Exodus 1-19

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household:^{(A) 2} Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, ³ Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, ⁴ Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. ⁵ The total number of people born to Jacob was seventy. (Joseph was already in Egypt.)^{(B) 6} Then Joseph died, and all his brothers, and that whole generation.^{(C) 7} But the Israelites were fruitful and prolific; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.^(D)

The Israelites Are Oppressed

⁸ Now a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.^{(E) 9} He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we.^{(F) 10} Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” ¹¹ Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh.^{(G) 12} But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. ¹³ The Egyptians subjected the Israelites to hard servitude ¹⁴ and made their lives bitter with hard servitude in mortar and bricks and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.^(H)

¹⁵ The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, ¹⁶ “When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.”^{(I) 17} But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live.^{(J) 18} So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this and allowed the boys to live?” ¹⁹ The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” ²⁰ So God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very strong.^{(K) 21} And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.^{(L) 22} Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews^[a] you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”^(M)

Birth and Youth of Moses

2 Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman.^{(N) 2} The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months.^{(O) 3} When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. ⁴ His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.^(P)

⁵ The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. ⁶ When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,” she said. ⁷ Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” ⁸ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Yes.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed it. ¹⁰ When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses,^[b] “because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”^(Q)

Moses Flees to Midian

¹¹ One day after Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and saw their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.^{(R) 12} He looked this way and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ When he went out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting, and he said to the one who was in the wrong, “Why do you strike your fellow Hebrew?”^{(S) 14} He answered, “Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “Surely the thing is known.”^{(T) 15} When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses.

So Moses fled from Pharaoh. He settled in the land of Midian and sat down by a well.^{(U) 16} The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷ But some shepherds came and drove them away. Moses got up and came to their defense and watered their flock.^{(V) 18} When they returned to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come back so soon today?”^{(W) 19} They said, “An Egyptian helped us against the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” ²⁰ He said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why did you leave the man? Invite him to share a meal.”^{(X) 21} Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage.^{(Y) 22} She bore a son, and he named him Gershom,^[c] for he said, “I have been an alien residing in a foreign land.”^(Z)

²³ After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery and cried out. Their cry for help rose up to God from their slavery.^{(AA) 24} God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.^{(AB) 25} God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.^(AC)

Moses at the Burning Bush

3 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness and came to Mount Horeb,^[d] the mountain of God.^{(AD) 2} There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.^{(AE) 3} Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up.”^{(AF) 4} When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵ Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”^{(AG) 6} He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.^(AH)

⁷ Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings,^{(AI) 8} and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.^{(AJ) 9} The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them.^{(AK) 10} Now go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”^{(AL) 11} But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” ¹² He said, “I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”^(AM)

The Divine Name Revealed

¹³ But Moses said to God, “If I come 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 shall I say to them?” ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”^[e] He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”^{(AN) 15} God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,^[f] the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:

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, saying: I have given heed to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt. ¹⁷ I declare that I will bring you up out of the misery of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.’^{(AP) 18} They will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; let us now go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’^{(AQ) 19} I know, however, that the king of Egypt will not let you go except by a mighty hand.^{(AR) 20} So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will perform in it; after that he will let you go.^{(AS) 21} I will bring this people into such favor with the Egyptians that, when you go, you will not go empty-handed;^{(AT) 22} each woman shall ask her neighbor and any woman living in the neighbor’s house for jewelry of silver and of gold and clothing, and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters; so you shall plunder the Egyptians.”^(AU)

Moses’s Miraculous Power

4 Then Moses answered, “But look, they may not believe me or listen to me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ ”^{(AV) 2} The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”^{(AW) 3} And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw the staff on the ground, and it became a snake, and Moses drew back from it. ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and seize it by the tail”—so he reached out his hand and grasped it, and it became a staff in his hand— ⁵ “so that they may 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.”

