The Eighth Plague: Locusts

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, 2 and ^sthat you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, ^tthat you may know that I am the Lord.”

3 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to ^uhumble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. 4 For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring ^vlocusts into your country, 5 and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall ^weat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, 6 and they shall fill ^xyour houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

7 Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, ^y“Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?” 9 Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for ^zwe must hold a feast to the Lord.” 10 But he said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your ^alittle ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind.¹ 11 No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

12 Then the Lord said to Moses, ^b“Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and ^ceat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 ^dThe locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, ^esuch a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. 15 They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and ^fthey ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, ^g“I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. 17 Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and ^hplead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” 18 So ⁱhe went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 19 And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them ^jinto the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. 20 But the Lord ^khardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

21 Then the Lord said to Moses, ^l“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be ^mdarkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but ⁿall the people of Israel had light where they lived. 24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, ^o“Go, serve the Lord; ^pyour little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” 27 But the Lord ^qhardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” 29 Moses said, “As you say! ^rI will not see your face again.”

He Will Tread Down Our Foes

To the choirmaster: according to ^fShushan Eduth. A ^gMiktam¹ of David; ^hfor instruction; when he ⁱstrove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

Saul Defeats the Ammonites

1 ^oThen Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged ^pJabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, ^q“Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” 2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, ^rthat I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus ^sbring disgrace on all Israel.” 3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days’ respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.” 4 When the messengers came to ^tGibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, ^uand all the people wept aloud.

5 Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh. 6 ^vAnd the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. 7 He took a yoke of oxen ^wand cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, ^x“Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out ^yas one man. 8 When he mustered them at ^zBezek, ^athe people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have ^bsalvation.’” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, ^c“Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11 ^dAnd the next day Saul put the people ^ein three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

The Kingdom Is Renewed

12 Then the people said to Samuel, ^f“Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ ^gBring the men, that we may put them to death.” 13 But Saul said, ^h“Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today ⁱthe Lord has worked ^jsalvation in Israel.” 14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” 15 So all the people went to ^kGilgal, and there they made Saul king ^lbefore the Lord in Gilgal. There ^mthey sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

The Future Glory of Israel

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

1 He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had ^ja manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your ^kmanagement, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures¹ of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures² of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his ^lshrewdness. For ^mthe sons of this world³ are ^lmore shrewd in dealing with their own generation than ⁿthe sons of light. 9 And I tell you, ^omake friends for yourselves by means of ^punrighteous wealth,⁴ so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

10 ^q“One who is ^rfaithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in ^sthat which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 ^pNo servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

The Law and the Kingdom of God

14 ^tThe Pharisees, who were ^ulovers of money, heard all these things, and they ^vridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who ^wjustify yourselves before men, but ^xGod knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men ^yis an abomination in the sight of God.

16 ^z“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then ^athe good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and ^beveryone forces his way into it.⁵ 17 But ^cit is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.

Divorce and Remarriage

18 ^d“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in ^epurple and fine linen and ^fwho feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate ^gwas laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with ^hwhat fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by ⁱthe angels ^jto Abraham’s side.⁶ The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in ^kHades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and ^lsaw Abraham far off and Lazarus ^jat his side. 24 And he called out, ^m‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and ⁿcool my tongue, for ^oI am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that ^pyou in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have ^qMoses and the Prophets; ^rlet them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, ^sfather Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear ^qMoses and the Prophets, ^tneither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”