Exodus Translation
Exodus
Egyptian Oppression
Now these are the names of Israel’s sons who, along with their households, arrived in Egypt with Jacob: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. All Jacob’s descendants totaled seventy people. Joseph was already in Egypt.
Joseph died, as well as his brothers and that entire generation. But the Israelites were fruitful, abounded, and multiplied. They increased so prolifically they filled the land.
Then a new king who didn’t know about Joseph rose to power over Egypt. He said to his people, “Look! The Israelite people multiply and increase faster than us. Let’s deal with them shrewdly so they won’t multiply. Otherwise when war breaks out, they’ll join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the land.”
The Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them through forced labor. They built the storage cities of Pithom and Rameses for the pharaoh. But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread out. So the Egyptians detested the Israelites and forced them to work arduously. They made their lives bitter through hard labor making mortar and bricks and working in the fields. They made them work arduously at all their labor.
Then the king of Egypt told the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, watch during the delivery. If he’s a son, kill him! If she’s a daughter, let her live.”
But the midwives feared God and didn’t do what the king of Egypt said. Instead, they let the boys live. So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives. “Why have you done this? Why do you let the boys live?”
“Hebrew women aren’t like Egyptian women. They are lively, and before a midwife arrives, they have already given birth.”
So God treated the midwives well, and the people multiplied and increased prolifically. Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
Then the pharaoh commanded all his people, “Throw into the Nile every son who is born! But let every daughter live.”
The Birth of Moses
Now a Levite man had married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was good, so she hid him for three months. When she couldn’t hide him any longer, she took a papyrus basket and sealed it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child inside it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.
While his sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him, the pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe. Her attendants walked beside the river. When she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her servant to retrieve it. She opened it and saw the child—a baby crying!—and she pitied him. “This is a Hebrew child!”
Then his sister asked the pharaoh’s daughter, “Should I go find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child for you?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
So the girl went to call the baby’s mother. Then the pharaoh’s daughter told her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me. I’ll pay your wages.”
The woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child had grown older, the pharaoh’s daughter took him, and he became her son. She named him Moses and said, “I drew him out of the water.”
Moses in Midian
After Moses grew up, he went out to his people and watched them being forced to work. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. He looked around and saw no one. So he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
He went out again the next day. This time two Hebrews were fighting! He asked the one who started it, “Why would you hit your companion?”
The man replied, “Who made you our ruler and judge? Do you intend to kill me like you killed the Egyptian?”
Then Moses was afraid because he realized people knew what he’d done. When the pharaoh heard about it, he sentenced Moses to death. But Moses fled from him.
Now Moses settled in the land of Midian. One day he sat down by a well. The priest of Midian had seven daughters, who came, drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. But then shepherds came and drove them away, so Moses stood up, protected them, and watered their flock.
The girls returned to Reuel, their father. “Why are you home so early today?” he asked.
“An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock!”
“So where is he?” Reuel asked. “Why’d you leave the man behind? Go invite him to come share a meal.”
Then Moses agreed to live with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah in marriage to Moses. She gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom because “I became a foreigner in a foreign land.”
A long time passed, and during that time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites moaned because of their labor, and they cried out for relief. Their cry because of their labor ascended to God. God heard their groaning and remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the Israelites and understood.
Moses’s Call
Meanwhile, Moses tended the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. As he guided the flock to the far side of the wilderness, he came to Horeb, God’s mountain. Yahweh’s messenger appeared to him there as a flame burning in the middle of a bush. Moses saw the bush was on fire—yet it didn’t burn up! So Moses thought, “I must turn from the path to see this incredible sight. Why isn’t the bush burning?”
When Yahweh saw Moses had turned from the path to look, he called out from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
“Yes? I’m here.”
“Don’t come any closer. Take off your sandals because you’re standing on holy ground.” Then Yahweh continued, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” So Moses covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.
Yahweh said, “I’ve certainly seen the affliction of my people in Egypt, and I’ve heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I understand how they suffer. So I’ve come to rescue them from Egypt’s power and to bring them out from that land to a good and spacious land, a land that flows with milk and honey, the territory of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
“Now listen! The Israelites’ cry has reached me, and I’ve also seen how cruelly the Egyptians are oppressing them. Now go! I’m sending you to the pharaoh. Bring my people, the Israelites, out from Egypt.”
But Moses replied to God, “Who am I to go to the pharaoh and bring the Israelites out from Egypt?”
“I am with you,” God answered. “This will be the sign to show you I sent you: when you’ve brought the people out from Egypt, you’ll serve God on this mountain.”
“Suppose I go to the Israelites,” Moses replied. “I’ll say to them, ‘The God of your fathers sent me to you.’ Then they’ll ask, ‘What’s his name?’ What would I tell them?”
