The Israelites Are Treated Cruelly in Egypt

1 ^(A)The sons of Jacob who went to Egypt with him, each with his family, were ² Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, ³ Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, ⁴ Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. ⁵ The total number of these people directly descended from Jacob was seventy.^[a] His son Joseph was already in Egypt. ⁶ In the course of time Joseph, his brothers, and all the rest of that generation died, ^7 (B)but their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and became so numerous and strong that Egypt was filled with them.

^8 (C)Then, a new king, who knew nothing about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. ⁹ He said to his people, “These Israelites are so numerous and strong that they are a threat to us. ^10 (D)In case of war they might join our enemies in order to fight against us, and might escape from^[b] the country. We must find some way to keep them from becoming even more numerous.” ¹¹ So the Egyptians put slave drivers over them to crush their spirits with hard labor. The Israelites built the cities of Pithom and Rameses to serve as supply centers for the king. ¹² But the more the Egyptians oppressed the Israelites, the more they increased in number and the farther they spread through the land. The Egyptians came to fear the Israelites ^13-14 and made their lives miserable by forcing them into cruel slavery. They made them work on their building projects and in their fields, and they had no pity on them.

¹⁵ Then the king of Egypt spoke to Shiphrah and Puah, the two midwives who helped the Hebrew women. ¹⁶ “When you help the Hebrew women give birth,” he said to them, “kill the baby if it is a boy; but if it is a girl, let it live.” ¹⁷ But the midwives were God-fearing and so did not obey the king; instead, they let the boys live. ¹⁸ So the king sent for the midwives and asked them, “Why are you doing this? Why are you letting the boys live?”

¹⁹ They answered, “The Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they give birth easily, and their babies are born before either of us gets there.” ^20-21 Because the midwives were God-fearing, God was good to them and gave them families of their own. And the Israelites continued to increase and become strong. ^22 (E)Finally the king issued a command to all his people: “Take every newborn Hebrew boy and throw him into the Nile, but let all the girls live.”

The Birth of Moses

2 During this time a man from the tribe of Levi married a woman of his own tribe, ^2 (F)and she bore him a son. When she saw what a fine baby he was, she hid him for three months. ³ But when she could not hide him any longer, she took a basket made of reeds and covered it with tar to make it watertight. She put the baby in it and then placed it in the tall grass at the edge of the river. ⁴ The baby's sister stood some distance away to see what would happen to him.

⁵ The king's daughter came down to the river to bathe, while her servants walked along the bank. Suddenly she noticed the basket in the tall grass and sent a slave woman to get it. ⁶ The princess opened it and saw a baby boy. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

⁷ Then his sister asked her, “Shall I go and call a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for you?”

⁸ “Please do,” she answered. So the girl went and brought the baby's own mother. ⁹ The princess told the woman, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So she took the baby and nursed him. ^10 (G)Later, when the child was old enough, she took him to the king's daughter, who adopted him as her own son. She said to herself, “I pulled him out of the water, and so I name him Moses.”^[c]

Moses Escapes to Midian

^11 (H)When Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his people, the Hebrews, and he saw how they were forced to do hard labor. He even saw an Egyptian kill a Hebrew, one of Moses' own people. ¹² Moses looked all around, and when he saw that no one was watching, he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. ¹³ The next day he went back and saw two Hebrew men fighting. He said to the one who was in the wrong, “Why are you beating up a fellow Hebrew?”

¹⁴ The man answered, “Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me just as you killed that Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said to himself, “People have found out what I have done.” ^15-16 (I)When the king heard about what had happened, he tried to have Moses killed, but Moses fled and went to live in the land of Midian.

One day, when Moses was sitting by a well, seven daughters of Jethro, the priest of Midian, came to draw water and fill the troughs for their father's sheep and goats. ¹⁷ But some shepherds drove Jethro's daughters away. Then Moses went to their rescue and watered their animals for them. ¹⁸ When they returned to their father, he asked, “Why have you come back so early today?”

¹⁹ “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they answered, “and he even drew water for us and watered our animals.”

²⁰ “Where is he?” he asked his daughters. “Why did you leave the man out there? Go and invite him to eat with us.”

²¹ So Moses decided to live there, and Jethro gave him his daughter Zipporah in marriage, ²² who bore him a son. Moses said to himself, “I am a foreigner in this land, and so I name him Gershom.”^[d]

²³ Years later the king of Egypt died, but the Israelites were still groaning under their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry went up to God, ^24 (J)who heard their groaning and remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ²⁵ He saw the slavery of the Israelites and was concerned for them.^[e]

God Calls Moses

3 One day while Moses was taking care of the sheep and goats of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, he led the flock across the desert and came to Sinai, the holy mountain. ^2 (K)There the angel of the Lord appeared to him as a flame coming from the middle of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire but that it was not burning up. ³ “This is strange,” he thought. “Why isn't the bush burning up? I will go closer and see.”

⁴ When the Lord saw that Moses was coming closer, he called to him from the middle of the bush and said, “Moses! Moses!”

He answered, “Yes, here I am.”

