Feb 1st

that Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “I am Yahweh; speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I am speaking to you.”

But Moses said before Yahweh, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?”

Then Yahweh said to Moses, “See, I set you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.

You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land.

But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart with stiffness that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.

But Pharaoh will not listen to you. And I will set My hand upon Egypt and bring out My hosts, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by great judgments.

Then the Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.”

So Moses and Aaron did it; as Yahweh commanded them, thus they did.

Now Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

And Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

“When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Work a miraculous wonder,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’ ”

So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and thus they did just as Yahweh had commanded; and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.

Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts.

And each one threw down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.

Yet Pharaoh’s heart was hardened with strength, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hard with firmness; he refuses to let the people go.

Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he is going out to the water, and station yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand the staff that was turned into a serpent.

And you shall say to him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened until now.”

Thus says Yahweh, “By this you shall know that I am Yahweh: behold, I am about to strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned to blood.

And the fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will become foul, and the Egyptians will be weary of drinking water from the Nile.” ’ ”

Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools and over all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’ ”

So Moses and Aaron did thus, as Yahweh had commanded. And he raised up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood.

And the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt.

Yet the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened with strength, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not set his heart even on this.

So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink of the water of the Nile.

And seven full days passed after Yahweh had struck the Nile.

Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Come to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite your whole territory with frogs.

And the Nile will swarm with frogs, and they will go up and come into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and on your people and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls.

So the frogs will come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.” ’ ”

Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams and over the pools, and cause the frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’ ”

So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.

And the magicians did the same with their secret arts; they caused the frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Entreat Yahweh that He may cause the frogs to depart from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to Yahweh.”

And Moses said to Pharaoh, “May the honor be yours to tell me: when shall I entreat for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses, that they may remain only in the Nile?”

Then he said, “Tomorrow.” So he said, “May it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like Yahweh our God.

And the frogs will depart from you and your houses and your servants and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.”

Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to Yahweh concerning the frogs which He had set upon Pharaoh.

So Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, the courts, and the fields.

So they piled them in heaps, and the land became foul.

Then Pharaoh saw that there was relief, and he hardened his heart with firmness and did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats through all the land of Egypt.’ ”

And they did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats through all the land of Egypt.

Then the magicians did the same with their secret arts in order to bring forth gnats, but they could not; so there were gnats on man and beast.

And the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened with strength, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

And Yahweh said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water, and you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

For if you do not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand.

But on that day I will make a distinction for the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, that you may know that I, Yahweh, am in the midst of the land.

And I will put a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will happen.” ’ ”

Then Yahweh did so. And there came heavy swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants, and the land was laid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt.

And Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.”

But Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we will sacrifice to Yahweh our God what is an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice what is an abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not then stone us?

We must go a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to Yahweh our God as He says to us.”

And Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Entreat for me.”

Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you, and I shall entreat Yahweh that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow; only may Pharaoh not deal deceitfully again in not letting the people go to sacrifice to Yahweh.”

So Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated Yahweh.

And Yahweh did according to the word of Moses and caused the swarms of flies to depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained.

Then Pharaoh hardened his heart with firmness this time also, and he did not let the people go.

But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together.

And one of them, a scholar of the Law, asked Him a question, testing Him,

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

This is the great and foremost commandment.

And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,

saying, “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “The son of David.”

He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

Therefore, if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”

And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,

saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;

therefore all that they tell you, do and keep, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.

And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.

But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

And they love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues,

and respectful greetings in the marketplaces, and being called Rabbi by men.

But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.

And do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

Do not be called instructors; for One is your Instructor, that is, Christ.

But the greatest among you shall be your servant.

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]