Exodus 1-18

Christian Standard Bible

Israel Oppressed in Egypt

1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; each came with his family:^(A)

⁵ The total number of Jacob’s descendants^[a] was seventy;^[b](B) Joseph was already in Egypt.

⁶ Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation eventually died.^{(C) 7} But the Israelites were fruitful, increased rapidly, multiplied, and became extremely numerous^(D) so that the land was filled with them.

⁸ A new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. ⁹ He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and powerful than we are.^{(E) 10} Come, let’s deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and when war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”^{(F) 11} So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor.^(G) They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities^(H) for Pharaoh. ¹² But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians came to dread^[c] the Israelites. ¹³ They worked the Israelites ruthlessly^{(I) 14} and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them.^(J)

¹⁵ The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives—the first, whose name was Shiphrah, and the second, whose name was Puah— ¹⁶ “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them as they deliver. If the child is a son, kill him, but if it’s a daughter, she may live.” ¹⁷ The midwives, however, feared God^(K) and did not do as the king of Egypt had told them;^(L) they let the boys live. ¹⁸ So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this and let the boys live?”

¹⁹ The midwives said to Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.”^(M)

²⁰ So God was good to the midwives,^(N) and the people multiplied and became very numerous. ²¹ Since the midwives feared God, he gave them families.^{(O) 22} Pharaoh then commanded all his people, “You must throw every son born to the Hebrews into the Nile, but let every daughter live.”^(P)

Moses’s Birth and Adoption

2 Now a man from the family of Levi married a Levite woman.^{(Q) 2} The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son; when she saw that he was beautiful,^[d] she hid him for three months.^{(R) 3} But when she could no longer hide him, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with asphalt and pitch. She placed the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. ⁴ Then his sister^(S) stood at a distance in order to see what would happen to him.

⁵ Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bathe at the Nile while her servant girls walked along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds, sent her slave girl, took it, ⁶ opened it, and saw him, the child—and there he was, a little boy, crying. She felt sorry for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew boys.”

⁷ Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Should I go and call a Hebrew woman who is nursing to nurse the boy for you?”

⁸ “Go,” Pharaoh’s daughter told her. So the girl went and called the boy’s mother. ⁹ Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the boy and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses,^[e] “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

Moses in Midian

¹¹ Years later,^[f] after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people^[g] and observed their forced labor.^(T) He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his people. ¹² Looking all around and seeing no one, he struck the Egyptian dead and hid him in the sand. ¹³ The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your neighbor?” ^[h]

¹⁴ “Who made you a commander and judge over us?” the man replied. “Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”

Then Moses became afraid and thought, “What I did is certainly known.”

¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard about this, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian,^(U) and sat down by a well.^(V)

¹⁶ Now the priest of Midian^(W) had seven daughters. They came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷ Then some shepherds arrived and drove them away, but Moses came to their rescue and watered their flock. ¹⁸ When they returned to their father Reuel,^[i](X) he asked, “Why have you come back so quickly today?”

¹⁹ They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”

²⁰ “So where is he?” he asked his daughters. “Why then did you leave the man behind? Invite him to eat dinner.”

²¹ Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah^(Y) to Moses in marriage. ²² She gave birth to a son whom he named Gershom,^[j] for he said, “I have been a resident alien^(Z) in a foreign land.”

²³ After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, they cried out,^(AA) and their cry for help because of the difficult labor ascended to God. ²⁴ God heard their groaning, and God remembered^(AB) his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.^{(AC) 25} God saw the Israelites, and God knew.^(AD)

Moses and the Burning Bush

3 Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro,^[k] the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb,^[l] the mountain of God.^{(AE) 2} Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush.^(AF) As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. ³ So Moses thought, “I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?”

⁴ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

“Here I am,” he answered.

⁵ “Do not come closer,” he said. “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”^{(AG) 6} Then he continued, “I am the God of your father,^[m] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”^(AH) Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out^(AI) because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings, ⁸ and I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey^(AJ)—the territory of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.^{(AK) 9} So because the Israelites’ cry for help has come to me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing^(AL) them, ¹⁰ therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

¹¹ But Moses asked God, “Who am I^(AM) that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹² He answered, “I will certainly be with you,^(AN) and this will be the sign to you that I am the one who sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship^[n] God at this mountain.”

¹³ Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?”

¹⁴ God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.^[o](AO) This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” ¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever;^(AP) this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.

¹⁶ “Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I have paid close attention to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt.^{(AQ) 17} And I have promised you that I will bring you up from the misery of Egypt^(AR) to the land of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁸ They will listen to what you say. Then you, along with the elders of Israel, must go to the king of Egypt and say to him: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.^(AS)

¹⁹ “However, I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go, even under force from a strong hand.^{(AT) 20} But when I stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my miracles that I will perform in it, after that, he will let you go.^{(AU) 21} And I will give these people such favor with the Egyptians that when you go, you will not go empty-handed.^{(AV) 22} Each woman will ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry, and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians.”^(AW)

Miraculous Signs for Moses

4 Moses answered, “What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear^(AX) to you’?”

² The Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A staff,” he replied.

