B’SHALACH (WHEN HE LET GO)

⁷ Matzot is to be eaten throughout the seven days, and no hametz is to be seen among you, nor within any of your borders.

⁸ “You are to tell your son on that day saying, ‘It is because of what Adonai did for me when I came out of Egypt. ⁹ So it will be like a sign on your hand and a reminder between your eyes, so that the Torah of Adonai may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand Adonai has brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ You are to keep this ordinance as a moed from year to year.

¹¹ “Now when Adonai brings you into the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and your fathers and gives it you, ¹² you are to set apart to Adonai every firstborn from the womb, and every firstborn male animal you have will be Adonai’s. ¹³ Every firstborn donkey you are to redeem with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, then you are to break its neck. But you are to redeem every firstborn male among your sons.

¹⁴ “So when your son asks you in times to come, ‘What is this?’ say to him, ‘By a strong hand Adonai brought us out from Egypt, the house of bondage, ¹⁵ and when Pharaoh refused to let us go, Adonai slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both men and animals. So I sacrifice to Adonai all firstborn males, but I redeem the firstborn of my sons.’ ¹⁶ So it will be like a sign on your hand and like frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand Adonai brought us out of Egypt.”

Parashat Beshalach

¹⁷ After Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, although that was nearby, for God said, “The people might change their minds if they see war and return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ So God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Sea of Reeds, and Bnei-Yisrael went up out of the land of Egypt armed.

¹⁹ Moses also took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made Bnei-Yisrael swear an oath saying, “God will surely remember you, and then you are to carry my bones away with you.”^[a]

²⁰ So they journeyed from Succoth and encamped in Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ Adonai went before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead the way and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light. So they could travel both day and night. ^{[b] 22} The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never departed from the people.

Sea of Reeds Showdown

14 Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ² “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael, so that they turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to camp by the sea, opposite Baal-zephon. ³ Pharaoh will say concerning Bnei-Yisrael, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land—the wilderness has shut them in!’ ⁴ I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so he will follow after them. Then I will be glorified over Pharaoh along with all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Adonai.” So they did so.

⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we let Israel go from serving us?” ⁶ So he prepared his chariots and took his people with him. ⁷ He took 600 of the finest chariots, along with all other chariots of Egypt, and captains over them. ⁸ Adonai hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so he pursued Bnei-Yisrael, for Bnei-Yisrael went out with a high hand. ⁹ But the Egyptians pursued them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, as well as his charioteers and his army, and overtook them as they were encamped by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth opposite Baal-zephon.

¹⁰ When Pharaoh drew near, Bnei-Yisrael lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them! So they were terrified, and Bnei-Yisrael cried out to Adonai. ¹¹ They said to Moses, “Have you taken us away to die in the wilderness because there were no graves in Egypt? Why have you dealt this way with us, to bring us out of Egypt? ¹² Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone, so that we may serve the Egyptians?’ It was better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness!”

¹³ But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still, and see the salvation of Adonai, which He will perform for you today. You have seen the Egyptians today, but you will never see them again, ever! ¹⁴ Adonai will fight for you, while you hold your peace.”

¹⁵ Then Adonai said to Moses, “Why are you crying to Me? Tell Bnei-Yisrael to go forward. ¹⁶ Lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it. Then Bnei-Yisrael will go into the midst of the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷ Then I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will go in after them, so that I will be glorified over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and his horsemen. ¹⁸ Then the Egyptians will know that I am Adonai, when I have been glorified over Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”

¹⁹ Then the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them. Also the pillar of cloud moved from in front and stood behind them, ²⁰ and so came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel—there was the cloud and the darkness over here, yet it gave light by night over there—neither one came near the other all night long.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. Adonai drove the sea back with a strong east wind throughout the night and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided. ²² Then Bnei-Yisrael went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, while the waters were like walls to them on their right and on their left.^[c]

²³ But the Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen. ²⁴ Now it came about during the morning watch that Adonai looked at the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and caused the army of the Egyptians to panic. ²⁵ He took off their chariot wheels and caused them to drive heavily, so that the Egyptians said, “Get away from the presence of Israel! For Adonai fights for them against the Egyptians!”

