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14 “You will always remember tonight—it will be a special festival for you. Your descendants will honor the Lord with this festival forever. 15 For this festival you will eat bread made without yeast for seven days. On the first day, you will remove all the yeast from your houses. No one should eat any yeast for the full seven days of this festival. Anyone who eats yeast must be separated from the rest of Israel. 16 There will be holy assemblies on the first day and the last day of the festival. You must not do any work on these days. The only work you can do is preparing the food for your meals. 17 You must remember the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because on this day I took all of your people out of Egypt in groups.[a] All of your descendants must remember this day. This is a law that will last forever. 18 So on the evening of the 14th day of the first month, you will begin eating bread without yeast. You will eat this bread until the evening of the 21st day of the same month. 19 For seven days, there must not be any yeast in your houses. Anyone, either a citizen of Israel or a foreigner living among you,[b] who eats yeast at this time must be separated from the rest of Israel. 20 During this festival you must not eat any yeast. You must eat bread without yeast wherever you live.”
21 So Moses called all the elders together and told them, “Get the lambs for your families. Kill the lambs for the Passover. 22 Take bunches of hyssop and dip them in the bowls filled with blood. Paint the blood on the sides and top of each doorframe. No one must leave their house until morning. 23 At the time the Lord goes through Egypt to kill the firstborn, he will see the blood on the sides and top of each doorframe. Then he will protect[c] that house and not let the Destroyer come into any of your houses and hurt you. 24 You must remember this command. This law is for you and your descendants forever. 25 You must remember to do this even when you go to the land the Lord is giving you. 26 When your children ask you, ‘Why are we doing this ceremony?’ 27 you will say, ‘This Passover is to honor the Lord, because when we were in Egypt, he passed over the houses of Israel. He killed the Egyptians, but he saved the people in our houses.’”
Then the people bowed down and worshiped the Lord. 28 The Lord had given this command to Moses and Aaron, so the Israelites did what the Lord commanded.
29 At midnight the Lord killed all the firstborn sons in Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh (who ruled Egypt) to the firstborn son of the prisoner sitting in jail. Also all the firstborn animals died. 30 That night someone died in every house in Egypt. Pharaoh, his officials, and all the people of Egypt began to cry loudly.
Israel Leaves Egypt
31 So that night Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said to them, “Get up and leave my people. You and your people can do as you say. Go and worship the Lord. 32 Take all of your sheep and cattle with you, just as you said you would. Go! And say a blessing for me too.” 33 The people of Egypt also asked them to hurry and leave. They said, “If you don’t leave, we will all die!”
34 The Israelites did not have time to put the yeast in their bread. They just wrapped the bowls of dough with cloth and carried them on their shoulders. 35 Then the Israelites did what Moses asked them to do. They went to their Egyptian neighbors and asked for clothing and things made from silver and gold. 36 The Lord caused the Egyptians to be kind to the Israelites, so the Egyptians gave their riches to the Israelites.
37 The Israelites traveled from Rameses to Succoth. There were about 600,000 men, not counting the small boys. 38 A great number of people who were not Israelites went with them, along with many sheep, cattle, and other livestock. 39 The people did not have time to put yeast in their bread or make any special food for their journey. So they had to bake their bread without yeast.
40 The Israelites had lived in Egypt[d] for 430 years. 41 After 430 years, to the very day, all the armies of the Lord[e] left Egypt. 42 The night they left, the Lord watched over them to bring them safely out of Egypt. So the Israelites will always celebrate this night each year to remember what the Lord did.
43 The Lord told Moses and Aaron, “These are the rules for Passover: No foreigner[f] is allowed to eat the Passover meal. 44-45 A foreigner who is only a hired worker or is only staying in your country is not allowed to eat the meal. But if someone buys a slave and circumcises him, then the slave can eat the Passover meal.
46 “Each family must eat the meal in one house. None of the food is to be taken outside the house. Don’t break any of the lamb’s bones. 47 The whole community of Israel must do this ceremony. 48 If a foreigner living among you wants to share in the Lord’s Passover, he must be circumcised. Then he can share in the meal like any other citizen of Israel. But a man who is not circumcised cannot eat the Passover meal. 49 The same rules are for everyone. It doesn’t matter if they are citizens or foreigners living among you.”
50 So all the Israelites obeyed the commands that the Lord gave to Moses and Aaron. 51 On that same day the Lord led all the Israelites out of the country of Egypt. The people left in groups.
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “You must give me every male in Israel who is his mother’s first child. That means that every firstborn baby boy and every firstborn male animal will be mine.”
3 Moses said to the people, “Remember this day. You were slaves in Egypt, but on this day the Lord used his great power and made you free. You must not eat bread with yeast. 4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving Egypt. 5 The Lord made a special promise to your ancestors. He promised to give you the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. After the Lord leads you to the land filled with many good things,[g] then you must remember this day. You must have a special day of worship on this day during the first month of every year.
6 “For seven days, you must eat only bread without yeast. On the seventh day there will be a great festival to show honor to the Lord. 7 So for seven days, you must not eat any bread made with yeast. There must be no bread with yeast any place in your land. 8 On this day you should tell your children, ‘We are having this festival because the Lord took me out of Egypt.’