⁶ Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” He put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was diseased, as white as snow.^{(AX) 7} Then God said, “Put your hand back into your cloak”—so he put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored like the rest of his body^(AY)— ⁸ “If they will not believe you or heed the first sign, they may believe the second sign. ⁹ If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to you, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”^(AZ)

¹⁰ But Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”^{(BA) 11} Then the Lord said to him, “Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?^{(BB) 12} Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak.”^{(BC) 13} But he said, “O my Lord, please send someone else.” ¹⁴ Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, “What of your brother Aaron, the Levite? I know that he can speak well; even now he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you his heart will be glad.^{(BD) 15} You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you what you shall do.^{(BE) 16} He indeed shall speak for you to the people; he shall serve as a mouth for you, and you shall serve as God for him. ¹⁷ Take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.”^(BF)

Moses Returns to Egypt

¹⁸ Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me go back to my own people in Egypt and see whether they are still living.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” ¹⁹ The Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who were seeking your life are dead.”^{(BG) 20} So Moses took his wife and his sons, put them on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt, and Moses carried the staff of God in his hand.^(BH)

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put in your power, but I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.^{(BI) 22} Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: Israel is my firstborn son.^{(BJ) 23} I said to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” But you refused to let him go; now I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”^(BK)

²⁴ On the way, at a place where they spent the night, the Lord met him and tried to kill him.^{(BL) 25} But Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin, touched his feet with it, and said, “Truly you are a bridegroom of blood to me!”^{(BM) 26} So he let him alone. It was then that she said “a bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.

²⁷ The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went, and he met him at the mountain of God and kissed him.^{(BN) 28} Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him and all the signs with which he had charged him.^{(BO) 29} Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites.^{(BP) 30} Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and performed the signs in the sight of the people.^{(BQ) 31} The people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had given heed to the Israelites and that he had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.^(BR)

Bricks without Straw

5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.”^{(BS) 2} But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should listen to him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”^{(BT) 3} Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has revealed himself to us; let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord our God, or he will fall upon us with pestilence or sword.”^{(BU) 4} But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get to your labors!”^{(BV) 5} Pharaoh continued, “Now they are more numerous than the people of the land^[g] and yet you want them to stop laboring!”^{(BW) 6} That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, as well as their supervisors,^{(BX) 7} “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ But you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it, for they are lazy; that is why they cry, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’^{(BY) 9} Let heavier work be laid on them; then they will pay attention to^[h] it and not to deceptive words.”

¹⁰ So the taskmasters and the supervisors of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh: I will not give you straw.^{(BZ) 11} Go and get straw yourselves, wherever you can find it, but your work will not be lessened in the least.” ¹² So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³ The taskmasters urged them on, saying, “Complete your work, the same daily assignment as when you were given straw.”^{[i] 14} And the Israelite supervisors whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them were beaten and were asked, “Why did you not finish the required quantity of bricks yesterday and today, as you did before?”^(CA)

¹⁵ Then the Israelite supervisors came to Pharaoh and cried, “Why do you treat your servants like this? ¹⁶ No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look how your servants are beaten! But the fault is with you.”^{[j] 17} He said, “You are lazy, lazy; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’^{(CB) 18} Go now and work, for no straw shall be given you, but you shall still deliver the same number of bricks.” ¹⁹ The Israelite supervisors saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You shall not lessen your daily number of bricks.” ²⁰ As they left Pharaoh, they came upon Moses and Aaron, who were waiting to meet them. ²¹ They said to them, “The Lord look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odor with Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”^(CC)

²² Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O my Lord, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me?^{(CD) 23} Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people.”^(CE)

Israel’s Deliverance Assured

6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh: indeed, by a mighty hand he will let them go; by a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.”^(CF)

² God also spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty,^[k] but by my name ‘The Lord’^[l] I did not make myself known to them.^{(CG) 4} I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they resided as aliens.^{(CH) 5} I have also heard the groaning of the Israelites whom the Egyptians have enslaved, and I have remembered my covenant.^{(CI) 6} Say therefore to the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.^{(CJ) 7} I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians.^{(CK) 8} I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.”^{(CL) 9} Moses told this to the Israelites, but they would not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and their cruel slavery.

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, ¹¹ “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his land.” ¹² But Moses spoke to the Lord, “The Israelites have not listened to me; why should Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?”^{[m] 13} Thus the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them orders regarding the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to free the Israelites from the land of Egypt.

The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron

¹⁴ The following are the heads of their ancestral houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben.^{(CM) 15} The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon.^{(CN) 16} The following are the names of the sons of Levi according to their genealogies: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, and the length of Levi’s life was one hundred thirty-seven years.^{(CO) 17} The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their families.^{(CP) 18} The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, and the length of Kohath’s life was one hundred thirty-three years.^{(CQ) 19} The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their genealogies.^{(CR) 20} Amram married Jochebed his aunt, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, and the length of Amram’s life was one hundred thirty-seven years.^{(CS) 21} The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.^{(CT) 22} The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.^{(CU) 23} Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ²⁴ The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites.^{(CV) 25} Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the ancestral houses of the Levites by their families.^(CW)

²⁶ It was this same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, company by company.” ²⁷ It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, the same Moses and Aaron.

