Exodus 3-14
New American Standard Bible
The Burning Bush
3 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law (A)Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the [a]west side of the wilderness and came to (B)Horeb, the (C)mountain of God. 2 Then (D)the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of [b]a (E)bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed. 3 So Moses said, “(F)I must turn aside and see this [c]marvelous sight, why the bush is not burning up!” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, (G)God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not come near here; (H)remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And He said, “(I)I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” (J)Then Moses hid his face, for he was (K)afraid to look at God.
7 And the Lord said, “I have certainly (L)seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. 8 So I have come down (M)to rescue them from the [d]power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a (N)good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of (O)the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 9 And now, behold, (P)the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.
The Mission of Moses
10 And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, (Q)so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “(R)Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 And He said, “Assuredly (S)I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: (T)when you have brought the people out of Egypt, (U)you shall [e]worship God at this mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 And God said to Moses, “[f](V)I AM WHO [g]I AM”; and He said, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘[h]I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 God furthermore said to Moses, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘(W)The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is the [i](X)name for [j]all generations to use to call upon Me. 16 Go and (Y)gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘(Z)The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has appeared to me, saying, “[k](AA)I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 So (AB)I said, I will bring you up out of the oppression of Egypt to the land of (AC)the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land (AD)flowing with milk and honey.”’ 18 Then (AE)they will [l]pay attention to what you say; and (AF)you with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt, and you will say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, please let us go a (AG)three days’ journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt (AH)will not permit you to go, (AI)except [m]under compulsion. 20 So I will reach out with (AJ)My hand and strike Egypt with all My (AK)miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and (AL)after that he will let you go. 21 I will grant this people (AM)favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty-handed. 22 But every woman (AN)shall ask her neighbor and the woman who lives in her house for articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will (AO)plunder the Egyptians.”
Moses Given Signs
4 Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or (AP)listen [n]to what I say? For they may say, ‘(AQ)The Lord has not appeared to you.’” 2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “(AR)A staff.” 3 Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and (AS)it turned into a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 But the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he reached out with his hand and caught it, and it turned into a staff in his [o]hand— 5 “so that (AT)they may believe that (AU)the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
6 The Lord furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand inside the fold of your robe.” So he put his hand inside the fold, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was (AV)leprous like snow. 7 Then He said, “Put your hand inside the fold of your robe again.” So he put his hand into the fold again, and when he took it out of the fold, behold, (AW)it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8 “So if they will not believe you nor [p]pay attention to the [q]evidence of the first [r]sign, they may believe the [s]evidence of the last [t]sign. 9 But if they will not believe even these two [u]signs nor pay attention to what you say, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take from the Nile (AX)will turn into blood on the dry ground.”
10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, (AY)I have never been [v]eloquent, neither [w]recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am [x]slow of speech and [y]slow of tongue.” 11 But the Lord said to him, “Who has made the human mouth? Or (AZ)who makes anyone unable to speak or deaf, or able to see or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now then go, and (BA)I Myself will be with your mouth, and (BB)instruct you in what you are to say.” 13 But he said, “Please, Lord, now send the message by [z]whomever You will.”
Aaron to Be Moses’ Mouthpiece
14 Then the anger of the Lord burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that [aa]he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, (BC)he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be [ab]overjoyed. 15 So you are to speak to him and (BD)put the words in his mouth; and I Myself will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you in what you are to do. 16 (BE)He shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him. 17 And you shall take in your hand (BF)this staff, (BG)with which you shall perform the signs.”
18 Then Moses departed and returned to (BH)his father-in-law [ac]Jethro, and said to him, “Please, let me go, that I may return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 Now the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go [ad]back to Egypt, for (BI)all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his (BJ)sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the (BK)staff of God in his hand.
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go [ae]back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all (BL)the wonders which I have put in your [af]power; but (BM)I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: “(BN)Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 So I said to you, ‘(BO)Let My son go so that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, (BP)I am going to kill your son, your firstborn.”’”
24 But it came about at the overnight encampment on the way, that the Lord met [ag]Moses, and (BQ)sought to put him to death. 25 So Zipporah took (BR)a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and [ah]threw it at Moses’ feet; and she said, “You are indeed a groom of blood to me!” 26 So He left him alone. At that time she said, “You are a groom of blood”—[ai]because of the circumcision.
27 (BS)Now the Lord said to Aaron, “Go to meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the (BT)mountain of God and kissed him. 28 (BU)Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which He had sent him, and (BV)all the signs that He had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and (BW)assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel; 30 and (BX)Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. He then performed the (BY)signs in the sight of the people. 31 So (BZ)the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord [aj](CA)was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, (CB)they bowed low and worshiped.
Israel’s Labor Increased
5 And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “(CC)This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘(CD)Let My people go so that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “(CE)Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, (CF)I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “(CG)The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, otherwise He will strike us with plague or with the sword.” 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you let the people neglect their [ak]work? Get back to your (CH)labors!” 5 Again Pharaoh said, “Look, (CI)the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!” 6 So the same day Pharaoh commanded (CJ)the taskmasters over the people and their (CK)foremen, saying, 7 “You are no longer to give the people straw to make bricks as previously; have them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But you shall impose on them the quota of bricks which they were making before; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are (CL)lazy, for that reason they cry [al]out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let the labor be heavier on the men, and have them work at it so that they will pay no attention to false words.”
10 So (CM)the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am not going to give you any straw. 11 You go, get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it; but none of your labor will be reduced.’” 12 So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 And the taskmasters pressed them, saying, “Complete your [am]work quota, [an]your daily amount, just as when [ao]you had straw.” 14 Moreover, (CN)the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, (CO)were beaten [ap]and asked, “Why have you not completed your required task of making bricks either yesterday or today, as before?”
15 Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you deal this way with your servants? 16 There is no straw given to your servants, yet they keep saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are being beaten; but it is the fault of your own people.” 17 But he said, “You are (CP)lazy, very lazy; for that reason you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 So go now and work; for you will be given no straw, but you must deliver the quota of bricks.” 19 The foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble, [aq]since they were told, “You must not reduce [ar]your daily amount of bricks.” 20 When they left Pharaoh’s presence, they met Moses and Aaron as they were [as]waiting for them. 21 And (CQ)they said to them, “(CR)May the Lord look upon you and judge you, because you have (CS)made [at]us repulsive in Pharaoh’s sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us!”
22 Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “(CT)Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me? 23 Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, (CU)and You have not rescued Your people at all.”
God Promises Action
6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for [au](CV)under compulsion he will let them go, and [av]under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.”
