19 For the (A)horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and (B)the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.

The Song of Miriam(C)

20 Then Miriam (D)the prophetess, (E)the sister of Aaron, (F)took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her (G)with timbrels and with dances. 21 And Miriam (H)answered them:

(I)“Sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!”

Bitter Waters Made Sweet

22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of (J)Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no (K)water. 23 Now when they came to (L)Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called [a]Marah. 24 And the people (M)complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. (N)When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.

There He (O)made a statute and an [b]ordinance for them, and there (P)He tested them, 26 and said, (Q)“If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the (R)diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord (S)who heals you.”

27 (T)Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.

Bread from Heaven

16 And they (U)journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and (V)Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel (W)complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, (X)“Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, (Y)when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain (Z)bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather [c]a certain quota every day, that I may (AA)test them, whether they will (AB)walk in My law or not. And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and (AC)it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”

Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, (AD)“At evening you shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt. And in the morning you shall see (AE)the glory of the Lord; for He (AF)hears your complaints against the Lord. But (AG)what are we, that you complain against us?” Also Moses said, “This shall be seen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the Lord hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but (AH)against the Lord.”

Then Moses spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, (AI)‘Come near before the Lord, for He has heard your complaints.’ ” 10 Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord (AJ)appeared in the cloud.

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 (AK)“I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, (AL)‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and (AM)in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”

13 So it was that (AN)quail came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning (AO)the dew lay all around the camp. 14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was (AP)a small round (AQ)substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.

And Moses said to them, (AR)“This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it (AS)according to each one’s need, one (AT)omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.’ ”

17 Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. 18 So when they measured it by omers, (AU)he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one’s need. 19 And Moses said, “Let no one (AV)leave any of it till morning.” 20 Notwithstanding they did not [d]heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.

22 And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is (AW)a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’ ” 24 So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not (AX)stink, nor were there any worms in it. 25 Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 (AY)Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”

27 Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. 28 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long (AZ)do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? 29 See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

31 And the house of Israel called its name [e]Manna. And (BA)it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

32 Then Moses said, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it, to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’ ” 33 And Moses said to Aaron, (BB)“Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up (BC)before the Testimony, to be kept. 35 And the children of Israel (BD)ate manna (BE)forty years, (BF)until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.

Water from the Rock(BG)

17 Then (BH)all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of (BI)Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to (BJ)drink. (BK)Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.”

So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you (BL)tempt the Lord?”

And the people thirsted there for water, and the people (BM)complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our (BN)livestock with thirst?”

So Moses (BO)cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to (BP)stone[f] me!”

And the Lord said to Moses, (BQ)“Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which (BR)you struck the river, and go. (BS)Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.”

And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. So he called the name of the place (BT)Massah[g] and [h]Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they [i]tempted the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 15:23 Lit. Bitter
  2. Exodus 15:25 regulation
  3. Exodus 16:4 Lit. the portion of a day in its day
  4. Exodus 16:20 listen to
  5. Exodus 16:31 Lit. What? Ex. 16:15
  6. Exodus 17:4 Put me to death by stoning
  7. Exodus 17:7 Lit. Tempted
  8. Exodus 17:7 Lit. Contention
  9. Exodus 17:7 tested

The Parable of the Wedding Feast(A)

22 And Jesus answered (B)and spoke to them again by parables and said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; (C)my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them [a]spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out (D)his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not (E)worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ 10 So those servants went out into the highways and (F)gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there (G)who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was (H)speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, [b]take him away, and cast him (I)into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

14 (J)“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?(K)

15 (L)Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. 16 And they sent to Him their disciples with the (M)Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not [c]regard the person of men. 17 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

18 But Jesus [d]perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the tax money.”

So they brought Him a denarius.

20 And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”

21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

And He said to them, (N)“Render[e] therefore to Caesar the things that are (O)Caesar’s, and to God the things that are (P)God’s.” 22 When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

The Sadducees: What About the Resurrection?(Q)

23 (R)The same day the Sadducees, (S)who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 24 saying: “Teacher, (T)Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 25 Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. 27 Last of all the woman died also. 28 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”

29 Jesus answered and said to them, “You are [f]mistaken, (U)not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but (V)are like angels [g]of God in heaven. 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 (W)‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the multitudes heard this, (X)they were astonished at His teaching.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 22:6 insolently
  2. Matthew 22:13 NU omits take him away, and
  3. Matthew 22:16 Lit. look at the face of
  4. Matthew 22:18 knew
  5. Matthew 22:21 Pay
  6. Matthew 22:29 deceived
  7. Matthew 22:30 NU omits of God

An Exuberant Declaration of Faith

A Psalm of David.

27 The Lord is my (A)light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The (B)Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked came against me
To (C)eat[a] up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
(D)Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.

(E)One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may (F)dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the [b]beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
For (G)in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall (H)set me high upon a rock.

And now (I)my head shall be [c]lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of [d]joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 27:2 devour
  2. Psalm 27:4 delightfulness
  3. Psalm 27:6 Lifted up in honor
  4. Psalm 27:6 joyous shouts

Beware of Adultery

20 (A)My son, keep your father’s command,
And do not forsake the law of your mother.
21 (B)Bind them continually upon your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22 (C)When you roam, [a]they will lead you;
When you sleep, (D)they will keep you;
And when you awake, they will speak with you.
23 (E)For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law a light;
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
24 (F)To keep you from the evil woman,
From the flattering tongue of a seductress.
25 (G)Do not lust after her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.
26 For (H)by means of a harlot
A man is reduced to a crust of bread;
(I)And [b]an adulteress will (J)prey upon his precious life.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:22 Lit. it
  2. Proverbs 6:26 Wife of another, lit. a man’s wife

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