⁵ God said, “Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground. ⁶ I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” So Moses covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ Then the Lord said, “I have seen how cruelly my people are being treated in Egypt; I have heard them cry out to be rescued from their slave drivers. I know all about their sufferings, ⁸ and so I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of Egypt to a spacious land, one which is rich and fertile and in which the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites now live. ⁹ I have indeed heard the cry of my people, and I see how the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰ Now I am sending you to the king of Egypt so that you can lead my people out of his country.”

¹¹ But Moses said to God, “I am nobody. How can I go to the king and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹² God answered, “I will be with you, and when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will worship me on this mountain. That will be the proof that I have sent you.”

^13 (L)But Moses replied, “When I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ So what can I tell them?”

^14 (M)God said, “I am who I am. You must tell them: ‘The one who is called I Am^[f] has sent me to you.’ ¹⁵ Tell the Israelites that I, the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have sent you to them. This is my name forever; this is what all future generations are to call me. ¹⁶ Go and gather the leaders of Israel together and tell them that I, the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, appeared to you. Tell them that I have come to them and have seen what the Egyptians are doing to them. ¹⁷ I have decided that I will bring them out of Egypt, where they are being treated cruelly, and will take them to a rich and fertile land—the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

¹⁸ “My people will listen to what you say to them. Then you must go with the leaders of Israel to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has revealed himself to us. Now allow us to travel three days into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord, our God.’ ¹⁹ I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless he is forced to do so. ²⁰ But I will use my power and will punish Egypt by doing terrifying things there. After that he will let you go.

^21 (N)“I will make the Egyptians respect you so that when my people leave, they will not go empty-handed. ²² Every Israelite woman will go to her Egyptian neighbors and to any Egyptian woman living in her house and will ask for clothing and for gold and silver jewelry. The Israelites will put these things on their sons and daughters and carry away the wealth of the Egyptians.”

God Gives Moses Miraculous Power

4 Then Moses answered the Lord, “But suppose the Israelites do not believe me and will not listen to what I say. What shall I do if they say that you did not appear to me?”

² So the Lord asked him, “What are you holding?”

“A walking stick,” he answered.

³ The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” When Moses threw it down, it turned into a snake, and he ran away from it. ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach down and pick it up by the tail.” So Moses reached down and caught it, and it became a walking stick again. ⁵ The Lord said, “Do this to prove to the Israelites that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to you.”

⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses again, “Put your hand inside your robe.” Moses obeyed; and when he took his hand out, it was diseased, covered with white spots, like snow. ⁷ Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your robe again.” He did so, and when he took it out this time, it was healthy, just like the rest of his body. ⁸ The Lord said, “If they will not believe you or be convinced by the first miracle, then this one will convince them. ⁹ If in spite of these two miracles they still will not believe you, and if they refuse to listen to what you say, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the ground. The water will turn into blood.”

¹⁰ But Moses said, “No, Lord, don't send me. I have never been a good speaker, and I haven't become one since you began to speak to me. I am a poor speaker, slow and hesitant.”

¹¹ The Lord said to him, “Who gives man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or dumb? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? It is I, the Lord. ¹² Now, go! I will help you to speak, and I will tell you what to say.”

¹³ But Moses answered, “No, Lord, please send someone else.”

¹⁴ At this the Lord became angry with Moses and said, “What about your brother Aaron, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. In fact, he is now coming to meet you and will be glad to see you. ¹⁵ You can speak to him and tell him what to say. I will help both of you to speak, and I will tell you both what to do. ¹⁶ He will be your spokesman and speak to the people for you. Then you will be like God, telling him what to say. ¹⁷ Take this walking stick with you; for with it you will perform miracles.”

Moses Returns to Egypt

¹⁸ Then Moses went back to Jethro, his father-in-law, and said to him, “Please let me go back to my relatives in Egypt to see if they are still alive.” Jethro agreed and told him good-bye.

¹⁹ While Moses was still in Midian, the Lord said to him, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.” ²⁰ So Moses took his wife and his sons, put them on a donkey, and set out with them for Egypt, carrying the walking stick that God had told him to take.

²¹ Again the Lord said to Moses, “Now that you are going back to Egypt, be sure to perform before the king all the miracles which I have given you the power to do. But I will make the king stubborn, and he will not let the people go. ²² Then you must tell him that I, the Lord, say, ‘Israel is my first-born son. ^23 (O)I told you to let my son go, so that he might worship me, but you refused. Now I am going to kill your first-born son.’”

²⁴ At a camping place on the way to Egypt, the Lord met Moses and tried to kill him. ^25-26 Then Zipporah, his wife, took a sharp stone, cut off the foreskin of her son, and touched Moses' feet^[g] with it. Because of the rite of circumcision she said to Moses, “You are a husband of blood to me.” And so the Lord spared Moses' life.

²⁷ Meanwhile the Lord had said to Aaron, “Go into the desert to meet Moses.” So he went to meet him at the holy mountain; and when he met him, he kissed him. ²⁸ Then Moses told Aaron everything that the Lord had said when he told him to return to Egypt; he also told him about the miracles which the Lord had ordered him to perform. ²⁹ So Moses and Aaron went to Egypt and gathered all the Israelite leaders together. ³⁰ Aaron told them everything that the Lord had said to Moses, and then Moses performed all the miracles in front of the people. ³¹ They believed, and when they heard that the Lord had come to them and had seen how they were being treated cruelly, they bowed down and worshiped.

