Exodus 8
1 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron your brother, ‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the rivers, the canals, and the pools, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’ ”
2 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.
3 Then the sorcerers did the same with their sorceries and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.
4 Pharaoh then called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, and let Him take away the frogs from me and my people; and I will let the people go and sacrifice to the Lord.”†
5 Moses replied to Pharaoh, “Appoint me a time when I shall pray for you, for your servants, and for your people to make the frogs disappear from you, your people, and your houses. Only in the river will they remain.”
6 So Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow.” Moses then said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know this is none other than the Lord.†
7 Now the frogs shall depart from you, your houses, your servants, and your people. They shall remain in the river only.”
8 Then Moses and Aaron departed from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord about the time He had agreed to, concerning the frogs He had brought against Pharaoh.
9 So the Lord did just as Moses said, and the frogs died away from the houses, the villages, and the fields.
10 Then they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.
11 But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, his heart was hardened; and he did not heed them, as the Lord said.†
The Plague of Lice
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod and strike the dust of the land, that it may become lice on men, on four-footed animals, and throughout all the land of Egypt.’ ”
13 Thus Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and it became lice on man and four-footed animals; and there were lice in all the dust of the land.
14 Now the sorcerers so worked with their sorceries to bring forth lice, but they could not; and there were lice on man and four-footed animals.
15 Then the sorcerers said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not heed them, as the Lord said.†
The Plague of Flies
16 Again the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he goes to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go to serve Me in the desert.
17 Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send the dog-fly on you and your servants, and on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with the dog-fly, and also the ground on which they stand.
18 Now on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no dog-fly be there, that you may know I am the Lord, the Lord of all the earth.†
19 I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this shall be a sign in the land.” ’ ”
20 So the Lord did thus; and the dog-fly came in abundance into the houses of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt, and the land was destroyed by the dog-fly.
21 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.”
22 But Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we should sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, they would stone us.
23 We will go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as He said to us.”
24 Pharaoh then said, “I will send you away, and you shall sacrifice to the Lord your God in the desert; only you shall not go very far away, and then pray for me to the Lord.”
25 Then Moses said, “Indeed, I will go out from you and pray to God, and tomorrow the dog-fly will depart from you, and from your servants and your people. But let Pharaoh not deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go sacrifice to the Lord.”
26 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to God.
27 Thus the Lord did as Moses said and removed the dog-fly from Pharaoh, his servants, and his people. Not one remained.
28 But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.†
Psalms 50
11 Turn Your face from my sins, And blot out all my transgressions.
12 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right spirit within me.
13 Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
14 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me with Your guiding Spirit.
15 I will teach transgressors Your ways, And the ungodly shall turn back to You.
16 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation, And my tongue shall greatly rejoice in Your righteousness.
17 O Lord, You shall open my lips, And my mouth will declare Your praise.
18 For if You desired sacrifice, I would give it; You will not be pleased with whole burnt offerings.
19 A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, A broken and humbled heart God will not despise.
20 Do good, O Lord, in Your good pleasure to Zion, And let the walls of Jerusalem be built;
21 Then You will be pleased with a sacrifice of righteousness, With offerings and whole burnt offerings; Then shall they offer young bulls on Your altar.
Proverbs of Solomon 10
28 The fear of the Lord increases days, But the years of the ungodly will be shortened.
29 Gladness continues for the righteous, But the hope of the ungodly perishes.†
30 The fear of the Lord is the stronghold of a holy man, But destruction is for those who work evil.†
31 A righteous man will never fail, But the ungodly shall not inhabit the earth.
32 The mouth of a righteous man distills wisdom, But the tongue of an unrighteous man utterly destroys.
33 The lips of righteous men distill grace, But the mouth of the ungodly is perverse.
Mark 6
At Nazareth: No Honor
1 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.†
2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!
3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.
4 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.”
5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. †
6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.
The Mission of the Twelve
7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.†
8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts—
9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.
10 Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.
11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”
12 So they went out and preached that people should repent.
13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. †
The Baptist Beheaded
14 Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.”†
15 Others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets.”†
16 But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!”
17 For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her.†
18 Because John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
19 Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not;
20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.†
21 Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.
22 And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.”
23 He also swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
24 So she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist!”
25 Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.
27 Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison,
28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.
29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.