2 God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am (CW)the Lord; 3 and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as [aw](CX)God Almighty, but by (CY)My name, [ax]Lord, I did not make Myself known to them. 4 I also established (CZ)My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the [ay]land in which they lived as strangers. 5 Furthermore I have (DA)heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. 6 Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘(DB)I am the Lord, and (DC)I will bring you out from under the labors of the Egyptians, and I will rescue you from their bondage. I will also (DD)redeem you with (DE)an outstretched arm, and with great judgments. 7 Then I will take you [az](DF)as My people, and (DG)I will be [ba]your God; and (DH)you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the labors of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you to the land which (DI)I [bb]swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and (DJ)I will give it to you as a possession; (DK)I am the Lord.’” 9 So Moses said this to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on (DL)account of their [bc]despondency and cruel bondage.
10 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 11 “(DM)Go, [bd]tell Pharaoh king of Egypt [be]to let the sons of Israel go out of his land.” 12 But Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; (DN)how then will Pharaoh listen to me, as I am [bf](DO)unskilled in speech?” 13 Nevertheless, the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron and gave them a command concerning the sons of Israel and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
The Heads of Israel
14 These are the heads of their fathers’ households. (DP)The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben. 15 And the (DQ)sons of Simeon: [bg]Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon. 16 And these are the names of (DR)the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and the [bh]length of Levi’s life was 137 years. 17 (DS)The sons of Gershon: [bi]Libni and Shimei, according to their families. 18 And (DT)the sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; and the [bj]length of Kohath’s life was 133 years. 19 And (DU)the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations. 20 Now (DV)Amram [bk]married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the [bl]length of Amram’s life was 137 years. 21 And (DW)the sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 And (DX)the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, [bm]Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23 Aaron [bn]married Elisheba, the daughter of (DY)Amminadab, the sister of (DZ)Nahshon, and she bore him (EA)Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 24 And the (EB)sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and [bo]Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites. 25 Now Aaron’s son (EC)Eleazar [bp]married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him (ED)Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites according to their families. 26 It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “(EE)Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their [bq](EF)multitudes.” 27 They were the ones (EG)who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt [br]about bringing out the sons of Israel from Egypt; it was the same Moses and Aaron.
28 Now it came about on the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “(EH)I am the Lord; (EI)say to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” 30 But Moses said before the Lord, “Behold, I am [bs](EJ)unskilled in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?”
I Will Extend My Hand
7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(EK)See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2 As for you, you shall speak all that I command you, and your brother (EL)Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land. 3 But (EM)I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that I may (EN)multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 When (EO)Pharaoh does not listen to you, I will lay My hand on Egypt and (EP)bring out My armies, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by (EQ)great judgments. 5 Then (ER)the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I (ES)extend My hand over Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.” 6 So Moses and Aaron did this; (ET)as the Lord commanded them, so they did. 7 And Moses was (EU)eighty years old and Aaron [bt]eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
Aaron’s Staff Turns into a Serpent
8 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 9 “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘[bu](EV)Work a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘(EW)Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, so that it may turn into a serpent.’” 10 So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and so they did, just as the Lord had commanded; and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and [bv]his servants, and it (EX)turned into a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh also (EY)called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they too, the (EZ)soothsayer priests of Egypt, did the same with (FA)their secret arts. 12 For each one threw down his staff, and they turned into serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs. 13 Yet (FB)Pharaoh’s heart was [bw]hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
Water Turned into Blood
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is [bx]stubborn; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning [by]just as (FC)he is going out to the water, and position yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand (FD)the staff that was turned into a serpent. 16 And (FE)you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “(FF)Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened up to now.” 17 This is what the Lord says: “(FG)By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, I am going to strike [bz]the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and (FH)it will be turned into blood. 18 Then (FI)the fish that are in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will [ca](FJ)no longer be able to drink water from the Nile.”’” 19 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and (FK)extend your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their [cb]streams, over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, so that they may become blood; and there will be blood through all the land of Egypt, both in containers of wood and in containers of stone.’”
20 So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. And he lifted up [cc](FL)the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants; and (FM)all the water that was in the Nile was turned into blood. 21 Then the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt. 22 (FN)But the soothsayer priests of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was [cd]hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. 23 Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house [ce]with no concern even for this. 24 So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink from the water of the Nile. 25 Seven days [cf]passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.
Frogs over the Land
8 [cg]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “(FO)Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I am going to strike your entire territory with frogs. 3 The Nile will (FP)swarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your house, and into your bedroom and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants, and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls. 4 So the frogs will come up on you, your people, and on all your servants.”’” 5 [ch]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘(FQ)Extend your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the [ci]streams, and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’” 6 So Aaron extended his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the [cj](FR)frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 However, (FS)the soothsayer priests did the same with their secret arts, [ck]making frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh (FT)called for Moses and Aaron and said, “(FU)Plead with the Lord [cl]to remove the frogs from me and from my people; and (FV)I will let the people go, so that they may sacrifice to the Lord.” 9 And Moses said to Pharaoh, “[cm]The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I plead for you and your servants and your people, [cn]that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, that they be left only in the Nile?”
10 Then he said, “Tomorrow.” So he said, “May it be according to your word, so that you may know that there is (FW)no one like the Lord our God. 11 The (FX)frogs will depart from you and your houses, and from your servants and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.” 12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and (FY)Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had [co]inflicted upon Pharaoh. 13 The Lord did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. 14 So they piled them in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he [cp]hardened his heart and (FZ)did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
The Plague of Insects
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Extend your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may turn into [cq]gnats through all the land of Egypt.’” 17 They did so; and Aaron extended his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were [cr]gnats on every [cs]person and animal. All the dust of the earth turned into [ct](GA)gnats through all the land of Egypt. 18 The soothsayer priests tried with their secret arts to produce [cu]gnats, but (GB)they could not; so there were [cv]gnats on every person and animal. 19 Then the soothsayer priests said to Pharaoh, “(GC)This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was [cw]hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(GD)Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, [cx]as (GE)he comes out to the water; and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “(GF)Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. 21 For if you are not going to 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 will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they live. 22 (GG)But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are [cy]living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that [cz](GH)I, the Lord, am in the midst of the land. 23 I will [da]put a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will occur.”’” 24 Then the Lord did so. And [db]thick swarms of flies entered the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants, and the land was (GI)laid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt.
25 Then Pharaoh (GJ)called for Moses and Aaron and said, “(GK)Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” 26 But Moses said, “It is not permissible for us to do so, because we will sacrifice to the Lord our God [dc]that which is (GL)an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice [dd]that which is an abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must go a (GM)three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God, just as He [de]commands us.” 28 Pharaoh said, “(GN)I will let you go, so that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. (GO)Plead for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going to leave you, and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow; only do not let Pharaoh (GP)deal deceitfully again in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”
30 So (GQ)Moses left Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 31 The Lord did [df]as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh [dg]hardened his heart this time also, and (GR)he did not let the people go.
Egyptian Livestock Die
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and speak to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: “(GS)Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. 2 For (GT)if you refuse to let them go and [dh]continue to hold them, 3 behold, (GU)the hand of the Lord [di]will come with a very severe plague on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks. 4 (GV)But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that (GW)nothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.”’” 5 And the Lord set a definite time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” 6 So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and (GX)all the livestock of Egypt died; (GY)but not one of the livestock of the sons of Israel died. 7 And Pharaoh sent men, and they learned that, behold, not even one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But (GZ)the heart of Pharaoh was [dj]hardened, and he did not let the people go.
