Exodus 1
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob,
each with his household:
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
3 Is'sachar, Zeb'ulun, and Benjamin,
4 Dan and Naph'tali, Gad and Asher.
5 All the offspring of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already
in Egypt.
6 Then Joseph died, and all his brothers, and all that generation.
7 But the descendants of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly;
they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong; so that the land was filled
with them.
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
9 And he said to his people, "Behold, the people of Israel are too
many and too mighty for us.
10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if
war befall us, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from
the land."
11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy
burdens; and they built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithom and Ra-am'ses.
12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the
more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people
of Israel.
13 So they made the people of Israel serve with rigor,
14 and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick,
and in all kinds of work in the field; in all their work they made them
serve with rigor.
15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom
was named Shiph'rah and the other Pu'ah,
16 "When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon
the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter,
she shall live."
17 But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt
commanded them, but let the male children live.
18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives, and said to them, "Why
have you done this, and let the male children live?"
19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not
like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and are delivered before
the midwife
comes to them."
20 So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and
grew very strong.
21 And because the midwives feared God he gave them families.
22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, "Every son that is born to
the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter
live."
Exodus 2
1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took to wife a daughter
of Levi.
2 The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was
a goodly child, she hid him three months.
3 And when she could hide him no longer she took for him a basket made
of bulrushes, and daubed it with bitumen and pitch; and she put the child
in it and
placed it among the reeds at the
river's brink.
4 And his sister stood at a distance, to know what would be done to
him.
5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, and
her maidens walked beside the river; she saw the basket among the reeds
and sent her
maid to fetch it.
6 When she opened it she saw the child; and lo, the babe was crying.
She took pity on him and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children."
7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call
you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?"
8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go." So the girl went and called
the child's mother.
9 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away, and nurse
him for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child
and nursed
him.
10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and
he became her son; and she named him Moses, for she said, "Because I drew
him out of
the water."
11 One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and
looked on their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of
his people.
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, behold, two Hebrews were struggling
together; and he said to the man that did the wrong, "Why do you strike
your fellow?"
14 He answered, "Who made you a prince and a 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."
15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled
from Pharaoh, and stayed in the land of Mid'ian; and he sat down by a well.
16 Now the priest of Mid'ian had seven daughters; and they came and
drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.
17 The shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped
them, and watered their flock.
18 When they came to their father Reu'el, he said, "How is it that
you have come so soon today?"
19 They said, "An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds,
and even drew water for us and watered the flock."
20 He said to his daughters, "And where is he? Why have you left the
man? Call him, that he may eat bread."
21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his
daughter Zippo'rah.
22 She bore a son, and he called his name Gershom; for he said, "I
have been a sojourner in a foreign land."
23 In the course of those many days the king of Egypt died. And the
people of Israel groaned under their bondage, and cried out for help, and
their cry under
bondage came up to God.
24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with
Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25 And God saw the people of Israel, and God knew their condition.
Exodus 3
1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the
priest of Mid'ian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness,
and came to
Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out
of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet
it was not
consumed.
3 And Moses said, "I will turn aside and see this great sight, why
the bush is not burnt."
4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him
out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here am I."
5 Then he said, "Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet,
for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."
6 And he said, "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.
7 Then the LORD said, "I have seen the affliction of my people who
are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I
know their
sufferings,
8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians,
and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land
flowing with
milk and honey, to the place of
the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Per'izzites, the Hivites,
and the Jeb'usites.
9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me,
and I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring forth my people,
the sons of Israel, out of Egypt."
11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and
bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?"
12 He said, "But I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for
you, that I have sent you: when you have brought forth the people out of
Egypt, you shall serve
God upon this mountain."
13 Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say
to them, 'The God of your fathers 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." And he said, "Say this to the
people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
15 God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'The
LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob,
has sent me to you': this is my
name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, 'The
LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob,
has appeared
to me, saying, "I have observed
you and what has been done to you in Egypt;
17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of
Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Per'izzites,
the Hivites, and the
Jeb'usites, a land flowing with
milk and honey."'
18 And they will hearken 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; and now, we pray
you, let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice
to the LORD our God.'
19 I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled
by a mighty hand.
20 So I will stretch out my hand and smite Egypt with all the wonders
which I will do in it; after that he will let you go.