“I am who I am,” God answered Moses. “Tell the Israelites this: ‘I am sent me to you.’”
God continued, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—sent me to you. This is my name forever. This is how you’re to remember me from generation to generation.’
“Go gather the elders of Israel and say, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—appeared to me and said, ‘I’ve come to demand an accounting for you and for what’s been done to you in Egypt! I promised to bring you back from affliction in Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, a land that flows with milk and honey.’
“They’ll obey you, so take the elders of Israel with you to the king of Egypt and say to him, “Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews met with us. Now, please, we must go a three-day distance into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to Yahweh, our God.’
“But I know the king of Egypt won’t allow you to go. No strong power will convince him. So with my power I’ll strike Egypt by performing all my wonders in their midst. After that, he’ll send you away. I’ll cause the Egyptians to deal generously with this people so you won’t leave empty-handed. Every woman will ask her neighbor and any woman living in her home for clothing and objects of silver and gold. You’ll clothe your sons and daughters with them. In this way, you’ll plunder the Egyptians.”
Moses replied, “Look! They won’t believe me or obey me! They’ll say, ‘Yahweh didn’t appear to you.’”
“What’s that in your hand?” Yahweh asked him.
“A staff.”
“Throw it on the ground,” Yahweh said.
So Moses threw it on the ground. It changed into a snake, and Moses drew back from it.
Then Yahweh told Moses, “Reach out and grab its tail”—he reached out and grabbed it, and it changed back into a staff in his hand—“so they’ll believe Yahweh, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—appeared to you.”
Yahweh continued, “Please put your hand in your cloak.”
Moses put his hand in his cloak. When he took it out, his skin was diseased! It looked like snow!
“Put your hand back in your cloak.”
So he put his hand back in his cloak. When he took it out, his flesh had been restored!
Then Yahweh said, “If they don’t believe you or obey the first sign, they’ll believe the second sign. But if they don’t believe either of these two signs and they still won’t obey you, take some water from the Nile and pour it out on dry ground. The water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”
Moses responded, “Forgive me, my Lord! I’m not an eloquent man. I never have been, and I’m still not since you’ve spoken to your servant. My speech is difficult and my language foreign.”
“Who gave humanity a mouth?” Yahweh asked. “Who makes a person mute or deaf? Seeing or blind? Don’t I, Yahweh? Now go! I’ll be with your mouth and teach you what to say.”
But Moses said, “Forgive me, my Lord! Please send the one you’re going to send!”
So Yahweh grew angry with Moses. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak. Look! He’s even coming to meet you. When he sees you, his heart will rejoice. You’ll tell him what to say, and I’ll be with your mouth and his. I’ll teach you what to do. He’ll speak to the people for you. He’ll be like a mouth to you, and you’ll be like a god to him. Also take this staff in your hand with which you will perform the signs.”
The Journey to Egypt
Moses returned to Jethro, his father-in-law. “Please let me return to my family in Egypt to see if they’re still alive.”
“Go in peace,” Jethro replied.
Then Yahweh told Moses in Midian, “Return to Egypt. Everyone who wanted to kill you has died.”
So Moses took his wife and sons, who rode on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also carried the staff of God in his hand.
Yahweh told Moses, “When you return to Egypt, perform all the wonders I’ve empowered you to do before the pharaoh. But I’ll make him obstinate so he won’t send the people away. Then tell the pharaoh, ‘This is what Yahweh says: “Israel is my firstborn son. I told you to send my son away so he can serve me. Since you refused to send him away, I am about to kill your firstborn son!”’”
Now at a place they stayed while they traveled, Yahweh confronted him and sought to kill him. So Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched his feet with it. “You are a bridegroom of bloodshed to me!” Yahweh released him at the time she said “bridegroom of bloodshed” because of the circumcision.
Yahweh told Aaron to meet Moses in the wilderness. He encountered him at God’s mountain and kissed him. Then Moses told Aaron about all the words Yahweh sent him to say and all the signs he commanded him to perform.
Gathering Straw
Moses and Aaron gathered all the Israelite elders. Aaron told them everything Yahweh said to Moses, and he performed the signs in the sight of the people. The people believed. When the Israelites heard Yahweh had come to them and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.
Afterward, Moses and Aaron went to speak to the pharaoh. “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘Send my people away so they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’”
But the pharaoh replied, “Who is Yahweh that I need to obey him by sending Israel away? I don’t know Yahweh, and I won’t send Israel away.”
“The God of the Hebrews met with us. Please, we must go a three-day distance into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to Yahweh, our God. If not, he may strike us with a disease or with the sword.”
“Moses and Aaron!” the king of Egypt said. “Why are you distracting the people from their tasks? Get back to work! Now the people of the land are many, yet you stop them from working.”