²⁶ Then Adonai said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the waters come back upon the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.” ²⁷ So Moses stretched his hand out over the waters, and the sea returned to its strength at the break of dawn. The Egyptians were fleeing from it, but Adonai overthrew them in the midst of the sea. ^{[d] 28} The waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen and the entire army of Pharaoh that went after them into the sea. Not one of them remained.

²⁹ But Bnei-Yisrael had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were like walls to them on their right hand and on their left. ³⁰ So Adonai saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹ When Israel saw the great work that Adonai did over the Egyptians, the people feared Adonai, and they believed in Adonai and in His servant Moses.

Song of Moses and Miriam

15 Then Moses and Bnei-Yisrael sang this song to Adonai:^[e]

¹⁹ For Pharaoh’s horses with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, but Adonai brought the waters of the sea back over them. Yet Bnei-Yisrael walked in the midst of the sea on dry ground. ²⁰ Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing, ²¹ as Miriam sang to them:

Bitter Waters Made Sweet

²² Then Moses led Israel onward from the Sea of Reeds. They went out into the wilderness of Shur. But they travelled three days in the wilderness and found no water. ²³ When they came to Marah, they could not drink from the waters because they were bitter. On account of this it was called Marah. ²⁴ So the people complained to Moses saying, “What are we going to drink?”

²⁵ So he cried out to Adonai, and Adonai showed him a tree. When he threw it into the waters, they were made sweet.

There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them. ²⁶ He said, “If you diligently listen to the voice of Adonai your God, do what is right in His eyes, pay attention to His mitzvot, and keep all His decrees, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians. For I am Adonai who heals you.”

²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. So they camped there by the waters.

Manna From Heaven

16 They journeyed on from Elim, and the entire community of Bnei-Yisrael came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after leaving the land of Egypt. ² But the whole congregation of Bnei-Yisrael murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. ³ Bnei-Yisrael said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of Adonai in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat, when we ate bread until we were full. But you have brought us into the wilderness, to kill this entire congregation with hunger.”

⁴ Then Adonai said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you.^[h] The people will go out and gather a day’s portion every day, so that I can test them to find out whether they will walk according to My Torah or not. ⁵ So on the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather day by day.”

⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all Bnei-Yisrael, “In the evening you will know that Adonai has brought you out from the land of Egypt, ⁷ and in the morning, then you will see the glory of Adonai. For He heard your complaining against Him. What are we? You complain against us?” ⁸ Then Moses said, “Adonai will give you meat to eat in the evening and enough bread to fill you in the morning, since Adonai hears your complaints that you mutter against Him, what are we? Your complaining is not against us, but against Adonai!”

⁹ Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of Bnei-Yisrael, ‘Come near before Adonai, because He has heard your complaining.’”

¹⁰ Then, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of Bnei-Yisrael, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of Adonai appeared in the cloud. ¹¹ Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ¹² “I have heard the complaining of Bnei-Yisrael. Speak to them saying, ‘At dusk you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am Adonai your God.’”

¹³ So when evening fell, quails came up and covered the camp. Moreover, in the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. ¹⁴ When the layer of dew was gone, on the surface of the desert was a thin, flake-like frost, as fine as the frost on the ground. ¹⁵ When Bnei-Yisrael saw it, they said one to another, “What is it?”^[i] For they did not know what it was. Then Moses said to them, “It is the bread that Adonai has given you to eat. ¹⁶ This is the word that Adonai has commanded. Every man is to gather according to his needs, an omer^[j] per person, according to the number of people per household. Each man is to take it for those who are in his tent.”

¹⁷ Bnei-Yisrael did so, and some gathered more, some less. ¹⁸ When they measured it with an omer, those who gathered more had nothing left over, and those that gathered less did not lack at all. Every man gathered according to his appetite.

¹⁹ Also Moses said to them, “Let no one save any of it until the morning.”

²⁰ However, they did not listen to Moses. Some of them preserved it until the morning—but it bred worms and rotted. So Moses was angry with them.