21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians;
and when you go, you shall not go empty,
22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of her who sojourns
in her house, jewelry of silver and of gold, and clothing, and you shall
put them on your
sons and on your daughters; thus
you shall despoil the Egyptians."
Exodus 4
1 Then Moses answered, "But behold, they will not believe me or listen
to my voice, for they will say, 'The LORD did not appear to you.'"
2 The LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A rod."
3 And he said, "Cast it on the ground." So he cast it on the ground,
and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it.
4 But the LORD said to Moses, "Put out your hand, and take it by the
tail" --so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his
hand--
5 "that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the
God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to
you."
6 Again, the LORD said to him, "Put your hand into your bosom." And
he put his hand into his bosom; and when he took it out, behold, his hand
was leprous,
as white as snow.
7 Then God said, "Put your hand back into your bosom." So he put his
hand back into his bosom; and when he took it out, behold, it was restored
like the rest
of his flesh.
8 "If they will not believe you," God said, "or heed the first sign,
they may believe the latter sign.
9 If they will not believe even these two signs or heed your voice,
you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it upon the dry ground;
and the water
which you shall take from the
Nile will become blood upon the dry ground."
10 But Moses said to the LORD, "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either
heretofore or since thou hast spoken to thy servant; but I am slow of speech
and of
tongue."
11 Then the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes
him dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what
you shall speak."
13 But he said, "Oh, my Lord, send, I pray, some other person."
14 Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said,
"Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak
well; and
behold, he is coming out to meet
you, and when he sees you he will be glad in his heart.
15 And 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.
16 He shall speak for you to the people; and he shall be a mouth for
you, and you shall be to him as God.
17 And you shall take in your hand this rod, with which you shall do
the signs."
18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, "Let
me go back, I pray, to my kinsmen in Egypt and see whether they are still
alive." And
Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace."
19 And the LORD said to Moses in Mid'ian, "Go back to Egypt; for all
the men who were seeking your life are dead."
20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on an ass, and
went back to the land of Egypt; and in his hand Moses took the rod of God.
21 And the LORD said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that
you do before Pharaoh all the miracles which I have put in your power;
but I will
harden his heart, so that he will
not let the people go.
22 And you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD, Israel is my
first-born son,
23 and I say to you, "Let my son go that he may serve me"; if you refuse
to let him go, behold, I will slay your first-born son.'"
24 At a lodging place on the way the LORD met him and sought to kill
him.
25 Then Zippo'rah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin, and
touched Moses' feet with it, and said, "Surely you are a bridegroom of
blood to me!"
26 So he let him alone. Then it was that she said, "You are 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 met him at the mountain of God and kissed him.
28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD with which he had
sent him, and all the signs which he had charged him to do.
29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of
the people of Israel.
30 And Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses,
and did the signs in the sight of the people.
31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited
the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed
their heads and
worshiped.
Exodus 5
1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "Thus says the
LORD, the God of Israel, 'Let my people go, that they may hold a feast
to me in the
wilderness.'"
2 But Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should heed his voice
and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and moreover I will not let
Israel go."
3 Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us; let us go,
we pray, a three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the
LORD our God,
lest he fall upon us with pestilence
or with the sword."
4 But the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you
take the people away from their work? Get to your burdens."
5 And Pharaoh said, "Behold, the people of the land are now many and
you make them rest from their burdens!"
6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and
their foremen,
7 "You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as heretofore;
let them go and gather straw for themselves.
8 But the number of bricks which they made heretofore you shall lay
upon them, you shall by no means lessen it; for they are idle; therefore
they cry, 'Let us
go and offer sacrifice to our
God.'
9 Let heavier work be laid upon the men that they may labor at it and
pay no regard to lying words."
10 So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said
to the people, "Thus says Pharaoh, 'I will not give you straw.
11 Go yourselves, get your straw wherever you can find it; but your
work will not be lessened in the least.'"
12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt,
to gather stubble for straw.
13 The taskmasters were urgent, saying, "Complete your work, your daily
task, as when there was straw."
14 And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters
had set over them, were beaten, and were asked, "Why have you not done
all your task
of making bricks today, as hitherto?"
15 Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh,
"Why do you deal thus with your servants?
