Day 19 The Bible in a Year (Orthodox canon)

Exodus 4

1 And Moses answered and said, If they believe me not, and do not hearken to my voice (for they will say, God has not appeared to thee), what shall I say to them? 2 And the Lord said to him, What is this thing that is in thine hand? and he said, A rod. 3 And he said, Cast it on the ground: and he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from it. 4 And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch forth thine hand, and take hold of its tail: so he stretched forth his hand and took hold of the tail, 5 and it became a rod in his hand,—that they may believe thee, that the God of thy fathers has appeared to thee, the God of Abraam, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob. 6 And the Lord said again to him, Put thine hand into thy bosom; and he put his hand into his bosom, and brought his hand out of his bosom, and his hand became as snow. 7 And he said again, Put thy hand into thy bosom; and he put his hand into his bosom, and brought his hand out of his bosom, and it was again restored to the complexion of his [other] flesh. 8 And if they will not believe thee, nor hearken to the voice of the first sign, they will believe thee [because] of the voice of the second sign. 9 And it shall come to pass if they will not believe thee for these two signs, and will not hearken to thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river and pour it upon the dry land, and the water which thou shalt take from the river shall be blood upon the dry land. 10 And Moses said to the Lord, I pray, Lord, I have not been sufficient in former times, neither from the time that thou hast begun to speak to thy servant: I am weak in speech, and slow-tongued. 11 And the Lord said to Moses, Who has given a mouth to man, and who has made the very hard of hearing, and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? have not I, God? 12 And now go and I will open thy mouth, and will instruct thee in what thou shalt say. 13 And Moses said, I pray thee, Lord, appoint another able [person] whom thou shalt send. 14 And the Lord was greatly angered against Moses, and said, Lo! is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he will surely speak to thee; and, behold, he will come forth to meet thee, and beholding thee he will rejoice within himself. 15 And thou shalt speak to him; and thou shalt put my words into his mouth, and I will open thy mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you in what ye shall do. 16 And he shall speak for thee to the people, and he shall be thy mouth, and thou shalt be for him in things pertaining to God. 17 And this rod that was turned into a serpent thou shalt take in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt work miracles. 18 And Moses went and returned to Jothor his father-in-law, and says, I will go and return to my brethren in Egypt, and will see if they are yet living. And Jothor said to Moses, Go in health. And in those days after some time, the king of Egypt died. 19 And the Lord said to Moses in Madiam, Go, depart into Egypt, for all that sought thy life are dead. 20 And Moses took his wife and his children, and mounted them on the beasts, and returned to Egypt; and Moses took the rod [which he had] from God in his hand. 21 And the Lord said to Moses, When thou goest and returnest to Egypt, see—all the miracles I have charged thee with, thou shalt work before Pharao: and I will harden his heart, and he shall certainly not send away the people. 22 And thou shalt say to Pharao, These things saith the Lord, Israel [is] my first-born. 23 And I said to thee, Send away my people, that they may serve me: now if thou wilt not send them away, see, I will slay thy first-born son. 24 And it came to pass [that] the angel of the Lord met him by the way in the inn, and sought to slay him. 25 And Sepphora having taken a stone cut off the foreskin of her son, and fell at his feet and said, The blood of the circumcision of my son is staunched: 26 and he departed from him, because she said, The blood of the circumcision of my son is staunched. 27 And the Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses; and he went and met him in the mount of God, and they kissed each other. 28 And Moses reported to Aaron all the words of the Lord, which he sent, and all the things which he charged him. 29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered the elders of the children of Israel. 30 And Aaron spoke all these words, which God spoke to Moses, and wrought the miracles before the people. 31 And the people believed and rejoiced, because God visited the children of Israel, and because he saw their affliction: and the people bowed and worshipped.

Exodus 5

1 And after this went in Moses and Aaron to Pharao, and they said to him, These things says the Lord God of Israel, Send my people away, that they may keep a feast to me in the wilderness. 2 And Pharao said, Who is he that I should hearken to his voice, so that I should send away the children of Israel? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go. 3 And they say to him, The God of the Hebrews has called us to him: we will go therefore a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest at any time death or slaughter happen to us. 4 And the king of Egypt said to them, Why do ye, Moses and Aaron, turn the people from their works? depart each of you to your works. 5 And Pharao said, Behold now, the people is very numerous; let us not then give them rest from their work. 6 And Pharao gave orders to the task-masters of the people and the accountants, saying, 7 Ye shall no longer give straw to the people for brick-making as yesterday and the third day; but let them go themselves, and collect straw for themselves. 8 And thou shalt impose on them daily the rate of brick-making which they perform: thou shalt not abate anything, for they are idle; therefore have they cried, saying, Let us arise and do sacrifice to our God. 9 Let the works of these men be made grievous, and let them care for these things, and not care for vain words. 10 And the taskmasters and the accountants hastened them, and they spoke to the people, saying, Thus says Pharao, I [will] give you straw no longer. 11 Go ye, yourselves, get for yourselves straw whencesoever ye can find it, for nothing is diminished from your rate. 12 So the people were dispersed in all the land of Egypt, to gather stubble for straw. 13 And the taskmasters hastened them, saying, Fulfil your regular daily tasks, even as when straw was given you. 14 And the accountants of the race of the children of Israel, who were set over them by the masters of Pharao, were scourged, [[and questioned],] [men] saying, Why have ye not fulfilled your rates of brick-work as yesterday and the third day, to-day also? 15 And the accountants of the children of Israel went in and cried to Pharao, saying, Why dost thou act thus to thy servants? 16 Straw is not given to thy servants, and they tell us to make brick; and behold thy servants have been scourged: thou wilt therefore injure thy people. 17 And he said to them, Ye are idle, ye are idlers: therefore ye say, Let us go [and] do sacrifice to our God. 18 Now then go and work, for straw shall not be given to you, yet ye shall return the rate of bricks. 19 And the accountants of the children of Israel saw themselves in an evil plight, [men] saying, Ye shall not fail to deliver the daily rate of the brick-making. 20 And they met Moses and Aaron coming forth to meet them, as they came forth from Pharao. 21 And they said to them, The Lord look upon you and judge you, for ye have made our savour abominable before Pharao, and before his servants, to put a sword into his hands to slay us. 22 And Moses turned to the Lord, and said, I pray, Lord, why hast thou afflicted this people? and wherefore hast thou sent me? 23 For from the time that I went to Pharao to speak in thy name, he has afflicted this people, and thou hast not delivered thy people.