²¹ So they gathered it morning by morning, each man according to his needs, and as the sun became hot it melted. ²² On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each individual. So all the leaders of the community came and informed Moses. ²³ But he said to them, “This is what Adonai has said. Tomorrow is a Shabbat rest, a holy Shabbat to Adonai. Bake whatever you would bake, and boil what you would boil. Store up for yourselves everything that remains, to be kept until the morning.”

²⁴ So they set it aside until the morning, just as Moses instructed, and it did not rot nor were there any worms. ²⁵ Then Moses said, “Eat that today, because today is a Shabbat to Adonai. Today you will not find it in the field. ²⁶ You are to gather it for six days, but the seventh day is the Shabbat, and there will be none.”

²⁷ Yet on the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather and they found none. ²⁸ Adonai said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep My mitzvot and My Torah? ²⁹ See, Adonai has given you the Shabbat, so on the sixth day He gives you the bread of two days. Let every man stay in his place, and let no man go out on the seventh day.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ The house of Israel named it manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. ³² Then Moses said, “This is what Adonai has commanded. Let a full omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.”

³³ Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put a full omer of manna inside. Store it up before Adonai, to be kept throughout your generations.”

³⁴ Just as Adonai commanded Moses, Aaron stored it up in front of the Testimony, to be preserved. ³⁵ Bnei-Yisrael ate the manna for 40 years. They ate the manna until they came to an inhabited land, when they came to the borders of the land of Canaan. ³⁶ Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.^[k]

Test and Quarreling

17 All the congregation of Bnei-Yisrael journeyed from the wilderness of Sin in stages, according to the command of Adonai, and camped in Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ² So the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test Adonai?”

³ But the people thirsted for water there, and they complained against Moses and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt? To kill us with thirst, along with our children and cattle?”

⁴ So Moses cried out to Adonai saying, “What am I to do for these people? They are about ready to stone me.”

⁵ Adonai said to Moses, “Walk before the people, and take of the elders of Israel with you, along with your staff with which you struck the river. Take it in your hand and go. ⁶ Behold, I will stand before you, there upon the rock in Horeb. You are to strike the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people can drink.” Then Moses did just so in the eyes of the elders of Israel. ⁷ The name of the place was called Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of Bnei-Yisrael, and because they tested Adonai saying, “Is Adonai among us, or not?”

War Against Amalek

⁸ Then the Amalekites came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. ⁹ Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men, go out, and fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”

¹⁰ So Joshua did as Moses said, and fought the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ When Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. But when he let down his hand, the Amalekites prevailed. ¹² Moses’ hands grew heavy, so they took a stone, put it under him, and he sat down. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on each side. So his hands were steady until the sun went down. ¹³ So Joshua overpowered the Amalekites and his army with the edge of the sword.

¹⁴ Adonai said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book, and rehearse it in the hearing of Joshua, for I will utterly blot out the memory of the Amalekites from under heaven.”

¹⁵ Then Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Adonai-Nissi. ^{[l] 16} Then he said, “By the hand upon the throne of Adonai, Adonai will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

⁴ Now Deborah, a woman who was a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. ⁵ She used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and Bnei-Yisrael came up to her for judgment. ⁶ Now she sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “Hasn’t Adonai, God of Israel, commanded, ‘Go, march to Mount Tabor, and take with you 10,000 men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun? ⁷ Then at the Kishon torrent, I will draw out to you Sisera, commander of Jabin’s army with his chariots and his multitude, and I will give him into your hand.’”

⁸ But Barak said to her, “If you are going with me, then I will go. But if you aren’t going with me, I won’t go.”

⁹ “Surely I will go with you,” she said. “However, no honor will be yours on the way that you are about to go—for Adonai will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” So Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. ¹⁰ Then Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh, and 10,000 men marched up after him, and Deborah went up with him.

¹¹ Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, from the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.

¹² They told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. ¹³ So Sisera ordered all his chariots—900 iron chariots—and all the troops that were with him, from Harosheth-ha-goyim to the Kishon.

