Proper 16 (21)

8Verse 8. Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 9Verse 9. “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become too numerous and too powerful for us. 10Verse 10. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country. ” 11Verse 11. So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12Verse 12. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and flourished; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. 13Verse 13. They worked the Israelites ruthlessly 14Verse 14. and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh. 15Verse 15. Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16Verse 16. “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.” 17Verse 17. The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed; they let the boys live. 18Verse 18. So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” 19Verse 19. The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.” 20Verse 20. So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became even more numerous. 21Verse 21. And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own. 22Verse 22. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.” 1Verse 1. Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, 2Verse 2. and she conceived and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him for three months. 3Verse 3. But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in the basket and set it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4Verse 4. And his sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. 5Verse 5. Soon the daughter of Pharaoh went down to bathe in the Nile, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. And when she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maidservant to retrieve it. 6Verse 6. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the little boy was crying. So she had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.” 7Verse 7. Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8Verse 8. “Go ahead,” Pharaoh’s daughter told her. And the girl went and called the boy’s mother. 9Verse 9. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the boy and nursed him. 10Verse 10. When the child had grown older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses and explained, “I drew him out of the water.”

1Verse 1. “Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut, and to the quarry from which you were hewn. 2Verse 2. Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who gave you birth. When I called him, he was but one; then I blessed him and multiplied him. 3Verse 3. For the LORD will comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and melodious song. 4Verse 4. Pay attention to Me, My people, and listen to Me, My nation; for a law will go out from Me, and My justice will become a light to the nations; I will bring it about quickly. 5Verse 5. My righteousness draws near, My salvation is on the way, and My arms will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look for Me and wait in hope for My arm. 6Verse 6. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like gnats. But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never fail.