Moses and Aaron before the King of Egypt

5 Then Moses and Aaron went to the king of Egypt and said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Let my people go, so that they can hold a festival in the desert to honor me.’”

² “Who is the Lord?” the king demanded. “Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord; and I will not let Israel go.”

³ Moses and Aaron replied, “The God of the Hebrews has revealed himself to us. Allow us to travel three days into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we don't do so, he will kill us with disease or by war.”

⁴ The king said to Moses and Aaron, “What do you mean by making the people neglect their work? Get those slaves back to work! ⁵ You people have become more numerous than the Egyptians. And now you want to stop working!”

⁶ That same day the king commanded the Egyptian slave drivers and the Israelite foremen: ⁷ “Stop giving the people straw for making bricks. Make them go and find it for themselves. ⁸ But still require them to make the same number of bricks as before, not one brick less. They don't have enough work to do, and that is why they keep asking me to let them go and offer sacrifices to their God! ⁹ Make them work harder and keep them busy, so that they won't have time to listen to a pack of lies.”

¹⁰ The slave drivers and the Israelite foremen went out and said to the Israelites, “The king has said that he will not supply you with any more straw. ¹¹ He says that you must go and get it for yourselves wherever you can find it, but you must still make the same number of bricks.” ¹² So the people went all over Egypt looking for straw. ¹³ The slave drivers kept trying to force them to make the same number of bricks every day as they had made when they were given straw. ¹⁴ The Egyptian slave drivers beat the Israelite foremen, whom they had put in charge of the work. They demanded, “Why aren't you people making the same number of bricks that you made before?”

¹⁵ Then the foremen went to the king and complained, “Why do you do this to us, Your Majesty? ¹⁶ We are given no straw, but we are still ordered to make bricks! And now we are being beaten. It is your people that are at fault.”

¹⁷ The king answered, “You are lazy and don't want to work, and that is why you ask me to let you go and offer sacrifices to the Lord. ¹⁸ Now get back to work! You will not be given any straw, but you must still make the same number of bricks.” ¹⁹ The foremen realized that they were in trouble when they were told that they had to make the same number of bricks every day as they had made before.

²⁰ As they were leaving, they met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them. ²¹ They said to Moses and Aaron, “The Lord has seen what you have done and will punish you for making the king and his officers hate us. You have given them an excuse to kill us.”

Moses Complains to the Lord

²² Then Moses turned to the Lord again and said, “Lord, why do you mistreat your people? Why did you send me here? ²³ Ever since I went to the king to speak for you, he has treated them cruelly. And you have done nothing to help them!”

6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you are going to see what I will do to the king. I will force him to let my people go. In fact, I will force him to drive them out of his land.”

God Calls Moses

^2 (P)God spoke to Moses and said, “I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as Almighty God, but I did not make myself known to them by my holy name, the Lord.^{[h] 4} I also made my covenant with them, promising to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they had lived as foreigners. ⁵ Now I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians have enslaved, and I have remembered my covenant. ⁶ So tell the Israelites that I say to them, ‘I am the Lord; I will rescue you and set you free from your slavery to the Egyptians. I will raise my mighty arm to bring terrible punishment upon them, and I will save you. ⁷ I will make you my own people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God when I set you free from slavery in Egypt. ⁸ I will bring you to the land that I solemnly promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as your own possession. I am the Lord.’” ⁹ Moses told this to the Israelites, but they would not listen to him, because their spirit had been broken by their cruel slavery.

¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Go and tell the king of Egypt that he must let the Israelites leave his land.”

¹² But Moses replied, “Even the Israelites will not listen to me, so why should the king? I am such a poor speaker.”

¹³ The Lord commanded Moses and Aaron: “Tell the Israelites and the king of Egypt that I have ordered you to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.”

The Family Record of Moses and Aaron

¹⁴ Reuben, Jacob's first-born, had four sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; they were the ancestors of the clans that bear their names. ¹⁵ Simeon had six sons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; they were the ancestors of the clans that bear their names. ^16 (Q)Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; they were the ancestors of the clans that bear their names. Levi lived 137 years. ¹⁷ Gershon had two sons: Libni and Shimei, and they had many descendants. ¹⁸ Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years. ¹⁹ Merari had two sons: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of Levi with their descendants.

²⁰ Amram married his father's sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years. ²¹ Izhar had three sons: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. ²² Uzziel also had three sons: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

²³ Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon; she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ²⁴ Korah had three sons: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; they were the ancestors of the divisions of the clan of Korah. ²⁵ Eleazar, Aaron's son, married one of Putiel's daughters, who bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the families and the clans of the tribe of Levi.

²⁶ Aaron and Moses were the ones to whom the Lord said, “Lead the tribes of Israel out of Egypt.” ²⁷ They were the men who told the king of Egypt to free the Israelites.

The Lord's Command to Moses and Aaron

²⁸ When the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹ he said, “I am the Lord. Tell the king of Egypt everything I tell you.”

³⁰ But Moses answered, “You know that I am such a poor speaker; why should the king listen to me?”