16 No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, 'Make bricks!'
And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people."
17 But he said, "You are idle, you are idle; therefore you say, 'Let
us go and sacrifice to the LORD.'
18 Go now, and work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall
deliver the same number of bricks."
19 The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in evil plight,
when they said, "You shall by no means lessen your daily number of bricks."
20 They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came
forth from Pharaoh;
21 and they said to them, "The LORD look upon you and judge, because
you have made us offensive in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and
have put a
sword in their hand to kill us."
22 Then Moses turned again to the LORD and said, "O LORD, why hast
thou done evil to this people? Why didst thou ever send me?
23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he has done evil
to this people, and thou hast not delivered thy people at all."
Exodus 6
1 But the LORD said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh;
for with a strong hand he will send them out, yea, with a strong hand he
will
drive them out of his land."
2 And God said to Moses, "I am the LORD.
3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but
by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.
4 I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of
Canaan, the land in which they dwelt as sojourners.
5 Moreover I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the
Egyptians hold in bondage and I have remembered my covenant.
6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, 'I am the LORD, and I will
bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver
you from their
bondage, and I will redeem you
with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment,
7 and I will take you for my people, and I will be your God; and you
shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under
the
burdens of the Egyptians.
8 And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the
LORD.'"
9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel; but they did not listen
to Moses, because of their broken spirit and their cruel bondage.
10 And the LORD said to Moses,
11 "Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go
out of his land."
12 But Moses said to the LORD, "Behold, the people of Israel have not
listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me, who am a man of uncircumcised
lips?"
13 But the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a charge to
the people of Israel and to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the people of
Israel out of
the land of Egypt.
14 These are the heads of their fathers' houses: the sons of Reuben,
the first-born of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the
families of Reuben.
15 The sons of Simeon: Jemu'el, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul,
the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon.
16 These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations:
Gershon, Kohath, and Merar'i, the years of the life of Levi being a hundred
and
thirty-seven years.
17 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shim'e-i, by their families.
18 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uz'ziel, the years
of the life of Kohath being a hundred and thirty-three years.
19 The sons of Merar'i: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of
the Levites according to their generations.
20 Amram took to wife Joch'ebed his father's sister and she bore him
Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being one hundred and thirty-seven
years.
21 The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.
22 And the sons of Uz'ziel: Mi'sha-el, Elza'phan, and Sithri.
23 Aaron took to wife Eli'sheba, the daughter of Ammin'adab and the
sister of Nahshon; and she bore him Nadab, Abi'hu, Elea'zar, and Ith'amar.
24 The sons of Korah: Assir, Elka'nah, and Abi'asaph; these are the
families of the Ko'rahites.
25 Elea'zar, Aaron's son, took to wife one of the daughters of Pu'ti-el;
and she bore him Phin'ehas. These are the heads of the fathers' houses
of the Levites by
their families.
26 These are the Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said: "Bring out
the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts."
27 It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out
the people of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron.
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 say to you."
30 But Moses said to the LORD, "Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips;
how then shall Pharaoh listen to me?"
Exodus 7
1 And the LORD said to Moses, "See, I make you as God to Pharaoh; and
Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
2 You shall speak all that I command you; and Aaron your brother shall
tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land.
3 But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs
and wonders in the land of Egypt,
4 Pharaoh will not listen to you; then I will lay my hand upon Egypt
and bring forth my hosts, my people the sons of Israel, out of the land
of Egypt by great
acts of judgment.
5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth
my hand upon Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them."
6 And Moses and Aaron did so; they did as the LORD commanded them.
7 Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old,
when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
9 "When Pharaoh says to you, 'Prove yourselves by working a miracle,'
then you shall say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and cast it down before Pharaoh,
that it
may become a serpent.'"
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the LORD commanded;
Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became
a serpent.
11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers; and they also,
the magicians of Egypt, did the same by their secret arts.
12 For every man cast down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron's
rod swallowed up their rods.
13 Still Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them;
as the LORD had said.
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuses
to let the people go.
15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water; wait
for him by the river's brink, and take in your hand the rod which was turned
into a
serpent.
16 And you shall say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent
me to you, saying, "Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness;
and
behold, you have not yet obeyed."