That day, the pharaoh commanded the taskmasters and supervisors, “Don’t give the people any more straw for making bricks, as you did before. Make them go gather their own straw, but require the same quota of bricks they made before. Don’t decrease it! They’re slacking off, which is why they cry out, ‘We must go sacrifice to our God.’ Make their service harder so they work instead of paying attention to lies.”
Then the taskmasters and supervisors went out and told the people, “This is what the pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. Go get your own straw wherever you can find it because your service will not be decreased at all.’”
So the people scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather chaff to use instead of straw. The taskmasters urged them, “Complete each day’s workload just as when you had straw!”
Then the Israelite supervisors the pharaoh’s taskmasters had appointed were beaten. “Why haven’t you completed your quota of bricks, neither yesterday nor today, as you did before?”
So the Israelite supervisors went and cried out to the pharaoh, “Why are you treating your servants this way? Your servants aren’t given any straw, yet they tell us to make bricks! Look! Your servants are beaten, but it’s your own people who are guilty.”
“Slackers! You’re slackers! That’s why you say, ‘We must go sacrifice to Yahweh.’ Now go work! You will not be given any straw, but you must provide the quota of bricks.”
The Israelite supervisors realized their predicament when they were told they could not decrease the daily quota of bricks. When they left the pharaoh, they encountered Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them. The supervisors said, “May Yahweh examine you and judge you for making the pharaoh and his servants consider us a noxious odor. You’ve put a sword in their hands to kill us!”
Reassurance
Then Moses returned to Yahweh. “My Lord, why have you harmed this people? Why did you send me for this? From the moment I went to the pharaoh to speak in your name, he has harmed this people. You have in no way delivered your people!”
Yahweh responded to Moses, “Now you’ll see what I’m going to do to the pharaoh. By force he will send them away. By force he will drive them from his land.”
“I am Yahweh,” God said. “I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty. But as Yahweh, my name, I was not known to them. Yet I confirmed my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land where they lived as foreigners. I’ve also heard the groans of the Israelites forced to serve the Egyptians, and I’ve remembered my covenant.
“So tell the Israelites, ‘I am Yahweh. I’ll bring you out from Egypt, where you’re forced to labor, I’ll deliver you from serving them, and I’ll redeem you with authority and great judgments. I’ll take you as my own people, and I’ll be your God. Then you’ll know I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you out from Egypt, where you’re forced to labor. I’ll take you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I’ll give it to you as a possession. I am Yahweh.’”
So Moses told this to the Israelites. But they didn’t listen to Moses because they were too discouraged by their harsh service.
Then Yahweh spoke to Moses again, “Go tell the pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to send the Israelites away from his land.”
But Moses responded, “Look! Even the Israelites won’t listen to me. Why would the pharaoh? My lips are uncircumcised!”
In this way, Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron concerning the Israelites and the pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He commanded them to bring the Israelites out from the land of Egypt.
These are the heads of their fathers’ houses:
The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, were Enoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben.
The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Saul, whose mother was Canaanite. These are the families of Simeon.
These are the names of the sons of Levi, according to their descendants: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years. The descendants of Gershon are Libni and Shimei, according to their families. The descendants of Kohath are Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years. The descendants of Merari are Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their descendants.
Amram married Jochebed, his father’s sister. She gave birth to Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years. The sons of Izhar are Korah, Nepheg, and Zikri. The sons of Uzziel are Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nashon. She gave birth to Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. The sons of Korah are Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites. Aaron’s son Eleazar married a daughter of Putiel. She gave birth to Phinehas. These are the heads of the Levite households, according to their families.
This Aaron and Moses are the ones Yahweh told to bring the Israelites out from the land of Egypt by their companies. They’re the ones who spoke to the pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out from Egypt—that Moses and Aaron.
When Yahweh spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, he said, “I am Yahweh. Tell the pharaoh, king of Egypt, everything I tell you.”
But Moses said to Yahweh, “Look! My lips are uncircumcised! Why would the pharaoh listen to me?”
Yahweh told Moses, “See, I have made you a god to the pharaoh, and Aaron, your brother, is your prophet. You will say everything I command you, and Aaron, your brother, will tell the pharaoh to send the Israelites away from his land.
“But I will make the pharaoh obstinate so I can multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. The pharaoh won’t listen to you. So I’ll use my power against Egypt to bring out my companies, my people, the Israelites, from the land of Egypt with great judgments. The Egyptians will know I am Yahweh when I strike Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.”
Moses and Aaron did just as Yahweh commanded them. When they spoke to the pharaoh, Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three years old.
