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.^{(A) 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^(B) to them and that he had seen their misery,^(C) 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.”^(D)

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

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.”^(G)

Further Oppression of Israel

⁶ That day Pharaoh commanded the overseers^(H) 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,^(I) ‘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:^(J) ‘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^(K) 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!” ^(L)

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?^{(M) 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.”^(N)

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.’^{[b](O) 4} I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens.^{(P) 5} Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered^(Q) 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^(R) and great acts of judgment. ⁷ I will take you as my people,^(S) and I will be your God. You will know^(T) 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^[c](U) 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^(V) 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?” ^{[d](W) 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.”^{(AI) 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;^(AJ) 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,^(AK) 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^(AL) 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^(AM) when I stretch out my hand^(AN) 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^(AO) 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.’”^{(AP) 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^(AQ) of Egypt, and they also did the same thing by their occult practices.^{(AR) 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,^(AS) 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.^{(AT) 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^[e] 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^(AU) 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.^{(AV) 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 Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

11 The Lord said^[a] 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,^[b] 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^[c] the people favor with the Egyptians. In addition, Moses himself was very highly regarded^[d] in the land of Egypt by^[e] Pharaoh’s officials and the people.^(A)

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,^[f] 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.^[g] After that, I will get out.” And he went out from Pharaoh’s presence fiercely angry.^(B)

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen^(C) 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,^(D) 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.^{(E) 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^(F) 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.^{(G) 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.^{(H) 9} Do not eat any of it raw or cooked in boiling^[h] water, but only roasted^(I) over fire—its head as well as its legs and inner organs. ¹⁰ You must not leave any of it until morning;^(J) any part of it left until morning you must burn. ¹¹ Here is how you must eat it: You must be dressed for travel,^[i] 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.^(K)

¹² “I will pass through^(L) 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.^{(M) 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.^{(N) 15} You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you must remove yeast^(O) from your houses. Whoever eats what is leavened from the first day through the seventh day must be cut off^(P) from Israel. ¹⁶ You are to hold a sacred assembly^(Q) 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.^(R) You must observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent statute. ¹⁸ You are to eat unleavened bread in the first month,^(S) 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.”^[j]

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.^{(T) 22} Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood^(U) 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.^(V)

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^(W) ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ ²⁷ you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice^(X) 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.^{(Y) 30} During the night Pharaoh got up, he along with all his officials and all the Egyptians, and there was a loud wailing^(Z) 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.”