17 Thus says the LORD, "By this you shall know that I am the LORD:
behold, I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the rod that is
in my hand, and it
shall be turned to blood,
18 and the fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile shall become foul,
and the Egyptians will loathe to drink water from the Nile."'"
19 And the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and stretch
out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals,
and their
ponds, and all their pools of
water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout
all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in
vessels of stone.'"
20 Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded; in the sight of Pharaoh
and in the sight of his servants, he lifted up the rod and struck the water
that was in
the Nile, and all the water that
was in the Nile turned to blood.
21 And the fish in the Nile died; and the Nile became foul, so that
the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile; and there was blood
throughout all the
land of Egypt.
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.
23 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not lay even
this to heart.
24 And all the Egyptians dug round about the Nile for water to drink,
for they could not drink the water of the Nile.
25 Seven days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.
Exodus 8
1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus
says the LORD, "Let my people go, that they may serve me.
2 But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your
country with frogs;
3 the Nile shall swarm with frogs which shall come up into your house,
and into your bedchamber and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants
and
of your people, and into your
ovens and your kneading bowls;
4 the frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your
servants."'"
5 And the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand
with your rod over the rivers, over the canals, and over the pools, and
cause frogs to
come upon the land of Egypt!'"
6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the
frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.
7 But the magicians did the same by their secret arts, and brought
frogs upon the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, "Entreat the LORD
to take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people
go to
sacrifice to the LORD."
9 Moses said to Pharaoh, "Be pleased to command me when I am to entreat,
for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be destroyed
from you and your houses and be
left only in the Nile."
10 And he said, "Tomorrow." Moses said, "Be it as you say, that you
may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.
11 The frogs shall depart from you and your houses and your servants
and your people; they shall be left only in the Nile."
12 So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried to the
LORD concerning the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh.
13 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; the frogs died
out of the houses and courtyards and out of 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; as the LORD had said.
16 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your rod
and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats throughout all
the land of
Egypt.'"
17 And they did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and
struck the dust of the earth, and there came gnats on man and beast; all
the dust of the earth
became gnats throughout all the
land of Egypt.
18 The magicians tried by their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but
they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast.
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; as the
LORD had said.
20 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning and wait
for Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, 'Thus says the
LORD, "Let
my people go, that they may serve
me.
21 Else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms
of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses;
and the houses of
the Egyptians shall be filled
with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand.
22 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people
dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there; that you may know that
I am the LORD
in the midst of the earth.
23 Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. By
tomorrow shall this sign be."'"
24 And the LORD did so; there came great swarms of flies into the house
of Pharaoh and into his servants' houses, and in all the land of Egypt
the land was
ruined by reason of the flies.
25 Then Pharaoh called 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 we shall sacrifice
to the LORD our God offerings abominable to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice
offerings
abominable to the Egyptians before
their eyes, will they not stone us?
27 We must go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice
to the LORD our God as he will command us."
28 So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, to sacrifice to the LORD your
God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Make entreaty
for me."
29 Then Moses said, "Behold, I am going out from you and I will pray
to the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his
servants, and
from his people, tomorrow; only
let not Pharaoh deal falsely again by not letting the people go to sacrifice
to the LORD."
30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD.
31 And the LORD did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies
from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained.
32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the
people go.
Exodus 9
1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Thus
says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, "Let my people go, that they may
serve
me.
2 For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them,
3 behold, the hand of the LORD will fall with a very severe plague
upon your cattle which are in the field, the horses, the asses, the camels,
the herds, and the
flocks.
4 But the LORD will make a distinction between the cattle of Israel
and the cattle of Egypt, so that nothing shall die of all that belongs
to the people of
Israel."'"
5 And the LORD set a time, saying, "Tomorrow the LORD will do this
thing in the land."
6 And on the morrow the LORD did this thing; all the cattle of the
Egyptians died, but of the cattle of the people of Israel not one died.
7 And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the cattle of the Israelites
was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the
people go.
8 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of ashes from
the kiln, and let Moses throw them toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.
9 And it shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become
boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of
Egypt."
10 So they took ashes from the kiln, and stood before Pharaoh, and
Moses threw them toward heaven, and it became boils breaking out in sores
on man and
beast.
11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils,
for the boils were upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians.
12 But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen
to them; as the LORD had spoken to Moses.
