Plagues, Power, and the Folly of Division

1. Yahweh spoke to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh, and tell him, “This is what Yahweh says, ‘Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2. If you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your borders with frogs: 3. and the river shall swarm with frogs, which shall go up and come into your house, and into your bedroom, and on your bed, and into the house of your servants, and on your people, and into your ovens, and into your kneading troughs: 4. and the frogs shall come up both on you, and on your people, and on all your servants.’” 5. Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out 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.’” 6. Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. 7. The magicians did the same thing with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt. 8. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Entreat Yahweh, that he take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to Yahweh.” 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.” 10. He said, “Tomorrow.” He said, “Be it according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like Yahweh our God. 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.” 12. Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to Yahweh concerning the frogs which he had brought on Pharaoh. 13. Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courts, and out of the fields. 14. They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15. But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and didn’t listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken. 16. Yahweh 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.’” 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. 18. The magicians tried with their enchantments to produce lice, but they couldn’t. There were lice on man, and on animal. 19. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is God’s finger:” and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them; as Yahweh had spoken. 20. Yahweh said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; behold, he comes out to the water; and tell him, ‘This is what Yahweh says, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 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. 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 Yahweh on the earth. 23. I will put a division between my people and your people: by tomorrow shall this sign be.”’” 24. Yahweh 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. 25. Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land!” 26. Moses said, “It isn’t appropriate to do so; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Yahweh our God. Behold, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and won’t they stone us? 27. We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to Yahweh our God, as he shall command us.” 28. Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness, only you shall not go very far away. Pray for me.” 29. Moses said, “Behold, I go out from you, and I will pray to Yahweh that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow; only don’t let Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to Yahweh.” 30. Moses went out from Pharaoh, and prayed to Yahweh. 31. Yahweh 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. 32. Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he didn’t let the people go. 1. Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2. For if you refuse to let them go, and hold them still, 3. behold, Yahweh’s hand is on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks with a very grievous pestilence. 4. Yahweh will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt; and nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.”’” 5. Yahweh appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow Yahweh shall do this thing in the land.” 6. Yahweh did that thing on the next day; and all the livestock of Egypt died, but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. 7. Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not so much as one of the livestock of the Israelites dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was stubborn, and he didn’t let the people go. 8. Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron, “Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh. 9. It shall become small dust over all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking out with boils on man and on animal, throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10. They took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward the sky; and it became a boil breaking out with boils on man and on animal. 11. The magicians couldn’t stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were on the magicians, and on all the Egyptians. 12. Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he didn’t listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken to Moses. 13. Yahweh said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 14. For this time I will send all my plagues against your heart, against your officials, and against your people; that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15. For now I would have stretched out my hand, and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth; 16. but indeed for this cause I have made you stand: to show you my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth; 17. as you still exalt yourself against my people, that you won’t let them go. 18. Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as has not been in Egypt since the day it was founded even until now. 19. Now therefore command that all of your livestock and all that you have in the field be brought into shelter. Every man and animal that is found in the field, and isn’t brought home, the hail shall come down on them, and they shall die.”’” 20. Those who feared Yahweh’s word among the servants of Pharaoh made their servants and their livestock flee into the houses. 21. Whoever didn’t respect Yahweh’s word left his servants and his livestock in the field. 22. Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man, and on animal, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23. Moses stretched out his rod toward the heavens, and Yahweh sent thunder, hail, and lightning flashed down to the earth. Yahweh rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24. So there was very severe hail, and lightning mixed with the hail, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25. The hail struck throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and animal; and the hail struck every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field. 26. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail. 27. Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time. Yahweh is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. 28. Pray to Yahweh; for there has been enough of mighty thunderings and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29. Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands to Yahweh. The thunders shall cease, and there will not be any more hail; that you may know that the earth is Yahweh’s. 30. But as for you and your servants, I know that you don’t yet fear Yahweh God.” 31. The flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was in bloom. 32. But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they had not grown up. 33. Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands to Yahweh; and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth. 34. When Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders had ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35. The heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he didn’t let the children of Israel go, just as Yahweh had spoken through Moses. 1. Yahweh said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I may show these my signs among them, 2. and that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your son’s son, what things I have done to Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that you may know that I am Yahweh.” 3. Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and said to him, “This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. 4. Or else, if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, 5. and they shall cover the surface of the earth, so that one won’t be able to see the earth. They shall eat the residue of that which has escaped, which remains to you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which grows for you out of the field. 6. Your houses shall be filled, and the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; as neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’” He turned, and went out from Pharaoh. 7. Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve Yahweh, their God. Don’t you yet know that Egypt is destroyed?” 8. Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve Yahweh your God; but who are those who will go?” 9. Moses said, “We will go with our young and with our old; with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast to Yahweh.” 10. He said to them, “Yahweh be with you if I will let you go with your little ones! See, evil is clearly before your faces. 11. Not so! Go now you who are men, and serve Yahweh; for that is what you desire!” They were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence. 12. Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up on the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail has left.” 13. Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and Yahweh brought an east wind on the land all that day, and all night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14. The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the borders of Egypt. They were very grievous. Before them there were no such locusts as they, nor will there ever be again. 15. For they covered the surface of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened, and they ate every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. There remained nothing green, either tree or herb of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and he said, “I have sinned against Yahweh your God, and against you. 17. Now therefore please forgive my sin again, and pray to Yahweh your God, that he may also take away from me this death.” 18. He went out from Pharaoh, and prayed to Yahweh. 19. Yahweh turned an exceeding strong west wind, which took up the locusts, and drove them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the borders of Egypt. 20. But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he didn’t let the children of Israel go. 21. Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.” 22. Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 23. They didn’t see one another, and nobody rose from his place for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. 24. Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, “Go, serve Yahweh. Only let your flocks and your herds stay behind. Let your little ones also go with you.” 25. Moses said, “You must also give into our hand sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God. 26. Our livestock also shall go with us. Not a hoof shall be left behind, for of it we must take to serve Yahweh our God; and we don’t know with what we must serve Yahweh, until we come there.” 27. But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he wouldn’t let them go. 28. Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Be careful to see my face no more; for in the day you see my face you shall die!” 29. Moses said, “You have spoken well. I will see your face again no more.” 1. Yahweh said to Moses, “Yet one plague more will I bring on Pharaoh, and on Egypt; afterwards he will let you go. When he lets you go, he will surely thrust you out altogether. 2. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man ask of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.” 3. Yahweh gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people. 4. Moses said, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘About midnight I will go out into the middle of Egypt, 5. and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of livestock. 6. There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been, nor shall be any more. 7. But against any of the children of Israel a dog won’t even bark or move its tongue, against man or animal; that you may know that Yahweh makes a distinction between the Egyptians and Israel. 8. All these servants of yours will come down to me, and bow down themselves to me, saying, “Get out, with all the people who follow you”; and after that I will go out.’” He went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. 9. Yahweh said to Moses, “Pharaoh won’t listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10. Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he didn’t let the children of Israel go out of his land.

1. Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2. to the assembly of God which is at Corinth; those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours: 3. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4. I always thank my God concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus; 5. that in everything you were enriched in him, in all speech and all knowledge; 6. even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7. so that you come behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ; 8. who will also confirm you until the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9. God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. 10. Now I beg you, brothers, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11. For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are from Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. 12. Now I mean this, that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” and, “I follow Christ.” 13. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul? 14. I thank God that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius, 15. so that no one should say that I had baptized you into my own name. 16. (I also baptized the household of Stephanas; besides them, I don’t know whether I baptized any other.) 17. For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Good News—not in wisdom of words, so that the cross of Christ wouldn’t be made void. 18. For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are saved it is the power of God. 19. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing.” 20. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the lawyer of this world? Hasn’t God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21. For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn’t know God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe. 22. For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom, 23. but we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Greeks, 24. but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26. For you see your calling, brothers, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, and not many noble; 27. but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong; 28. and God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are: 29. that no flesh should boast before God. 30. Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption: 31. that, according as it is written, “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.” 1. When I came to you, brothers, I didn’t come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2. For I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4. My speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5. that your faith wouldn’t stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 6. We speak wisdom, however, among those who are full grown; yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing. 7. But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds for our glory, 8. which none of the rulers of this world has known. For had they known it, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory. 9. But as it is written, “Things which an eye didn’t see, and an ear didn’t hear, which didn’t enter into the heart of man, these God has prepared for those who love him.” 10. But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11. For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God, except God’s Spirit. 12. But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God. 13. Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things. 14. Now the natural man doesn’t receive the things of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he can’t know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15. But he who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is judged by no one. 16. “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him?” But we have Christ’s mind. 1. Brothers, I couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ. 2. I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you weren’t yet ready. Indeed, not even now are you ready, 3. for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren’t you fleshly, and don’t you walk in the ways of men? 4. For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you fleshly? 5. Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him? 6. I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase. 7. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8. Now he who plants and he who waters are the same, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building. 10. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it. 11. For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12. But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble; 13. each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is. 14. If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward. 15. If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire. 16. Don’t you know that you are a temple of God, and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17. If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, which you are. 18. Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise. 19. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He has taken the wise in their craftiness.” 20. And again, “The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless.” 21. Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, 22. whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours, 23. and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

1. May God be merciful to us, bless us, and cause his face to shine on us. Selah. 2. That your way may be known on earth, and your salvation among all nations, 3. let the peoples praise you, God. Let all the peoples praise you. 4. Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you will judge the peoples with equity, and govern the nations on earth. Selah. 5. Let the peoples praise you, God. Let all the peoples praise you. 6. The earth has yielded its increase. God, even our own God, will bless us. 7. God will bless us. All the ends of the earth shall fear him.