³ “Throw it on the ground,” he said. So Moses threw it on the ground, it became a snake, and he ran from it. ⁴ The Lord told Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail.” So he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand. ⁵ “This will take place,” he continued, “so that they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”^(AY)

⁶ In addition the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was diseased, resembling snow.^{[p](AZ) 7} “Put your hand back inside your cloak,” he said. So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, it had again become like the rest of his skin.^{(BA) 8} “If they will not believe you and will not respond to the evidence of the first sign, they may believe the evidence of the second sign. ⁹ And if they don’t believe even these two signs or listen to what you say, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”^(BB)

¹⁰ But Moses replied to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent—either in the past or recently or since you have been speaking to your servant—because my mouth and my tongue are sluggish.”^[q](BC)

¹¹ The Lord said to him, “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?^{(BD) 12} Now go! I will help you speak^[r] and I will teach you what to say.”^(BE)

¹³ Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”^[s]

¹⁴ Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses, and he said, “Isn’t Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, he is on his way now to meet you. He will rejoice when he sees you. ¹⁵ You will speak with him and tell him what to say.^(BF) I will help both you and him to speak^[t] and will teach you both what to do. ¹⁶ He will speak to the people for you. He will serve as a mouth for you, and you will serve as God to him. ¹⁷ And take this staff in your hand that you will perform the signs with.”^(BG)

Moses’s Return to Egypt

¹⁸ Then Moses went back to his father-in-law, Jethro, and said to him, “Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt and see if they are still living.”

Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”

¹⁹ Now in Midian the Lord told Moses, “Return to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.”^{(BH) 20} So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took God’s staff^(BI) in his hand.

²¹ The Lord instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, make sure you do before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart^[u](BJ) so that he won’t let the people go. ²² And you will say to Pharaoh: This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son.^{(BK) 23} I told you: Let my son go so that he may worship me, but you refused to let him go. Look, I am about to kill your firstborn son!” ^(BL)

²⁴ On the trip, at an overnight campsite, it happened that the Lord confronted him and intended to put him to death. ²⁵ So Zipporah took a flint, cut off her son’s foreskin, threw it at Moses’s feet, and said, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me!” ^{(BM) 26} So he let him alone. At that time she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood,” referring to the circumcision.

Reunion of Moses and Aaron

²⁷ Now the Lord had said to Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him.^{(BN) 28} Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and about all the signs he had commanded him to do. ²⁹ Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites. ³⁰ Aaron repeated everything the Lord had said to Moses and performed the signs before the people. ³¹ The people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had paid attention^(BO) to them and that he had seen their misery,^(BP) they knelt low and worshiped.

Moses Confronts Pharaoh

5 Later, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival for me in the wilderness.”^(BQ)

² But Pharaoh responded, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by letting Israel go?^(BR) I don’t know^[v] the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”^(BS)

³ They answered, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, or else he may strike us with plague or sword.”

⁴ The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you causing the people to neglect their work? Get to your labor!” ⁵ Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are so numerous, and you would stop them from their labor.”^(BT)

Further Oppression of Israel

⁶ That day Pharaoh commanded the overseers^(BU) of the people as well as their foremen, ⁷ “Don’t continue to supply the people with straw for making bricks, as before. They must go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ But require the same quota of bricks from them as they were making before; do not reduce it. For they are slackers—that is why they are crying out,^(BV) ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Impose heavier work on the men. Then they will be occupied with it and not pay attention to deceptive words.”

¹⁰ So the overseers and foremen of the people went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says:^(BW) ‘I am not giving you straw. ¹¹ Go get straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but there will be no reduction at all in your workload.’” ¹² So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³ The overseers insisted, “Finish your assigned work each day, just as you did when straw was provided.” ¹⁴ Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s slave drivers had set over the people, were beaten^(BX) and asked, “Why haven’t you finished making your prescribed number of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”

¹⁵ So the Israelite foremen went in and cried for help to Pharaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way? ¹⁶ No straw has been given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but it is your own people who are at fault.”

¹⁷ But he said, “You are slackers. Slackers! That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ Now get to work. No straw will be given to you, but you must produce the same quantity of bricks.”

¹⁹ The Israelite foremen saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You cannot reduce your daily quota of bricks.” ²⁰ When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them.

²¹ “May the Lord take note of you and judge,” they said to them, “because you have made us reek to Pharaoh and his officials—putting a sword in their hand to kill us!” ^(BY)

²² So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, “Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? And why did you ever send me?^{(BZ) 23} Ever since I went in to Pharaoh to speak in your name he has caused trouble for this people, and you haven’t rescued your people at all.”