The Plague of Boils
8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of soot from a kiln, and Moses shall toss it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 Then it will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and will turn into (HA)boils breaking out with sores on every person and animal through all the land of Egypt.” 10 So they took soot from a kiln, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses tossed it toward the sky, and it became boils breaking out with sores on every person and animal. 11 (HB)The soothsayer priests could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the soothsayer priests as well as on all the Egyptians. 12 But (HC)the Lord [dk]hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(HD)Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: “(HE)Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. 14 For this time I am going to send all My plagues [dl]on you and your servants and your people, so that (HF)you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. 15 For had I now put out My hand and struck you and your people with plague, you would then have been eliminated from the earth. 16 But indeed, (HG)for this reason I have allowed you to [dm]remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name throughout the earth. 17 Still you exalt yourself against My people [dn]by not letting them go.
The Plague of Hail
18 Behold, about this time tomorrow, (HH)I will [do]send a very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded [dp]until now. 19 So now, send word, bring (HI)your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. (HJ)Every person and animal that is found in the field and is not brought home, when the hail comes down on them, will die.”’” 20 (HK)Everyone among the servants of Pharaoh who [dq]feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring his servants and his livestock into the houses; 21 but everyone who [dr]did not pay regard to the word of the Lord [ds]left his servants and his livestock in the field.
22 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that [dt](HL)hail may fall on all the land of Egypt, on every person and animal, and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 So Moses reached out with his staff toward the sky, and the Lord [du]sent [dv]thunder and (HM)hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire flashing intermittently in the midst of the hail, which was very heavy, such as had not occurred in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 (HN)The hail struck everything that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, from people to animals; the hail also struck every plant of the field, and shattered every tree of the field. 26 (HO)Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, was there no hail.
27 Then Pharaoh [dw](HP)sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “(HQ)I have sinned this time; the Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. 28 (HR)Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s [dx]thunder and hail; and (HS)I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city, I will (HT)spread out my [dy]hands to the Lord; the [dz]thunder will cease and there will no longer be hail, so that you may know that (HU)the earth is the Lord’s. 30 (HV)But as for you and your servants, I know that (HW)you do not yet [ea]fear [eb]the Lord God.” 31 (Now the flax and the (HX)barley were [ec]ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not [ed]ruined, for they ripen late.) 33 (HY)So Moses left the city from his meeting with Pharaoh, and spread out his [ee]hands to the Lord; and the [ef]thunder and the hail stopped, and rain [eg]no longer poured on the earth. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the [eh]thunder had stopped, he sinned again and [ei]hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So Pharaoh’s heart was [ej]hardened, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as the (HZ)Lord had spoken through Moses.
The Plague of Locusts
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for (IA)I have [ek]hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, so that I may [el]perform these signs of Mine [em]among them, 2 and (IB)that you may tell in the [en]presence of your son, and of your grandson, how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I [eo]performed My signs among them, (IC)so that you may know that I am the Lord.”
3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: ‘How long will you refuse to (ID)humble yourself before Me? (IE)Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. 4 For if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5 And they will cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. (IF)They will also eat the rest of what has survived—what is left to you from the hail—and they will eat every tree of yours which grows [ep]in the field. 6 Then (IG)your houses will be filled with them, [eq]together with the houses of all your servants and the houses of all the Egyptians, something which neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day that they [er]came upon the earth until this day.’” And he turned and left Pharaoh. 7 Then (IH)Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be (II)a snare to us? Let the [es]people go, so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet [et]realize that Egypt is destroyed?” 8 So Moses and Aaron (IJ)were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “(IK)Go, serve the Lord your God! [eu]Who specifically are the ones who are going?” 9 Moses said, “(IL)We shall go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, (IM)with our flocks and our herds we shall go, for we [ev]must hold a feast to the Lord.” 10 Then he said to them, “So may the Lord be with you, when I let you and your little ones go! Watch out, for evil is [ew]on your mind! 11 Not so! Go now, but only the men among you, and serve the Lord, since [ex]that is what you desire.” So (IN)they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(IO)Reach out with your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come up on the land of Egypt and (IP)eat every plant of the land, everything that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses reached out with his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord directed an east wind on the land all that day and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind [ey]brought the (IQ)locusts. 14 (IR)The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled in all the territory of Egypt; they were very [ez]numerous. There had never been so many [fa]locusts, nor would there be so many [fb]again. 15 For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they (IS)ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Therefore nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field throughout the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh hurriedly (IT)called for Moses and Aaron, and he said, “(IU)I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 So now, please forgive my sin only this once, and (IV)plead with the Lord your God, that He would only remove this death from me.” 18 Then (IW)he left Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 19 So the Lord shifted the wind to a very strong west wind, which picked up the locusts and drove them into the [fc]Red Sea; not one locust was left in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But (IX)the Lord [fd]hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go.
Darkness over the Land
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(IY)Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness (IZ)which may be felt.” 22 So Moses reached out with his hand toward the sky, and there was (JA)thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, (JB)but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings. 24 Then Pharaoh (JC)called for Moses, and said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be left behind. Even (JD)your little ones may go with you.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also [fe]let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, so that we may [ff]sacrifice them to the Lord our God. 26 (JE)Therefore, our livestock too shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we shall take some of them to serve the Lord our God. And until we arrive there, we ourselves do not know with what we shall serve the Lord.” 27 But (JF)the Lord [fg]hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “(JG)Get away from me! [fh]Be careful, do not see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you shall die!” 29 Moses said, “You have spoken correctly; (JH)I shall never see your face again!”
The Last Plague
11 Now the Lord said to Moses, “One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; (JI)after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will assuredly drive you out from here completely. 2 Speak now [fi]so that the people hear, that (JJ)each man is to ask of his neighbor, and each woman of her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold.” 3 And (JK)the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. (JL)Furthermore, the man Moses himself was [fj]greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.
4 Then Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About (JM)midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, 5 and (JN)all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well. 6 So there shall be (JO)a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again. 7 (JP)But not even a dog will [fk]threaten any of the sons of Israel, nor anything from person to animal, so that you may [fl]learn how the Lord distinguishes between Egypt and Israel.’ 8 And (JQ)all these servants of yours will come down to me and bow themselves [fm]before me, saying, ‘Go out, you and all the people who [fn]follow you,’ and after that I will go out.” (JR)And he left Pharaoh in the heat of anger.
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(JS)Pharaoh will not listen to you, so (JT)that My wonders will be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10 So (JU)Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh; yet (JV)the Lord [fo]hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go out of his land.