13 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning and stand
before Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews,
"Let my people go, that they may
serve me.
14 For this time I will send all my plagues upon your heart, and upon
your servants and your people, that you may know that there is none like
me in all the
earth.
15 For by now I could have put forth my hand and struck you and your
people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth;
16 but for this purpose have I let you live, to show you my power,
so that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
17 You are still exalting yourself against my people, and will not
let them go.
18 Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to
fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until
now.
19 Now therefore send, get your cattle and all that you have in the
field into safe shelter; for the hail shall come down upon every man and
beast that is in the
field and is not brought home,
and they shall die."'"
20 Then he who feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh
made his slaves and his cattle flee into the houses;
21 but he who did not regard the word of the LORD left his slaves and
his cattle in the field.
22 And the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch forth your hand toward heaven,
that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man and beast and
every plant of
the field, throughout the land
of Egypt."
23 Then Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven; and the LORD sent
thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the LORD rained hail
upon the
land of Egypt;
24 there was hail, and fire flashing continually in the midst of the
hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt
since it became a nation.
25 The hail struck down everything that was in the field throughout
all the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and the hail struck down every
plant of the field,
and shattered every tree of the
field.
26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, there
was no hail.
27 Then Pharaoh sent, and called Moses and Aaron, and said to them,
"I have sinned this time; the LORD is in the right, and I and my people
are in the wrong.
28 Entreat the LORD; for there has been enough of this thunder and
hail; I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer."
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,
that you may know that the earth
is the LORD's.
30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear
the LORD God."
31 (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 went out of the city from Pharaoh, and stretched out his
hands to the LORD; and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no
longer poured
upon the earth.
34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder
had ceased, he sinned yet again, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.
35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people
of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken through Moses.
Exodus 10
1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened
his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of
mine among
them,
2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your son's
son how I have made sport of the Egyptians and what signs I have done among
them; that
you may know that I am the LORD."
3 So Moses and Aaron went in 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, that
they may serve me.
4 For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring
locusts into your country,
5 and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see
the land; and they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they
shall eat every tree of
yours which grows in the field,
6 and they shall fill your houses, and the houses of all your servants
and of all the Egyptians; as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers
have seen, from the
day they came on earth to this
day.'" Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.
7 And Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long shall this man be a
snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God; do
you not yet
understand that Egypt is ruined?"
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh; and he said to them,
"Go, serve the LORD your God; but who are to go?"
9 And 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, for we must
hold a feast to
the LORD."
10 And he said to them, "The LORD be with you, if ever I let you and
your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind.
11 No! Go, the men among you, and serve the LORD, for that is what
you desire." And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.
12 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land
of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and
eat every plant
in the land, all that the hail
has left."
13 So Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the
LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night;
and when it was
morning the east wind had brought
the locusts.
14 And the locusts came up over 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.
15 For they covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was
darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of
the trees which the hail
had left; not a green thing remained,
neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
16 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, "I have
sinned against the LORD your God, and against you.
17 Now therefore, forgive my sin, I pray you, only this once, and entreat
the LORD your God only to remove this death from me."
18 So he went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the LORD.
19 And the LORD turned a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts
and drove them into the Red Sea; not a single locust was left in all the
country of
Egypt.
20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children
of Israel go.
21 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven
that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt."
22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick
darkness in all the land of Egypt three days;
23 they did not see one another, nor did any rise from his place for
three days; but all the people of Israel had light where they dwelt.
24 Then Pharaoh called Moses, and said, "Go, serve the LORD; your children
also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind."
25 But Moses said, "You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt
offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.
26 Our cattle also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind,
for we must take of them to serve the LORD our God, and we do not know
with what we
must serve the LORD until we arrive
there."
27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them
go.
28 Then Pharaoh said to him, "Get away from me; take heed to yourself;
never see my face again; for in the day you see my face you shall die."
29 Moses said, "As you say! I will not see your face again."
Exodus 11
1 The LORD said to Moses, "Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh
and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence; when he lets you go,
he will
drive you away completely.
2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man
of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, jewelry of silver and
of gold."
3 And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians.
Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight
of Pharaoh's
servants and in the sight of the
people.