9 “This festival will help you remember; it will be like a string tied on your hand. It will be like a sign before your eyes.[h] This festival will help you remember the Lord’s teachings. It will help you remember that the Lord used his great power to take you out of Egypt. 10 So remember this festival every year at the right time.
11 “The Lord will lead you into the land he promised to give you. The Canaanites live there now. But God promised your ancestors that he would give you this land. When that happens, 12 you must remember to give the Lord every firstborn boy. And every male animal that is the firstborn must also be given to the Lord. 13 Every firstborn donkey can be bought back. You can offer a lamb and keep the donkey. If you don’t want to buy back the donkey like this, then you must break its neck to kill it. But every firstborn baby boy[i] must be bought back from the Lord.
14 “In the future, your children will ask why you do this. They will say, ‘What does all this mean?’ And you will answer, ‘The Lord used his great power to save us from Egypt. We were slaves in that place, but he led us out and brought us here. 15 In Egypt, Pharaoh was stubborn and refused to let us leave. So the Lord killed every firstborn in all the land. (The Lord killed the firstborn males—animal and human.) That is why I give every firstborn male animal to the Lord, and that is why I buy back each of my firstborn sons from him.’ 16 This is like a string tied on your hand, like a sign in front of your eyes. It helps you remember that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his great power.”
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men(A)
29 When Jesus and his followers were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 There were two blind men sitting by the road. They heard that Jesus was coming by. So they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, please help us!”
31 The people there criticized the blind men and told them to be quiet. But they shouted more and more, “Lord, Son of David, please help us!”
32 Jesus stopped and said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
33 They answered, “Lord, we want to be able to see.”
34 Jesus felt sorry for the blind men. He touched their eyes, and immediately they were able to see. Then they became followers of Jesus.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem Like a King(B)
21 Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem. But first they stopped at Bethphage at the hill called the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his followers into town. 2 He said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will find a donkey with her colt. Untie them both, and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, tell them, ‘The Master needs them. He will send them back soon.’”
4 This showed the full meaning of what the prophet said:
5 “Tell the people of Zion,[a]
‘Now your king is coming to you.
He is humble and riding on a donkey.
He is riding on a young donkey, born from a work animal.’” (C)
6 The followers went and did what Jesus told them to do. 7 They brought the mother donkey and the young donkey to him. They covered the donkeys with their coats, and Jesus sat on them. 8 On the way to Jerusalem, many people spread their coats on the road for Jesus. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Some of the people were walking ahead of Jesus. Others were walking behind him. They all shouted,
Praise to God in heaven!”
10 Then Jesus went into Jerusalem. All the people in the city were confused. They asked, “Who is this man?”
11 The crowds following Jesus answered, “This is Jesus. He is the prophet from the town of Nazareth in Galilee.”
Jesus Goes to the Temple(E)
12 Jesus went into the Temple area. He threw out all those who were selling and buying things there. He turned over the tables that belonged to those who were exchanging different kinds of money. And he turned over the benches of those who were selling doves. 13 Jesus said to them, “The Scriptures say, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer.’[c] But you are changing it into a ‘hiding place for thieves.’[d]”
14 Some blind people and some who were crippled came to Jesus in the Temple area. Jesus healed them. 15 The leading priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he was doing. And they saw the children praising him in the Temple area. The children were shouting, “Praise to the Son of David.” All this made the priests and the teachers of the law angry.
16 They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”
He answered, “Yes. The Scriptures say, ‘You have taught children and babies to give praise.’[e] Have you not read that Scripture?”
17 Then Jesus left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.
Jesus Shows the Power of Faith(F)
18 Early the next morning, Jesus was going back to the city. He was very hungry. 19 He saw a fig tree beside the road and went to get a fig from it. But there were no figs on the tree. There were only leaves. So Jesus said to the tree, “You will never again produce fruit!” The tree immediately dried up and died.
20 When the followers saw this, they were very surprised. They asked, “How did the fig tree dry up and die so quickly?”
21 Jesus answered, “The truth is, if you have faith and no doubts, you will be able to do the same as I did to this tree. And you will be able to do more. You will be able to say to this mountain, ‘Go, mountain, fall into the sea.’ And if you have faith, it will happen. 22 If you believe, you will get anything you ask for in prayer.”
16 I am hurt and lonely.
Turn to me, and show me mercy.
17 Free me from my troubles.
Help me solve my problems.
18 Look at my trials and troubles.
Forgive me for all the sins I have done.
19 Look at all the enemies I have.
They hate me and want to hurt me.
20 Protect me! Save me from them!
I come to you for protection, so don’t let me be disappointed.
21 You are good and do what is right.
I trust you to protect me.
22 God, save the people of Israel
from all their enemies.
Troublemakers
12 Some people are just troublemakers. They are always thinking up some crooked plan and telling lies. 13 They use secret signals to cheat people; they wink their eyes, shuffle their feet, and point a finger. 14 They are always planning to do something bad. 15 But they will be punished. Disaster will strike, and they will be destroyed. There will be no one to help them.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International