The Passover Lamb
12 Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of [fp]Egypt, 2 “(JW)This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year for you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are, each one, to take a [fq]lamb for themselves, according to the fathers’ households, a [fr]lamb for [fs]each household. 4 Now if the household is too small for a [ft]lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the [fu]number of persons in them; in proportion to [fv]what each one should eat, you are to [fw]divide the lamb. 5 Your [fx]lamb shall be (JX)an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 [fy]You shall keep it until the (JY)fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it [fz](JZ)at twilight. 7 (KA)Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel [ga]of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh (KB)that same night, (KC)roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with (KD)unleavened bread [gb](KE)and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather (KF)roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with (KG)its entrails. 10 (KH)And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall completely burn with fire. 11 Now you shall eat it in this way: with your garment [gc]belted around your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in a hurry—it is (KI)the Lord’s Passover. 12 For (KJ)I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and fatally strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the human firstborn to animals; and (KK)against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—(KL)I am the Lord. 13 (KM)The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you [gd]live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will come upon you [ge]to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
Feast of Unleavened Bread
14 ‘Now (KN)this day shall be (KO)a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as [gf](KP)a permanent ordinance. 15 For (KQ)seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove dough with yeast from your houses; for whoever eats anything with yeast from the first day until the seventh day, (KR)that [gg]person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 And (KS)on the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except for what must be eaten by every person—that alone may be [gh]prepared by you. 17 You shall also keep (KT)the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this (KU)very day I brought your [gi]multitudes out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall keep this day throughout your generations as (KV)a [gj]permanent ordinance. 18 (KW)In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For (KX)seven days there shall be no dough with yeast found in your houses; for whoever eats anything with yeast, that [gk](KY)person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 You shall not eat anything with yeast; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’”
21 Then (KZ)Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and (LA)take for yourselves [gl]lambs according to your families, and slaughter (LB)the Passover lamb. 22 And (LC)you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and [gm]apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.
A Memorial of Redemption
23 For (LD)the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; but when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will (LE)not allow the (LF)destroyer to come in to your houses to strike you. 24 And (LG)you shall keep this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever. 25 When you enter the land which the Lord will give you, as He has [gn]promised, you shall keep this [go]rite. 26 (LH)And when your children say to you, ‘[gp]What does this rite mean to you?’ 27 then you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to (LI)the Lord because He passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians, but [gq]spared our homes.’” (LJ)And the people bowed low and worshiped.
28 Then the sons of Israel went and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
29 Now it came about at (LK)midnight that (LL)the Lord struck all (LM)the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of (LN)cattle. 30 And Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was (LO)a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead. 31 Then (LP)he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Rise up, (LQ)get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, [gr]worship the Lord, as you have said. 32 Take (LR)both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.”
Exodus of Israel
33 (LS)The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in a hurry, for they said, “We will all be dead.” 34 So the people took (LT)their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders.
35 (LU)Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; 36 and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Therefore they (LV)plundered the Egyptians.
37 Now the (LW)sons of Israel journeyed from (LX)Rameses to Succoth, about (LY)six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children. 38 A (LZ)mixed multitude also went up with them, [gs]along with flocks and herds, a (MA)very large number of livestock. 39 And they baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread. For it had no yeast, since they were (MB)driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they [gt]prepared any provisions for themselves.
40 Now the time [gu]that the sons of Israel had lived in Egypt was (MC)430 years. 41 And at the end of 430 years, on (MD)this very day, (ME)all the [gv]multitudes of the Lord departed from the land of Egypt.
Ordinance of the Passover
42 (MF)It is a night [gw]to be observed for the Lord, for having brought them out of the land of Egypt; this night is for the Lord, [gx]to be observed by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations.
43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of (MG)the Passover: no [gy](MH)foreigner is to eat it; 44 but as for every (MI)slave [gz]that someone has purchased with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. 45 (MJ)A stranger or a hired worker shall not eat it. 46 It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to bring any of the meat outside of the house, (MK)nor are you to break any bone of it. 47 (ML)All the congregation of Israel are to [ha]celebrate this. 48 But (MM)if a stranger resides with you and [hb]celebrates the Passover to the Lord, all of his males are to be circumcised, and then he shall come near to [hc]celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised male may eat it. 49 [hd](MN)The same law shall [he]apply to the native as to the stranger who resides among you.”
50 Then all the sons of Israel did so; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day (MO)the Lord brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt (MP)according to their [hf]multitudes.
13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “(MQ)Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the firstborn of every womb among the sons of Israel, among people and animals alike; it belongs to Me.”
3 And Moses said to the people, “(MR)Remember this day in which you departed from Egypt, from the house of [hg]slavery; for (MS)by [hh]a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. (MT)And nothing with yeast shall be eaten. 4 On this day in the (MU)month of Abib, you are about to go out from here. 5 And it shall be when the Lord (MV)brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which (MW)He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, (MX)that you shall [hi]perform this rite in this month. 6 For (MY)seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and (MZ)nothing with yeast shall [hj]be seen among you, nor shall any dough with yeast [hk]be seen among you in all your borders. 8 And (NA)you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 And (NB)it shall [hl]serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder [hm]on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with (NC)a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. 10 Therefore, you shall (ND)keep this ordinance at its appointed time from [hn]year to year.
11 “Now when (NE)the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as (NF)He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 (NG)you shall [ho]devote to the Lord every firstborn of a womb, and every firstborn offspring of an animal that you own; the males belong to the Lord. 13 But (NH)every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and (NI)every [hp]firstborn among your sons you shall redeem. 14 (NJ)And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘(NK)With [hq]a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of [hr]slavery. 15 And it came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the (NL)Lord put to death every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborns to animal firstborns. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, every firstborn of a womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 So (NM)it shall [hs]serve as a sign on your hand and as [ht]phylacteries [hu]on your forehead, for with [hv]a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”
God Leads the People
17 Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “(NN)The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” 18 Therefore God led the people around by way of the wilderness to the [hw]Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up (NO)in battle formation from the land of Egypt. 19 And Moses took (NP)the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will certainly [hx]take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.” 20 Then they set out from (NQ)Succoth and camped in Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 21 And (NR)the Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they might [hy]travel by day and by night. 22 [hz]He (NS)did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from the presence of the people.
Pharaoh in Pursuit
14 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp in front of (NT)Pi-hahiroth, between (NU)Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ 4 And (NV)I will [ia]harden Pharaoh’s heart, and (NW)he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and (NX)the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, [ib]Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this that we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he had horses harnessed to his chariot and took his people with him; 7 and he took six hundred select chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. 8 So (NY)the Lord [ic]hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out [id](NZ)boldly. 9 Then (OA)the Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them camping by the sea, (OB)beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the sons of Israel [ie]looked, and behold, the Egyptians were coming after them, and they became very frightened; (OC)so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 Then (OD)they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, [if]bringing us out of Egypt? 12 (OE)Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘[ig]Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness!”
The Sea Is Divided
13 But Moses said to the people, “(OF)Do not fear! [ih]Stand by and see (OG)the salvation of the Lord, which He will perform for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again, ever. 14 (OH)The Lord will fight for you, while (OI)you keep silent.”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. 16 As for you, lift up (OJ)your staff and reach out with your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall [ii]go through the midst of the sea on dry land. 17 And as for Me, behold, (OK)I will [ij]harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 (OL)Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots, and through his horsemen.”
