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The Israelites Are Oppressed

8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. ⁹He said to his people, ‘Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. ¹⁰Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.’ ¹¹Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labour. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. ¹²But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. ¹³The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, ¹⁴and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labour. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them. ²²Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, ‘Every boy that is born to the Hebrews^* you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.’

Psalm 124

Thanksgiving for Israel’s Deliverance

A Song of Ascents. Of David.
¹ If it had not been the Lord who was on our side
   —let Israel now say—
² if it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
   when our enemies attacked us,
³ then they would have swallowed us up alive,
   when their anger was kindled against us;
⁴ then the flood would have swept us away,
   the torrent would have gone over us;
⁵ then over us would have gone
   the raging waters.

⁶ Blessed be the Lord,
   who has not given us
   as prey to their teeth.
⁷ We have escaped like a bird
   from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
   and we have escaped.

⁸ Our help is in the name of the Lord,
   who made heaven and earth.

Not Peace, but a Sword

34 ‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
³⁵ For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
³⁶ and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.
³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

Rewards

40 ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; ⁴²and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’

11Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities.