Old/New Testament
The Provision of Manna
16 [a] When[b] they journeyed from Elim, the entire company[c] of Israelites came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their exodus[d] from the land of Egypt. 2 The entire company[e] of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died[f] by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by[g] the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full,[h] for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill[i] this whole assembly with hunger!”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain[j] bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out[k] and gather the amount for each day, so that I may test them.[l] Will they walk in my law[m] or not? 5 On the sixth day[n] they will prepare what they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather every other day.”[o]
6 Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening[p] you will know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see[q] the glory of the Lord, because he has heard[r] your murmurings against the Lord. As for us, what are we,[s] that you should murmur against us?”
8 Moses said, “You will know this[t] when the Lord gives you[u] meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning to satisfy you, because the Lord has heard your murmurings that you are murmuring against him. As for us, what are we?[v] Your murmurings are not against us,[w] but against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community[x] of the Israelites, ‘Come[y] before the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings.’”
10 As Aaron spoke[z] to the whole community of the Israelites and they looked toward the wilderness, there the glory of the Lord[aa] appeared[ab] in the cloud, 11 and the Lord spoke to Moses, 12 “I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘During the evening[ac] you will eat meat,[ad] and in the morning you will be satisfied[ae] with bread, so that you may know[af] that I am the Lord your God.’”[ag]
13 In the evening the quail[ah] came up and covered the camp, and in the morning a layer of dew was all around the camp. 14 When[ai] the layer of dew had evaporated,[aj] there on the surface of the wilderness was a thin flaky substance,[ak] thin like frost on the earth. 15 When[al] the Israelites saw it, they said to one another,[am] “What is it?” because they did not know what it was.[an] Moses said to them, “It is the bread[ao] that the Lord has given you for food.[ap]
16 “This is what[aq] the Lord has commanded:[ar] ‘Each person is to gather[as] from it what he can eat, an omer[at] per person[au] according to the number[av] of your people;[aw] each one will pick it up[ax] for whoever lives[ay] in his tent.’” 17 The Israelites did so, and they gathered—some more, some less. 18 When[az] they measured with an omer, the one who gathered much had nothing left over, and the one who gathered little lacked nothing; each one had gathered what he could eat.
19 Moses said to them, “No one[ba] is to keep any of it[bb] until morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses; some[bc] kept part of it until morning, and it was full[bd] of worms and began to stink, and Moses was angry with them. 21 So they gathered it each morning,[be] each person according to what he could eat, and when the sun got hot, it would melt.[bf] 22 And[bg] on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers[bh] per person;[bi] and all the leaders[bj] of the community[bk] came and told[bl] Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a time of cessation from work,[bm] a holy Sabbath[bn] to the Lord. Whatever you want to[bo] bake, bake today;[bp] whatever you want to boil, boil today; whatever is left put aside for yourselves to be kept until morning.’”
24 So they put it aside until the morning, just as Moses had commanded, and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the area.[bq] 26 Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather it, but they found nothing. 28 So the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse[br] to obey my commandments and my instructions? 29 See, because the Lord has given you the Sabbath, that is why[bs] he is giving you food for two days on the sixth day. Each of you stay where you are;[bt] let no one[bu] go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The house of Israel[bv] called its name “manna.”[bw] It was like coriander seed and was white, and it tasted[bx] like wafers with honey.
32 Moses said, “This is what[by] the Lord has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it to be kept[bz] for generations to come,[ca] so that they may see[cb] the food I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.’” 33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put in it an omer full of manna, and place it before the Lord to be kept for generations to come.” 34 Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the ark of the testimony[cc] for safekeeping.[cd]
35 Now the Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was inhabited; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)[ce]
Water at Massah and Meribah
17 [cf] The whole community[cg] of the Israelites traveled on their journey[ch] from the wilderness of Sin according to the Lord’s instruction, and they pitched camp in Rephidim.[ci] Now[cj] there was no water for the people to drink.[ck] 2 So the people contended[cl] with Moses, and they said, “Give us water to drink!”[cm] Moses said to them, “Why do you contend[cn] with me? Why do you test[co] the Lord?” 3 But the people were very thirsty[cp] there for water, and they murmured against Moses and said, “Why in the world[cq] did you bring us up from Egypt—to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?”[cr]
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What will I do with[cs] this people?—a little more[ct] and they will stone me!”[cu] 5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go over before the people;[cv] take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile and go. 6 I will be standing[cw] before you there on[cx] the rock in Horeb, and you will strike[cy] the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink.”[cz] And Moses did so in plain view[da] of the elders of Israel.