Moses and Aaron Obey God’s Commands

²⁸ On the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹ the Lord said to Moses, “I am the Lord; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I am speaking to you.”^{(CX) 30} But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I am a poor speaker,^[n] why should Pharaoh listen to me?”^(CY)

7 The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.^{(CZ) 2} You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land.^{(DA) 3} But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and I will multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.^{(DB) 4} When Pharaoh does not listen to you, I will lay my hand upon Egypt and bring my people the Israelites, company by company, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.^{(DC) 5} The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.”^{(DD) 6} Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them.^{(DE) 7} Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.^(DF)

Aaron’s Miraculous Rod

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a wonder,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake.’ ”^{(DG) 10} So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the Lord had commanded; Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake.^{(DH) 11} Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same by their secret arts.^{(DI) 12} Each one threw down his staff, and they became snakes, but Aaron’s staff swallowed up theirs. ¹³ However, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.^(DJ)

The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.^{(DK) 15} Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water; stand by at the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was turned into a snake.^{(DL) 16} Say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you to say, “Let my people go, so that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But until now you have not listened.^{(DM) 17} Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord.” See, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall be turned to blood.^{(DN) 18} The fish in the river shall die, the river itself shall stink, and the Egyptians shall be unable to drink water from the Nile.’ ”^{(DO) 19} The Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over its rivers, its canals, and its ponds, and all its pools of water—so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout the whole land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.”^(DP)

²⁰ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and of his officials he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile; all the water in the river was turned into blood,^{(DQ) 21} and the fish in the river died. The river stank so that the Egyptians could not drink its water, and there was blood throughout the whole land of Egypt.^{(DR) 22} But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts; so Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.^{(DS) 23} Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. ²⁴ And all the Egyptians had to dig along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the river.

²⁵ Seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.

The Second Plague: Frogs

8 ^[o]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Let my people go, so that they may serve me.^{(DT) 2} If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. ³ The Nile shall swarm with frogs; they shall come up into your palace, into your bedchamber and your bed, into the houses of your officials and of your people,^[p] and into your ovens and your kneading bowls.^{(DU) 4} The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your officials.’ ” ^5 [q]And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, the canals, and the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’ ”^{(DV) 6} So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.^{(DW) 7} But the magicians did the same by their secret arts and brought frogs up on the land of Egypt.^(DX)

⁸ Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”^{(DY) 9} Moses said to Pharaoh, “Kindly tell me when I am to pray for you and for your officials and for your people, that the frogs may be removed from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” ¹⁰ And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “As you say! So that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God,^{(DZ) 11} the frogs shall leave you and your houses and your officials and your people; they shall be left only in the Nile.” ¹² Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs that he had brought upon Pharaoh.^{(EA) 13} And the Lord did as Moses requested: the frogs died in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. ¹⁴ And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.^(EB)

The Third Plague: Gnats

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt.’ ” ¹⁷ And they did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and gnats came on humans and animals alike; all the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt.^{(EC) 18} The magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, but they could not. There were gnats on both humans and animals.^{(ED) 19} And the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God!” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.^(EE)

The Fourth Plague: Flies

²⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Let my people go, so that they may serve me,^{(EF) 21} because if you will not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, and your people, and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, as will the land where they live. ²² But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people live, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I the Lord am in this land.^{(EG) 23} Thus I will make a distinction^[r] between my people and your people. This sign shall appear tomorrow.’ ” ²⁴ The Lord did so, and great swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh and into his officials’ houses; in all of Egypt the land was ruined because of the flies.^(EH)

²⁵ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” ²⁶ But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the sacrifices that we offer to the Lord our God are offensive to the Egyptians. If we offer in the sight of the Egyptians sacrifices that are offensive to them, will they not stone us? ²⁷ We must go a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he commands us.”^{(EI) 28} So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, provided you do not go very far away. Pray for me.”^{(EJ) 29} Then Moses said, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people; only do not let Pharaoh again deal falsely by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”^(EK)