4 And Moses said, "Thus says the LORD: About midnight I will go forth
in the midst of Egypt;
5 and all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born
of Pharaoh who sits upon his throne, even to the first-born of the maidservant
who is
behind the mill; and all the first-born
of the cattle.
6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt,
such as there has never been, nor ever shall be again.
7 But against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, not
a dog shall growl; that you may know that the LORD makes a distinction
between the
Egyptians and Israel.
8 And all these your servants shall come down to me, and bow down to
me, saying, 'Get you out, and all the people who follow you.' And after
that I will go
out." And he went out from Pharaoh
in hot anger.
9 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you; that
my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt."
10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the LORD
hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out
of his land.
Exodus 12
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
2 "This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be
the first month of the year for you.
3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this
month they shall take every man a lamb according to their fathers' houses,
a lamb for a
household;
4 and if the household is too small for a lamb, then a man and his
neighbor next to his house shall take according to the number of persons;
according to what
each can eat you shall make your
count for the lamb.
5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old; you shall
take it from the sheep or from the goats;
6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when
the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs
in the evening.
7 Then they shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts
and the lintel of the houses in which they eat them.
8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted; with unleavened bread
and bitter herbs they shall eat it.
9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled with water, but roasted, its head
with its legs and its inner parts.
10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning, anything
that remains until the morning you shall burn.
11 In this manner you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals
on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste.
It is the LORD's
passover.
12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will
smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and
on all the gods of Egypt I
will execute judgments: I am the
LORD.
13 The blood shall be a sign for you, upon the houses where you are;
and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall
upon you to
destroy you, when I smite the
land of Egypt.
14 "This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it
as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it
as an ordinance
for ever.
15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the first day you
shall put away leaven out of your houses, for if any one eats what is leavened,
from the first
day until the seventh day, that
person shall be cut off from Israel.
16 On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh
day a holy assembly; no work shall be done on those days; but what every
one must eat,
that only may be prepared by you.
17 And you shall observe the feast of unleavened bread, for on this
very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt: therefore you shall
observe this day,
throughout your generations, as
an ordinance for ever.
18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening,
you shall eat unleavened bread, and so until the twenty-first day of the
month at evening.
19 For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses; for if any
one eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation
of Israel,
whether he is a sojourner or a
native of the land.
20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall
eat unleavened bread."
21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel, and said to them, "Select
lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the passover
lamb.
22 Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin,
and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood which is in the
basin; and
none of you shall go out of the
door of his house until the morning.
23 For the LORD will pass through to slay the Egyptians; and when he
sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass
over the door,
and will not allow the destroyer
to enter your houses to slay you.
24 You shall observe this rite as an ordinance for you and for your
sons for ever.
25 And when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, as he
has promised, you shall keep this service.
26 And when your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?'
27 you shall say, 'It is the sacrifice of the LORD's passover, for
he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he slew
the Egyptians but
spared our houses.'" And the people
bowed their heads and worshiped.
28 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the LORD had commanded
Moses and Aaron, so they did.
29 At midnight the LORD smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt,
from the first-born of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the first-born
of the captive who
was in the dungeon, and all the
first-born of the cattle.
30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and
all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not
a house where one was
not dead.
31 And he summoned Moses and Aaron by night, and said, "Rise up, go
forth from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go,
serve the
LORD, as you have said.
32 Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone;
and bless me also!"
33 And the Egyptians were urgent with the people, to send them out
of the land in haste; for they said, "We are all dead men."
34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading
bowls being bound up in their mantles on their shoulders.
35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they
had asked of the Egyptians jewelry of silver and of gold, and clothing;
36 and the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians,
so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they despoiled the Egyptians.
37 And the people of Israel journeyed from Ram'eses to Succoth, about
six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.
38 A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very many cattle,
both flocks and herds.
39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought
out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of
Egypt and
could not tarry, neither had they
prepared for themselves any provisions.
40 The time that the people of Israel dwelt in Egypt was four hundred
and thirty years.
41 And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, on that very day,
all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
42 It was a night of watching by the LORD, to bring them out of the
land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the LORD
by all the people
of Israel throughout their generations.
43 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "This is the ordinance of
the passover: no foreigner shall eat of it;
44 but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you
have circumcised him.