6 But the Lord replied to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: because of a strong hand he will let them go, and because of a strong hand he will drive them from his land.”^(CA)

God Promises Freedom

² Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’^{[w](CB) 4} I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens.^{(CC) 5} Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered^(CD) my covenant.

⁶ “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm^(CE) and great acts of judgment. ⁷ I will take you as my people,^(CF) and I will be your God. You will know^(CG) that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians. ⁸ I will bring you to the land that I swore^[x](CH) to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.” ⁹ Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen^(CI) to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, ¹¹ “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go from his land.”

¹² But Moses said in the Lord’s presence, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am such a poor speaker?” ^{[y](CJ) 13} Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them commands concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

Genealogy of Moses and Aaron

¹⁴ These are the heads of their fathers’ families:

²⁶ It was this Aaron and Moses whom the Lord told, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt according to their military divisions.”^{(CV) 27} Moses and Aaron were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh

²⁸ On the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹ he said to him, “I am the Lord;^(CW) tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I am telling you.”

³⁰ But Moses replied in the Lord’s presence, “Since I am such a poor speaker,^(CX) how will Pharaoh listen to me?”

7 The Lord answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. ² You must say whatever I command you; then Aaron your brother must declare it to Pharaoh so that he will let the Israelites go from his land. ³ But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart^(CY) and multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. ⁴ Pharaoh will not listen to you, but I will put my hand into Egypt and bring the military divisions of my people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. ⁵ The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord^(CZ) when I stretch out my hand^(DA) against Egypt and bring out the Israelites from among them.”

⁶ So Moses and Aaron did this; they did just as the Lord commanded them. ⁷ Moses was eighty years old^(DB) and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh. It will become a serpent.’”^{(DC) 10} So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent. ¹¹ But then Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers—the magicians^(DD) of Egypt, and they also did the same thing by their occult practices.^{(DE) 12} Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs. ¹³ However, Pharaoh’s heart was hard,^(DF) and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hard: He refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning. When you see him walking out to the water, stand ready to meet him by the bank of the Nile. Take in your hand the staff that turned into a snake.^{(DG) 16} Tell him: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let my people go, so that they may worship^[z] me in the wilderness. But so far you have not listened. ¹⁷ This is what the Lord says: Here is how you will know that I am the Lord. Watch. I am about to strike the water in the Nile with the staff in my hand, and it will turn to blood. ¹⁸ The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from it.”

¹⁹ So the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand^(DH) over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers, canals, ponds, and all their water reservoirs—and they will become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.”

²⁰ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded; in the sight of Pharaoh and his officials, he raised the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile was turned to blood.^{(DI) 21} The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad the Egyptians could not drink water from it. There was blood throughout the land of Egypt.

²² But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their occult practices. So Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. ²³ Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and didn’t take even this to heart. ²⁴ All the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink because they could not drink the water from the river. ²⁵ Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.

The Second Plague: Frogs

8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him: This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.^{(DJ) 2} But if you refuse to let them go, then I will plague all your territory with frogs.^{(DK) 3} The Nile will swarm with frogs; they will come up and go into your palace, into your bedroom and on your bed, into the houses of your officials and your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls. ⁴ The frogs will come up on you, your people, and all your officials.”

⁵ The Lord then said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, canals, and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.”^{(DL) 6} When Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, the frogs^(DM) came up and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷ But the magicians did the same thing by their occult practices and brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.

⁸ Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Appeal^(DN) to the Lord to remove the frogs from me and my people. Then I will let the people go and they can sacrifice to the Lord.”

⁹ Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor of choosing. When should I appeal on behalf of you, your officials, and your people, that the frogs be taken away from you and your houses, and remain only in the Nile?”

¹⁰ “Tomorrow,” he answered.

Moses replied, “As you have said, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God,^{(DO) 11} the frogs will go away from you, your houses, your officials, and your people. The frogs will remain only in the Nile.” ¹² After Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord for help concerning the frogs that he had brought against Pharaoh. ¹³ The Lord did as Moses had said: the frogs in the houses, courtyards, and fields died. ¹⁴ They piled them in countless heaps, and there was a terrible odor in the land. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, he hardened his heart^(DP) and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The Third Plague: Gnats

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land, and it will become gnats^[aa] throughout the land of Egypt.” ¹⁷ And they did this. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and when he struck the dust of the land, gnats were on people and animals. All the dust of the land became gnats throughout the land of Egypt. ¹⁸ The magicians tried to produce gnats using their occult practices, but they could not. The gnats remained on people and animals.^(DQ)

¹⁹ “This is the finger of God,”^(DR) the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The Fourth Plague: Swarms of Flies

²⁰ The Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh when you see him going out to the water. Tell him: This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship^[ab] me.^{(DS) 21} But if you will not let my people go, then I will send swarms of flies^[ac] against you, your officials, your people, and your houses. The Egyptians’ houses will swarm with flies, and so will the land where they live.^{[ad] 22} But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where my people are living;^(DT) no flies will be there. This way you will know that I, the Lord, am in the land. ²³ I will make a distinction^[ae] between my people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow.”

²⁴ And the Lord did this. Thick swarms of flies went into Pharaoh’s palace and his officials’ houses. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined because of the swarms of flies.^{(DU) 25} Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go sacrifice to your God within the country.”

²⁶ But Moses said, “It would not be right^[af] to do that, because what we will sacrifice to the Lord our God is detestable to the Egyptians.^(DV) If we sacrifice what the Egyptians detest in front of them, won’t they stone us? ²⁷ We must go a distance of three days into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he instructs us.”

²⁸ Pharaoh responded, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but don’t go very far. Make an appeal^(DW) for me.”

²⁹ “As soon as I leave you,” Moses said, “I will appeal to the Lord, and tomorrow the swarms of flies will depart from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. But Pharaoh must not act deceptively again by refusing to let the people go and sacrifice to the Lord.” ³⁰ Then Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the Lord. ³¹ The Lord did as Moses had said: He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people; not one was left. ³² But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and did not let the people go.

The Fifth Plague: Death of Livestock

9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in 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 me. ² But if you refuse to let them go and keep holding them, ³ then the Lord’s hand will bring a severe plague against your livestock in the field—the horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks. ⁴ But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that the Israelites own will die.” ⁵ And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”^{(DX) 6} The Lord did this the next day. All the Egyptian livestock died,^(DY) but none among the Israelite livestock died. ⁷ Pharaoh sent messengers who saw that not a single one of the Israelite livestock was dead. But Pharaoh’s heart was hard,^(DZ) and he did not let the people go.

The Sixth Plague: Boils

⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of furnace soot, and Moses is to throw it toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. ⁹ It will become fine dust over the entire land of Egypt. It will become festering boils^(EA) on people and animals throughout the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰ So they took furnace soot and stood before Pharaoh. Moses threw it toward heaven, and it became festering boils on people and animals. ¹¹ The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians.^{(EB) 12} But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart^(EC) and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had told Moses.

The Seventh Plague: Hail

¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh. Tell him: This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. ¹⁴ For this time I am about to send all my plagues against you,^[ag] your officials, and your people. Then you will know there is no one like me on the whole earth. ¹⁵ By now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague, and you would have been obliterated from the earth.^{(ED) 16} However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you my power^(EE) and to make my name known on the whole earth. ¹⁷ You are still acting arrogantly against^[ah] my people by not letting them go. ¹⁸ Tomorrow at this time I will rain down the worst hail^(EF) that has ever occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. ¹⁹ Therefore give orders to bring your livestock and all that you have in the field into shelters. Every person and animal that is in the field and not brought inside will die when the hail falls on them.” ²⁰ Those among Pharaoh’s officials who feared the word of the Lord made their servants and livestock flee to shelters, ²¹ but those who didn’t take to heart the Lord’s word left their servants and livestock in the field.

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven and let there be hail throughout the land of Egypt—on people and animals and every plant of the field in the land of Egypt.” ²³ So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail.^(EG) Lightning struck the land, and the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. ²⁴ The hail, with lightning flashing through it, was so severe that nothing like it had occurred in the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. ²⁵ Throughout the land of Egypt, the hail struck down everything in the field, both people and animals. The hail beat down every plant of the field and shattered every tree in the field. ²⁶ The only place it didn’t hail was in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.^(EH)

²⁷ Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned this time,” he said to them. “The Lord is the righteous^(EI) one, and I and my people are the guilty ones. ²⁸ Make an appeal to the Lord. There has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go;^(EJ) you don’t need to stay any longer.”

²⁹ Moses said to him, “When I have left the city, I will spread out my hands^(EK) to the Lord. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know the earth^[ai](EL) belongs to the Lord. ³⁰ But as for you and your officials, I know that you still do not fear the Lord God.”

³¹ The flax and the barley were destroyed because the barley was ripe^[aj] and the flax was budding,^{(EM) 32} but the wheat and the spelt were not destroyed since they are later crops.^[ak]

³³ Moses left Pharaoh and the city, and spread out his hands to the Lord. Then the thunder and hail ceased, and rain no longer poured down on the land. ³⁴ When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his officials. ³⁵ So Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not let the Israelites go, as the Lord had said through Moses.

The Eighth Plague: Locusts

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may do these miraculous signs of mine among them,^{[al](EN) 2} and so that you may tell^[am] your son and grandson^(EO) how severely I dealt with the Egyptians and performed miraculous signs among them, and you will know that I am the Lord.”

³ So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and told him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may worship me.^{(EP) 4} But if you refuse to let my people go, then tomorrow I will bring locusts^(EQ) into your territory. ⁵ They will cover the surface of the land so that no one will be able to see the land. They will eat the remainder left^(ER) to you that escaped the hail; they will eat every tree you have growing in the fields. ⁶ They will fill your houses, all your officials’ houses, and the houses of all the Egyptians—something your fathers and grandfathers never saw since the time they occupied the land until today.” Then he turned and left Pharaoh’s presence.

