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Exodus 9

Fifth Plague:The Pestilence.

1Then the LORD said to Moses: Go to Pharaoh and tell him: Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to serve me.

2For if you refuse to let them go and persist in holding them,

3the hand of the LORD will strike your livestock in the field—your horses, donkeys, camels, herds and flocks—with a very severe pestilence.

4But the LORD will distinguish between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that nothing belonging to the Israelites will die.

5And the LORD set a definite time, saying: Tomorrow the LORD will do this in the land.

6And on the next day the LORD did it. All the livestock of the Egyptians died,^a but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died.

7But although Pharaoh found upon inquiry that not even so much as one of the livestock of the Israelites had died, he remained obstinate and would not let the people go.

Sixth Plague: The Boils.

8So the LORD said to Moses and Aaron: Each of you take handfuls of soot from a kiln, and in the presence of Pharaoh let Moses scatter it toward the sky.

9It will turn into fine dust over the whole land of Egypt and cause festering boils^* on human being and beast alike throughout the land of Egypt.

10So they took the soot from a kiln and appeared before Pharaoh. When Moses scattered it toward the sky, it caused festering boils on human being and beast alike.

11Because of the boils the magicians could not stand in Moses’ presence, for there were boils on the magicians as well as on the rest of the Egyptians.

12But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said to Moses.

Seventh Plague: The Hail.

13Then the LORD spoke to Moses: Early tomorrow morning present yourself to Pharaoh and say to him: Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to serve me,

14for this time I will unleash all my blows upon you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me anywhere on earth.

15For by now I should have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with such pestilence that you would have vanished from the earth.

16But this is why I have let you survive: to show you^* my power and to make my name resound throughout the earth!^b

17Will you continue to exalt yourself over my people and not let them go?

18At this time tomorrow, therefore, I am going to rain down such fierce hail as there has never been in Egypt from the day it was founded up to the present.

19Therefore, order your livestock and whatever else you have in the open fields to be brought to a place of safety. Whatever human being or animal is found in the fields and is not brought to shelter will die when the hail comes down upon them.

20Those of Pharaoh’s servants who feared the word of the LORD hurried their servants and their livestock off to shelter.

21But those who did not pay attention to the word of the LORD left their servants and their livestock in the fields.

22The LORD then said to Moses: Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that hail may fall upon the entire land of Egypt, on human being and beast alike and all the vegetation of the fields in the land of Egypt.

23So Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, and the LORD sent forth peals of thunder and hail.^c Lightning flashed toward the earth, and the LORD rained down hail upon the land of Egypt.

24There was hail and lightning flashing here and there through the hail, and the hail was so fierce that nothing like it had been seen in Egypt since it became a nation.

25Throughout the land of Egypt the hail struck down everything in the fields, human being and beast alike; it struck down all the vegetation of the fields and splintered every tree in the fields.

26Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, was there no hail.

27Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time! The LORD is the just one, and I and my people are the ones at fault.

28Pray to the LORD! Enough of the thunder^* and hail! I will let you go; you need stay no longer.”

29Moses replied to him, “As soon as I leave the city I will extend my hands to the LORD; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail so that you may know that the earth belongs to the LORD.

30But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the LORD God.”

31Now the flax and the barley were ruined, because the barley was in ear and the flax in bud.

32But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they grow later.

33When Moses had left Pharaoh and gone out of the city, he extended his hands to the LORD. The thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured down upon the earth.

34But Pharaoh, seeing that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, sinned again and became obstinate, both he and his servants.

35In the hardness of his heart, Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had said through Moses.

Exodus 10

Eighth Plague: The Locusts.

1Then the LORD said to Moses: Go to Pharaoh, for I have made him and his servants obstinate in order that I may perform these signs of mine among them

2and that you may recount to your son and grandson how I made a fool of the Egyptians and what signs I did among them, so that you may know that I am the LORD.^a

3So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, “Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: How long will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go to serve me.

4For if you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory.

5They will cover the surface of the earth, so that the earth itself will not be visible. They will eat up the remnant you saved undamaged from the hail, as well as all the trees that are growing in your fields.

6They will fill your houses and the houses of your servants and of all the Egyptians—something your parents and your grandparents have not seen from the day they appeared on this soil until today.” With that he turned and left Pharaoh.

7But Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will he be a snare for us? Let the people go to serve the LORD, their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is being destroyed?”

8So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, who said to them, “Go, serve the LORD, your God. But who exactly will go?”

9Moses answered, “With our young and old we must go; with our sons and daughters, with our flocks and herds we must go. It is a pilgrimage feast of the LORD for us.”

10“The LORD help you,”^* Pharaoh replied, “if I let your little ones go with you! Clearly, you have some evil in mind.

11By no means! Just you men go and serve the LORD.^* After all, that is what you have been asking for.” With that they were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.

12^b The LORD then said to Moses: Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon it and eat up all the land’s vegetation, whatever the hail has left.

13So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD drove an east wind^* over the land all that day and all night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

14The locusts came up over the whole land of Egypt and settled down over all its territory. Never before had there been such a fierce swarm of locusts, nor will there ever be again.

15They covered the surface of the whole land, so that it became black. They ate up all the vegetation in the land and all the fruit of the trees the hail had spared. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant in the fields throughout the land of Egypt.

16Pharaoh hurriedly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD, your God, and against you.

17But now, do forgive me my sin only this once, and pray to the LORD, your God, only to take this death from me.”

18When Moses left Pharaoh, he prayed to the LORD,

19and the LORD caused the wind to shift to a very strong west wind, which took up the locusts and hurled them into the Red Sea.^* Not a single locust remained within the whole territory of Egypt.

20Yet the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.

Ninth Plague: The Darkness.

21^c Then the LORD said to Moses: Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that over the land of Egypt there may be such darkness^* that one can feel it.

22So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was dense darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days.

23People could not see one another, nor could they get up from where they were, for three days. But all the Israelites had light where they lived.

24Pharaoh then summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, serve the LORD. Only your flocks and herds will be detained. Even your little ones may go with you.”

25But Moses replied, “You also must give us sacrifices and burnt offerings to make to the LORD, our God.

26Our livestock also must go with us. Not an animal must be left behind, for some of them we will select for service^* to the LORD, our God; but we will not know with which ones we are to serve the LORD until we arrive there.”

27But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them go.

28Pharaoh said to Moses, “Leave me, and see to it that you do not see my face again! For the day you do see my face you will die!”

29Moses replied, “You are right! I will never see your face again.”

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Mark 9 :30-50

The Second Prediction of the Passion.

30^g They left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it.^h

31He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise.”

32But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.

IV. THE FULL REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY

The Greatest in the Kingdom.^*

33They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?”ⁱ

34But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest.

35Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”^j

36Taking a child he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them,

37“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”^k

Another Exorcist.^*

38John said to him,^l “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.”

39Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me.

40For whoever is not against us is for us.^m

41Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.ⁿ

Temptations to Sin.

42^o “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe [in me] to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

43If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna,^* into the unquenchable fire.

[44]^*

45And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.

[46]

47And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,

48where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’^p

The Simile of Salt.

49^* “Everyone will be salted with fire.

50Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.”^q

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