Day 30 of 365

Exod 7:1–8:32

7:1 The Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I have made you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.

7:2 You shall speak all that I command you; and Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

7:3 I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.

7:4 But Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I will lay my hand on Egypt, and bring forth my armies, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.

7:5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth my hand on Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them."

7:6 Moses and Aaron did so. As the Lord commanded them, so they did.

7:7 Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

7:8 The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

7:9 "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Perform a miracle!' then you shall tell Aaron, 'Take your rod, and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it become a serpent.'"

7:10 Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

7:11 Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers. They also, the magicians of Egypt, did in like manner with their enchantments.

7:12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.

7:13 Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them; as the Lord had spoken.

7:14 The Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is stubborn. He refuses to let the people go.

7:15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Behold, he goes out to the water; and you shall stand by the river's bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand.

7:16 You shall tell him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, "Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness:" and behold, until now you haven't listened.

7:17 Thus says the Lord, "In this you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike with the rod that is in my hand on the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.

7:18 The fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall become foul; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink water from the river."'"

7:19 The Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.'"

7:20 Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

7:21 The fish that were in the river died; and the river became foul, and the Egyptians couldn't drink water from the river; and the blood was throughout all the land of Egypt.

7:22 The magicians of Egypt did in like manner with their enchantments; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them; as the Lord had spoken.

7:23 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he lay even this to heart.

7:24 All the Egyptians dug around the river for water to drink; for they couldn't drink of the water of the river.

7:25 Seven days were fulfilled, after the Lord had struck the river.

8:1 The Lord spoke to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh, and tell him, "This is what the Lord says, 'Let my people go, that they may serve me.

8:2 If you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your borders with frogs:

8:3 and the river shall swarm with frogs, which shall go up and come into your house, and into your bedchamber, and on your bed, and into the house of your servants, and on your people, and into your ovens, and into your kneading troughs:

8:4 and the frogs shall come up both on you, and on your people, and on all your servants.'"

8:5 The Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch forth your hand with your rod over the rivers, over the streams, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.'"

8:6 Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.

8:7 The magicians did in like manner with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.

8:8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, "Entreat the Lord, that he take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord."

8:9 Moses said to Pharaoh, "I give you the honor of setting the time that I should pray for you, and for your servants, and for your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, and remain in the river only."

8:10 He said, "Tomorrow." He said, "Be it according to your word, that you may know that there is none like the Lord our God.

8:11 The frogs shall depart from you, and from your houses, and from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only."

8:12 Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord concerning the frogs which he had brought on Pharaoh.

8:13 The Lord did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courts, and out of the fields.

8:14 They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.

8:15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken.

8:16 The Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.'"

8:17 They did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were lice on man, and on animal; all the dust of the earth became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

8:18 The magicians tried with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they couldn't. There were lice on man, and on animal.

8:19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God:" and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them; as the Lord had spoken.

8:20 The Lord said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; behold, he comes forth to the water; and tell him, 'This is what the Lord says, "Let my people go, that they may serve me.

8:21 Else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you, and on your servants, and on your people, and into your houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.

8:22 I will set apart in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.

8:23 I will put a division between my people and your people: by tomorrow shall this sign be."'"

8:24 The Lord did so; and there came grievous swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses: and in all the land of Egypt the land was corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies.

8:25 Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, "Go, sacrifice to your God in the land!"

8:26 Moses said, "It isn't appropriate to do so; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. Behold, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and won't they stone us?

8:27 We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us."

8:28 Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, only you shall not go very far away. Pray for me."

8:29 Moses said, "Behold, I go out from you, and I will pray to the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow; only do not let Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord."

8:30 Moses went out from Pharaoh, and prayed to the Lord.

8:31 The Lord did according to the word of Moses, and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. There remained not one.

8:32 Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.

Matt 20:1–19

1 "For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was the master of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

2 When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

3 He went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.

4 To them he said, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went their way.

5 Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.

6 About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing. He said to them, 'Why do you stand here all day idle?'

7 "They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' "He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.'

8 When evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last to the first.'

9 "When those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius.

10 When the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise each received a denarius.

11 When they received it, they murmured against the master of the household,

12 saying, 'These last have spent one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat!'

13 "But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?

14 Take that which is yours, and go your way. It is my desire to give to this last just as much as to you.

15 Is not it lawful for me to do what I want to with what I own? Or is your eye evil, because I am good?'

16 So the last will be first, and the first last."

17 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve aside, and on the way he said to them,

18 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death,

19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock, to scourge, and to crucify; and the third day he will be raised up."

Prov 7:10–27

10 Behold, there a woman met him with the attire of a prostitute, and with crafty intent.

11 She is loud and defiant. Her feet do not stay in her house.

12 Now she is in the streets, now in the squares, and lurking at every corner.

13 So she caught him, and kissed him. With an impudent face she said to him:

14 "Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me. This day I have paid my vows.

15 Therefore I came out to meet you, to diligently seek your face, and I have found you.

16 I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.

17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

18 Come, let's take our fill of loving until the morning. Let's solace ourselves with loving.

19 For my husband isn't at home. He has gone on a long journey.

20 He has taken a bag of money with him. He will come home at the full moon."

21 With persuasive words, she led him astray. With the flattering of her lips, she seduced him.

22 He followed her immediately, as an ox goes to the slaughter, as a fool stepping into a noose.

23 Until an arrow strikes through his liver, as a bird hurries to the snare, and doesn't know that it will cost his life.

24 Now therefore, sons, listen to me. Pay attention to the words of my mouth.

25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways. Do not go astray in her paths,

26 for she has thrown down many wounded. Yes, all her slain are a mighty army.

27 Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.