¹⁴ Then Deborah said to Barak, “Arise! For this is the day in which Adonai will deliver Sisera into your hand. Has Adonai not gone out before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. ¹⁵ Adonai threw Sisera and all his chariots and all his army into confusion before Barak with the edge of the sword. Then Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. ¹⁶ But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-ha-goyim. The whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not one was left.

¹⁷ Meanwhile Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Yael the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between King Jabin of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. ¹⁸ So Yael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me! Don’t be afraid!” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

¹⁹ He said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and made him drink some, and covered him. ²⁰ Then he said to her, “Stand at the entrance of the tent, and if anyone comes and asks you saying, ‘Is there a man here?’ then you will say, ‘There’s no one.’”

²¹ Then Yael, Heber’s wife, took a tent pin and got a hammer in her hand, approached him stealthily and drove the pin into his temple until it pierced through into the ground—for he was exhausted and in a deep sleep. So he died. ²² Now behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Yael came out to meet him and said to him, “Come, I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he entered with her, and behold, Sisera was lying dead, with a tent-pin in his temple!

²³ So on that day God subdued King Jabin of Canaan before Bnei-Yisrael. ²⁴ The hand of Bnei-Yisrael pressed hard on King Jabin of Canaan until they had cut off King Jabin of Canaan.

Deborah’s Song

5 Then Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang on that day saying:

Then the land had peace for 40 years.

Victory Songs in Heaven

19 After these things, I heard something like the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, shouting:

⁴ Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying, “Amen! Halleluyah!”^[e]

⁵ Then a voice came from the throne, saying:

Wedding of the Lamb

⁶ Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude—like the roar of rushing waters^[g] or like the rumbling of powerful thunder—saying,

⁹ Then the angel tells me, “Write: How fortunate are those who have been invited to the wedding banquet of the Lamb!” He also tells me, “These are the true words of God.”

¹⁰ Then I fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that—for I am only a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Yeshua. Worship God! For the testimony of Yeshua is the Spirit of Prophesy.”

Final Battle of this Age

¹¹ Then I saw heaven opened,^[i] and behold, a white horse! The One riding on it is called Faithful and True, and He judges and makes war in righteousness. ¹² His eyes are like a flame of fire, and many royal crowns are on His head. He has a name written that no one knows except Himself. ¹³ He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood,^[j] and the name by which He is called is “the Word of God.”

¹⁴ And the armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. ¹⁵ From His mouth comes a sharp sword—so that with it He may strike down the nations—and He shall rule them with an iron rod, and He treads the winepress of the furious wrath of Elohei-Tzva’ot. ^{[k] 16} On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “King of kings, and Lord of lords.”^[l]

¹⁷ Then I saw a single angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he cried out to all the birds flying high in the sky, “Come, gather for the great banquet of God— ¹⁸ to eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of generals and the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and those riding on them, the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great!”^[m]

¹⁹ Also I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the One who sat on the horse and against His army. ²⁰ Then the beast was captured, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs before him by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast, as well as those who had worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. ^{[n] 21} The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the One riding on the horse. And all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh.

The First Resurrection

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a great chain. ² He seized the dragon—the ancient serpent, who is the devil and satan—and bound him for a thousand years. ^{[o] 3} He also threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed. After these things, he must be released for a short while.

⁴ Then I saw thrones, and people sat upon them—those to whom authority to judge was given.^[p] And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Yeshua and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image, nor had they received his mark on their forehead or on their hand. And they came to life^[q] and reigned with the Messiah for a thousand years.

⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ How fortunate and holy is the one who has a share in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no authority, but they shall be kohanim of God and the Messiah, and they shall reign with Him for a thousand years.

Power Over Demons

5 They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. ² As soon as Yeshua got out of the boat, a man from the graveyard^[a] with an unclean spirit met Him. ³ He lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him anymore, even with a chain. ⁴ For he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been ripped apart by him and the shackles broken. No one was strong enough to tame him. ⁵ And through it all, night and day, at the graveyard and in the mountains, he kept screaming and gashing himself with stones.