⁷ Pharaoh’s officials asked him, “How long must this man be a snare^(ES) to us? Let the men go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Don’t you realize yet that Egypt is devastated?”

⁸ So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the Lord your God,” Pharaoh said. “But exactly who will be going?”

⁹ Moses replied, “We will go with our young and with our old; we will go with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds because we must hold the Lord’s festival.”^(ET)

¹⁰ He said to them, “The Lord would have to be with you if I would ever let you and your families go! Look out—you’re heading for trouble. ¹¹ No, go—just able-bodied men—worship the Lord, since that’s what you want.” And they were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.

¹² The Lord then said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, and the locusts will come up over it and eat every plant in the land, everything that the hail left.” ¹³ So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord sent an east wind over the land all that day and through the night. By morning the east wind had brought in the locusts. ¹⁴ The locusts went up over the entire land of Egypt and settled on the whole territory of Egypt. Never before had there been such a large number of locusts, and there never will be again.^{(EU) 15} They covered the surface of the whole land so that the land was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on the trees or the plants in the field throughout the land of Egypt.^(EV)

¹⁶ Pharaoh urgently sent for Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. ¹⁷ Please forgive my sin once more and make an appeal to the Lord your God, so that he will just take this death away from me.” ¹⁸ Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the Lord.^{(EW) 19} Then the Lord changed the wind to a strong west^[an] wind, and it carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea.^(EX) Not a single locust was left in all the territory of Egypt. ²⁰ But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart,^(EY) and he did not let the Israelites go.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

²¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt.” ²² So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days. ²³ One person could not see another, and for three days they did not move from where they were. Yet all the Israelites had light where they lived.^(EZ)

²⁴ Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the Lord. Even your families may go with you; only your flocks and herds must stay behind.”

²⁵ Moses responded, “You must also let us have^[ao] sacrifices and burnt offerings to prepare for the Lord our God. ²⁶ Even our livestock must go with us; not a hoof will be left behind because we will take some of them to worship the Lord our God. We will not know what we will use to worship the Lord until we get there.”

²⁷ But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart,^(FA) and he was unwilling to let them go. ²⁸ Pharaoh said to him, “Leave me! Make sure you never see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you will die.”

²⁹ “As you have said,” Moses replied, “I will never see your face again.”^(FB)

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

11 The Lord said^[ap] to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here. When he lets you go,^[aq] he will drive you out of here. ² Now announce to the people that both men and women should ask their neighbors for silver and gold items.” ³ The Lord gave^[ar] the people favor with the Egyptians. In addition, Moses himself was very highly regarded^[as] in the land of Egypt by^[at] Pharaoh’s officials and the people.^(FC)

⁴ So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: About midnight I will go throughout Egypt, ⁵ and every firstborn male in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is at the grindstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock. ⁶ Then there will be a great cry of anguish through all the land of Egypt such as never was before or ever will be again. ⁷ But against all the Israelites, whether people or animals, not even a dog will snarl,^[au] so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. ⁸ All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Get out, you and all the people who follow you.^[av] After that, I will get out.” And he went out from Pharaoh’s presence fiercely angry.^(FD)

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen^(FE) to you, so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰ Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart,^(FF) and he would not let the Israelites go out of his land.

Instructions for the Passover

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ² “This month is to be the beginning of months for you; it is the first month of your year.^{(FG) 3} Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they must each select an animal of the flock according to their fathers’ families, one animal per family. ⁴ If the household is too small for a whole animal, that person and the neighbor nearest his house are to select one based on the combined number of people; you should apportion the animal according to what each will eat. ⁵ You must have an unblemished^(FH) animal, a year-old male; you may take it from either the sheep or the goats. ⁶ You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.^{(FI) 7} They must take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they eat them. ⁸ They are to eat the meat that night; they should eat it, roasted over the fire along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.^{(FJ) 9} Do not eat any of it raw or cooked in boiling^[aw] water, but only roasted^(FK) over fire—its head as well as its legs and inner organs. ¹⁰ You must not leave any of it until morning;^(FL) any part of it left until morning you must burn. ¹¹ Here is how you must eat it: You must be dressed for travel,^[ax] your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord’s Passover.^(FM)

¹² “I will pass through^(FN) the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the Lord; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt.^{(FO) 13} The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ “This day is to be a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. You are to celebrate it throughout your generations as a permanent statute.^{(FP) 15} You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you must remove yeast^(FQ) from your houses. Whoever eats what is leavened from the first day through the seventh day must be cut off^(FR) from Israel. ¹⁶ You are to hold a sacred assembly^(FS) on the first day and another sacred assembly on the seventh day. No work may be done on those days except for preparing what people need to eat—you may do only that.