7 The Lord said, “I am going to make you like God to the king, and your brother Aaron will speak to him as your prophet. ² Tell Aaron everything I command you, and he will tell the king to let the Israelites leave his country. ^3-4 (R)But I will make the king stubborn, and he will not listen to you, no matter how many terrifying things I do in Egypt. Then I will bring severe punishment on Egypt and lead the tribes of my people out of the land. ⁵ The Egyptians will then know that I am the Lord, when I raise my hand against them and bring the Israelites out of their country.” ⁶ Moses and Aaron did what the Lord commanded. ⁷ At the time when they spoke to the king, Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three.

Aaron's Walking Stick

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “If the king demands that you prove yourselves by performing a miracle, tell Aaron to take his walking stick and throw it down in front of the king, and it will turn into a snake.” ¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to the king and did as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw his walking stick down in front of the king and his officers, and it turned into a snake. ¹¹ Then the king called for his wise men and magicians, and by their magic they did the same thing. ¹² They threw down their walking sticks, and the sticks turned into snakes. But Aaron's stick swallowed theirs. ¹³ The king, however, remained stubborn and, just as the Lord had said, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron.

Disasters Strike Egypt

Blood

^14 (S)Then the Lord said to Moses, “The king is very stubborn and refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ So go and meet him in the morning when he goes down to the Nile. Take with you the walking stick that was turned into a snake, and wait for him on the riverbank. ¹⁶ Then say to the king, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to tell you to let his people go, so that they can worship him in the desert. But until now you have not listened. ^17 (T)Now, Your Majesty, the Lord says that you will find out who he is by what he is going to do. Look, I am going to strike the surface of the river with this stick, and the water will be turned into blood. ¹⁸ The fish will die, and the river will stink so much that the Egyptians will not be able to drink from it.’”

¹⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron to take his stick and hold it out over all the rivers, canals, and pools in Egypt. The water will become blood, and all over the land there will be blood, even in the wooden tubs and stone jars.”

²⁰ Then Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the presence of the king and his officers, Aaron raised his stick and struck the surface of the river, and all the water in it was turned into blood. ²¹ The fish in the river died, and it smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink from it. There was blood everywhere in Egypt. ²² Then the king's magicians did the same thing by means of their magic, and the king was as stubborn as ever. Just as the Lord had said, the king refused to listen to Moses and Aaron. ²³ Instead, he turned and went back to his palace without paying any attention even to this. ²⁴ All the Egyptians dug along the bank of the river for drinking water, because they were not able to drink water from the river.

²⁵ Seven days passed after the Lord struck the river.

Frogs

8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the king and tell him that the Lord says, ‘Let my people go, so that they can worship me. ² If you refuse, I will punish your country by covering it with frogs. ³ The Nile will be so full of frogs that they will leave it and go into your palace, your bedroom, your bed, the houses of your officials and your people, and even into your ovens and baking pans. ⁴ They will jump up on you, your people, and all your officials.’”

⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron to hold out his walking stick over the rivers, the canals, and the pools, and make frogs come up and cover the land of Egypt.” ⁶ So Aaron held it out over all the water, and the frogs came out and covered the land. ⁷ But the magicians used magic, and they also made frogs come up on the land.

⁸ The king called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to take away these frogs, and I will let your people go, so that they can offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

⁹ Moses replied, “I will be glad to pray for you. Just set the time when I am to pray for you, your officers, and your people. Then you will be rid of the frogs, and there will be none left except in the Nile.”

¹⁰ The king answered, “Pray for me tomorrow.”

Moses said, “I will do as you ask, and then you will know that there is no other god like the Lord, our God. ¹¹ You, your officials, and your people will be rid of the frogs, and there will be none left except in the Nile.” ¹² Then Moses and Aaron left the king, and Moses prayed to the Lord to take away the frogs which he had brought on the king. ¹³ The Lord did as Moses asked, and the frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields died. ¹⁴ The Egyptians piled them up in great heaps, until the land stank with them. ¹⁵ When the king saw that the frogs were dead, he became stubborn again and, just as the Lord had said, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron.

Gnats

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron to strike the ground with his stick, and all over the land of Egypt the dust will change into gnats.” ¹⁷ So Aaron struck the ground with his stick, and all the dust in Egypt was turned into gnats, which covered the people and the animals. ¹⁸ The magicians tried to use their magic to make gnats appear, but they failed. There were gnats everywhere, ^19 (U)and the magicians said to the king, “God has done this!” But the king was stubborn and, just as the Lord had said, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron.

Flies

²⁰ The Lord said to Moses, “Early tomorrow morning go and meet the king as he goes to the river, and tell him that the Lord says, ‘Let my people go, so that they can worship me. ²¹ I warn you that if you refuse, I will punish you by sending flies on you, your officials, and your people. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies, and the ground will be covered with them. ²² But I will spare the region of Goshen, where my people live, so that there will be no flies there. I will do this so that you will know that I, the Lord, am at work in this land. ²³ I will make a distinction^[i] between my people and your people. This miracle will take place tomorrow.’” ²⁴ The Lord sent great swarms of flies into the king's palace and the houses of his officials. The whole land of Egypt was brought to ruin by the flies.

