The Second Plague: Frogs
1 1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that nthey may serve me. 2 But if you orefuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with pfrogs. 3 The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into qyour bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people,2 and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 4 The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’” 5 3 And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, r‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt!’” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and sthe frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But tthe magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, u“Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and vI will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when uI am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” 10 And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so wthat you may know that xthere is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.” 12 So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh.4 13 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. 14 And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a yrespite, he zhardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
The Third Plague: Gnats
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, a‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’” 17 And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and bthere were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. 18 The cmagicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is dthe finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
The Fourth Plague: Flies
20 Then the Lord said to Moses, e“Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, f“Let my people go, that they may serve me. 21 Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 22 But on that day gI will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, hthat you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.5 23 Thus I will put a division6 between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.”’” 24 And the Lord did so. iThere came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants’ houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.
25 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” 26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an jabomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings jabominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must go kthree days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God las he tells us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. mPlead for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh ncheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 31 And the Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh ohardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go.
The Transfiguration
1 gAnd after six days Jesus took with him hPeter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was itransfigured before them, and jhis face shone like the sun, and khis clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for lElijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, ma bright cloud overshadowed them, and ma voice from the cloud said, n“This is my beloved Son,1 with whom I am well pleased; olisten to him.” 6 When pthe disciples heard this, qthey fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and rtouched them, saying, “Rise, and shave no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9 tAnd as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, u“Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say vthat first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and whe will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but xdid to him whatever they pleased. ySo also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 zThen the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon
14 aAnd when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has bseizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and cthey could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and dtwisted generation, how long am I to be with you? eHow long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus frebuked the demon,2 and it3 came out of him, and gthe boy was healed instantly.4 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, h“Because of your little faith. For itruly, I say to you, jif you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, kyou will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and lnothing will be impossible for you.”5
Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection
22 mAs they were gathering6 in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on nthe third day.” And they were greatly distressed.
The Temple Tax
24 oWhen they came to Capernaum, the collectors of pthe two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, q“What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or rtax? From their sons or from others?” 26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.7 Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”