Distressing Wonders
Yahweh told Moses and Aaron, “The pharaoh will tell you to prove yourselves with a sign. Say to Aaron, ‘Throw your staff down in front of the pharaoh!’ Then it will turn into a cobra.”
So Moses and Aaron went to the pharaoh and did just as Yahweh commanded. Aaron threw down his staff in front of the pharaoh and his servants. Then it turned into a cobra. In response, the pharaoh summoned the skilled men and sorcerers. Through their secrets, the Egyptian magicians also did the same thing. Each one threw down his staff, and they turned into cobras. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs.
Still, the pharaoh remained obstinate. He didn’t listen to them, just as Yahweh said.
Yahweh told Moses, “The pharaoh remains obstinate. He refuses to send the people away. Go to the pharaoh in the morning when he’s going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile waiting to meet him while holding the staff that turned into a snake.
“Say to him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to tell you, “Send my people away so they may serve me in the wilderness.” Yet you still haven’t obeyed! Now this is what Yahweh says: “This is how you’ll know I am Yahweh: Look! With the staff I’m holding, I’m about to strike the water in the Nile. It will turn to blood. The fish in the Nile will die, and the Nile will stink. The Egyptians will long to drink water from the Nile.”’”
Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch your staff out over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, canals, pools, and every reservoir. It will turn to blood, and blood will be everywhere in the land of Egypt, even on the trees and stones.’”
Moses and Aaron did just Yahweh commanded. Aaron raised the staff and struck the water in the Nile in the sight of the pharaoh and his servants. All the water in the Nile turned to blood. The fish in the Nile died, and it stank. The Egyptians couldn’t drink water from the Nile, and blood was everywhere in the land of Egypt.
But the Egyptian magicians did the same thing through their secrets. So the pharaoh remained obstinate. He didn’t listen to them, just as Yahweh said. The pharaoh returned to his home and paid it no mind.
All the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink because they couldn’t drink any of the Nile’s water.
Then seven days passed after Yahweh struck the Nile. Yahweh told Moses, “Go to the pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh says: “Send my people away so they may serve me. If you still refuse to send them, I’m about to afflict your entire territory with frogs. The Nile will teem with frogs that will come out into your house and bedroom and onto your bed. They’ll come out into your servants’ houses, onto your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls. The frogs will come upon you, your people, and all your servants.”’”
Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch your staff out over the rivers, canals, and pools. The frogs will come upon the land of Egypt.’”
So Aaron stretched his hand out over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came out and covered the land of Egypt. But the magicians did the same thing through their secrets. They brought frogs out into the land of Egypt.
Then the pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “Plead with Yahweh to turn aside the frogs from me and my people. Then I’ll send the people away so they can offer sacrifices to Yahweh.”
Moses replied to the pharaoh, “Accept the honor of choosing when I will plead for you and your servants and your people so the frogs will be cut off from you and your houses. They will remain only in the Nile.”
“Tomorrow,” the pharaoh replied.
“It will be as you say so you’ll know there is no one like Yahweh, our God. The frogs will turn aside from you, your houses, your servants, and your people. They will remain only in the Nile.”
So Moses and Aaron left the pharaoh, and Moses cried out to Yahweh about the frogs he had sent against the pharaoh. Yahweh did just as Moses said. The frogs died in the houses, courtyards, and fields. The people piled them up into countless heaps, and the land stank.
But when the pharaoh realized relief had come, he made himself obstinate. He didn’t listen to them, just as Yahweh said.
Yahweh told Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch your staff out and strike the dust of the land. It will turn into gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’”
They did so. Aaron stretched his hand out while holding his staff and struck the dust of the land. It turned into gnats on people and animals. All the dust in the land turned into gnats everywhere in the land of Egypt. The magicians did the same thing trying to bring forth gnats through their secrets, but they couldn’t.
The gnats were on people and animals. The magicians told the pharaoh, “This is the power of a god!” But the pharaoh remained obstinate. He didn’t listen to them, just as Yahweh said.
Destructive Wonders
Yahweh told Moses, “Rise early in the morning to stand before the pharaoh when he’s going out to the water. Say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh says: “Send my people away so they may serve me. But if you don’t send my people away, I am about to send swarms on you, your servants, your people, and your houses. The swarms will fill the houses of Egypt and also the ground beneath them.
“‘“On that day, I will set apart the land of Goshen, on which my people stand. There will be no swarm there so you will know I, Yahweh, am in the midst of this land. I will distinguish between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will occur.”’”
Then Yahweh did so. An immense swarm entered the houses of the pharaoh and his servants. Throughout the land of Egypt, the land was ruined because of the swarm.
The pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “Go sacrifice to your God within the land.”