²⁵ Then the king called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Go and offer sacrifices to your God here in this country.”

²⁶ “It would not be right to do that,” Moses answered, “because the Egyptians would be offended by our sacrificing the animals that we offer to the Lord our God. If we use these animals and offend the Egyptians by sacrificing them where they can see us, they will stone us to death. ²⁷ We must travel three days into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, just as he commanded us.”

²⁸ The king said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord, your God, in the desert, if you do not go very far. Pray for me.”

²⁹ Moses answered, “As soon as I leave, I will pray to the Lord that tomorrow the flies will leave you, your officials, and your people. But you must not deceive us again and prevent the people from going to sacrifice to the Lord.”

³⁰ Moses left the king and prayed to the Lord, ³¹ and the Lord did as Moses asked. The flies left the king, his officials, and his people; not one fly remained. ³² But even this time the king became stubborn, and again he would not let the people go.

Death of the Animals

9 The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the king and tell him that the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘Let my people go, so that they may worship me. ² If you again refuse to let them go, ³ I will punish you by sending a terrible disease on all your animals—your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats. ⁴ I will make a distinction between the animals of the Israelites and those of the Egyptians, and no animal that belongs to the Israelites will die. ⁵ I, the Lord, have set tomorrow as the time when I will do this.’”

⁶ The next day the Lord did as he had said, and all the animals of the Egyptians died, but not one of the animals of the Israelites died. ⁷ The king asked what had happened and was told that none of the animals of the Israelites had died. But he was stubborn and would not let the people go.

Boils

⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take a few handfuls of ashes from a furnace; Moses is to throw them into the air in front of the king. ⁹ They will spread out like fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and everywhere they will produce boils that become open sores on the people and the animals.” ^10 (V)So they got some ashes and stood before the king; Moses threw them into the air, and they produced boils that became open sores on the people and the animals. ¹¹ The magicians were not able to appear before Moses, because they were covered with boils, like all the other Egyptians. ¹² But the Lord made the king stubborn and, just as the Lord had said, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron.

Hail

¹³ The Lord then said to Moses, “Early tomorrow morning meet with the king and tell him that the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘Let my people go, so that they may worship me. ¹⁴ This time I will punish not only your officials and your people, but I will punish you as well, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the world. ¹⁵ If I had raised my hand to strike you and your people with disease, you would have been completely destroyed. ^16 (W)But to show you my power I have let you live so that my fame might spread over the whole world. ¹⁷ Yet you are still arrogant and refuse to let my people go. ¹⁸ This time tomorrow I will cause a heavy hailstorm, such as Egypt has never known in all its history. ¹⁹ Now give orders for your livestock and everything else you have in the open to be put under shelter. Hail will fall on the people and animals left outside unprotected, and they will all die.’” ²⁰ Some of the king's officials were afraid because of what the Lord had said, and they brought their slaves and animals indoors for shelter. ²¹ Others, however, paid no attention to the Lord's warning and left their slaves and animals out in the open.

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Raise your hand toward the sky, and hail will fall over the whole land of Egypt—on the people, the animals, and all the plants in the fields.” ²³ So Moses raised his stick toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the ground. The Lord sent ^24 (X)a heavy hailstorm, with lightning flashing back and forth. It was the worst storm that Egypt had ever known in all its history. ²⁵ All over Egypt the hail struck down everything in the open, including all the people and all the animals. It beat down all the plants in the fields and broke all the trees. ²⁶ The region of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was the only place where there was no hail.

²⁷ The king sent for Moses and Aaron and said, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and my people and I are in the wrong. ²⁸ Pray to the Lord! We have had enough of this thunder and hail! I promise to let you go; you don't have to stay here any longer.”

²⁹ Moses said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city, I will lift up my hands in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth belongs to the Lord. ³⁰ But I know that you and your officials do not yet fear the Lord God.”

³¹ The flax and the barley were ruined, because the barley was ripe, and the flax was budding. ³² But none of the wheat was ruined, because it ripens later.

³³ Moses left the king, went out of the city, and lifted up his hands in prayer to the Lord. The thunder, the hail, and the rain all stopped. ³⁴ When the king saw what had happened, he sinned again. He and his officials remained as stubborn as ever ³⁵ and, just as the Lord had foretold through Moses, the king would not let the Israelites go.

Locusts

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go and see the king. I have made him and his officials stubborn, in order that I may perform these miracles among them ² and in order that you may be able to tell your children and grandchildren how I made fools of the Egyptians when I performed the miracles. All of you will know that I am the Lord.”

³ So Moses and Aaron went to the king and said to him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘How much longer will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. ⁴ If you keep on refusing, then I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. ⁵ There will be so many that they will completely cover the ground. They will eat everything that the hail did not destroy, even the trees that are left. ⁶ They will fill your palaces and the houses of all your officials and all your people. They will be worse than anything your ancestors ever saw.’” Then Moses turned and left.

⁷ The king's officials said to him, “How long is this man going to give us trouble? Let the Israelite men go, so that they can worship the Lord their God. Don't you realize that Egypt is ruined?”