¹⁷ “You are to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread because on this very day I brought your military divisions out of the land of Egypt.^(FT) You must observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent statute. ¹⁸ You are to eat unleavened bread in the first month,^(FU) from the evening of the fourteenth day of the month until the evening of the twenty-first day. ¹⁹ Yeast must not be found in your houses for seven days. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a resident alien or native of the land, must be cut off from the community of Israel. ²⁰ Do not eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes.”^[ay]

²¹ Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, select an animal from the flock according to your families, and slaughter the Passover animal.^{(FV) 22} Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood^(FW) that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning. ²³ When the Lord passes through to strike Egypt and sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, he will pass over the door and not let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you.^(FX)

²⁴ “Keep this command permanently as a statute for you and your descendants. ²⁵ When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, you are to observe this ceremony. ²⁶ When your children^(FY) ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ ²⁷ you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice^(FZ) to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians, and he spared our homes.’” So the people knelt low and worshiped. ²⁸ Then the Israelites went and did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

The Exodus

²⁹ Now at midnight the Lord struck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock.^{(GA) 30} During the night Pharaoh got up, he along with all his officials and all the Egyptians, and there was a loud wailing^(GB) throughout Egypt because there wasn’t a house without someone dead. ³¹ He summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, “Get out immediately from among my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship the Lord as you have said. ³² Take even your flocks and your herds as you asked and leave, and also bless me.”

³³ Now the Egyptians pressured the people in order to send them quickly out of the country, for they said, “We’re all going to die!” ^{(GC) 34} So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their clothes on their shoulders.

³⁵ The Israelites acted on Moses’s word and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold items and for clothing.^{(GD) 36} And the Lord gave the people such favor with the Egyptians that they gave them what they requested. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.

³⁷ The Israelites traveled from Rameses to Succoth,^(GE) about six hundred thousand^(GF) able-bodied men on foot, besides their families. ³⁸ A mixed crowd also went up with them, along with a huge number of livestock, both flocks and herds. ³⁹ The people baked the dough they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves, since it had no yeast; for when they were driven^(GG) out of Egypt, they could not delay and had not prepared provisions for themselves.

⁴⁰ The time that the Israelites lived in Egypt^[az] was 430 years.^{(GH) 41} At the end of 430 years, on that same day, all the Lord’s military divisions went out from the land of Egypt. ⁴² It was a night of vigil in honor of the Lord, because he would bring them out of the land of Egypt. This same night is in honor of the Lord, a night vigil for all the Israelites throughout their generations.^(GI)

Passover Instruction

⁴³ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner may eat it. ⁴⁴ But any slave a man has purchased may eat it, after you have circumcised him. ⁴⁵ A temporary resident or hired worker may not eat the Passover.^{(GJ) 46} It is to be eaten in one house. You may not take any of the meat outside the house, and you may not break any of its bones.^{(GK) 47} The whole community of Israel must celebrate^[ba] it. ⁴⁸ If an alien resides among you and wants to observe the Lord’s Passover, every male in his household must be circumcised, and then he may participate;^[bb] he will become like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat it. ⁴⁹ The same law will apply to both the native and the alien who resides among you.”^(GL)

⁵⁰ Then all the Israelites did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹ On that same day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt according to their military divisions.^(GM)

13 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Consecrate every firstborn male^(GN) to me, the firstborn from every womb among the Israelites, both man and domestic animal; it is mine.”

³ Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day when you came out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, for the Lord brought you out of here by the strength of his hand. Nothing leavened may be eaten.^{(GO) 4} Today, in the month of Abib,^[bc](GP) you are going out. ⁵ When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites,^[bd] which he swore to your ancestors that he would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey,^(GQ) you must carry out this ceremony in this month.^{(GR) 6} For seven days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord. ⁷ Unleavened bread is to be eaten for those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, and no yeast may be found among you in all your territory. ⁸ On that day explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’^{(GS) 9} Let it serve as a sign for you on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead,^[be](GT) so that the Lord’s instruction may be in your mouth; for the Lord brought you out of Egypt with a strong hand. ¹⁰ Keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.

¹¹ “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your ancestors, and gives it to you, ¹² you are to present to the Lord every firstborn male of the womb. All firstborn offspring of the livestock you own that are males will be the Lord’s. ¹³ You must redeem every firstborn of a donkey with a flock animal, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. However, you must redeem every firstborn among your sons.^(GU)

¹⁴ “In the future, when your son^(GV) asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘By the strength of his hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. ¹⁵ When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of humans and the firstborn of livestock. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord all the firstborn of the womb that are males, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’ ¹⁶ So let it be a sign on your hand and a symbol^[bf] on your forehead, for the Lord brought us out of Egypt by the strength of his hand.”^(GW)

The Route of the Exodus

¹⁷ When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby; for God said, “The people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war.”^{(GX) 18} So he led the people around toward the Red Sea along the road of the wilderness. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt in battle formation.^(GY)

¹⁹ Moses took the bones of Joseph^(GZ) with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites swear a solemn oath, saying, “God will certainly come to your aid; then you must take my bones with you from this place.”