Exodus 6

1 And the Lord said to Moses, Now thou shalt see what I will do to Pharao; for he shall send them forth with a mighty hand, and with a high arm shall he cast them out of his land. 2 And God spoke to Moses and said to him, I [am] the Lord. 3 And I appeared to Abraam and Isaac and Jacob, being their God, but I did not manifest to them my name Lord. 4 And I established my covenant with them, to give them the land of the Chananites, the land wherein they sojourned, in which also they dwelt as strangers. 5 And I hearkened to the groaning of the children of Israel (the affliction with which the Egyptians enslave them) and I remembered the covenant with you. 6 Go, speak to the children of Israel, saying, I [am] the Lord; and I will lead you forth from the tyranny of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from bondage, and I will ransom you with a high arm, and great judgment. 7 And I will take you to me a people for myself, and will be your God; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the tyranny of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you into the land concerning which I stretched out my hand to give it to Abraam and Isaac and Jacob, and I will give it you for an inheritance: I [am] the Lord. 9 And Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, and they hearkened not to Moses for faint-heartedness, and for their hard tasks. 10 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 11 Go in, speak to Pharao king of Egypt, that he send forth the children of Israel out of his land. 12 And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, Behold, the children of Israel hearkened not to me, and how shall Pharao hearken to me? and I am not eloquent. 13 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a charge to Pharao king of Egypt, that he should send forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. 14 And these are the heads of the houses of their families: the sons of Ruben the first-born of Israel; Enoch and Phallus, Asron, and Charmi, this is the kindred of Ruben. 15 And the sons of Symeon, Jemuel and Jamin, and Aod, and Jachin and Saar, and Saul the son of a Phœnician woman, these are the families of the sons of Symeon. 16 And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their kindreds, Gedson, Caath, and Merari; and the years of the life of Levi were a hundred and thirty-seven. 17 And these are the sons of Gedson, Lobeni and Semei, the houses of their family. And the sons of Caath, 18 Ambram and Issaar, Chebron, and Oziel; and the years of the life of Caath were a hundred and thirty-three years. 19 And the sons of Merari, Moöli, and Omusi, these are the houses of the families of Levi, according to their kindreds. 20 And Ambram took to wife Jochabed the daughter of his father's brother, and she bore to him both Aaron and Moses, and Mariam their sister: and the years of the life of Ambram were a hundred and thirty-two years. 21 And the sons of Issaar, Core, and Naphec, and Zechri. 22 And the sons of Oziel, Misael, and Elisaphan, and Segri. 23 And Aaron took to himself to wife Elisabeth daughter of Aminadab sister of Naasson, and she bore to him both Nadab and Abiud, and Eleazar and Ithamar. 24 And the sons of Core, Asir, and Elkana, and Abiasar, these are the generations of Core. 25 And Eleazar the son of Aaron took to himself for a wife [one] of the daughters of Phutiel, and she bore to him Phinees. These are the heads of the family of the Levites, according to their generations. 26 This is Aaron and Moses, whom God told to bring out the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt with their forces. 27 These are they that spoke with Pharao king of Egypt, and Aaron himself and Moses brought out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, 28 in the day in which the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt; 29 then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, I am the Lord: speak to Pharao king of Egypt whatsoever I say to thee. 30 And Moses said before the Lord, Behold, I am not able in speech, and how shall Pharao hearken to me?

Matthew 14

1 At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, 2 and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from the dead. That is why these powers work in him.” 3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 4 For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced among them and pleased Herod. 7 Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask. 8 She, being prompted by her mother, said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptizer.” 9 The king was grieved, but for the sake of his oaths and of those who sat at the table with him, he commanded it to be given, 10 and he sent and beheaded John in the prison. 11 His head was brought on a platter and given to the young lady; and she brought it to her mother. 12 His disciples came, took the body, and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. 13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place apart. When the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities. 14 Jesus went out, and he saw a great multitude. He had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 When evening had come, his disciples came to him, saying, “This place is deserted, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food.” 16 But Jesus said to them, “They don’t need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17 They told him, “We only have here five loaves and two fish.” 18 He said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 They all ate and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of that which remained left over from the broken pieces. 21 Those who ate were about five thousand men, in addition to women and children. 22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23 After he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain by himself to pray. When evening had come, he was there alone. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, distressed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. 25 In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It’s a ghost!” and they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Cheer up! It is I! Don’t be afraid.” 28 Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waters.” 29 He said, “Come!” Peter stepped down from the boat and walked on the waters to come to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got up into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, “You are truly the Son of God!” 34 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. 35 When the people of that place recognized him, they sent into all that surrounding region and brought to him all who were sick; 36 and they begged him that they might just touch the fringe of his garment. As many as touched it were made whole.