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First Reading: Exodus Chapter 7 and 8Exodus 7
1 And Jehovah said unto Moses, See, I have made thee as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
2 Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
3 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
4 But Pharaoh will not hearken unto you, and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.
5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah, when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.
6 And Moses and Aaron did so; as Jehovah commanded them, so did they.
7 And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.
8 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Show a wonder for you; then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it become a serpent.
10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so, as Jehovah had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers: and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did in like manner with their enchantments.
12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
13 And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as Jehovah had spoken.
14 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is stubborn, he refuseth to let the people go.
15 Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thy hand.
16 And thou shalt say unto him, Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou hast not hearkened.
17 Thus saith Jehovah, In this thou shalt know that I am Jehovah: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in my hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
18 And the fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall become foul; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink water from the river.
19 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thy hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.
20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as Jehovah commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
21 And the fish that were in the river died; and the river became foul, and the Egyptians could not drink water from the river; and the blood was throughout all the land of Egypt.
22 And the magicians of Egypt did in like manner with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as Jehovah had spoken.
23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he lay even this to heart.
24 And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.
25 And seven days were fulfilled, after that Jehovah had smitten the river.
Exodus 8
1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
2 And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:
3 and the river shall swarm with frogs, which shall go up and come into thy house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading-troughs:
4 and the frogs shall come up both upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.
5 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thy hand with thy rod over the rivers, over the streams, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.
6 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.
7 And the magicians did in like manner with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat Jehovah, that he take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice unto Jehovah.
9 And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Have thou this glory over me: against what time shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, that the frogs be destroyed from thee and thy houses, and remain in the river only?
10 And he said, Against to-morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word; that thou mayest know that there is none like unto Jehovah our God.
11 And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only.
12 And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto Jehovah concerning the frogs which he had brought upon Pharaoh.
13 And Jehovah did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courts, and out of the fields.
14 And they gathered them together in heaps; and the land stank.
15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them, as Jehovah had spoken.
16 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the earth, that is may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
17 And they did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and there were lice upon man, and upon beast; all the dust of the earth became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
18 And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: and there were lice upon man, and upon beast.
19 Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as Jehovah had spoken.
20 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
21 Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon they servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.
22 And I will set apart in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am Jehovah in the midst of the earth.
23 And I will put a division between my people and thy people: by to-morrow shall this sign be.
24 And Jehovah did so; and there came grievous swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses: and in all the land of Egypt the land was corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies.
25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.
26 And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Jehovah our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?
27 We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to Jehovah our God, as he shall command us.
28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to Jehovah your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me.
29 And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat Jehovah that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to-morrow: only let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to Jehovah.
30 And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and entreated Jehovah.
31 And Jehovah did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.
32 And Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.
Second Reading: Matthew Chapter 26
Matthew 26
1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these words, he said unto his disciples,
2 Ye know that after two days the passover cometh, and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified.
3 Then were gathered together the chief priests, and the elders of the people, unto the court of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas;
4 and they took counsel together that they might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him.
5 But they said, Not during the feast, lest a tumult arise among people.
6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
7 there came unto him a woman having an alabaster cruse of exceeding precious ointment, and she poured it upon his head, as he sat at meat.
8 But when the disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
9 For this `ointment' might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
10 But Jesus perceiving it said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
12 For in that she poured this ointment upon my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.
13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
14 Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
15 and said, What are ye willing to give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they weighed unto him thirty pieces of silver.
16 And from that time he sought opportunity to deliver him `unto them.'
17 Now on the first `day' of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Where wilt thou that we make ready for thee to eat the passover?
18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Teacher saith, My time is at hand; I keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.
19 And the disciples did as Jesus appointed them; and they made ready the passover.
20 Now when even was come, he was sitting at meat with the twelve disciples;
21 and as they were eating, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began to say unto him every one, Is it I, Lord?
23 And he answered and said, He that dipped his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.
24 The Son of man goeth, even as it is written of him: but woe unto that man through whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had not been born.
25 And Judas, who betrayed him, answered and said, Is it I, Rabbi? He saith unto him, Thou hast said.
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it; and he gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
27 And he took a cup, and gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many unto remission of sins.
29 But I say unto you, I shall not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.
30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out unto the mount of Olives.
31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended in me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.
33 But Peter answered and said unto him, If all shall be offended in thee, I will never be offended.
34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, that this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
35 Peter saith unto him, Even if I must die with thee, `yet' will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.
36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto his disciples, Sit ye here, while I go yonder and pray.
37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and sore troubled.
38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: abide ye here, and watch with me.
39 And he went forward a little, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.
40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
42 Again a second time he went away, and prayed, saying, My Father, if this cannot pass away, except I drink it, thy will be done.
43 And he came again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.
44 And he left them again, and went away, and prayed a third time, saying again the same words.
45 Then cometh he to the disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
46 Arise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that betrayeth me.
47 And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priest and elders of the people.
48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he: take him.
49 And straightway he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Rabbi; and kissed him.
50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, `do' that for which thou art come. Then they came and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.
51 And behold, one of them that were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and smote the servant of the high priest, and struck off his ear.
52 Then saith Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
53 Or thinkest thou that I cannot beseech my Father, and he shall even now send me more than twelve legions of angels?
54 How then should the scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be?
55 In that hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a robber with swords and staves to seize me? I sat daily in the temple teaching, and ye took me not.
56 But all this is come to pass, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left him, and fled.
57 And they that had taken Jesus led him away to `the house of' Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together.
58 But Peter followed him afar off, unto the court of the high priest, and entered in, and sat with the officers, to see the end.
59 Now the chief priests and the whole council sought false witness against Jesus, that they might put him to death;
60 and they found it not, though many false witnesses came. But afterward came two,
61 and said, This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.
62 And the high priest stood up, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou art the Christ, the Son of God.
64 Jesus said unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.
65 Then the high priest rent his garments, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy: what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard the blasphemy:
66 what think ye? They answered and said, He is worthy of death.
67 Then did they spit in his face and buffet him: and some smote him with the palms of their hands,
68 saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ: who is he that struck thee?
69 Now Peter was sitting without in the court: and a maid came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus the Galilaean.
70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another `maid' saw him, and saith unto them that were there, This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth.
72 And again he denied with an oath, I know not the man.
73 And after a little while they that stood by came and said to Peter, Of a truth thou also art `one' of them; for thy speech maketh thee known.
74 Then began he to curse and to swear, I know not the man. And straightway the cock crew.
75 And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
MATTHEW
Part 3 of 3
The gospel of Matthew can be outlined as follows:
In order to complete his purpose in witnessing to the Jewish Nation that Jesus was the promised Messiah, Matthew concludes the book with the words of Jesus: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
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