7 He called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contending of the Israelites and because of their testing the Lord,[db] saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Victory over the Amalekites
8 [dc] Amalek came[dd] and attacked[de] Israel in Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our[df] men and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”
10 So Joshua fought against Amalek just as Moses had instructed him,[dg] and Moses and Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses would raise his hands,[dh] then Israel prevailed, but whenever he would rest[di] his hands, then Amalek prevailed. 12 When[dj] the hands of Moses became heavy,[dk] they took a stone and put it under him, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other,[dl] and so his hands were steady[dm] until the sun went down. 13 So Joshua destroyed[dn] Amalek and his army[do] with the sword.[dp]
14 The Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in the[dq] book, and rehearse[dr] it in Joshua’s hearing;[ds] for I will surely wipe out[dt] the remembrance[du] of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 Moses built an altar, and he called it “The Lord is my Banner,”[dv] 16 for he said, “For a hand was lifted up to the throne of the Lord[dw]—that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”[dx]
The Advice of Jethro
18 [dy] Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard about all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, that[dz] the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.[ea]
2 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife Zipporah after he had sent her back, 3 and her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom[eb] (for Moses[ec] had said, “I have been a foreigner[ed] in a foreign land”) 4 and the other Eliezer (for Moses had said,[ee] “The God of my father has been my help[ef] and delivered[eg] me from the sword of Pharaoh”).
5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’[eh] sons and his wife, came to Moses in the wilderness where he was camping by[ei] the mountain of God.[ej] 6 He said[ek] to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you, along with your wife and her two sons with her.” 7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him;[el] they each asked about the other’s welfare, and then they went into the tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to Egypt for Israel’s sake, and all the hardship[em] that had come on them[en] along the way, and how[eo] the Lord had delivered them.
9 Jethro rejoiced[ep] because of all the good that the Lord had done for Israel, whom he had delivered from the hand of Egypt. 10 Jethro said, “Blessed[eq] be the Lord who has delivered you from the hand of Egypt, and from the hand of Pharaoh, who has delivered the people from the Egyptians’ control![er] 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods, for in the thing in which they dealt proudly against them he has destroyed them.”[es] 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought[et] a burnt offering and sacrifices for God,[eu] and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat food[ev] with the father-in-law of Moses before God.
13 On the next day[ew] Moses sat to judge[ex] the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning until evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this[ey] that you are doing for the people?[ez] Why are you sitting by yourself, and all the people stand around you from morning until evening?”
15 Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire[fa] of God. 16 When they have a dispute,[fb] it comes to me and I decide[fc] between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the decrees of God and his laws.”[fd]
17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What[fe] you are doing is not good! 18 You will surely wear out,[ff] both you and these people who are with you, for this is too[fg] heavy a burden[fh] for you; you are not able to do it by yourself. 19 Now listen to me,[fi] I will give you advice, and may God be with you. You be a representative for the people to God,[fj] and you bring[fk] their disputes[fl] to God; 20 warn[fm] them of the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they must walk[fn] and the work they must do.[fo] 21 But you choose[fp] from the people capable men,[fq] God-fearing men,[fr] men of truth,[fs] those who hate bribes,[ft] and put them over the people[fu] as rulers[fv] of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 22 They will judge[fw] the people under normal circumstances,[fx] and every difficult case[fy] they will bring to you, but every small case[fz] they themselves will judge, so that[ga] you may make it easier for yourself,[gb] and they will bear the burden[gc] with you. 23 If you do this thing, and God so commands you,[gd] then you will be able[ge] to endure,[gf] and all these people[gg] will be able to go[gh] home[gi] satisfied.”[gj]
24 Moses listened to[gk] his father-in-law and did everything he had said. 25 Moses chose capable men from all Israel, and he made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 26 They judged the people under normal circumstances; the difficult cases they would bring[gl] to Moses, but every small case they would judge themselves.
27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way,[gm] and so Jethro[gn] went[go] to his own land.[gp]
Questions About the Greatest
18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a child, had him stand among them, 3 and said, “I tell you the truth,[a] unless you turn around and become like little children,[b] you will never[c] enter the kingdom of heaven! 4 Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes[d] a child like this in my name welcomes me.
6 “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,[e] it would be better for him to have a huge millstone[f] hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea.[g] 7 Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It[h] is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come. 8 If[i] your hand or your foot causes you to sin,[j] cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have[k] two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to have[l] two eyes and be thrown into fiery hell.[m]
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10 “See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.[n] 12 What do you think? If someone[o] owns a hundred[p] sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray?[q] 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth,[r] he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost.
Restoring Christian Relationships
15 “If[s] your brother[t] sins,[u] go and show him his fault[v] when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.[w] 17 If[x] he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If[y] he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like[z] a Gentile[aa] or a tax collector.[ab]
18 “I tell you the truth,[ac] whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. 19 Again, I tell you the truth,[ad] if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.[ae] 20 For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.”
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