⁸ So Moses and Aaron were brought back to the king, and he said to them, “You may go and worship the Lord your God. But exactly who will go?”

⁹ Moses answered, “We will all go, including our children and our old people. We will take our sons and daughters, our sheep and goats, and our cattle, because we must hold a festival to honor the Lord.”

¹⁰ The king said, “I swear by the Lord that I will never let you take your women and children! It is clear that you are plotting to revolt. ¹¹ No! Only the men may go and worship the Lord if that is what you want.” With that, Moses and Aaron were driven out of the king's presence.

¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Raise your hand over the land of Egypt to bring the locusts. They will come and eat everything that grows, everything that has survived the hail.” ¹³ So Moses raised his stick, and the Lord caused a wind from the east to blow on the land all that day and all that night. By morning it had brought the locusts. ^14 (Y)They came in swarms and settled over the whole country. It was the largest swarm of locusts that had ever been seen or that ever would be seen again. ¹⁵ They covered the ground until it was black with them; they ate everything that the hail had left, including all the fruit on the trees. Not a green thing was left on any tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.

¹⁶ Then the king hurriedly called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. ¹⁷ Now forgive my sin this one time and pray to the Lord your God to take away this fatal punishment from me.” ¹⁸ Moses left the king and prayed to the Lord. ¹⁹ And the Lord changed the east wind into a very strong west wind, which picked up the locusts and blew them into the Gulf of Suez.^[j] Not one locust was left in all of Egypt. ²⁰ But the Lord made the king stubborn, and he did not let the Israelites go.

Darkness

^21 (Z)The Lord then said to Moses, “Raise your hand toward the sky, and a darkness thick enough to be felt will cover the land of Egypt.” ^22 (AA)Moses raised his hand toward the sky, and there was total darkness throughout Egypt for three days. ²³ The Egyptians could not see each other, and no one left his house during that time. But the Israelites had light where they were living.

²⁴ The king called Moses and said, “You may go and worship the Lord; even your women and children may go with you. But your sheep, goats, and cattle must stay here.”

²⁵ Moses answered, “Then you would have to provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to offer to the Lord our God. ²⁶ No, we will take our animals with us; not one will be left behind. We ourselves must select the animals with which to worship the Lord our God. And until we get there, we will not know what animals to sacrifice to him.”

²⁷ The Lord made the king stubborn, and he would not let them go. ²⁸ He said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Don't let me ever see you again! On the day I do, you will die!”

²⁹ “You are right,” Moses answered. “You will never see me again.”

Moses Announces the Death of the First-Born

11 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will send only one more punishment on the king of Egypt and his people. After that he will let you leave. In fact, he will drive all of you out of here. ² Now speak to the people of Israel and tell all of them to ask their neighbors for gold and silver jewelry.” ³ The Lord made the Egyptians respect the Israelites. Indeed, the officials and all the people considered Moses to be a very great man.

⁴ Moses then said to the king, “The Lord says, ‘At about midnight I will go through Egypt, ⁵ and every first-born son in Egypt will die, from the king's son, who is heir to the throne, to the son of the slave woman who grinds grain. The first-born of all the cattle will die also. ⁶ There will be loud crying all over Egypt, such as there has never been before or ever will be again. ⁷ But not even a dog will bark at the Israelites or their animals. Then you will know that I, the Lord, make a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites.’” ⁸ Moses concluded by saying, “All your officials will come to me and bow down before me, and they will beg me to take all my people and go away. After that, I will leave.” Then in great anger Moses left the king.

⁹ The Lord had said to Moses, “The king will continue to refuse to listen to you, in order that I may do more of my miracles in Egypt.” ¹⁰ Moses and Aaron performed all these miracles before the king, but the Lord made him stubborn, and he would not let the Israelites leave his country.

The Passover

12 ^(AB)The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in Egypt: ² “This month is to be the first month of the year for you. ³ Give these instructions to the whole community of Israel: On the tenth day of this month each man must choose either a lamb or a young goat for his household. ⁴ If his family is too small to eat a whole animal, he and his next-door neighbor may share an animal, in proportion to the number of people and the amount that each person can eat. ⁵ You may choose either a sheep or a goat, but it must be a one-year-old male without any defects. ⁶ Then, on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, the whole community of Israel will kill the animals. ⁷ The people are to take some of the blood and put it on the doorposts and above the doors of the houses in which the animals are to be eaten. ⁸ That night the meat is to be roasted, and eaten with bitter herbs and with bread made without yeast. ⁹ Do not eat any of it raw or boiled, but eat it roasted whole, including the head, the legs, and the internal organs. ¹⁰ You must not leave any of it until morning; if any is left over, it must be burned. ¹¹ You are to eat it quickly, for you are to be dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet and your walking stick in your hand. It is the Passover Festival to honor me, the Lord.

¹² “On that night I will go through the land of Egypt, killing every first-born male, both human and animal, and punishing all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. ¹³ The blood on the doorposts will be a sign to mark the houses in which you live. When I see the blood, I will pass over you and will not harm you when I punish the Egyptians. ^14 (AC)You must celebrate this day as a religious festival to remind you of what I, the Lord, have done. Celebrate it for all time to come.”