⁶ When he saw Yeshua from a distance, he ran and bowed down before Him. ⁷ Crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What’s between You and me, Yeshua, Ben El Elyon? I’m warning you, in the name of God, do not torment me!”

⁸ For Yeshua had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹ Then Yeshua began questioning him, “What is your name?”

And he answered, “My name is Legion,^[b] for we are many.” ¹⁰ He kept begging Him not to send them out of the country. ¹¹ Now a large herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside nearby. ¹² The unclean spirits urged Him, saying, “Send us to the pigs, so we may enter them.” ¹³ So Yeshua gave them permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs. And the herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the cliff and were drowned in the sea.

¹⁴ The herdsmen ran away and told the town and countryside, and they came to see what had happened. ¹⁵ Now they came to Yeshua and saw the madman who had had the legion. He was sitting there, dressed in clothes and in his right mind. The people were scared.

¹⁶ Those who had seen it described in detail what had happened to the man plagued by a demon, and they also told about the pigs. ¹⁷ And they began to beg Yeshua to leave their country. ¹⁸ As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been infested with demons kept begging to remain with Him. ¹⁹ Yeshua did not let him, but He told him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much Adonai has done for you, how He showed you mercy.”

²⁰ So he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis^[c] how much Yeshua had done for him. And all were amazed.

Power in His Touch

²¹ When Yeshua had crossed over in the boat again to the other side, a big crowd gathered around Him; and He was by the sea. ²² Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, comes. Seeing Him, he falls at His feet. ²³ He begs Him a great deal, saying, “My little daughter is near death! Come and lay hands on her so that she may be healed and live!”

²⁴ So Yeshua went off with him, and a big crowd was following Him and pressing upon Him. ²⁵ And there was a woman with a blood flow for twelve years, ^{[d] 26} who had suffered much under many doctors. She had spent all that she had without benefit; instead, she grew worse. ²⁷ When she heard about Yeshua, she came through the crowd from behind and touched His garment. ²⁸ For she kept saying, “If I touch even His clothes, I shall be healed.”

²⁹ Right away the blood flow stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed from her disease. ³⁰ At once Yeshua, knowing in Himself that power had gone out from Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”

³¹ His disciples responded, “You see the crowd pressing upon You and you say, ‘Who touched Me?’” ³² But He kept looking around to see who had done this.

³³ But the woman, scared and shaking, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. ³⁴ And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in shalom and be healed from your disease.”

³⁵ While Yeshua was still speaking, messengers come from the house of the synagogue leader, saying, “Your daughter is dead. Why do you still trouble the Teacher?”

³⁶ But ignoring what they said, Yeshua tells the synagogue leader, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” ³⁷ He did not let anyone follow Him except Peter, Jacob, and John, the brother of Jacob.

³⁸ They come to the house of the synagogue leader. He sees a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. ³⁹ After entering, He said to them, “Why make such a fuss and weep? The child didn’t die, but is sleeping.”

⁴⁰ They start jeering at Him. But after sending all of them out, He takes the child’s father and mother, and those with Him, and enters where the child was. ⁴¹ Then, taking hold of the child’s hand, He tells her, “Talitha koum,”^[e] which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up.” ⁴² Immediately, the girl stood up and began to walk around! (She was twelve years old.) And they were overcome with astonishment. ⁴³ But He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this, and He said something to eat should be given to her.

Responding to Rejection

6 Now Yeshua went out from there, and He comes to His hometown, and His disciples follow Him. ² When Shabbat came, He began to teach in the synagogue. Many listeners were amazed, saying, “Where did this fellow get these things? What’s this wisdom given to Him? Such miracles are done by His hands! ³ Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Miriam, and the brother of Jacob and Joseph and Judah and Simon? Aren’t His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.

⁴ Then Yeshua began saying to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own house.” ⁵ He was not able to do any miracle, except that He laid hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And He was astonished because of their unbelief.^[f] And He was going around among the villages teaching.

