Exodus 3 - 4 - Legacy Standard Bible

Exodus 3 - 4

God Calls Moses at the Burning Bush

Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of the bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. 3 So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burned up?” 4 And Yahweh saw that he turned aside to look, so God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not come near here. Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7 And Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sufferings. 8 So I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 9 So now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, come and I will send you to Pharaoh, and so you shall bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God at this mountain.” 13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am about to come to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ And they will say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 And God furthermore said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name from generation to generation. 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I indeed care about you and what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 So I said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ 18 And they will listen to your voice; and you with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt, and you all will say to him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not give you permission to go, except by a strong hand. 20 So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wondrous deeds which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty. 22 But every woman shall ask of her neighbor and of the woman who lives in her house, for articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters. Thus you will plunder the Egyptians.”

If They Will Not Believe These Signs

Then Moses answered and said, “What if they will not believe me and will not listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘Yahweh has not appeared to you.’” 2 And Yahweh said to him, “What is this in your hand?” And he said, “A staff.” 3 Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he stretched out his hand and took hold of it, and it became a staff in his hand— 5 “that they may believe that Yahweh, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” 6 And Yahweh furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand into your bosom.” So he put his hand into his bosom; then he took it out, and behold, his hand was leprous like snow. 7 Then He said, “Return your hand into your bosom.” So he returned his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it returned to being like the rest of his flesh. 8 “And so it will be, if they will not believe you or listen to the witness of the first sign, they may believe the witness of this last sign. 9 But if it will be that they will not believe even these two signs and that they will not listen to your voice, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry land; and the water which you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry land.”

Aaron to Speak for Moses

10 Then Moses said to Yahweh, “Please, Lord, I have never been a man of words, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your slave; for I am one with a hard mouth and a hard tongue.” 11 And Yahweh said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? 12 So now, go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth and will instruct you what you shall speak.” 13 But he said, “Please, Lord, send now the message by whomever You will.” 14 Then the anger of Yahweh burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he can certainly speak. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you. And he will see you and be glad in his heart. 15 And you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will instruct you in what you shall do. 16 Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and he will become as a mouth for you, and you will become as God to him. 17 And you shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”

Moses Returns to Egypt

18 Then Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please, let me go, that I may return to my brothers who are in Egypt and see if they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 And Yahweh said to Moses in Midian, “Go, return to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and mounted them on a donkey and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the staff of God in his hand. 21 And Yahweh said to Moses, “When you go to return to Egypt, see to it that all the miraculous wonders which I have put in your hand, that you do them before Pharaoh; but as for Me, I will harden his heart with strength so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 So I said to you, ‘Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.”’” 24 Now it happened at the lodging place on the way that Yahweh encountered him and sought to put him to death. 25 Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched his feet with it, and she said, “You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26 So He let him alone. At that time she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood” with reference to the circumcision. 27 Then Yahweh said to Aaron, “Go to meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and encountered him at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of Yahweh with which He had sent him, and all the signs that He had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered all the elders of the sons of Israel; 30 and Aaron spoke all the words which Yahweh had spoken to Moses. He then did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 So the people believed; and they heard that Yahweh cared about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction. So they bowed low and worshiped.

Luke 19

Zaccheus Is Saved

And He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. 3 And Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on before and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. 7 And when they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have extorted anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”

Parable of the Ten Minas

11 Now while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. 12 So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. 13 And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come back.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 And it happened that when he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know how much they had made in business. 16 So the first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ 18 Then the second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a cloth; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a strict man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He *said to him, ‘From your own mouth I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am a strict man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’ 24 Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 27 But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.’”

The Triumphal Entry

28 And after He had said these things, He was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 And it happened that when He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount called “of Olives,” He sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; in which, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’” 32 So when those who were sent departed, they found it just as He had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and after they threw their garments on the colt, they put Jesus on it. 36 And as He was going, they were spreading their garments on the road. 37 Now as soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God, rejoicing with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, 38 saying,

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” 40 But Jesus answered and said, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones will cry out!”

Lament over Jerusalem

41 And as He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He cried over it, 42 saying, “If you knew in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, 44 and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Jesus Drives Merchants from the Temple

45 And Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘And My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a robbers’ den.” 47 And He was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him, 48 and they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people hung upon every word He said.

Psalm 51 - 52

Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God

For the choir director. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;

According to the abundance of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity

And cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,

And my sin is ever before me.

Against You, You only, I have sinned

And done what is evil in Your sight,

So that You are justified when You speak

And pure when You judge.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

And in sin my mother conceived me.

Behold, You delight in truth in the innermost being,

And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.

Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me to hear joy and gladness,

Let the bones which You have crushed rejoice.

Hide Your face from my sins

And blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from Your presence

And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation

And sustain me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,

And sinners will be converted to You.

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;

Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.

O Lord, open my lips,

That my mouth may declare Your praise.

For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;

You are not pleased with burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

By Your favor do good to Zion;

Build the walls of Jerusalem.

Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,

In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;

Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

I Trust in the Lovingkindness of God

For the choir director. A Maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man?

The lovingkindness of God endures all day long.

Your tongue devises destruction,

Like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit.

You love evil more than good,

Falsehood more than speaking what is right. Selah.

You love all words that devour,

O deceitful tongue.

But God will break you down forever;

He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent,

And uproot you from the land of the living, Selah.

So that the righteous will see and fear,

And will laugh at him, saying,

“Behold, the man who would not set God as his strength,

But trusted in the abundance of his riches

And was strong in his destruction.”

But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;

I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.

I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it,

And I will hope on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your holy ones.