45 No sojourner or hired servant may eat of it.
46 In one house shall it be eaten; you shall not carry forth any of
the flesh outside the house; and you shall not break a bone of it.
47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the passover
to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, then he may come near and
keep it;
he shall be as a native of the
land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.
49 There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns
among you."
50 Thus did all the people of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses and
Aaron, so they did.
51 And on that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of
the land of Egypt by their hosts.
Exodus 13
1 The LORD said to Moses,
2 "Consecrate to me all the first-born; whatever is the first to open
the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine."
3 And Moses said to the people, "Remember this day, in which you came
out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for by strength of hand the
LORD
brought you out from this place;
no leavened bread shall be eaten.
4 This day you are to go forth, in the month of Abib.
5 And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the
Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jeb'usites, which he swore
to your fathers to
give you, a land flowing with
milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month.
6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day
there shall be a feast to the LORD.
7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread
shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your
territory.
8 And you shall tell your son on that day, 'It is because of what the
LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'
9 And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between
your eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a strong
hand
the LORD has brought you out of
Egypt.
10 You shall therefore keep this ordinance at its appointed time from
year to year.
11 "And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as
he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you,
12 you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All
the firstlings of your cattle that are males shall be the LORD's.
13 Every firstling of an ass you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you
will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every first-born of man among
your sons you
shall redeem.
14 And when in time to come your son asks you, 'What does this mean?'
you shall say to him, 'By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt,
from
the house of bondage.
15 For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD slew
all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man and
the first-born of
cattle. Therefore I sacrifice
to the LORD all the males that first open the womb; but all the first-born
of my sons I redeem.'
16 It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes;
for by a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt."
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of
the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, "Lest
the people repent
when they see war, and return
to Egypt."
18 But God led the people round by the way of the wilderness toward
the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt
equipped for
battle.
19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him; for Joseph had solemnly
sworn the people of Israel, saying, "God will visit you; then you must
carry my
bones with you from here."
20 And they moved on from Succoth, and encamped at Etham, on the edge
of the wilderness.
21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead
them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light,
that they might
travel by day and by night;
22 the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not
depart from before the people.
Exodus 14
1 Then the LORD said to Moses,
2 "Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-ha-hi'roth,
between Migdol and the sea, in front of Ba'al-ze'phon; you shall encamp
over
against it, by the sea.
3 For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, 'They are entangled
in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.'
4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them and I
will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host; and the Egyptians shall know
that I am the
LORD." And they did so.
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind
of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said,
"What is
this we have done, that we have
let Israel go from serving us?"
6 So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him,
7 and took six hundred picked chariots and all the other chariots of
Egypt with officers over all of them.
8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt and he pursued
the people of Israel as they went forth defiantly.
9 The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and
his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-ha-hi'roth,
in front of Ba'al-ze'phon.
10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes,
and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and they were in great
fear. And
the people of Israel cried out
to the LORD;
11 and they said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt
that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done
to us, in
bringing us out of Egypt?
12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt, 'Let us alone and let
us serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve
the Egyptians than to
die in the wilderness."
13 And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the
salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today; for the Egyptians
whom you
see today, you shall never see
again.
14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be still."
15 The LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of
Israel to go forward.
16 Lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide
it, that the people of Israel may go on dry ground through the sea.
17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall
go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his
chariots, and his
horsemen.
18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten
glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen."
19 Then the angel of God who went before the host of Israel moved and
went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood
behind
them,
20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there
was the cloud and the darkness; and the night passed without one coming
near the
other all night.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD drove
the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land,
and the
waters were divided.
22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground,
the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
23 The Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the midst of
the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
24 And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud
looked down upon the host of the Egyptians, and discomfited the host of
the
Egyptians,
25 clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily; and the
Egyptians said, "Let us flee from before Israel; for the LORD fights for
them against the
Egyptians."
26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea,
that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and
upon their
horsemen."
27 So Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned
to its wonted flow when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled into
it, and the
LORD routed the Egyptians in the
midst of the sea.
28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and
all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not so much
as one of
them remained.
29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the
waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians;
and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore.
31 And Israel saw the great work which the LORD did against the Egyptians,
and the people feared the LORD; and they believed in the LORD and in his
servant Moses.