²⁰ They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud^(HA) to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night. ²² The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people.

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you must camp in front of Baal-zephon, facing it by the sea.^{(HB) 3} Pharaoh will say of the Israelites: They are wandering around the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in. ⁴ I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.^(HC)

The Egyptian Pursuit

⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people and said, “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.” ⁶ So he got his chariot ready and took his troops^[bg] with him; ⁷ he took six hundred of the best chariots and all the rest of the chariots of Egypt, with officers in each one. ⁸ The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out defiantly.^{[bh](HD) 9} The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen,^[bi] and his army—chased^(HE) after them and caught up with them as they camped by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians coming after them! The Israelites were terrified and cried out^(HF) to the Lord for help. ¹¹ They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”^(HG)

¹³ But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see^(HH) the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”^(HI)

Escape through the Red Sea

¹⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to break camp. ¹⁶ As for you, lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.^{(HJ) 17} As for me, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen. ¹⁸ The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

¹⁹ Then the angel of God,^(HK) who was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them.^{(HL) 20} It came between the Egyptian and Israelite forces. There was cloud and darkness, it lit up the night, and neither group came near the other all night long.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided,^{(HM) 22} and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left.^(HN)

²³ The Egyptians set out in pursuit—all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen—and went into the sea after them. ²⁴ During the morning watch, the Lord looked down at the Egyptian forces from the pillar of fire^(HO) and cloud, and threw the Egyptian forces into confusion. ²⁵ He caused their chariot wheels to swerve^[bj][bk] and made them drive^[bl] with difficulty. “Let’s get away from Israel,” the Egyptians said, “because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water may come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen.” ²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal depth. While the Egyptians were trying to escape from it, the Lord threw them into the sea.^{(HP) 28} The water came back and covered the chariots^(HQ) and horsemen, plus the entire army of Pharaoh that had gone after them into the sea. Not even one of them survived.

²⁹ But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left. ³⁰ That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹ When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed^(HR) in him and in his servant Moses.

Israel’s Song

15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said:

¹⁹ When Pharaoh’s horses with his chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the water of the sea back over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. ²⁰ Then the prophetess Miriam,^(IK) Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women came out following her with tambourines and dancing.^{(IL) 21} Miriam sang to them:

Water Provided

²² Then Moses led Israel on from the Red Sea, and they went out to the Wilderness of Shur. They journeyed for three days in the wilderness without finding water. ²³ They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water at Marah because it was bitter—that is why it was named Marah.^{[br] 24} The people grumbled to Moses, “What are we going to drink?” ^{(IM) 25} So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he threw it into the water, the water became drinkable.

The Lord made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah, and he tested them there.^{(IN) 26} He said, “If you will carefully obey the Lord your God, do what is right in his sight, pay attention to his commands, and keep all his statutes, I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”^(IO)

²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy date palms, and they camped there by the water.

Manna and Quail Provided

16 The entire Israelite community departed from Elim and came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt.^{(IP) 2} The entire Israelite community grumbled^(IQ) against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. ³ The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!” ^(IR)

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.^{(IS) 5} On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.”^[bs]

⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt,^{(IT) 7} and in the morning you will see the Lord’s glory because he has heard your complaints about him. For who are we that you complain about us?” ^{(IU) 8} Moses continued, “The Lord will give you meat to eat this evening and all the bread you want in the morning, for he has heard the complaints that you are raising against him. Who are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord.”^(IV)

⁹ Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your complaints.’” ¹⁰ As Aaron was speaking to the entire Israelite community, they turned toward the wilderness, and there in a cloud the Lord’s glory appeared.^(IW)

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them: At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat bread until you are full. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.”

¹³ So at evening quail^(IX) came and covered the camp. In the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. ¹⁴ When the layer of dew evaporated, there were fine flakes on the desert surface, as fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?” because they didn’t know what it was.

Moses told them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.^{(IY) 16} This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather as much of it as each person needs to eat. You may take two quarts^[bt] per individual, according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.’”

¹⁷ So the Israelites did this. Some gathered a lot, some a little. ¹⁸ When they measured it by quarts,^[bu] the person who gathered a lot had no surplus, and the person who gathered a little had no shortage. Each gathered as much as he needed to eat.^{(IZ) 19} Moses said to them, “No one is to let any of it remain until morning.” ²⁰ But they didn’t listen to Moses; some people left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. Therefore Moses was angry with them.

²¹ They gathered it every morning. Each gathered as much as he needed to eat, but when the sun grew hot, it melted. ²² On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts^[bv] apiece, and all the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. ²³ He told them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath^(JA) to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil, and set aside everything left over to be kept until morning.’”