But Moses replied, “We’re not permitted to do that because the sacrifices we’ll offer to Yahweh, our God, are repulsive to the Egyptians. If we offer sacrifices that are repulsive to the Egyptians right in front of them, won’t they stone us? We must go a three-day distance into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to Yahweh, our God, just as he says.”
“I’ll send you to offer sacrifices to Yahweh, your God, in the wilderness,” the pharaoh answered. “Only you must not go far. Plead for me.”
“Look!” Moses said. “I’m about to leave you, and I’ll plead with Yahweh to turn aside the swarm from the pharaoh, his servants, and his people tomorrow. But the pharaoh must not cheat again by not sending the people away to offer sacrifices to Yahweh.”
So Moses left the pharaoh and pleaded with Yahweh. Yahweh did just as Moses said. He turned aside the swarm from the pharaoh, his servants, and his people. Not one remained. But the pharaoh made himself obstinate again this time. He didn’t send the people away.
Yahweh told Moses, “Go to the pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Send my people away so they may serve me.” If you still refuse to send them and continue to detain them, Yahweh is about to use his power against your livestock in the fields. A severe plague will strike the horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.
“‘Yahweh will distinguish between Israel’s livestock and Egypt’s livestock. No animal belonging to the Israelites will die. Yahweh has set the time, saying tomorrow he will do this in the land.’”
Starting the next day, Yahweh did this. All the Egyptians’ livestock died, but not a single one of the Israelites’ livestock died. The pharaoh sent envoys and confirmed that not even one of the Israelites’ livestock had died. Yet the pharaoh remained obstinate and would not send the people away.
Yahweh told Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of ash from a kiln. Then Moses will toss it into the air in the sight of the pharaoh. It will turn into dust over the whole land of Egypt. It will produce abscesses breaking open into sores on people and animals throughout the land of Egypt.”
So they took ash from the kiln and stood before the pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and it produced abscesses breaking open into sores on people and animals.
The magicians couldn’t stand in Moses’s presence because of the abscesses, which affected the magicians as well as all the Egyptians. But Yahweh made the pharaoh obstinate. He didn’t listen to them, just as Yahweh said to Moses.
Deadly Wonders
Yahweh told Moses, “Rise early in the morning to stand before the pharaoh. Say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Send my people away so they may serve me. Because this time, everything I am about to send will strike your heart, as well as your servants and your people, so you’ll know there is no one like me anywhere in the world.
“‘“Now I have used my power to strike you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you from the earth. Nonetheless, this is why I’ve preserved you: to show you my power so my name will be declared throughout the earth.
“‘“Yet you still exalt yourself over my people, refusing to send them away. Look! About this time tomorrow, I will pour down heavy hail like nothing that has ever been in Egypt since the time of its founding! Now send someone to bring your livestock and all you have in the fields to safety. Any person or animal found in the fields and not taking shelter will die when the hail pours down.”’”
Some of the pharaoh’s servants feared Yahweh’s word. They had their servants and livestock flee into shelters. But those who paid no mind to Yahweh’s word left their servants and livestock in the fields.
Yahweh told Moses, “Stretch your hand out toward the sky. Hail will fall on the entire land on Egypt, on people, animals, and all the crops in the land Egypt.”
So Moses stretched his staff out toward the sky. Yahweh sent thunder and hail. Fire spread on the ground, and Yahweh poured down hail on the land of Egypt. The hail and the fire blazing in the midst of the heavy hail were like nothing that had ever been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. Throughout the land of Egypt, the hail struck everything in the fields, people and animals. The hail also struck all the crops and shattered every fruit tree. Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, it didn’t hail.
Then the pharaoh sent messengers to summon Moses and Aaron. “This time, I have sinned. Yahweh is right, and I and my people are guilty. Plead with Yahweh. This mighty thunder and hail is too much! I will send you away. You don’t have to stay any longer.”
Moses replied, “As soon as I leave the city, I will spread out my hands to Yahweh. The thunder will cease, and the hail will not return so you will know that the earth belongs to Yahweh. But as for you and your servants, I know you don’t yet fear Yahweh God.”
The flax and barley were ruined because the barley was newly ripened and the flax had budded. But the wheat and emmer were not ruined because they ripen later.
Moses left the pharaoh and went outside the city. He spread out his hands to Yahweh, and the thunder and hail ceased, and the rain stopped pouring down on the land. When the pharaoh realized the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, he sinned again. He made himself obstinate, as did his servants. The pharaoh remained obstinate and didn’t send the Israelites away, just as Yahweh has said through Moses.
Yahweh told Moses, “Go to the pharaoh. I have made him and his servants obstinate so I can perform these signs among them and so you can tell your children and grandchildren about the way I made fools of the Egyptians and the signs I performed among them. Then you will know I am Yahweh.”
