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Aaron’s Miraculous Rod

8 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹‘When Pharaoh says to you, “Perform a wonder”, then you shall say to Aaron, “Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake.” ’ ¹⁰So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the Lord had commanded; Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. ¹¹Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers; and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same by their secret arts. ¹²Each one threw down his staff, and they became snakes; but Aaron’s staff swallowed up theirs. ¹³Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water; stand by at the river bank to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was turned into a snake. ¹⁶Say to him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you to say, ‘Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness.’ But until now you have not listened. ¹⁷Thus says the Lord, ‘By this you shall know that I am the Lord.’ See, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall be turned to blood. ¹⁸The fish in the river shall die, the river itself shall stink, and the Egyptians shall be unable to drink water from the Nile.” ’ ¹⁹The Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, “Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over its rivers, its canals, and its ponds, and all its pools of water—so that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout the whole land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.” ’

20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and of his officials he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the river, and all the water in the river was turned into blood, ²¹and the fish in the river died. The river stank so that the Egyptians could not drink its water, and there was blood throughout the whole land of Egypt. ²²But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts; so Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. ²³Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. ²⁴And all the Egyptians had to dig along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the river.

Psalm 34

1  I will bless the Lord at all times; ♦︎
   his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
2  My soul shall glory in the Lord; ♦︎
   let the humble hear and be glad.
3  O magnify the Lord with me; ♦︎
   let us exalt his name together.
4  I sought the Lord and he answered me ♦︎
   and delivered me from all my fears.
5  Look upon him and be radiant ♦︎
   and your faces shall not be ashamed.
6  This poor soul cried, and the Lord heard me ♦︎
   and saved me from all my troubles.
7  The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him ♦︎
   and delivers them.
8  O taste and see that the Lord is gracious; ♦︎
   blessed is the one who trusts in him.
9  Fear the Lord, all you his holy ones, ♦︎
   for those who fear him lack nothing.
10  Lions may lack and suffer hunger, ♦︎
   but those who seek the Lord
      lack nothing that is good.
11  Come, my children, and listen to me; ♦︎
   I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12  Who is there who delights in life ♦︎
   and longs for days to enjoy good things?
13  Keep your tongue from evil ♦︎
   and your lips from lying words.
14  Turn from evil and do good; ♦︎
   seek peace and pursue it.
15  The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous ♦︎
   and his ears are open to their cry.
16  The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, ♦︎
   to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.
17  The righteous cry and the Lord hears them ♦︎
   and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18  The Lord is near to the brokenhearted ♦︎
   and will save those who are crushed in spirit.
19  Many are the troubles of the righteous; ♦︎
   from them all will the Lord deliver them.
20  He keeps all their bones, ♦︎
   so that not one of them is broken.
21  But evil shall slay the wicked ♦︎
   and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22  The Lord ransoms the life of his servants ♦︎
   and will condemn none who seek refuge in him.

Psalm 34

Praise for Deliverance from Trouble

Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
¹ I will bless the Lord at all times;
   his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
² My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
   let the humble hear and be glad.
³ O magnify the Lord with me,
   and let us exalt his name together.

⁴ I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
   and delivered me from all my fears.
⁵ Look to him, and be radiant;
   so your^* faces shall never be ashamed.
⁶ This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
   and was saved from every trouble.
⁷ The angel of the Lord encamps
   around those who fear him, and delivers them.
⁸ O taste and see that the Lord is good;
   happy are those who take refuge in him.
⁹ O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
   for those who fear him have no want.
¹⁰ The young lions suffer want and hunger,
   but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Adam and Christ

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— ¹³sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. ¹⁴Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. ¹⁶And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgement following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. ¹⁷If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

18 Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. ¹⁹For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. ²⁰But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ²¹so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification^* leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

22Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. ²The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus^* to death, for they were afraid of the people.

3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; ⁴he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them. ⁵They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money. ⁶So he consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present.

The Preparation of the Passover

7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. ⁸So Jesus^* sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.’ ⁹They asked him, ‘Where do you want us to make preparations for it?’ ¹⁰‘Listen,’ he said to them, ‘when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters ¹¹and say to the owner of the house, “The teacher asks you, ‘Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ” ¹²He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.’ ¹³So they went and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.