³⁰ So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. ³¹ And the Lord did as Moses asked: he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people; not one remained. ³² But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and would not let the people go.^(EL)

The Fifth Plague: Livestock Diseased

9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go, so that they may serve me.^{(EM) 2} For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them,^{(EN) 3} the hand of the Lord will strike with a deadly pestilence your livestock in the field: the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. ⁴ But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing shall die of all that belongs to the Israelites.’ ”^{(EO) 5} The Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” ⁶ And on the next day the Lord did so; all of the Egyptians’ livestock died, but none of the Israelites’ livestock died.^{(EP) 7} Pharaoh inquired and found that not even one of the Israelites’ livestock had died. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he would not let the people go.^(EQ)

The Sixth Plague: Boils

⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw it in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. ⁹ It shall become dust all over the land of Egypt and shall cause festering boils on humans and animals throughout the whole land of Egypt.”^{(ER) 10} So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses threw it in the air, and it caused festering boils on humans and animals. ¹¹ The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils afflicted the magicians as well as all the Egyptians. ¹² But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.^(ES)

The Seventh Plague: Thunder and Hail

¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go, so that they may serve me.^{(ET) 14} For this time I will send all my plagues upon you yourself, your officials, and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.^{(EU) 15} Indeed, by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth.^{(EV) 16} But this is why I have let you live: to show you my power and to make my name resound through all the earth.^{(EW) 17} You are still exalting yourself against my people by not letting them go. ¹⁸ Tomorrow at this time I will cause the heaviest hail to fall that has ever fallen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.^{(EX) 19} Send, therefore, and have your livestock and everything that you have in the open field brought to a secure place; every human or animal that is in the open field and is not brought under shelter will die when the hail comes down upon them.’ ” ²⁰ Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried their slaves and livestock off to a secure place,^{(EY) 21} but those who did not regard the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the open field.

²² The Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven so that hail may fall on the whole land of Egypt, on humans and animals and all the plants of the field in the land of Egypt.”^{(EZ) 23} Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire came down on the earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt;^{(FA) 24} there was hail with fire flashing continually in the midst of it, such heavy hail as had never fallen in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. ²⁵ The hail struck down everything that was in the open field throughout all the land of Egypt, both human and animal; the hail also struck down all the plants of the field and shattered every tree in the field.^{(FB) 26} Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, was there no hail.^(FC)

²⁷ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.^{(FD) 28} Pray to the Lord! Enough of God’s thunder and hail! I will let you go; you need stay no longer.”^{(FE) 29} Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s.^{(FF) 30} But as for you and your officials, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.” ³¹ (Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. ³² But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they are late in coming up.) ³³ So Moses left Pharaoh, went out of the city, and stretched out his hands to the Lord; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured down on the earth. ³⁴ But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned once more and hardened his heart, he and his officials. ³⁵ So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.^(FG)

The Eighth Plague: Locusts

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his officials, in order that I may show these signs of mine among them^{(FH) 2} and that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I have made fools of the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them—so that you may know that I am the Lord.”^(FI)

³ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may serve me.^{(FJ) 4} For if you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country.^{(FK) 5} They shall cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. They shall devour the last remnant left you after the hail, and they shall devour every tree of yours that grows in the field.^{(FL) 6} They shall fill your houses and the houses of all your officials and of all the Egyptians—something that neither your parents nor your grandparents have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.^(FM)

⁷ Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long shall this fellow be a snare to us? Send the people away, so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?”^{(FN) 8} So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God! But which ones are to go?”^{(FO) 9} Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; we will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, because we have the Lord’s festival to celebrate.”^{(FP) 10} He said to them, “The Lord indeed will be with you, if ever I let your little ones go with you! Plainly, you have some evil purpose in mind. ¹¹ No, never! Your men may go and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.^(FQ)

¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that the locusts may come upon it and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.”^{(FR) 13} So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When morning came, the east wind had brought the locusts. ¹⁴ The locusts came upon all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before nor ever shall be again.^{(FS) 15} They covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was black, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on the trees or on the plants in the fields, in all the land of Egypt.^{(FT) 16} Pharaoh hurriedly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you.^{(FU) 17} Do forgive my sin this once, and pray to the Lord your God that at the least he remove this deadly thing from me.”^{(FV) 18} So he went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. ¹⁹ The Lord changed the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea;^[s] not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. ²⁰ But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.^(FW)

