Exodus 14–15; Matthew 26:36–75

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Exodus 14–15

Crossing the Red Sea

Then the Lord said to Moses, Tell the people of Israel to tturn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between uMigdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in. And vI will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will wget glory over Pharaoh and all his host, xand the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so.

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the ymind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us? So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, and took zsix hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. And vthe Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while athe people of Israel were going out defiantly. The bEgyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them cencamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel dcried out to the Lord. 11 They esaid to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what fwe said to you in Egypt: Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness. 13 And Moses said to the people, gFear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For hthe Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 iThe Lord will fight for you, and you have only jto be silent.

15 The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 kLift up your staff, and kstretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And lI will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and mI will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians nshall know that I am the Lord, mwhen I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.

19 oThen the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night1 without one coming near the other all night.

21 Then Moses kstretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by pa strong east wind all night and qmade the sea dry land, and the waters were rdivided. 22 And sthe people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being ta wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, 25 clogging2 their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, Let us flee from before Israel, for the uLord fights for them against the Egyptians.

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, vStretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 27 wSo Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea xreturned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord ythrew3 the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The zwaters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, anot one of them remained. 29 But the bpeople of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

30 Thus the Lord csaved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 dIsrael saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they ebelieved in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

The Song of Moses

Then Moses and the people of Israel fsang this song to the Lord, saying,

gI will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

the horse and his rider4 he has thrown into the sea.

hThe Lord is my strength and my isong,

and he has become jmy salvation;

this is my God, and I will praise him,

kmy father’s God, and lI will exalt him.

The Lord is ma man of war;

nthe Lord is his name.

oPharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,

and his chosen pofficers were sunk in the Red Sea.

The qfloods covered them;

they rwent down into the depths like a stone.

sYour right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,

your right hand, O Lord, tshatters the enemy.

In the ugreatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;

you send out your fury; it vconsumes them like stubble.

At the wblast of your nostrils the waters piled up;

the xfloods stood up in a heap;

the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.

The enemy said, yI will pursue, I will overtake,

I zwill divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.

I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.

10  You ablew with your wind; the bsea covered them;

they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

11  cWho is like you, O Lord, among the gods?

Who is like you, majestic in holiness,

awesome in dglorious deeds, edoing wonders?

12  You stretched out fyour right hand;

the earth swallowed them.

13  You have gled in your steadfast love the people whom hyou have redeemed;

you have iguided them by your strength to your holy abode.

14  jThe peoples have heard; they tremble;

pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.

15  Now are the chiefs of Edom kdismayed;

trembling seizes the leaders of lMoab;

mall the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.

16  Terror and ndread fall upon them;

because of the greatness of your arm, they are still oas a stone,

till your people, O Lord, pass by,

till the people pass by whom pyou have purchased.

17  You will bring them in and qplant them on your own mountain,

the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,

rthe sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.

18  sThe Lord will reign forever and ever.

19 For when tthe horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, uthe Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. 20 Then vMiriam wthe prophetess, the xsister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and yall the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them:

zSing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

Bitter Water Made Sweet

22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of aShur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to bMarah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.5 24 And the people cgrumbled against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 25 And he dcried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log,6 and he ethrew it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord7 made for them a statute and a rule, and there he ftested them, 26 saying, gIf you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the hdiseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, iyour healer.

27 Then jthey came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.


Matthew 26:36–75

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

36 mThen Jesus went with them eto a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, Sit here, while I go over there and pray. 37 And taking with him nPeter and othe two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, pMy soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and qwatch1 with me. 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face rand prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let sthis cup pass from me; tnevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 qWatch and upray that you vmay not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, wyour will be done. 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for xtheir eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for ythe third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, Sleep and take your rest later on.2 See, zthe hour is at hand, and athe Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

47 bWhile he was still speaking, cJudas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, The one I will kiss is the man; seize him. 49 And he came up to Jesus at once and said, Greetings, dRabbi! And he kissed him. 50 Jesus said to him, eFriend, fdo what you came to do.3 Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. 51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his gsword and struck the servant4 of the high priest and cut off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, Put your sword back into its place. For hall who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 iDo you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me jmore than twelve klegions of angels? 54 lBut how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so? 55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day mI sat in the temple nteaching, and you did not seize me. 56 But lall this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. oThen all the disciples left him and fled.

Jesus Before Caiaphas and the Council

57 pThen qthose who had seized Jesus led him to rCaiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. 58 And sPeter was following him at a distance, as far as rthe courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with tthe guards to see the end. 59 Now the chief priests and the whole council5 uwere seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, vthough many false witnesses came forward. At last wtwo came forward 61 and said, This man said, xI am able to ydestroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days. 62 And the high priest stood up and said, Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?6 63 zBut Jesus remained silent. aAnd the high priest said to him, bI adjure you by cthe living God, dtell us if you are ethe Christ, fthe Son of God. 64 Jesus said to him, gYou have said so. But I tell you, from now on hyou will see the Son of Man iseated at the right hand of Power and hcoming on the clouds of heaven. 65 Then the high priest jtore his robes and said, kHe has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your judgment? They answered, lHe deserves death. 67 Then mthey spit in his face nand ostruck him. And some slapped him, 68 saying, Prophesy to us, you pChrist! Who is it that struck you?

Peter Denies Jesus

69 qNow Peter was sitting outside rin the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, You also were with Jesus the Galilean. 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, I do not know what you mean. 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, This man was with Jesus sof Nazareth. 72 And again he denied it with an oath: I do not know the man. 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, Certainly you too are one of them, for tyour accent betrays you. 74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, I do not know the man. And immediately the rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, uBefore the rooster crows, you will vdeny me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly.