1 Responding, Moses said, “They will not believe me, and they will not listen to my voice, but they will say: ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’ “
2 Therefore, he said to him, “What is that you hold in your hand?” He answered, “A staff.”
3 And the Lord said, “Cast it down upon the ground.” He cast it down, and it was turned into a snake, so that Moses fled away.
4 And the Lord said, “Reach out your hand, and take hold of its tail.” He reached out his hand and took hold, and it was turned into a staff.
5 So may they believe, he said, “that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
6 And the Lord said again, “Put your hand into your bosom.” And when he had put it into his bosom, he brought it out leprous, resembling snow.
7 Put your hand back, he said, “into your bosom.” He put it back and brought it out again, and it was like the rest of his flesh.
8 If they will not believe you, he said, “and will not listen to the sermon of the first sign, then they will believe the word of the subsequent sign.
9 But if they will not believe even these two signs, and they will not listen to your voice: take from the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land, and whatever you will have drawn from the river will be turned into blood.”
10 Moses said: “I beg you, O Lord, I was not eloquent yesterday or the day before. And from the time that you have spoken to your servant, I have a greater impediment and slowness of tongue.”
11 The Lord said to him: “Who made the mouth of man? And who has formed the mute and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? Was it not I?
12 Go on, therefore, and I will be in your mouth. And I will teach you what you shall say.”
13 But he said, “I beg you, O Lord, send whomever else you would send.”
14 The Lord, being angry at Moses, said: “Aaron the Levite is your brother. I know that he is eloquent. Behold, he is going out to meet you, and seeing you, he will rejoice in heart.
15 Speak to him, and put my words in his mouth. And I will be in your mouth and in his mouth, and I will reveal to you what you must do.
16 He will speak for you to the people, and he will be your mouth. But you will be with him in those things that pertain to God.
17 Also, take this staff into your hand; with it you will accomplish the signs.”
18 Moses went forth, and he returned to Jethro, his father in law, and he said to him, “I shall go and return to my brothers in Egypt, so that I may see if they are still alive.” And Jethro said to him, “Go in peace.”
19 And so the Lord said to Moses in Midian: “Go, and return to Egypt. For all those who sought your life have died.”
20 Therefore, Moses took his wife and his sons, and he placed them upon a donkey, and he returned into Egypt, carrying the staff of God in his hand.
21 And the Lord said to him, as he was returning to Egypt: “See that you accomplish, in the sight of Pharaoh, all the wonders that I have placed in your hand. I will harden his heart, and he will not release the people.
22 And you shall say to him: ‘Thus says the Lord: Israel is my firstborn son.
23 I have said to you: Release my son, so that he may serve me. And you were not willing to release him. Behold, I will put to death your firstborn son.’ “
24 And while he was on the journey, at an inn, the Lord met him, and he was willing to kill him.
25 For this reason, Zipporah took a very sharp stone, and she circumcised the foreskin of her son, and she touched his feet, and she said, “You are a bloody spouse to me.”
26 And he released him, after she had said, “You are a bloody spouse,” because of the circumcision.
27 Then the Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the desert to meet Moses.” And he went directly to meet him on the mountain of God, and he kissed him.
28 And Moses explained to Aaron all the words of the Lord, by which he had sent him, and the signs which he had commanded.
29 And they arrived at the same time, and they gathered together all the elders of the sons of Israel.
30 And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had said to Moses. And he accomplished the signs in the sight of the people,
31 and the people believed. And they heard that the Lord had visited the sons of Israel, and that he had looked with favor upon their affliction. And falling prostrate, they worshiped.
1 After these things, Moses and Aaron entered, and they said to Pharaoh: “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Release my people, so that they may sacrifice to me in the desert.”
2 But he responded: “Who is the Lord, that I should listen to his voice and release Israel? I do not know the Lord, and I will not release Israel.”
3 And they said: “The God of the Hebrews has called us, so that we may go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God. Otherwise, a pestilence or the sword may befall us.”
4 The king of Egypt said to them: “Why do you, Moses and Aaron, distract the people from their works? Go back to your burdens.”
5 And Pharaoh said: “The people of the land are many. You see that the turmoil has increased: how much more if you give them rest from the works?”
6 Therefore, on the same day, he instructed the overseers of the works, and the taskmasters of the people, saying:
7 You shall no longer give chaff to the people to form bricks, as before. But they may go and gather straw.
8 And you shall impose upon them the same quota of bricks that they made before. Neither will you lessen anything, for they are idle, and therefore they cry out, saying: ‘We shall go and sacrifice to our God.’
9 They shall be oppressed with works, and these shall occupy them, so that they may not agree to lying words.”
10 And so the overseers of the works and the taskmasters went out and said to the people: “Thus says Pharaoh: I give you no chaff.
11 Go, and collect it wherever you are able to find it. Neither will anything of your work be diminished.”
12 And the people were dispersed through all the land of Egypt, in order to gather straw.
13 Likewise, the overseers of the works pressured them, saying: “Complete your work each day, just as you were accustomed to do before, when straw was given to you.”
14 And those who were first in the works of the sons of Israel were scourged by Pharaoh’s taskmasters, saying: “Why have you not filled the quota of bricks, neither yesterday, nor today, just as before?”
15 And the first among the sons of Israel came, and they cried out to Pharaoh, saying: “Why do act against your servants in this way?
16 Straw is not given to us, and yet the same amount of bricks is commanded. So we, your servants, are cut up by scourging, and injustice is done against your people.”
17 And he said: “You are idle. And for this reason you say, ‘We shall go and sacrifice to the Lord.’
18 Therefore, go and work. Straw will not be given to you, and you will return the customary number of bricks.”
19 And the first among the sons of Israel saw themselves in a crisis, because it was said to them, “Nothing at all will be lessened from the bricks throughout each day.”
20 And they met with Moses and Aaron, who stood opposite them as they departed from Pharaoh.
21 And they said to them: “May the Lord see and judge, because you have caused our odor to become foul before Pharaoh and his servants, and you have provided him with a sword, in order to kill us.”
22 And Moses returned to the Lord, and he said: “Lord, why have you afflicted this people? Why have you sent me?
23 For from the time that I entered to Pharaoh, so as to speak in your name, he has afflicted your people. And you have not freed them.”
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1 The desolate and impassable land will rejoice, and the place of solitude will exult, and it will flourish like the lily.
2 It will spring up and blossom, and it will exult with rejoicing and praising. The glory of Lebanon has been given to it, with the beauty of Carmel and Sharon. These will see the glory of the Lord and the beauty of our God.
3 Strengthen the lax hands, and confirm the weak knees!
4 Say to the fainthearted: “Take courage and fear not! Behold, your God will bring the vindication of retribution. God himself will arrive to save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be cleared.
6 Then the disabled will leap like a buck, and the tongue of the mute will be untied. For the waters have burst forth in the desert, and torrents in solitary places.
7 And the land that was dry will have a pond, and the thirsty land will have fountains of water. In the hollows where the serpents lived before, there will rise up the greenery of reed and bulrush.
8 And there shall be a path and a road in that place. And it will be called the Holy Way. The defiled will not pass through it. For this will be an upright path for you, so much so that the foolish will not wander along it.
9 There will be no lions in that place, and harmful wild animals will neither climb up to it, nor be found there. Only those who have been freed will walk in that place.
10 And the redeemed of the Lord will be converted, and they will return to Zion with praising. And everlasting joy will be upon their heads. They will obtain gladness and rejoicing. For pain and sorrow will flee away.
40 And thou hast girded me with strength unto battle; and hast subdued under me them that rose up against me.
41 And thou hast made my enemies turn their back upon me, and hast destroyed them that hated me.
42 They cried, but there was none to save them, to the Lord: but he heard them not.
43 And I shall beat them as small as the dust before the wind; I shall bring them to nought, like the dirt in the streets.
44 Thou wilt deliver me from the contradictions of the people: thou wilt make me head of the Gentiles.
45 A people, which I knew not, hath served me: at the hearing of the ear they have obeyed me.
46 The children that are strangers have lied to me, strange children have faded away, and have halted from their paths.
1 And responding, Jesus again spoke to them in parables, saying:
2 The kingdom of heaven is like a man who was king, who celebrated a wedding for his son.
3 And he sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding. But they were not willing to come.
4 Again, he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell the invited: Behold, I have prepared my meal. My bulls and fatlings have been killed, and all is ready. Come to the wedding.’
5 But they ignored this and they went away: one to his country estate, and another to his business.
6 Yet truly, the rest took hold of his servants and, having treated them with contempt, killed them.
7 But when the king heard this, he was angry. And sending out his armies, he destroyed those murderers, and he burned their city.
8 Then he said to his servants: ‘The wedding, indeed, has been prepared. But those who were invited were not worthy.
9 Therefore, go out to the ways, and call whomever you will find to the wedding.’
10 And his servants, departing into the ways, gathered all those whom they found, bad and good, and the wedding was filled with guests.
11 Then the king entered to see the guests. And he saw a man there who was not clothed in a wedding garment.
12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how is it that you have entered here without having a wedding garment?’ But he was dumbstruck.
13 Then the king said to the ministers: ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