⁷ Yeshua summoned the Twelve, and He began to send them out two by two. And He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸ He directed them to take nothing for the journey except a walking stick—no bread, no bag, no copper coin in their belt— ⁹ but to wear sandals and not to put on two shirts.^[g]

¹⁰ He was also telling them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that place. ¹¹ And whatever place will not receive you or listen to you, as you leave from there, shake the dust off the bottom of your feet as a witness against them.” ¹² So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent, ¹³ and they were driving out many demons and anointing with oil many who were sick and healing them.

¹⁴ King Herod heard, for Yeshua’s name had become known. Some were saying, “John the Immerser has risen from the dead! Because of this, these powers are at work in Him!” ¹⁵ But others were saying, “It’s Elijah!” Still others were saying, “It’s a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”^[h]

¹⁶ But when Herod heard, he said, “John, the one I beheaded, has been raised!” ¹⁷ For Herod himself sent and arrested John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because Herod had married her. ¹⁸ For John had been telling Herod, “It is not permitted for you to have your brother’s wife.” ^{[i] 19} Now Herodias had a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but she wasn’t able. ²⁰ For Herod was in awe of John and kept him safe, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When he listened to John he was confused, but he still listened gladly.

²¹ An opportunity came—when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his high officials, military brass, and the leaders of the Galilee. ²² When the daughter of Herodias^[j] came in and danced, she pleased Herod and those reclining with him. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want, and I’ll give it to you!” ²³ He vowed to her, “Whatever you ask of me I’ll give you, up to half of my kingdom!”

²⁴ She left the room and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”

Her mother said, “The head of John the Immerser!”

²⁵ Immediately she rushed to the king and requested, “I want you to give me, right now, the head of John the Immerser on a platter!”

²⁶ The king became very sorrowful; but because of his oaths and those reclining with him, he didn’t want to refuse her.

²⁷ Immediately the king sent an executioner and gave orders to bring John’s head. And the executioner went out and beheaded John in the prison, ²⁸ brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When John’s disciples heard, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Feeding 5000 Families

³⁰ The twelve emissaries gathered together with Yeshua, and they reported to Him all they had done and taught. ³¹ There were many coming and going, and they had no time even to eat. So He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to an isolated place and rest awhile.” ³² So they left privately by boat to an isolated place. ³³ However, the people saw them leaving, and many recognized them. They ran on foot from all the towns to get there ahead of them. ³⁴ As Yeshua came ashore, He saw a large crowd and felt compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.^[k] So He taught them many things.

³⁵ When it was already late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is isolated, and the hour is already late. ³⁶ Send these people away so they can go into the nearby countryside and the villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

³⁷ But He answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat!”

And they said to Him, “Should we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread to give them something to eat?”

³⁸ Then He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”

³⁹ Then Yeshua made them all sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they reclined in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹ And He took the five loaves and the two fish; and looking up to heaven, He offered the bracha. He broke the loaves and kept giving them to the disciples to serve to the people; and He divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² They all ate and were satisfied, ⁴³ and the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and fish. ⁴⁴ Now there were five thousand men who ate the loaves.

Walking on Water

⁴⁵ Right away, Yeshua made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. ⁴⁶ After leaving them, He went up on the hillside to pray.

⁴⁷ And when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea and He was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ He saw the disciples struggling to row, for the wind was against them. Around the fourth watch in the night,^[l] Yeshua comes to them, walking on the sea; and He wanted to pass by them. ⁴⁹ But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought He was a ghost and cried out— ⁵⁰ for they all saw Him and were terrified.

But immediately, He spoke to them. He said, “Take courage! I am. Do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped. They were utterly dumbfounded, ⁵² for they still hadn’t understood about the loaves. Instead, their hearts were hardened.

Miracles Multiply

⁵³ After they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and set anchor there. ⁵⁴ As they got out of the boat, immediately people recognized Yeshua. ⁵⁵ They ran about the region and began to carry around on their mats all those who were in bad shape, to wherever they heard He was. ⁵⁶ And wherever He entered villages, towns, or countryside, people were placing the sick in the marketplaces and begging Him to let them touch even the tzitzit of His garment—and all who touched it were being healed.