So Moses and Aaron went to the pharaoh. “This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘How much longer will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Send my people away so they may serve me.
“‘If you continue to refuse to send my people away, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your borders. They will cover the surface of the land so no one will be able to see the ground. The swarm will eat what’s left to you that escaped the hail and every sprouting tree in the field. They will fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and all the Egyptians, such as neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have ever seen since they inhabited the land.’”
Then he turned and left the pharaoh.
The pharaoh’s servants asked him, “How much longer will this one ensnare us? Send the men away so they may serve Yahweh, their God. Do you still not understand that Egypt will perish?”
So he had Moses and Aaron brought back. “Go serve Yahweh, your God. Who exactly is going?”
Moses answered, “We will take our young and our old, our sons and our daughters, our flocks and our herds. This will be a festival to Yahweh for us.”
“Yahweh truly be with you—for me to send you and your families away! You clearly intend to do evil. Absolutely not! The men may go serve Yahweh since that’s what you seek.”
Then they were driven out from the pharaoh’s presence.
Yahweh told Moses, “Stretch your hand out over the land of Egypt toward the locusts. They will rise over the land of Egypt and eat all the vegetation in the land, everything the hail left behind.”
So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt. Yahweh drove a desert wind through the land for that entire day and night. In the morning, the desert wind carried the locusts. They rose up over the entire land of Egypt and settled throughout Egypt’s territory heavier than they ever had before or ever would again. They covered the surface of the land, and the land grew dark. The locusts ate all the vegetation in the land and all the fruit left on the trees after the hail. In the entire land of Egypt, no greenery remained on the trees or the crops.
Quickly, the pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “I’ve sinned against Yahweh, your God, and against you. Now please forgive my sin just this once. Plead with Yahweh, your God, to turn aside this death from me!”
So he left the pharaoh and pled with Yahweh. Then Yahweh reversed the wind to a very strong wind from the sea. It lifted up the locusts and blew them to the Red Sea. Not one locust remained within Egypt’s borders. But Yahweh made the pharaoh obstinate. He did not send the Israelites away.
Yahweh told Moses, “Stretch your hand out toward the sky. There will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a palpable darkness.”
So Moses stretched his hand out toward the sky. There was pitch darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days. For three days, they couldn’t see each other or move around. But all the Israelites had light in their homes.
The pharaoh summoned Moses. “Go serve Yahweh. Only your flocks and herds must stay. Even your families may go with you.”
But Moses replied, “You must also allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to make to Yahweh, our God. Our livestock will go with us. Not a hoof will remain because we must take some to serve Yahweh, our God, but we won’t know which ones until we go there.”
Yahweh made the pharaoh obstinate. He would not agree to send them away. “Get away from me! Make sure you never come before me again because when you do, you’ll die!”
Moses agreed. “You have spoken true. I will never come before you again.”
Yahweh told Moses, “I will strike one more blow against the pharaoh and against Egypt. After that, he will send you away from here completely. He will certainly drive you from here. Speak to the people. Tell every man to ask his neighbor and every woman to ask her neighbor for objects of silver and gold.”
Yahweh made the Egyptians generous to the people. The man Moses was considered very great in the land of Egypt by both the pharaoh’s servants and the people.
Moses said, “This is what Yahweh says, ‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt myself. Every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of the pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the maidservant at the handmill. Also all the firstborn animals.
“‘Throughout the land of Egypt, there will be a great outcry like nothing that has ever happened before or ever will again. But not a dog will growl at the Israelites, neither the people nor their animals, so you’ll know Yahweh distinguishes between Egypt and Israel.’
“All these, your servants, will come bow down to me and say, ‘Leave, you and the people who follow you!’ After that, I will leave.”
Then, hot with anger, Moses left the pharaoh. Yahweh told him, “The pharaoh won’t listen to you so my wonders may multiply in the land of Egypt.”
Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders in front of the pharaoh, but Yahweh made the pharaoh obstinate. He did not send the Israelites away from his land.
Death of the Firstborn
Yahweh told Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month will be the first month for you. It will be the beginning of your year. Tell the entire assembly of Israel that on the tenth day of this month, every man must choose an animal from the flock for his father’s household, an animal per household. But if his family is too small for the animal, he and a close neighbor will share one according to the number of people. You must determine how much of the animal each will eat.
“Choose a one-year-old male with no flaws from either the sheep or the goats and guard it until the fourteenth day of this month. Then the entire fellowship of the assembly of Israel must kill the animals in the afternoon. Take some of the blood and put it on both doorposts and on the lintel on the houses where they’re eaten.
“Roast the meat over the fire and eat it that night with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Don’t eat any of it raw or boiled. Roast it over the fire with its head, legs, and internal organs. Don’t leave any of it until morning. You must burn anything remaining in the morning in the fire. This is the way you must eat it: with your cloak tucked in, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. Eat it quickly. It is a protecting sacrifice to Yahweh.