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

²¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt.”^{(FX) 22} So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was dense darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.^{(FY) 23} People could not see one another, and for three days they could not move from where they were, but all the Israelites had light where they lived. ²⁴ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord. Only your flocks and your herds shall remain behind. Even your little ones may go with you.”^{(FZ) 25} But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings to sacrifice to the Lord our God. ²⁶ Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must choose some of them to serve the Lord our God, and we will not know what to use to serve the Lord until we arrive there.”^{(GA) 27} But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them go.^{(GB) 28} Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take care that you do not see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.”^{(GC) 29} Moses said, “Just as you say! I will never see your face again.”^(GD)

Warning of the Final Plague

11 The Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterward he will let you go from here; indeed, when he lets you go, he will drive you away.^{(GE) 2} Tell the people that every man is to ask his neighbor and every woman is to ask her neighbor for objects of silver and gold.”^{(GF) 3} The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, Moses himself was a man of great importance in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s officials and in the sight of the people.^(GG)

⁴ Moses said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘About midnight I will go out through Egypt.^{(GH) 5} Every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the female slave who is behind the handmill and all the firstborn of the livestock.^{(GI) 6} Then there will be a loud cry throughout the whole land of Egypt, such as has never been or will ever be again.^{(GJ) 7} But not a dog shall growl at any of the Israelites—not at people, not at animals—so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’^{(GK) 8} Then all these officials of yours shall come down to me and bow low to me, saying, ‘Leave us, you and all the people who follow you.’ After that I will leave.” And in hot anger he left Pharaoh.^(GL)

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

The First Passover Instituted

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ² “This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you.^{(GO) 3} Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. ⁴ If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. ⁵ Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.^{(GP) 6} You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight.^{(GQ) 7} They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ⁸ They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.^{(GR) 9} Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. ¹⁰ You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn with fire.^{(GS) 11} This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the Passover of the Lord.^{(GT) 12} I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human to animal, and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord.^{(GU) 13} The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ “This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.^{(GV) 15} Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day shall be cut off from Israel.^{(GW) 16} On the first day you shall hold a solemn assembly and on the seventh day a solemn assembly; no work shall be done on those days; only what everyone must eat, that alone may be prepared by you.^{(GX) 17} You shall observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your companies out of the land of Egypt: you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a perpetual ordinance.^{(GY) 18} In the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day, you shall eat unleavened bread.^{(GZ) 19} For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, for whoever eats what is leavened shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether an alien or a native of the land.^{(HA) 20} You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your settlements you shall eat unleavened bread.”

²¹ Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, select lambs for your families, and slaughter the Passover lamb.^{(HB) 22} Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood in the basin. None of you shall go outside the door of your house until morning.^{(HC) 23} For the Lord will pass through to strike down the Egyptians; when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down.^{(HD) 24} You shall observe this as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children.^{(HE) 25} When you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this observance. ²⁶ And when your children ask you, ‘What does this observance mean to you?’^{(HF) 27} you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.’ ” And the people bowed down and worshiped.^(HG)

²⁸ The Israelites went and did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron; so they did.

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

²⁹ At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn 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 all the firstborn of the livestock.^{(HH) 30} Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his officials and all the Egyptians, and there was a loud cry in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.^{(HI) 31} Then he summoned Moses and Aaron in the night and said, “Rise up, go away from my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, serve the Lord, as you said.^{(HJ) 32} Take your flocks and your herds, as you said, and be gone. And ask a blessing for me, too!”^(HK)

The Exodus: From Rameses to Succoth

³³ The Egyptians urged the people to hasten their departure from the land, for they said, “We shall all be dead.”^{(HL) 34} So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their cloaks on their shoulders. ³⁵ The Israelites had acted according to the word of Moses; they had asked the Egyptians for jewelry of silver and gold and for clothing,^{(HM) 36} and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. And so they plundered the Egyptians.^(HN)

³⁷ The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides little ones.^{(HO) 38} A mixed crowd also went up with them and livestock in great numbers, both flocks and herds.^{(HP) 39} They baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt; it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.^(HQ)