19 Then (OM)the angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud [ik]along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night. Therefore the one did not approach the other all night.
21 (ON)Then Moses reached out with his hand over the sea; and the Lord [il]swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into (OO)dry land, and (OP)the waters were divided. 22 So (OQ)the sons of Israel [im]went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and (OR)the waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left. 23 Then (OS)the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea. 24 But at the morning watch, (OT)the Lord looked down on the [in]army of the Egyptians [io]through the pillar of fire and cloud, and brought the [ip]army of the Egyptians into confusion. 25 He [iq]caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians each said, “Let me flee from Israel, (OU)for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(OV)Reach out with your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.” 27 So Moses reached out with his hand over the sea, and (OW)the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing [ir]right into it; then the Lord [is](OX)overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; (OY)not even one of them remained. 29 But the sons of Israel walked on (OZ)dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left.
30 (PA)So the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel (PB)saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 When Israel saw the great [it]power which the Lord had [iu]used against the Egyptians, the people [iv]feared the Lord, and (PC)they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses.
Footnotes
- Exodus 3:1 Or rear part
- Exodus 3:2 Lit the
- Exodus 3:3 Lit great
- Exodus 3:8 Lit hand
- Exodus 3:12 Or serve
- Exodus 3:14 Related to the name of God, YHWH, rendered Lord, which is derived from the verb HAYAH, to be
- Exodus 3:14 Related to the name of God, YHWH, rendered Lord, which is derived from the verb HAYAH, to be
- Exodus 3:14 Related to the name of God, YHWH, rendered Lord, which is derived from the verb HAYAH, to be
- Exodus 3:15 I.e., name used in prayer, vows, and ceremony
- Exodus 3:15 Lit generation of generation
- Exodus 3:16 Lit Visiting I have visited
- Exodus 3:18 Lit hear your voice
- Exodus 3:19 Lit by a strong hand
- Exodus 4:1 Lit to my voice
- Exodus 4:4 Lit palm
- Exodus 4:8 Lit listen to
- Exodus 4:8 Lit voice
- Exodus 4:8 I.e., confirming miracle
- Exodus 4:8 Lit voice
- Exodus 4:8 I.e., confirming miracle
- Exodus 4:9 I.e., confirming miracles
- Exodus 4:10 Lit a man of words
- Exodus 4:10 Lit yesterday
- Exodus 4:10 Lit heavy
- Exodus 4:10 Lit heavy
- Exodus 4:13 Lit the hand You send
- Exodus 4:14 Lit speaking he speaks
- Exodus 4:14 Lit joyful in his heart
- Exodus 4:18 Heb Jether
- Exodus 4:19 Lit return
- Exodus 4:21 Lit to return
- Exodus 4:21 Lit hand
- Exodus 4:24 Lit him
- Exodus 4:25 Lit made it touch at his feet
- Exodus 4:26 Lit with reference to
- Exodus 4:31 Lit had visited
- Exodus 5:4 Lit works
- Exodus 5:8 Lit out, saying,
- Exodus 5:13 Lit works
- Exodus 5:13 Lit the matter of a day in its day
- Exodus 5:13 Lit there was
- Exodus 5:14 Lit saying
- Exodus 5:19 Lit saying
- Exodus 5:19 Lit from your bricks the matter of a day in its day
- Exodus 5:20 Lit standing to meet
- Exodus 5:21 Lit our odor stink
- Exodus 6:1 Lit by a strong hand
- Exodus 6:1 Lit by a strong hand
- Exodus 6:3 Heb El Shaddai
- Exodus 6:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Exodus 6:4 Lit land of their sojournings in which...
- Exodus 6:7 Lit to Me for a people
- Exodus 6:7 Lit to you for a God
- Exodus 6:8 Lit lifted up My hand
- Exodus 6:9 Or impatience
- Exodus 6:11 Lit speak to
- Exodus 6:11 Lit that he let
- Exodus 6:12 Lit uncircumcised of lips
- Exodus 6:15 In Num 26:12 and 1 Chr 4:24, Nemuel
- Exodus 6:16 Lit years
- Exodus 6:17 In 1 Chr 23:7, Ladan
- Exodus 6:18 Lit years
- Exodus 6:20 Lit took to him as a wife
- Exodus 6:20 Lit years
- Exodus 6:22 In Num 3:30, Elizaphan
- Exodus 6:23 Lit took to him as a wife
- Exodus 6:24 In 1 Chr 6:23 and 9:19, Ebiasaph
- Exodus 6:25 Lit took to him as a wife
- Exodus 6:26 I.e., multitudes in battle formation
- Exodus 6:27 Lit to bring out
- Exodus 6:30 Lit uncircumcised of lips
- Exodus 7:7 Lit 83 years old
- Exodus 7:9 Lit Show a wonder for yourselves
- Exodus 7:10 Lit before his
- Exodus 7:13 Lit strong
- Exodus 7:14 Or hard; lit heavy
- Exodus 7:15 Lit behold
- Exodus 7:17 Lit upon the waters
- Exodus 7:18 Lit be weary of
- Exodus 7:19 Or canals
- Exodus 7:20 Lit with the staff
- Exodus 7:22 Lit strong
- Exodus 7:23 Lit and he did not set his heart even to this
- Exodus 7:25 Lit were fulfilled
- Exodus 8:1 Ch 7:26 in Heb
- Exodus 8:5 Ch 8:1 in Heb
- Exodus 8:5 Or canals
- Exodus 8:6 Lit frog
- Exodus 8:7 Lit and made
- Exodus 8:8 Lit that He remove
- Exodus 8:9 Lit Glory over me
- Exodus 8:9 Lit cut off the frogs from
- Exodus 8:12 Lit placed
- Exodus 8:15 Lit made heavy
- Exodus 8:16 Or lice
- Exodus 8:17 Or lice
- Exodus 8:17 I.e., Egyptians and their livestock
- Exodus 8:17 Or lice
- Exodus 8:18 Or lice
- Exodus 8:18 Or lice
- Exodus 8:19 Lit strong
- Exodus 8:20 Lit behold
- Exodus 8:22 Lit standing
- Exodus 8:22 Or I am the Lord in the midst of the earth
- Exodus 8:23 Lit set a ransom
- Exodus 8:24 Lit heavy
- Exodus 8:26 Lit the abomination of Egypt
- Exodus 8:26 Lit the abomination of Egypt
- Exodus 8:27 Lit says to us
- Exodus 8:31 Lit according to the word of Moses
- Exodus 8:32 Lit made heavy
- Exodus 9:2 Lit still hold
- Exodus 9:3 Lit will be
- Exodus 9:7 Lit heavy
- Exodus 9:12 Lit made strong
- Exodus 9:14 Lit to your heart
- Exodus 9:16 Lit stand
- Exodus 9:17 Lit so as not to let
- Exodus 9:18 Lit cause to rain
- Exodus 9:18 Lit and until now
- Exodus 9:20 Or revered
- Exodus 9:21 Lit did not set his heart to
- Exodus 9:21 Lit then left
- Exodus 9:22 Lit there may be hail
- Exodus 9:23 Lit gave
- Exodus 9:23 Lit sounds
