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.”¹ And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ^r‘I am has sent me to you.’”

14 Now when ^wthe apostles at Jerusalem heard that ^xSamaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them ^ythat they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for ^zhe had not yet ^afallen on any of them, but ^bthey had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then ^cthey laid their hands on them and ^dthey received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, ^e“May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God ^fwith money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for ^gyour heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, ^hif possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in ⁱthe gall¹ of bitterness and in ^jthe bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, ^k“Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon

1 ^uThey came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.¹ 2 And when Jesus² had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 ^vHe lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and ^wfell down before him. 7 And ^xcrying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, ^ySon of ^zthe Most High God? ^aI adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is ^bLegion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.