“That night, I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son, both human and animal. I will punish all the gods of Egypt. I am Yahweh. But the blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will protect you. No destructive plague will harm you when I strike the land of Egypt. Commemorate this day and celebrate it as a festival to Yahweh. You must celebrate it throughout your generations as a permanent decree.
“For seven days, you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day, remove leaven from your houses. If anyone eats anything leavened, from the first day to the seventh day, that person must be cut off from Israel. On the first day, hold a sacred assembly. On the seventh day, hold a sacred assembly. No work will be done on those days. You may only prepare what everyone will eat.
“Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread because on this day I brought your companies out from the land of Egypt. Observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent decree. Eat unleavened bread from the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day. For seven days, let no leaven be found in your houses. If anyone eats anything leavened, whether a resident alien or a native of the land, that person must be cut off from the assembly of Israel. Don’t eat anything leavened. In all your homes, eat unleavened bread.”
So Moses summoned all the elders of Israel. “Separate for yourselves animals from the flock according to your families. Then kill the protecting sacrifice. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood in the basin. Apply some of the blood from the basin to the lintel and both doorposts. Then make sure no one goes out of the door of the house until morning. When Yahweh passes through to strike the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the lintel and both doorposts. Yahweh will protect the doorway and not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike.
“Keep these instructions as a decree for you and your children forever. When you enter the land Yahweh will give you, just as he said, perform this service. Then your children will ask you, ‘What does this service mean to you?’ Tell them, ‘This is a protecting sacrifice to Yahweh, who protected the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians. But he delivered our houses.’”
The people bowed down low. Then the Israelites went and did just as Yahweh commanded Moses and Aaron.
At midnight, Yahweh struck down every firstborn son in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of the pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the captive in prison, as well as all the firstborn animals. The pharaoh got up during the night, as did his servants and all Egypt. Then a great cry arose in Egypt because there was not a house where no one had died.
So he summoned Moses and Aaron during the night. “Get up and get out from among my people, you and the Israelites! Go serve Yahweh as you said. Take your flocks and herds as well, just as you said. Go and bless me too.”
The Egyptians urged the people to hurry so they could send them away from the land. They thought, “We’re all about to die!”
So the people took their dough before it was leavened and carried it in their kneading bowls bound in their cloaks on their shoulders. The Israelites did as Moses said and asked the Egyptians for objects of silver and gold and for clothing. Yahweh made the Egyptians generous to the people so they gave them what they asked for. The Israelites plundered the Egyptians.
The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. The men numbered about six hundred thousand on foot, in addition to their families. A large and varied group went with them, as well as a great number of livestock, both flocks and herds. They baked the dough they brought from Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread. It was not leavened because they were driven from Egypt and couldn’t delay or prepare provisions for themselves.
Festival Regulations
The Israelites lived in Egypt 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, on that very day, all the companies of Yahweh left the land of Egypt. This was a night when Yahweh stood guard to bring them out from the land of Egypt. So this night belongs to Yahweh, when the Israelites stand guard throughout their generations.
Yahweh told Moses and Aaron, “This is the decree concerning the protecting sacrifice: No foreigner may eat it. All purchased slaves may eat it after being circumcised, but not temporary residents or hired laborers. Eat it in the same house. Don’t take any of the meat outside, and don’t break any of its bones. The entire assembly of Israel will eat it.
“If a resident alien living among you wants to eat the protecting sacrifice to Yahweh, every male in his household must be circumcised. Then he may approach and eat, just like one born in the land. But no one who is uncircumcised may eat it. The same teaching applies to the native and to the resident alien living among you.”
All the Israelites did just as Yahweh commanded Moses and Aaron. On that very day, Yahweh brought the Israelites out from the land of Egypt by their companies.
Yahweh told Moses, “Devote to me every firstborn son. All that open the womb among the Israelites, both human and animal, belong to me.”
Then Moses told the people, “Remember this day, when you left Egypt, a house of slavery! With mighty power, Yahweh brought you out from here. So eat no leaven. You’re leaving today, during the month of Aviv.
“Yahweh will bring you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers he would give you, a land that flows with milk and honey. Then you must perform this service during this month. For seven days, eat unleavened bread. On the seventh day, celebrate a festival to Yahweh. Eat unleavened bread for seven days. Nothing leavened may be found with you. Throughout your territory, no leaven may be found with you.
“On that day, tell your child, ‘This is because of what Yahweh did for me when I left Egypt.’ For you, this will be a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead so your mouth will speak Yahweh’s teaching. With mighty power, Yahweh brought you out from Egypt, so you must keep this decree at the appointed time every year.