- Exodus 9:27 Lit sent and called
- Exodus 9:28 Lit sounds
- Exodus 9:29 Lit palms
- Exodus 9:29 Lit sounds
- Exodus 9:30 Or revere
- Exodus 9:30 Lit before the Lord
- Exodus 9:31 Lit struck
- Exodus 9:32 Lit struck
- Exodus 9:33 Lit palms
- Exodus 9:33 Lit sounds
- Exodus 9:33 Lit was not poured
- Exodus 9:34 Lit sounds
- Exodus 9:34 Lit made heavy
- Exodus 9:35 Lit strong
- Exodus 10:1 Lit made heavy
- Exodus 10:1 Lit put
- Exodus 10:1 Lit in his midst
- Exodus 10:2 Lit ears
- Exodus 10:2 Lit put
- Exodus 10:5 Lit from
- Exodus 10:6 Lit and the
- Exodus 10:6 Lit were
- Exodus 10:7 Or men
- Exodus 10:7 Lit know
- Exodus 10:8 Lit Who and who are
- Exodus 10:9 Lit have a feast
- Exodus 10:10 Lit before your face
- Exodus 10:11 Lit you desire it
- Exodus 10:13 Lit carried
- Exodus 10:14 Lit heavy
- Exodus 10:14 Lit locusts like them before them
- Exodus 10:14 Lit after them
- Exodus 10:19 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Exodus 10:20 Lit made strong
- Exodus 10:25 Lit hand over
- Exodus 10:25 Lit make them for
- Exodus 10:27 Lit made strong
- Exodus 10:28 Lit Take care for yourself
- Exodus 11:2 Lit in the ears of the people that
- Exodus 11:3 Lit very great
- Exodus 11:7 Lit move its tongue
- Exodus 11:7 Lit know
- Exodus 11:8 Lit to
- Exodus 11:8 Lit are at your feet
- Exodus 11:10 Lit made strong
- Exodus 12:1 Lit Egypt, saying
- Exodus 12:3 Or kid
- Exodus 12:3 Or kid
- Exodus 12:3 Lit the
- Exodus 12:4 Or kid
- Exodus 12:4 Or amount
- Exodus 12:4 Lit each man’s eating
- Exodus 12:4 Lit compute for
- Exodus 12:5 Or kid
- Exodus 12:6 Lit It shall be to you for a guarding
- Exodus 12:6 Lit between the two evenings
- Exodus 12:7 Lit upon
- Exodus 12:8 Lit in addition to
- Exodus 12:11 I.e., for travel
- Exodus 12:13 Lit are
- Exodus 12:13 Lit for destruction
- Exodus 12:14 Or an eternal
- Exodus 12:15 Lit soul
- Exodus 12:16 Lit done
- Exodus 12:17 Lit armies
- Exodus 12:17 Or eternal
- Exodus 12:19 Lit soul
- Exodus 12:21 Lit sheep
- Exodus 12:22 Lit cause to touch
- Exodus 12:25 Lit spoken
- Exodus 12:25 Lit service
- Exodus 12:26 Lit What is this service to you?
- Exodus 12:27 Lit delivered
- Exodus 12:31 Or serve
- Exodus 12:38 Lit and
- Exodus 12:39 Lit made
- Exodus 12:40 Or of the sons of Israel who lived
- Exodus 12:41 Lit armies
- Exodus 12:42 Or of vigil
- Exodus 12:42 Or of vigil
- Exodus 12:43 Lit son of a stranger
- Exodus 12:44 Lit of a man, an acquisition of money
- Exodus 12:47 Lit perform
- Exodus 12:48 Lit performs
- Exodus 12:48 Lit perform
- Exodus 12:49 Lit One law
- Exodus 12:49 Lit be
- Exodus 12:51 I.e., multitudes in battle formation
- Exodus 13:3 Lit slaves
- Exodus 13:3 Lit strength of hand
- Exodus 13:5 Lit serve this service
- Exodus 13:7 Lit appear to you
- Exodus 13:7 Lit appear to you
- Exodus 13:9 Lit be for
- Exodus 13:9 Lit between your eyes
- Exodus 13:10 Lit days to days
- Exodus 13:12 Lit cause to pass over
- Exodus 13:13 Lit firstborn of a human
- Exodus 13:14 Lit strength of hand
- Exodus 13:14 Lit slaves
- Exodus 13:16 Lit be for
- Exodus 13:16 Or frontlet-bands
- Exodus 13:16 Lit between your eyes
- Exodus 13:16 Lit strength of hand
- Exodus 13:18 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Exodus 13:19 Lit visit
- Exodus 13:21 Lit go
- Exodus 13:22 Or The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart
- Exodus 14:4 Lit make strong
- Exodus 14:5 Lit the heart of Pharaoh...was changed
- Exodus 14:8 Lit made strong
- Exodus 14:8 Lit with a high hand
- Exodus 14:10 Lit lifted up their eyes
- Exodus 14:11 Lit so as to bring
- Exodus 14:12 Lit Cease from us
- Exodus 14:13 Or Take your stand
- Exodus 14:16 Lit enter the
- Exodus 14:17 Lit make strong
- Exodus 14:20 Lit and the darkness
- Exodus 14:21 Lit caused to go
- Exodus 14:22 Lit entered the
- Exodus 14:24 Lit camp
- Exodus 14:24 Or in
- Exodus 14:24 Lit camp
- Exodus 14:25 Or removed
- Exodus 14:27 Lit to meet it
- Exodus 14:27 Lit shook off
- Exodus 14:31 Lit hand
- Exodus 14:31 Lit done
- Exodus 14:31 Or revered
Exodus 3-12
New International Version
Moses and the Burning Bush
3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro(A) his father-in-law, the priest of Midian,(B) and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb,(C) the mountain(D) of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord(E) appeared to him in flames of fire(F) from within a bush.(G) Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called(H) to him from within the bush,(I) “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”(J)
5 “Do not come any closer,”(K) God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”(L) 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father,[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”(M) At this, Moses hid(N) his face, because he was afraid to look at God.(O)
7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen(P) the misery(Q) of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned(R) about their suffering.(S) 8 So I have come down(T) to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land,(U) a land flowing with milk and honey(V)—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites(W) and Jebusites.(X) 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing(Y) them. 10 So now, go. I am sending(Z) you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”(AA)
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I(AB) that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 And God said, “I will be with you.(AC) And this will be the sign(AD) to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[b] will worship God on this mountain.(AE)”
13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’(AF) Then what shall I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.[c] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am(AG) has sent me to you.’”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,[d] the God of your fathers(AH)—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob(AI)—has sent me to you.’