²⁴ So they set it aside until morning as Moses commanded, and it didn’t stink or have maggots in it. ²⁵ “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. Today you won’t find any in the field. ²⁶ For six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”

²⁷ Yet on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they did not find any. ²⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you^[bw] refuse to keep my commands^(JB) and instructions? ²⁹ Understand that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he will give you two days’ worth of bread. Each of you stay where you are; no one is to leave his place on the seventh day.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ The house of Israel named the substance manna.^[bx](JC) It resembled coriander seed, was white, and tasted like wafers made with honey. ³² Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Two quarts^[by] of it are to be preserved throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

³³ Moses told Aaron, “Take a container and put two quarts^[bz] of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be preserved throughout your generations.” ³⁴ As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron placed it before the testimony^(JD) to be preserved.

³⁵ The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate manna until they reached the border of the land of Canaan.^{(JE) 36} (They used a measure called an omer, which held two quarts.^[ca])

Water from the Rock

17 The entire Israelite community left the Wilderness of Sin, moving from one place to the next according to the Lord’s command. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.^{(JF) 2} So the people complained to Moses, “Give us water to drink.”

“Why are you complaining to me?” Moses replied to them. “Why are you testing^(JG) the Lord?”

³ But the people thirsted there for water and grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you ever bring us up from Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” ^(JH)

⁴ Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? In a little while they will stone me!” ^(JI)

⁵ The Lord answered Moses, “Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take the staff you struck the Nile with in your hand and go. ⁶ I am going to stand there in front of you on the rock at Horeb; when you hit the rock, water^(JJ) will come out of it and the people will drink.” Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷ He named the place Massah^[cb] and Meribah^[cc](JK) because the Israelites complained, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

The Amalekites Attack

⁸ At Rephidim, Amalek^[cd](JL) came and fought against Israel. ⁹ Moses said to Joshua,^(JM) “Select some men for us and go fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with God’s staff in my hand.”

¹⁰ Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought against Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ While Moses held up his hand,^[ce] Israel prevailed, but whenever he put his hand^[cf] down, Amalek prevailed.^{(JN) 12} When Moses’s hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down. ¹³ So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army^[cg] with the sword.

¹⁴ The Lord then said to Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven.”^(JO)

¹⁵ And Moses built an altar^(JP) and named it, “The Lord Is My Banner.”^{[ch] 16} He said, “Indeed, my hand is lifted up toward^[ci] the Lord’s throne. The Lord will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Jethro’s Visit

18 Moses’s father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian,^(JQ) heard about everything that God had done for Moses and for God’s people Israel when the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt.

² Now Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, had taken in Zipporah,^(JR) Moses’s wife, after he had sent her back, ³ along with her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom^[cj] (because Moses had said, “I have been a resident alien in a foreign land”)^{(JS) 4} and the other Eliezer (because he had said, “The God of my father was my helper and rescued me from Pharaoh’s sword”).^[ck]

⁵ Moses’s father-in-law, Jethro, along with Moses’s wife and sons, came to him in the wilderness where he was camped at the mountain of God.^{(JT) 6} He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

⁷ So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down,^(JU) and then kissed him. They asked each other how they had been^[cl] and went into the tent. ⁸ Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships that confronted them on the way, and how the Lord rescued them.^(JV)

⁹ Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the Lord had done for Israel when he rescued them from the power of the Egyptians. ¹⁰ “Blessed be the Lord,”^(JW) Jethro exclaimed, “who rescued you from the power of Egypt and from the power of Pharaoh. He has rescued the people from under the power of Egypt! ¹¹ Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because he did wonders when the Egyptians acted arrogantly against Israel.”^[cm](JX)

¹² Then Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’s father-in-law in God’s presence.

¹³ The next day Moses sat down to judge the people, and they stood around Moses from morning until evening. ¹⁴ When Moses’s father-in-law saw everything he was doing for them he asked, “What is this you’re doing for the people? Why are you alone sitting as judge, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?”

¹⁵ Moses replied to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. ¹⁶ Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I make a decision between one man and another. I teach them God’s statutes and laws.”^(JY)

¹⁷ “What you’re doing is not good,” Moses’s father-in-law said to him. ¹⁸ “You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can’t do it alone.^{(JZ) 19} Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you. You be the one to represent the people before God and bring their cases to him. ²⁰ Instruct them about the statutes and laws, and teach them the way to live and what they must do.^{(KA) 21} But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating dishonest profit.^(KB) Place them over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.^{(KC) 22} They should judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you every major case but judge every minor case themselves. In this way you will lighten your load,^[cn] and they will bear it with you.^{(KD) 23} If you do this, and God so directs you, you will be able to endure, and also all these people will be able to go home satisfied.”^[co]

²⁴ Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. ²⁵ So Moses chose able men from all Israel and made them leaders over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. ²⁶ They judged the people at all times; they would bring the hard cases to Moses, but they would judge every minor case themselves.

²⁷ Moses let his father-in-law go, and he journeyed to his own land.^(KE)