Israel Increases Greatly in Egypt
1 aThese are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 All the descendants of Jacob were bseventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. 6 Then cJoseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7 dBut the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.
Pharaoh Oppresses Israel
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, ewho did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Behold, fthe people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 gCome, hlet us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them ito afflict them with heavy jburdens. They built for Pharaoh kstore cities, Pithom and lRaamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel mwork as slaves 14 and nmade their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.
15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives ofeared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 pSo God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, qhe gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, r“Every son that is born to the Hebrews1 you shall cast into sthe Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”
The Birth of Moses
1 Now a tman from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and uwhen she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes2 and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the vreeds by the river bank. 4 And whis sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became xher son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I ydrew him out of the water.”3
Moses Flees to Midian
11 One day, zwhen Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their aburdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.4 12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he bstruck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 When che went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” 14 He answered, d“Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But eMoses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by fa well.
16 Now the gpriest of Midian had seven daughters, and hthey came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and iwatered their flock. 18 When they came home to their father jReuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and iwatered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may keat bread.” 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter lZipporah. 22 She gave birth to a son, and he called his name mGershom, for he said, “I have been a nsojourner5 in a foreign land.”
God Hears Israel’s Groaning
23 oDuring those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel pgroaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. qTheir cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And rGod heard their groaning, and God sremembered his covenant with tAbraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God usaw the people of Israel—and God vknew.
The Burning Bush
1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the wmountain of God. 2 xAnd ythe angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, zGod called to him aout of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; btake your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, c“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for dhe was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the Lord said, e“I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their ftaskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and gI have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and hto bring them up out of that land to a igood and broad land, a land jflowing with milk and honey, to the place of kthe Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, lthe cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the moppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 nCome, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, o“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, p“But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, qyou shall serve God on this mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”6 And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: r‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord,7 the sGod of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is tmy name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. 16 Go and ugather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, v“I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that wI will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land wflowing with milk and honey.”’ 18 And xthey will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel yshall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has zmet with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt awill not let you go unless compelled bby a mighty hand.8 20 So cI will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with dall the wonders that I will do in it; eafter that he will let you go. 21 And fI will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for gsilver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So hyou shall plunder the Egyptians.”
Jesus Delivered to Pilate
1 cAnd as soon as it was morning, the chief priests dheld a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And ethey bound Jesus and fled him away and gdelivered him over to hPilate. 2 iAnd Pilate asked him, j“Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, k“You have said so.” 3 And the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 And Pilate again asked him, l“Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5 But Jesus lmade no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.
Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified
6 mNow at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. 7 And among the rebels in prison, who had ncommitted murder oin the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. 8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that pit was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with qthe man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? rWhat evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having sscourged1 Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Jesus Is Mocked
16 tAnd the soldiers led him away inside uthe palace (that is, vthe governor’s headquarters),2 and they called together the whole wbattalion.3 17 And they clothed him in xa purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, y“Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and zspitting on him and akneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had bmocked him, they stripped him of xthe purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they cled him out to crucify him.
The Crucifixion
21 dAnd they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22 eAnd they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with fmyrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him and gdivided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And hit was the third hour4 when they crucified him.