The Festival of Unleavened Bread

¹⁵ The Lord said, “For seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast—eat only unleavened bread. On the first day you are to get rid of all the yeast in your houses, for if anyone during those seven days eats bread made with yeast, he shall no longer be considered one of my people. ¹⁶ On the first day and again on the seventh day you are to meet for worship. No work is to be done on those days, but you may prepare food. ¹⁷ Keep this festival, because it was on this day that I brought your tribes out of Egypt. For all time to come you must celebrate this day as a festival. ¹⁸ From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month to the evening of the twenty-first day, you must not eat any bread made with yeast. ^19-20 For seven days no yeast must be found in your houses, for if anyone, native-born or foreign, eats bread made with yeast, he shall no longer be considered one of my people.”

The First Passover

²¹ Moses called for all the leaders of Israel and said to them, “Each of you is to choose a lamb or a young goat and kill it, so that your families can celebrate Passover. ²² Take a sprig of hyssop, dip it in the bowl containing^[k] the animal's blood, and wipe the blood on the doorposts and the beam above the door of your house. Not one of you is to leave the house until morning. ^23 (AD)When the Lord goes through Egypt to kill the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the beams and the doorposts and will not let the Angel of Death enter your houses and kill you. ²⁴ You and your children must obey these rules forever. ²⁵ When you enter the land that the Lord has promised to give you, you must perform this ritual. ²⁶ When your children ask you, ‘What does this ritual mean?’ ²⁷ you will answer, ‘It is the sacrifice of Passover to honor the Lord, because he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. He killed the Egyptians, but spared us.’”

The Israelites knelt down and worshiped. ²⁸ Then they went and did what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

The Death of the First-Born

^29 (AE)At midnight the Lord killed all the first-born sons in Egypt, from the king's son, who was heir to the throne, to the son of the prisoner in the dungeon; all the first-born of the animals were also killed. ³⁰ That night, the king, his officials, and all the other Egyptians were awakened. There was loud crying throughout Egypt, because there was not one home in which there was not a dead son. ³¹ That same night the king sent for Moses and Aaron and said, “Get out, you and your Israelites! Leave my country; go and worship the Lord, as you asked. ³² Take your sheep, goats, and cattle, and leave. Also pray for a blessing on me.”

³³ The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country; they said, “We will all be dead if you don't leave.” ³⁴ So the people filled their baking pans with unleavened dough, wrapped them in clothing, and carried them on their shoulders. ^35 (AF)The Israelites had done as Moses had said, and had asked the Egyptians for gold and silver jewelry and for clothes. ³⁶ The Lord made the Egyptians respect the people and give them what they asked for. In this way the Israelites carried away the wealth of the Egyptians.

The Israelites Leave Egypt

³⁷ The Israelites set out on foot from Rameses for Sukkoth. There were about 600,000 men, not counting women and children. ³⁸ A large number of other people and many sheep, goats, and cattle also went with them. ³⁹ They baked unleavened bread from the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for they had been driven out of Egypt so suddenly that they did not have time to get their food ready or to prepare leavened dough.

^40 (AG)The Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years. ⁴¹ On the day the 430 years ended, all the tribes of the Lord's people left Egypt. ⁴² It was a night when the Lord kept watch to bring them out of Egypt; this same night is dedicated to the Lord for all time to come as a night when the Israelites must keep watch.

Regulations about Passover

⁴³ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the Passover regulations: No foreigner shall eat the Passover meal, ⁴⁴ but any slave that you have bought may eat it if you circumcise him first. ⁴⁵ No temporary resident or hired worker may eat it. ^46 (AH)The whole meal must be eaten in the house in which it was prepared; it must not be taken outside. And do not break any of the animal's bones. ⁴⁷ The whole community of Israel must celebrate this festival, ⁴⁸ but no uncircumcised man may eat it. If a foreigner has settled among you and wants to celebrate Passover to honor the Lord, you must first circumcise all the males of his household. He is then to be treated like a native-born Israelite and may join in the festival. ⁴⁹ The same regulations apply to native-born Israelites and to foreigners who settle among you.” ⁵⁰ All the Israelites obeyed and did what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹ On that day the Lord brought the Israelite tribes out of Egypt.

Dedication of the First-Born

13 The Lord said to Moses, ^2 (AI)“Dedicate all the first-born males to me, for every first-born male Israelite and every first-born male animal belongs to me.”

The Festival of Unleavened Bread

³ Moses said to the people, “Remember this day—the day on which you left Egypt, the place where you were slaves. This is the day the Lord brought you out by his great power. No leavened bread is to be eaten. ⁴ You are leaving Egypt on this day in the first month, the month of Abib. ⁵ The Lord solemnly promised your ancestors to give you the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. When he brings you into that rich and fertile land, you must celebrate this festival in the first month of every year. ⁶ For seven days you must eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to honor the Lord. ⁷ For seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast; there must be no yeast or leavened bread anywhere in your land. ⁸ When the festival begins, explain to your sons that you do all this because of what the Lord did for you when you left Egypt. ⁹ This observance will be a reminder, like something tied on your hand or on your forehead; it will remind you to continue to recite and study the Law of the Lord, because the Lord brought you out of Egypt by his great power. ¹⁰ Celebrate this festival at the appointed time each year.