16 “Go, assemble the elders(AL) of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob(AM)—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen(AN) what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt(AO) into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’(AP)
18 “The elders of Israel will listen(AQ) to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews,(AR) has met(AS) with us. Let us take a three-day journey(AT) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices(AU) to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand(AV) compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand(AW) and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders(AX) that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.(AY)
21 “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed(AZ) toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed.(BA) 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver(BB) and gold(BC) and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder(BD) the Egyptians.”(BE)
Signs for Moses
4 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen(BF) to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”
2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,”(BG) he replied.
3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake,(BH) and he ran from it. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe(BI) that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”
6 Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous[e]—it had become as white as snow.(BJ)
7 “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored,(BK) like the rest of his flesh.
8 Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe(BL) you or pay attention to the first sign,(BM) they may believe the second. 9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood(BN) on the ground.”
10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”(BO)
11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute?(BP) Who gives them sight or makes them blind?(BQ) Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go;(BR) I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”(BS)
13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”(BT)
14 Then the Lord’s anger burned(BU) against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet(BV) you, and he will be glad to see you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth;(BW) I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth(BX) and as if you were God to him.(BY) 17 But take this staff(BZ) in your hand(CA) so you can perform the signs(CB) with it.”
Moses Returns to Egypt
18 Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.”
Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.”
19 Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill(CC) you are dead.(CD)” 20 So Moses took his wife and sons,(CE) put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff(CF) of God in his hand.
21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders(CG) I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart(CH) so that he will not let the people go.(CI) 22 Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son,(CJ) 23 and I told you, “Let my son go,(CK) so he may worship(CL) me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’”(CM)
24 At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses[f] and was about to kill(CN) him. 25 But Zipporah(CO) took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin(CP) and touched Moses’ feet with it.[g] “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. 26 So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)
27 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain(CQ) of God and kissed(CR) him. 28 Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform.
29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders(CS) of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs(CT) before the people, 31 and they believed.(CU) And when they heard that the Lord was concerned(CV) about them and had seen their misery,(CW) they bowed down and worshiped.(CX)
Bricks Without Straw
5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go,(CY) so that they may hold a festival(CZ) to me in the wilderness.’”
2 Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord,(DA) that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”(DB)
3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey(DC) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues(DD) or with the sword.”
4 But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor?(DE) Get back to your work!” 5 Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous,(DF) and you are stopping them from working.”
6 That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers(DG) and overseers in charge of the people: 7 “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks;(DH) let them go and gather their own straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota.(DI) They are lazy;(DJ) that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’(DK) 9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
10 Then the slave drivers(DL) and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. 11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced(DM) at all.’” 12 So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. 13 The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” 14 And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed,(DN) demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”
15 Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? 16 Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”
17 Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy!(DO) That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Now get to work.(DP) You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”
19 The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” 20 When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, 21 and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge(DQ) you! You have made us obnoxious(DR) to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword(DS) in their hand to kill us.”(DT)
God Promises Deliverance
22 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people?(DU) Is this why you sent me? 23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued(DV) your people at all.”
6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand(DW) he will let them go;(DX) because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”(DY)
2 God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.(DZ) 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,[h](EA) but by my name(EB) the Lord[i](EC) I did not make myself fully known to them. 4 I also established my covenant(ED) with them to give them the land(EE) of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.(EF) 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning(EG) of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.(EH)
6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.(EI) I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem(EJ) you with an outstretched arm(EK) and with mighty acts of judgment.(EL) 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.(EM) Then you will know(EN) that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land(EO) I swore(EP) with uplifted hand(EQ) to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.(ER) I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”(ES)
9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.(ET)
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go, tell(EU) Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”(EV)
12 But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen(EW) to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips[j]?”(EX)
Family Record of Moses and Aaron
13 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.(EY)
14 These were the heads of their families[k]:(EZ)
The sons of Reuben(FA) the firstborn son of Israel were Hanok and Pallu, Hezron and Karmi. These were the clans of Reuben.
15 The sons of Simeon(FB) were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.
16 These were the names of the sons of Levi(FC) according to their records: Gershon,(FD) Kohath and Merari.(FE) Levi lived 137 years.
17 The sons of Gershon, by clans, were Libni and Shimei.(FF)
18 The sons of Kohath(FG) were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.(FH) Kohath lived 133 years.
19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.(FI)
These were the clans of Levi according to their records.
20 Amram(FJ) married his father’s sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses.(FK) Amram lived 137 years.
21 The sons of Izhar(FL) were Korah, Nepheg and Zikri.
22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan(FM) and Sithri.
23 Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab(FN) and sister of Nahshon,(FO) and she bore him Nadab and Abihu,(FP) Eleazar(FQ) and Ithamar.(FR)
24 The sons of Korah(FS) were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans.
25 Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas.(FT)
These were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan.
26 It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt(FU) by their divisions.”(FV) 27 They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh(FW) king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—this same Moses and Aaron.(FX)
Aaron to Speak for Moses
28 Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the Lord.(FY) Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”
30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips,(FZ) why would Pharaoh listen to me?”
7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God(GA) to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.(GB) 2 You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,(GC) and though I multiply my signs and wonders(GD) in Egypt, 4 he will not listen(GE) to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment(GF) I will bring out my divisions,(GG) my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord(GH) when I stretch out my hand(GI) against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”
6 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded(GJ) them. 7 Moses was eighty years old(GK) and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake
8 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,(GL)’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”(GM)
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers,(GN) and the Egyptian magicians(GO) also did the same things by their secret arts:(GP) 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart(GQ) became hard and he would not listen(GR) to them, just as the Lord had said.
The Plague of Blood
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding;(GS) he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river.(GT) Confront him on the bank of the Nile,(GU) and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16 Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship(GV) me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.(GW) 17 This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord:(GX) With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.(GY) 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink;(GZ) the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”(HA)
19 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff(HB) and stretch out your hand(HC) over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels[l] of wood and stone.”
20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded.(HD) He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile,(HE) and all the water was changed into blood.(HF) 21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.
22 But the Egyptian magicians(HG) did the same things by their secret arts,(HH) and Pharaoh’s heart(HI) became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. 23 Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water(HJ), because they could not drink the water of the river.
The Plague of Frogs
25 Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile. 8 1 [m]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship(HK) me. 2 If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs(HL) on your whole country. 3 The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people,(HM) and into your ovens and kneading troughs.(HN) 4 The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”
5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff(HO) over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs(HP) come up on the land of Egypt.’”
6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs(HQ) came up and covered the land. 7 But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts;(HR) they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
8 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray(HS) to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices(HT) to the Lord.”
9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time(HU) for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.”
10 “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.
Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God.(HV) 11 The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.”