“Yahweh will bring you into the land of the Canaanites, just as he swore to you and to your fathers, and he’ll give it to you. Then you must offer to Yahweh all that open the womb. All firstborn males born to your animals belong to Yahweh. Every firstborn donkey you must redeem with an animal from the flock, or if you don’t redeem it, break its neck. Every firstborn among your sons you must redeem.
“In the future, your child will ask you, ‘What are you doing?’ Then say, ‘With mighty power, Yahweh brought us out from Egypt, from a house of slavery. When the pharaoh obstinately refused to send us away, Yahweh killed all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, both human and animal. So I sacrifice to Yahweh all that open the womb, and I redeem all my firstborn sons.’ This will be a sign on your hand and a mark on your forehead because with mighty power, Yahweh brought us out from Egypt.”
Crossing the Red Sea
When the pharaoh sent the people away, God didn’t lead them by the road through the land of the Philistines, though it was close by. He thought, “Otherwise, the people will change their minds when they see war. Then they’ll return to Egypt.” So God sent the people around by the road through the wilderness near the Red Sea.
The Israelites left the land of Egypt in an orderly manner, and Moses took Joseph’s bones with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. “God will certainly come to you, and you must take my bones with you from this place.” They journeyed from Succoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness.
Yahweh himself went in front of them as a pillar of cloud to lead them on the road during the day and as a pillar of fire to give them light during the night. In this way, they could travel by day or by night. During the day, the cloud pillar didn’t depart from in front of the people. Neither did the fire pillar during the night.
Yahweh told Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn around and camp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea near Baal Zephon. Camp across from it, by the sea. The pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites have lost their way. The wilderness has shut them in.’ I’ll make the pharaoh obstinate so he’ll pursue them. Then I’ll glorify myself through the pharaoh and all his warriors, and the Egyptians will know I am Yahweh.”
The Israelites did so. When the king of Egypt heard that the people had fled, he and his servants changed their minds. “What have we done! We sent the Israelites away from serving us!”
So he readied his chariot and took his people with him. He took six hundred of his finest chariots along with all the standard chariots of Egypt, with officers on them all. Yahweh made the pharaoh, king of Egypt, obstinate so he pursued the Israelites as they left defiantly. So the Egyptians pursued them. All the pharaoh’s horse-drawn chariots, with his charioteers and warriors, overtook them while they camped by the sea, by Pi Hahiroth near Baal Zephon.
As the pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up. There were the Egyptians moving toward them! So the Israelites were terrified and cried out to Yahweh. Then they said to Moses, “Is it because of a lack of graves in Egypt that you’ve brought us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out from Egypt! While in Egypt, didn’t we tell you to leave us alone to serve the Egyptians? It would be better to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation Yahweh will accomplish for you today. The Egyptians you see today, you’ll never see again. Yahweh will fight for you. You keep silent.”
So Yahweh said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch your hand out over the sea to divide it so the Israelites may enter the sea on dry land. I will make the Egyptians obstinate so they’ll enter behind them. I’ll glorify myself through the pharaoh and all his warriors, chariots, and charioteers. The Egyptians will know I am Yahweh when I glorify myself through the pharaoh, his chariots, and his charioteers.”
God’s messenger, who traveled in front of the company of Israelites, moved behind them. And the cloud pillar in front of them also moved to stand behind them, between the company of Egyptians and the company of Israelites. It was a dark cloud, but it lit up the night. Neither group drew close to the other all night long.
Moses stretched his hand out over the sea. Then Yahweh sent a strong desert wind to drive the sea back for the whole night. He turned the sea into dry land, and the water split apart. The Israelites entered the sea on dry land. The water became a wall for them on their right and on their left.
The Egyptians pursued them, and all the pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and charioteers entered the sea behind them. During the last watch of the night, Yahweh looked down over the company of Egyptians as a pillar of fiery cloud, and he routed them. He twisted the chariot wheels so they struggled to drive. The Egyptians said, “I must flee from Israel! Yahweh fights for them against Egypt!”
Then Yahweh told Moses, “Stretch your hand out over the sea so the water will return over the Egyptians, their chariots, and their charioteers.”
At dawn, Moses stretched his hand out over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal position. As the Egyptians fled toward it, Yahweh shook them off into the sea. The water returned and covered the chariots and charioteers, all the pharaoh’s warriors who had entered the sea behind the Israelites. None of them survived. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry land. The water became a wall for them on their right and on their left.
On that day, Yahweh saved Israel from the power of Egypt, and the Israelites saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. The Israelites saw the great power Yahweh used against Egypt. So the people feared Yahweh, and they trusted Yahweh and his servant Moses.