The First-Born

¹¹ “The Lord will bring you into the land of the Canaanites, which he solemnly promised to you and your ancestors. When he gives it to you, ^12 (AJ)you must offer every first-born male to the Lord. Every first-born male of your animals belongs to the Lord, ¹³ but you must buy back from him every first-born male donkey by offering a lamb in its place. If you do not want to buy back the donkey, break its neck. You must buy back every first-born male child of yours. ¹⁴ In the future, when your son asks what this observance means, you will answer him, ‘By using great power the Lord brought us out of Egypt, the place where we were slaves. ¹⁵ When the king of Egypt was stubborn and refused to let us go, the Lord killed every first-born male in the land of Egypt, both human and animal. That is why we sacrifice every first-born male animal to the Lord, but buy back our first-born sons. ¹⁶ This observance will be a reminder, like something tied on our hands or on our foreheads; it will remind us that the Lord brought us out of Egypt by his great power.’”

The Pillar of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire

¹⁷ When the king of Egypt let the people go, God did not take them by the road that goes up the coast to Philistia, although it was the shortest way. God thought, “I do not want the people to change their minds and return to Egypt when they see that they are going to have to fight.” ¹⁸ Instead, he led them in a roundabout way through the desert toward the Red Sea.^[l] The Israelites were armed for battle.

^19 (AK)Moses took the body of Joseph with him, as Joseph had made the Israelites solemnly promise to do. Joseph had said, “When God rescues you, you must carry my body with you from this place.”

²⁰ The Israelites left Sukkoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. ²¹ During the day the Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud to show them the way, and during the night he went in front of them in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel night and day. ^22 (AL)The pillar of cloud was always in front of the people during the day, and the pillar of fire at night.

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 Red Sea, near Baal Zephon. ³ The king will think that the Israelites are wandering around in the country and are closed in by the desert. ⁴ I will make him stubborn, and he will pursue you, and my victory over the king and his army will bring me honor. Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” The Israelites did as they were told.

⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the people had escaped, he and his officials changed their minds and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites escape, and we have lost them as our slaves!” ⁶ The king got his war chariot and his army ready. ⁷ He set out with all his chariots, including the six hundred finest, commanded by their officers. ⁸ The Lord made the king stubborn, and he pursued the Israelites, who were leaving triumphantly.^{[m] 9} The Egyptian army, with all the horses, chariots, and drivers, pursued them and caught up with them where they were camped by the Red Sea near Pi Hahiroth and Baal Zephon.

¹⁰ When the Israelites saw the king and his army marching against them, they were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help. ¹¹ They said to Moses, “Weren't there any graves in Egypt? Did you have to bring us out here in the desert to die? Look what you have done by bringing us out of Egypt! ¹² Didn't we tell you before we left that this would happen? We told you to leave us alone and let us go on being slaves of the Egyptians. It would be better to be slaves there than to die here in the desert.”

¹³ Moses answered, “Don't be afraid! Stand your ground, and you will see what the Lord will do to save you today; you will never see these Egyptians again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you, and all you have to do is keep still.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out for help? Tell the people to move forward. ¹⁶ Lift up your walking stick and hold it out over the sea. The water will divide, and the Israelites will be able to walk through the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷ I will make the Egyptians so stubborn that they will go in after them, and I will gain honor by my victory over the king, his army, his chariots, and his drivers. ¹⁸ When I defeat them, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁹ The angel of God, who had been in front of the army of Israel, moved and went to the rear. The pillar of cloud also moved until it was ²⁰ between the Egyptians and the Israelites. The cloud made it dark for the Egyptians, but gave light to the people of Israel,^[n] and so the armies could not come near each other all night.

²¹ Moses held out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind. It blew all night and turned the sea into dry land. The water was divided, ^22 (AM)and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on both sides. ²³ The Egyptians pursued them and went after them into the sea with all their horses, chariots, and drivers. ²⁴ Just before dawn the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw them into a panic. ²⁵ He made the wheels of their chariots get stuck, so that they moved with great difficulty. The Egyptians said, “The Lord is fighting for the Israelites against us. Let's get out of here!”

²⁶ The Lord said to Moses, “Hold out your hand over the sea, and the water will come back over the Egyptians and their chariots and drivers.” ²⁷ So Moses held out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the water returned to its normal level. The Egyptians tried to escape from the water, but the Lord threw them into the sea. ²⁸ The water returned and covered the chariots, the drivers, and all the Egyptian army that had followed the Israelites into the sea; not one of them was left. ²⁹ But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on both sides.

³⁰ On that day the Lord saved the people of Israel from the Egyptians, and the Israelites saw them lying dead on the seashore. ³¹ When the Israelites saw the great power with which the Lord had defeated the Egyptians, they stood in awe of the Lord; and they had faith in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

The Song of Moses

15 ^(AN)Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

The Song of Miriam

¹⁹ The Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. But when the Egyptian chariots with their horses and drivers went into the sea, the Lord brought the water back, and it covered them.

²⁰ The prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took her tambourine, and all the women followed her, playing tambourines and dancing. ²¹ Miriam sang for them: