One Year Bible.

God Promises Deliverance

¹But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for because of My mighty hand he will let the people go; because of My strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

²God also told Moses, “I am the LORD. ³I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name the LORD I did not make Myself known to them. ⁴I also established My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land where they lived as foreigners. ⁵Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered My covenant.

⁶Therefore tell the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. ⁷I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. ⁸And I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD!’”

⁹Moses relayed this message to the Israelites, but on account of their broken spirit and cruel bondage, they did not listen to him.

¹⁰So the LORD said to Moses, ¹¹“Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his land.”

¹²But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I am unskilled in speech?”

¹³Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

Genealogies of Moses and Aaron

¹⁴These were the heads of their fathers’ houses:

The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans of Reuben.

¹⁵The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.

¹⁶These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their records: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.

¹⁷The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimei, by their clans.

¹⁸The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years.

¹⁹The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.

These were the clans of the Levites according to their records.

²⁰And Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.

²¹The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.

²²The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

²³And Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

²⁴The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These were the clans of the Korahites.

²⁵Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas.

These were the heads of the Levite families by their clans.

²⁶It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their divisions.” ²⁷Moses and Aaron were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

²⁸Now on the day that the LORD spoke to Moses in Egypt, ²⁹He said to him, “I am the LORD; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I say to you.”

³⁰But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “Since I am unskilled in speech, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”

God Commands Moses and Aaron

¹The LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. ²You are to speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land.

³But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I will multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, ⁴Pharaoh will not listen to you.

Then I will lay My hand on Egypt, and by mighty acts of judgment I will bring the divisions of My people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt. ⁵And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.”

⁶So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them. ⁷Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Staff

⁸The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹“When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ you are to say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a serpent.”

¹⁰So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent.

¹¹But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts. ¹²Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.

¹³Still, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

The First Plague: Blood

¹⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵Go to Pharaoh in the morning as you see him walking out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. ¹⁶Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened. ¹⁷This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. Behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn to blood. ¹⁸The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water.’”

¹⁹And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt— over their rivers and canals and ponds and all the reservoirs— that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.”

²⁰Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded; in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials, Aaron raised the staff and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was turned to blood. ²¹The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. And there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.

²²But the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said. ²³Instead, Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and did not take any of this to heart. ²⁴So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink the water from the river.

²⁵And seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.

The Servant and Light to the Gentiles

¹Listen to Me, O islands;

pay attention, O distant peoples:

The LORD called Me from the womb;

from the body of My mother He named Me.

²He made My mouth like a sharp sword;

He hid Me in the shadow of His hand.

He made Me like a polished arrow;

He hid Me in His quiver.

³He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel,

in whom I will display My glory.”

⁴But I said, “I have labored in vain,

I have spent My strength in futility and vanity;

yet My vindication is with the LORD,

and My reward is with My God.”

⁵And now says the LORD,

who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,

to bring Jacob back to Him,

that Israel might be gathered to Him—

for I am honored in the sight of the LORD,

and My God is My strength—

⁶He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant,

to raise up the tribes of Jacob,

and to restore the protected ones of Israel.

I will also make You a light for the nations,

to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

⁷Thus says the LORD,

the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel,

to Him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,

to the Servant of rulers:

“Kings will see You and rise,

and princes will bow down,

because of the LORD, who is faithful,

the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen You.”

⁸This is what the LORD says:

“In the time of favor I will answer You,

and in the day of salvation I will help You;

I will keep You and appoint You

to be a covenant for the people,

to restore the land,

to apportion its desolate inheritances,

⁹to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’

and to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’

They will feed along the pathways,

and find pasture on every barren hill.

¹⁰They will not hunger or thirst,

nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them.

For He who has compassion on them will guide them

and lead them beside springs of water.

¹¹I will turn all My mountains into roads,

and My highways will be raised up.

¹²Behold, they will come from far away,

from the north and from the west,

and from the land of Aswan.”

¹³Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth;

break forth in song, O mountains!

For the LORD has comforted His people,

and He will have compassion on His afflicted ones.

¹⁴But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;

the Lord has forgotten me!”

¹⁵“Can a woman forget her nursing child,

or lack compassion for the son of her womb?

Even if she could forget,

I will not forget you!

¹⁶Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;

your walls are ever before Me.

¹⁷Your builders hasten back;

your destroyers and wreckers depart from you.

¹⁸Lift up your eyes and look around.

They all gather together; they come to you.

As surely as I live,” declares the LORD,

“you will wear them all as jewelry

and put them on like a bride.

¹⁹For your ruined and desolate places

and your ravaged land

will now indeed be too small for your people,

and those who devoured you will be far away.

²⁰Yet the children of your bereavement

will say in your hearing,

‘This place is too small for us;

make room for us to live here.’

²¹Then you will say in your heart,

‘Who has begotten these for me?

I was bereaved and barren;

I was exiled and rejected.

So who has reared them?

Look, I was left all alone,

so where did they come from?’”

²²This is what the Lord GOD says:

“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations,

and raise My banner to the peoples.

They will bring your sons in their arms

and carry your daughters on their shoulders.

²³Kings will be your foster fathers,

and their queens your nursing mothers.

They will bow to you facedown

and lick the dust at your feet.

Then you will know that I am the LORD;

those who hope in Me will never be put to shame.”

²⁴Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty,

or the captives of a tyrant be delivered?

²⁵Indeed, this is what the LORD says:

“Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away,

and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved;

I will contend with those who contend with you,

and I will save your children.

²⁶I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;

they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine.

Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD,

am your Savior and your Redeemer,

the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Instructions to Elders

¹As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you: ²Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness; ³not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Cast Your Cares on Him

⁵Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud,

but gives grace to the humble.”

⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you. ⁷Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

⁸Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.

Benediction and Farewell

¹⁰And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you. ¹¹To Him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

¹²Through Silvanus, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.

¹³The church in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does my son Mark.

¹⁴Greet one another with a kiss of love.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.