The Daily Audio Bible

Feast of Unleavened Bread

¹⁴ ‘Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as an ordinance forever. ¹⁵ [In the celebration of the Passover in future years,] seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove the ^[a]leaven from your houses [because it represents the spread of sin]; for whoever eats leavened bread on the first day through the seventh day, that person shall be cut off and excluded from [the atonement made for] Israel. ¹⁶ On the first day [of the feast] you shall have a holy and solemn assembly, and on the seventh day there shall be another holy and solemn assembly; no work of any kind shall be done on those days, except for the preparation of food which every person must eat—only that may be done by you. ¹⁷ You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought your hosts [grouped according to tribal armies] out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an ordinance forever. ¹⁸ In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, [and continue] until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. ¹⁹ Seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses; whoever eats what is leavened shall be cut off and excluded from [the atonement made for] the congregation of Israel, whether a stranger or native-born.^{(A) 20} You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’”

²¹ Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and take a lamb for yourselves according to [the size of] your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. ²² You shall take a bunch of ^[b]hyssop, dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and touch some of the blood to the lintel [above the doorway] and to the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.

A Memorial of Redemption

²³ For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel [above the entry way] and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow ^[c]the destroyer to come into your houses to slay you. ²⁴ You shall observe this event [concerning Passover] as an ordinance for you and for your children forever. ²⁵ When you enter the land which the Lord will give you, as He has promised, you shall keep and observe this service. ²⁶ When your children say to you, ‘What does this service mean to you?’ ²⁷ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians, but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed [their heads] low and worshiped [God].

²⁸ Then the Israelites went and did [as they had been told]: just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

²⁹ Now it happened at midnight that the Lord struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the ^[d]dungeon, and all the firstborn of the cattle. ³⁰ Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry [of heartache and sorrow] in Egypt, for there was no house where there was not someone dead. ³¹ Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Get up, get out from among my people, both you and the Israelites; and go, serve the Lord, as you said. ³² Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and [ask your God to] bless me also.”

Exodus of Israel

³³ The Egyptians [anxiously] urged the people [to leave], to send them out of the land quickly, for they said, “We will all be dead.” ³⁴ So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their clothes on their shoulders.

³⁵ Now the Israelites had acted in accordance with the word of Moses; and they had asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing. ³⁶ The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they gave them what they asked. And so they plundered the Egyptians [of those things].

³⁷ Now the Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides [the women and] the children. ³⁸ A mixed multitude [of non-Israelites from foreign nations] also went with them, along with both flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock.^{(B) 39} And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought from Egypt; it was not leavened, since they were driven [quickly] from Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any food for themselves.

⁴⁰ Now the period of time the children of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.^{(C) 41} At the end of the four hundred and thirty years, to that very day, all the hosts of the Lord [gathered into tribal armies] left the land of Egypt.

Ordinance of the Passover

⁴² It is a night of watching to be observed for the Lord for having brought them out of the land of Egypt; this [same] night is for the Lord, to be observed and celebrated by all the Israelites throughout their generations.

⁴³ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: no ^[e]foreigner is to eat it; ⁴⁴ but every man’s slave who is bought with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. ⁴⁵ No stranger (temporary resident, foreigner) or hired servant shall eat it. ⁴⁶ It is to be eaten inside one house; you shall not take any of the meat outside the house, nor shall you break any of its bones.^{(D) 47} The entire congregation of Israel shall keep and celebrate it. ⁴⁸ If a stranger living temporarily among you wishes to celebrate the Passover to the Lord, all his males must be circumcised, and then he may participate and celebrate it like one that is born in the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat it. ⁴⁹ The same law shall apply to the native-born and to the stranger who lives temporarily among you.”

⁵⁰ Then all the Israelites did so; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹ And on that very same day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their hosts (tribal armies).

Consecration of the Firstborn

13 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Sanctify to Me [that is, set apart for My purpose] every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal; it is Mine.”

³ Moses said to the people, “Remember [solemnly observe and commemorate] this day on which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage and slavery; for by a strong and powerful hand the Lord brought you out of this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten. ⁴ On this day in the month Abib, you are about to go onward. ⁵ And it shall be when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land [of abundance] ^[f]flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep and observe this rite (service) in this month. ⁶ For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. ⁷ Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, nor shall there be leaven within the borders of your territory. ⁸ You shall explain this to your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹ It shall serve as a sign to you on your hand (arm), and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the instruction (law) of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a strong and powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at this time from year to year.

¹¹ “Now it shall be when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, ¹² you shall set apart and dedicate to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock shall be the Lord’s. ¹³ Every firstborn of a ^[g]donkey you shall redeem by [substituting] a lamb [as a sacrifice for it], but if you do not [wish to] redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn among your sons you shall redeem [that is, “buy back” from God with a suitable sacrifice]. ¹⁴ And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘With a strong and powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondage and slavery. ¹⁵ For it happened, when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, that the Lord struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animal. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord all the males, the first [to be born] of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶ So it shall serve as a sign and a reminder on your [left] hand (arm) and as ^[h]frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong and powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

Sight for the Blind

²⁹ As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him.^{(A) 30} And two blind men were sitting by the road, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David (Messiah)!” ³¹ The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, Son of David (Messiah) have mercy on us!” ³² Jesus stopped and called them, and asked, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³³ They answered Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” ³⁴ Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him [as His disciples].

The Triumphal Entry

21 When they approached Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples [ahead],^{(B) 2} saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and at once you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, you should say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and without delay the owner will send them [with you].” ⁴ This happened so that what was spoken by the prophet would be fulfilled, saying:

⁶ Then the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them, ⁷ and they brought the donkey and ^[a]the colt, and ^[b]placed their coats on them; and Jesus sat on the coats. ⁸ Most of the crowd spread their coats on the road [as before a king], while others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of Him, and those that followed Him, were shouting [in praise and adoration],

¹⁰ When He entered Jerusalem, all the city was trembling [with excitement], saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Cleansing the Temple

¹² And Jesus entered the temple [grounds] and drove out [with force] all who were buying and selling [birds and animals for sacrifice] in the temple area, and He turned over the tables of the moneychangers [who made a profit exchanging foreign money for temple coinage] and the chairs of those who were selling doves [for sacrifice].^{(E) 13} Jesus said to them, “It is written [in Scripture], ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”^(F)

¹⁴ And the blind and the lame came to Him in [the porticoes and courts of] the temple area, and He healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful and miraculous things that Jesus had done, and heard the ^[d]boys who were shouting in [the porticoes and courts of] the temple [in praise and adoration], “Hosanna to the Son of David (the Messiah),” they became indignant ¹⁶ and they said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus replied to them, “Yes; have you never read [in the Scripture], ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have prepared and provided praise for Yourself’?”^{(G) 17} Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

The Barren Fig Tree

¹⁸ Now early in the morning, as Jesus was coming back to the city, He was hungry.^{(H) 19} Seeing a lone fig tree at the roadside, He went to it and found nothing but leaves on it; and He said to it, “Never again will fruit come from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.

²⁰ When the disciples saw it, they were astonished and asked, “How is it that the fig tree has withered away all at once?” ²¹ Jesus replied to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have faith [personal trust and confidence in Me] and do not doubt or allow yourself to be drawn in two directions, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen [if God wills it].^{(I) 22} And whatever you ask for in prayer, believing, you will receive.”