⁴⁰ The time that the Israelites had lived in Egypt was four hundred thirty years.^{(HR) 41} At the end of four hundred thirty years, on that very day, all the companies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.^{(HS) 42} That was for the Lord a night of vigil, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. That same night is a vigil to be kept for the Lord by all the Israelites throughout their generations.^(HT)

Directions for the Passover

⁴³ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance for the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, ⁴⁴ but any slave who has been purchased may eat of it after he has been circumcised; ⁴⁵ no bound or hired servant may eat of it. ⁴⁶ It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the animal outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones.^{(HU) 47} The whole congregation of Israel shall do this.^{(HV) 48} If an alien who resides with you wants to celebrate the Passover to the Lord, all his males shall be circumcised; then he may draw near to celebrate it; he shall be regarded as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it; ⁴⁹ there shall be one law for the native-born and for the alien who resides among you.”^(HW)

⁵⁰ All the Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹ That very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, company by company.^(HX)

13 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Consecrate to me all the firstborn; whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelites, of human beings and animals, is mine.”^(HY)

The Festival of Unleavened Bread

³ Moses said to the people, “Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, because the Lord brought you out from there by strength of hand; no leavened bread shall be eaten.^{(HZ) 4} Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. ⁵ When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this observance in this month.^{(IA) 6} Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a festival to the Lord.^{(IB) 7} Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen in your possession, and no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory. ⁸ You shall tell your child on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’^{(IC) 9} It shall serve for you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the teaching of the Lord may be on your lips, for with a strong hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.^{(ID) 10} You shall keep this ordinance at its proper time from year to year.^(IE)

The Consecration of the Firstborn

¹¹ “When the Lord has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your ancestors, and has given it to you, ¹² you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn offspring of your livestock that are males shall be the Lord’s.^{(IF) 13} But every firstborn donkey you shall redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. Every firstborn male among your children you shall redeem.^{(IG) 14} When in the future your child asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall answer, ‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.^{(IH) 15} When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborn to the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord every male that first opens the womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’^{(II) 16} It shall serve as a sign on your hand and as an emblem^[t] on your forehead that by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”^(IJ)

The Pillars of Cloud and Fire

¹⁷ When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer, for God thought, “If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.”^{(IK) 18} So God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness bordering the Red Sea.^[u] The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt prepared for battle. ¹⁹ And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph, who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, “God will surely come to you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here.”^{(IL) 20} They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness.^{(IM) 21} The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.^{(IN) 22} Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

Crossing the Red Sea

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall camp opposite it, by the sea.^{(IO) 3} Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has closed in on them.’ ⁴ I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, so that I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.^(IP)

⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the minds of Pharaoh and his officials were changed toward the people, and they said, “What have we done, letting Israel leave our service?” ⁶ So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him; ⁷ he took six hundred elite chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. ⁸ The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out boldly.^{(IQ) 9} The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his chariot drivers and his army; they overtook them camped by the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.^(IR)

¹⁰ As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord.^{(IS) 11} They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt?^{(IT) 12} Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” ¹³ But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today, for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again.^{(IU) 14} The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.”^(IV)

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. ¹⁶ But you lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground.^{(IW) 17} Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.^{(IX) 18} Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.”^(IY)

¹⁹ The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them.^{(IZ) 20} It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.^{(JA) 22} The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.^{(JB) 23} The Egyptians pursued and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. ²⁴ At the morning watch the Lord, in the pillar of fire and cloud, looked down on the Egyptian army and threw the Egyptian army into a panic.^{(JC) 25} He clogged^[v] their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”^(JD)

The Pursuers Drowned

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.” ²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea.^{(JE) 28} The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained.^{(JF) 29} But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.^(JG)

³⁰ Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.^{(JH) 31} Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.^(JI)

The Song of Moses

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

¹⁹ When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.^(KA)

The Song of Miriam

²⁰ Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing.^{(KB) 21} And Miriam sang to them:

Bitter Water Made Sweet

²² Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea,^[y] and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water.^{(KD) 23} When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah.^{[z](KE) 24} And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”^{(KF) 25} He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord^[aa] made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he put them to the test.^{(KG) 26} He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you.”^(KH)

²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the water.^(KI)

Bread from Heaven

16 The whole congregation of the Israelites set out 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 departed from the land of Egypt.^{(KJ) 2} The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.^{(KK) 3} The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”^(KL)

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.^{(KM) 5} On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.”^{(KN) 6} So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ⁷ and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?”^{(KO) 8} And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.”

⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites: ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’ ”^{(KP) 10} And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.^{(KQ) 11} The Lord spoke to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”

¹³ In the evening quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.^{(KR) 14} When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.^{(KS) 15} When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?”^[ab] For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.^{(KT) 16} This is what the Lord has commanded: Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer per person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.” ¹⁷ The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. ¹⁸ But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed.^{(KU) 19} And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over until morning.”^{(KV) 20} But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it became wormy and rotten. And Moses was angry with them. ²¹ Morning by morning they gathered it, as much as each needed, but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

²² On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers apiece. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,^{(KW) 23} he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.”^{(KX) 24} So they put it aside until morning, just as Moses commanded them, and it did not rot, and there were no maggots in it.^{(KY) 25} Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. ²⁶ Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”

²⁷ On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. ²⁸ The Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and instructions?^{(KZ) 29} See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you food for two days; each of you stay where you are; do not leave your place on the seventh day.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ The Israelites called it manna; it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.^{(LA) 32} Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations in order that they may see the food with which I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.” ³³ And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord, to be kept throughout your generations.”^{(LB) 34} Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the covenant, for safekeeping.^{(LC) 35} The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a habitable land; they ate manna, until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.^{(LD) 36} (An omer is a tenth of an ephah.)

Water from the Rock

17 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.^{(LE) 2} The people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”^{(LF) 3} But the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?”^{(LG) 4} So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do for this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”^{(LH) 5} The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile and go.^{(LI) 6} I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.^{(LJ) 7} He called the place Massah^[ac] and Meribah,^[ad] because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”^(LK)

Amalek Attacks Israel and Is Defeated

⁸ Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.^{(LL) 9} Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men for us and go out; fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”^{(LM) 10} So Joshua did as Moses told him and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. ¹² But Moses’s hands grew heavy, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on either side, so his hands were steady until the sun set. ¹³ And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the sword.

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a remembrance in a book and recite it in the hearing of Joshua: I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”^{(LN) 15} And Moses built an altar and called it, The Lord is my banner. ¹⁶ He said, “A hand upon the banner of the Lord!^[ae] The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Jethro’s Advice

18 Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’s father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.^{(LO) 2} After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro took her back,^{(LP) 3} along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom^[af] (for he had said, “I have been an alien in a foreign land”),^{(LQ) 4} and the name of the other was Eliezer^[ag] (for he had said, “The God of my father was my help and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). ⁵ Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, along with Moses’s sons and wife, came into the wilderness where Moses was encamped at the mountain of God.^{(LR) 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; he bowed down and kissed him; each asked after the other’s welfare, and they went into the tent.^{(LS) 8} Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had found them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them.^{(LT) 9} Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in delivering them from the Egyptians.

¹⁰ Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh.^{(LU) 11} Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because he delivered the people from the Egyptians,^[ah] when they dealt arrogantly with them.”^{(LV) 12} And 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 bread with Moses’s father-in-law in the presence of God.

¹³ The next day Moses sat as judge for the people, while the people stood around him from morning until evening. ¹⁴ When Moses’s father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?” ¹⁵ Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God.^{(LW) 16} When they have a dispute, they come to me, and I decide between one person and another, and I make known to them the statutes and instructions of God.” ¹⁷ Moses’s father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.^{(LX) 19} Now listen to me. I will give you counsel, and God be with you! You should represent the people before God and bring their cases to God.^{(LY) 20} Teach them the statutes and instructions and make known to them the way they are to go and the things they are to do.^{(LZ) 21} You should also look for able men among all the people, men who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain; set them as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.^{(MA) 22} Let them sit as judges for the people at all times; let them bring every important case to you but decide every minor case themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.^{(MB) 23} If you do this and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people will go to their homes in peace.”

²⁴ So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said. ²⁵ Moses chose able men from all Israel and appointed them as heads over the people, as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.^{(MC) 26} And they judged the people at all times; hard cases they brought to Moses, but any minor case they decided themselves.^{(MD) 27} Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went off to his own country.^(ME)

The Israelites Reach Mount Sinai

19 On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai. ² They journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain.^{(MF) 3} Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the Israelites:^{(MG) 4} ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.^{(MH) 5} Now, therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine,^{(MI) 6} but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”^(MJ)