Friday, 16 February

1.   Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land." 2.   And God spoke to Moses and said to him: "I am the LORD. 3.   "I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them. 4.   "I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. 5.   "And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. 6.   "Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7.   ‘I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8.   ‘And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD.’" 9.   So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage. 10.   And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 11.   "Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land." 12.   And Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, "The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?" 13.   Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a command for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. 14.   These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben. 15.   And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These are the families of Simeon. 16.   These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty–seven. 17.   The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimi according to their families. 18.   And the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty–three. 19.   The sons of Merari were Mahali and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations. 20.   Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty–seven. 21.   The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22.   And the sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri. 23.   Aaron took to himself Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24.   And the sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites. 25.   Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites according to their families. 26.   These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, "Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies." 27.   These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are the same Moses and Aaron. 28.   And it came to pass, on the day the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29.   that the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "I am the LORD. Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you." 30.   But Moses said before the LORD, "Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?"

1.   So the LORD said to Moses: "See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. 2.   "You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharaoh to send the children of Israel 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 heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. 5.   "And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them." 6.   Then Moses and Aaron did so ; just as the LORD commanded them, so they did. 7.   And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty–three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh. 8.   Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 9.   "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.’" 10.   So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the LORD commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. 11.   But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. 12.   For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. 13.   And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said.

1.   "I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman? 2.   For what is the allotment of God from above, And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high? 3.   Is it not destruction for the wicked, And disaster for the workers of iniquity? 4.   Does He not see my ways, And count all my steps? 5.   "If I have walked with falsehood, Or if my foot has hastened to deceit, 6.   Let me be weighed on honest scales, That God may know my integrity. 7.   If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart walked after my eyes, Or if any spot adheres to my hands, 8.   Then let me sow, and another eat; Yes, let my harvest be rooted out. 9.   "If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, 10.   Then let my wife grind for another, And let others bow down over her. 11.   For that would be wickedness; Yes, it would be iniquity deserving of judgment. 12.   For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction, And would root out all my increase. 13.   "If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant When they complained against me, 14.   What then shall I do when God rises up? When He punishes, how shall I answer Him? 15.   Did not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One fashion us in the womb? 16.   "If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail, 17.   Or eaten my morsel by myself, So that the fatherless could not eat of it 18.   (But from my youth I reared him as a father, And from my mother’s womb I guided the widow ); 19.   If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or any poor man without covering; 20.   If his heart has not blessed me, And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; 21.   If I have raised my hand against the fatherless, When I saw I had help in the gate; 22.   Then let my arm fall from my shoulder, Let my arm be torn from the socket. 23.   For destruction from God is a terror to me, And because of His magnificence I cannot endure. 24.   "If I have made gold my hope, Or said to fine gold, ‘ You are my confidence’; 25.   If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gained much; 26.   If I have observed the sun when it shines, Or the moon moving in brightness, 27.   So that my heart has been secretly enticed, And my mouth has kissed my hand; 28.   This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment, For I would have denied God who is above. 29.   "If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, Or lifted myself up when evil found him 30.   (Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for a curse on his soul); 31.   If the men of my tent have not said, ‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’ 32.   ( But no sojourner had to lodge in the street, For I have opened my doors to the traveler); 33.   If I have covered my transgressions as Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom, 34.   Because I feared the great multitude, And dreaded the contempt of families, So that I kept silence And did not go out of the door–– 35.   Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my mark. Oh, that the Almighty would answer me, That my Prosecutor had written a book! 36.   Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, And bind it on me like a crown; 37.   I would declare to Him the number of my steps; Like a prince I would approach Him. 38.   "If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together; 39.   If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or caused its owners to lose their lives; 40.   Then let thistles grow instead of wheat, And weeds instead of barley." The words of Job are ended.

45.   Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46.   And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" 47.   Some of those who stood there, when they heard that , said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!" 48.   Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. 49.   The rest said, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him." 50.   And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51.   Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52.   and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53.   and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54.   So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!" 55.   And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, 56.   among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. 57.   Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58.   This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. 59.   When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60.   and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. 61.   And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb. 62.   On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63.   saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64.   "Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away , and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first." 65.   Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how." 66.   So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.