12 After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did what Moses asked.(HW) The frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields. 14 They were piled into heaps, and the land reeked of them. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief,(HX) he hardened his heart(HY) and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.
The Plague of Gnats
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff(HZ) and strike the dust of the ground,’ and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats.” 17 They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats(IA) came on people and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats. 18 But when the magicians(IB) tried to produce gnats by their secret arts,(IC) they could not.
Since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere, 19 the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger(ID) of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart(IE) was hard and he would not listen,(IF) just as the Lord had said.
The Plague of Flies
20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning(IG) and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship(IH) me. 21 If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them.
22 “‘But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen,(II) where my people live;(IJ) no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know(IK) that I, the Lord, am in this land. 23 I will make a distinction[n] between my people and your people.(IL) This sign will occur tomorrow.’”
24 And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.(IM)
25 Then Pharaoh summoned(IN) Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.”
26 But Moses said, “That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians.(IO) And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must take a three-day journey(IP) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices(IQ) to the Lord our God, as he commands us.”
28 Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray(IR) for me.”
29 Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only let Pharaoh be sure that he does not act deceitfully(IS) again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
30 Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord,(IT) 31 and the Lord did what Moses asked. The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained. 32 But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart(IU) and would not let the people go.
The Plague on Livestock
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship(IV) me.” 2 If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, 3 the hand(IW) of the Lord will bring a terrible plague(IX) on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats. 4 But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt,(IY) so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’”
5 The Lord set a time and said, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.” 6 And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock(IZ) of the Egyptians died,(JA) but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. 7 Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart(JB) was unyielding and he would not let the people go.(JC)
The Plague of Boils
8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. 9 It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils(JD) will break out on people and animals throughout the land.”
10 So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on people and animals. 11 The magicians(JE) could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart(JF) and he would not listen(JG) to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.
The Plague of Hail
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship(JH) me, 14 or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know(JI) that there is no one like(JJ) me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people(JK) with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. 16 But I have raised you up[o] for this very purpose,(JL) that I might show you my power(JM) and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. 18 Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm(JN) that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now.(JO) 19 Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’”
20 Those officials of Pharaoh who feared(JP) the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. 21 But those who ignored(JQ) the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.” 23 When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder(JR) and hail,(JS) and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; 24 hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.(JT) 25 Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree.(JU) 26 The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen,(JV) where the Israelites were.(JW)
27 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,”(JX) he said to them. “The Lord is in the right,(JY) and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Pray(JZ) to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go;(KA) you don’t have to stay any longer.”
29 Moses replied, “When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands(KB) in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth(KC) is the Lord’s. 30 But I know that you and your officials still do not fear(KD) the Lord God.”
31 (The flax and barley(KE) were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. 32 The wheat and spelt,(KF) however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)
33 Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the Lord; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land. 34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts. 35 So Pharaoh’s heart(KG) was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.
The Plague of Locusts
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart(KH) and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs(KI) of mine among them 2 that you may tell your children(KJ) and grandchildren how I dealt harshly(KK) with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord.”(KL)
3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble(KM) yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 4 If you refuse(KN) to let them go, I will bring locusts(KO) into your country tomorrow. 5 They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left(KP) after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields.(KQ) 6 They will fill your houses(KR) and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians—something neither your parents nor your ancestors have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.’”(KS) Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.
7 Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long will this man be a snare(KT) to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?”(KU)
8 Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship(KV) the Lord your God,” he said. “But tell me who will be going.”
9 Moses answered, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival(KW) to the Lord.”
10 Pharaoh said, “The Lord be with you—if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil.[p] 11 No! Have only the men go and worship the Lord, since that’s what you have been asking for.” Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.
12 And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand(KX) over Egypt so that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail.”
13 So Moses stretched out his staff(KY) over Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts;(KZ) 14 they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts,(LA) nor will there ever be again. 15 They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured(LB) all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
16 Pharaoh quickly summoned(LC) Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned(LD) against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Now forgive(LE) my sin once more and pray(LF) to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me.”
18 Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord.(LG) 19 And the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea.[q] Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart,(LH) and he would not let the Israelites go.
The Plague of Darkness
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness(LI) spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness(LJ) covered all Egypt for three days. 23 No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.(LK)
24 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go,(LL) worship the Lord. Even your women and children(LM) may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.”(LN)
25 But Moses said, “You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings(LO) to present to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord.”
27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart,(LP) and he was not willing to let them go. 28 Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.”
29 “Just as you say,” Moses replied. “I will never appear(LQ) before you again.”
The Plague on the Firstborn
11 Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go(LR) from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely.(LS) 2 Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.”(LT) 3 (The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed(LU) toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded(LV) in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.)
4 So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight(LW) I will go throughout Egypt.(LX) 5 Every firstborn(LY) son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill,(LZ) and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. 6 There will be loud wailing(MA) throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. 7 But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction(MB) between Egypt and Israel. 8 All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go,(MC) you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave.”(MD) Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.
9 The Lord had said to Moses, “Pharaoh will refuse to listen(ME) to you—so that my wonders(MF) may be multiplied in Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart,(MG) and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.
The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread(MH)
12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month,(MI) the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb[r](MJ) for his family, one for each household.(MK) 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect,(ML) and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month,(MM) when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.(MN) 7 Then they are to take some of the blood(MO) and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night(MP) they are to eat the meat roasted(MQ) over the fire, along with bitter herbs,(MR) and bread made without yeast.(MS) 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs.(MT) 10 Do not leave any of it till morning;(MU) if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste;(MV) it is the Lord’s Passover.(MW)
12 “On that same night I will pass through(MX) Egypt and strike down(MY) every firstborn(MZ) of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods(NA) of Egypt. I am the Lord.(NB) 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over(NC) you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.(ND)
Footnotes
- Exodus 3:6 Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch (see Acts 7:32) fathers
- Exodus 3:12 The Hebrew is plural.
- Exodus 3:14 Or I will be what I will be
- Exodus 3:15 The Hebrew for Lord sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for I am in verse 14.
- Exodus 4:6 The Hebrew word for leprous was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
- Exodus 4:24 Hebrew him
- Exodus 4:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
- Exodus 6:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
- Exodus 6:3 See note at 3:15.
- Exodus 6:12 Hebrew I am uncircumcised of lips; also in verse 30
- Exodus 6:14 The Hebrew for families here and in verse 25 refers to units larger than clans.
- Exodus 7:19 Or even on their idols
- Exodus 8:1 In Hebrew texts 8:1-4 is numbered 7:26-29, and 8:5-32 is numbered 8:1-28.
- Exodus 8:23 Septuagint and Vulgate; Hebrew will put a deliverance
- Exodus 9:16 Or have spared you
- Exodus 10:10 Or Be careful, trouble is in store for you!
- Exodus 10:19 Or the Sea of Reeds
- Exodus 12:3 The Hebrew word can mean lamb or kid; also in verse 4.
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