praise the Lord, all you who ·respect [fear] him [Prov. 1:7].
All you ·descendants [seed] of Jacob [C Israelites], ·honor [glorify] him;
·fear [revere] him, all you Israelites.
24 He does not ·ignore [despise or disdain] ·those in trouble [L the suffering of the afflicted].
He doesn’t hide his face from them
but listens when they ·call out to him [cry to him for help].
25 Lord, ·I praise you [L from you comes my praise] in the great ·meeting of your people [assembly];
these ·worshipers [L who fear him] will see me ·do what I promised [L fulfill my vows].
26 ·Poor [or Afflicted] people will eat ·until they are full [and be satisfied];
those who ·look to the Lord [L seek him] will praise him.
May your hearts live forever!
27 ·People everywhere [L All the ends of the earth] will remember
and will turn to the Lord.
All the families of the nations
will worship him
28 because ·the Lord is King [rule belongs to the Lord],
and he rules the nations.
29 All the ·powerful people [L fat ones] on earth will eat and worship.
Everyone will ·bow down to [kneel before] him,
all who will ·one day die [L go down to the dust and cannot keep themselves alive].
30 The ·people in the future [posterity; seed] will serve him;
they will always be told about the Lord.
31 They will ·tell that he does what is right [recount his righteousness].
People who are not yet born
will hear what God has done.
15 ·Be faithful to your own wife [L Drink water from your own well; Song 4:10–15],
·just as you drink [L gushing] water from your own ·well [cistern].
16 Don’t ·pour your water in the streets [L let your fountains burst forth outside];
·don’t give your love to just any woman [L streams of water in the public squares].
17 These things are yours alone
and shouldn’t be shared with strangers.
18 ·Be happy with the wife you married when you were young [L Rejoice in the wife of your youth].
·She gives you joy, as your fountain gives you water [L May your spring be blessed].
19 She is a lovely deer and a graceful doe.
Let her ·love [or breasts] always make you happy;
let her love always ·hold you captive [intoxicate/inebriate you; Song 4:10].
20 My son, ·don’t be held captive [L why should you be intoxicated/inebriated…?] by a ·woman who takes part in adultery [L stranger].
Don’t fondle the bosom of a ·woman who is not your wife [L foreigner].
21 The ·Lord sees everything you do [L eyes of the Lord are on the path of every person],
and he watches ·where you go [L all their ways].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.