Exodus 5-8

New American Standard Bible

Israel’s Labor Increased

5 And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “^(A)This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘^(B)Let My people go so that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’” ² But Pharaoh said, “^(C)Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, ^(D)I will not let Israel go.” ³ Then they said, “^(E)The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, otherwise He will strike us with plague or with the sword.” ⁴ But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you let the people neglect their ^[a]work? Get back to your ^(F)labors!” ⁵ Again Pharaoh said, “Look, ^(G)the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!” ⁶ So the same day Pharaoh commanded ^(H)the taskmasters over the people and their ^(I)foremen, saying, ⁷ “You are no longer to give the people straw to make bricks as previously; have them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ But you shall impose on them the quota of bricks which they were making before; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are ^(J)lazy, for that reason they cry ^[b]out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Let the labor be heavier on the men, and have them work at it so that they will pay no attention to false words.”

¹⁰ So ^(K)the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am not going to give you any straw. ¹¹ You go, get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it; but none of your labor will be reduced.’” ¹² So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³ And the taskmasters pressed them, saying, “Complete your ^[c]work quota, ^[d]your daily amount, just as when ^[e]you had straw.” ¹⁴ Moreover, ^(L)the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, ^(M)were beaten ^[f]and asked, “Why have you not completed your required task of making bricks either yesterday or today, as before?”

¹⁵ Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you deal this way with your servants? ¹⁶ There is no straw given to your servants, yet they keep saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are being beaten; but it is the fault of your own people.” ¹⁷ But he said, “You are ^(N)lazy, very lazy; for that reason you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ So go now and work; for you will be given no straw, but you must deliver the quota of bricks.” ¹⁹ The foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble, ^[g]since they were told, “You must not reduce ^[h]your daily amount of bricks.” ²⁰ When they left Pharaoh’s presence, they met Moses and Aaron as they were ^[i]waiting for them. ²¹ And ^(O)they said to them, “^(P)May the Lord look upon you and judge you, because you have ^(Q)made ^[j]us repulsive in Pharaoh’s sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us!”

²² Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “^(R)Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me? ²³ Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, ^(S)and You have not rescued Your people at all.”

God Promises Action

6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for ^[k](T)under compulsion he will let them go, and ^[l]under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.”

² God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am ^(U)the Lord; ³ and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as ^[m](V)God Almighty, but by ^(W)My name, ^[n]Lord, I did not make Myself known to them. ⁴ I also established ^(X)My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the ^[o]land in which they lived as strangers. ⁵ Furthermore I have ^(Y)heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. ⁶ Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘^(Z)I am the Lord, and ^(AA)I will bring you out from under the labors of the Egyptians, and I will rescue you from their bondage. I will also ^(AB)redeem you with ^(AC)an outstretched arm, and with great judgments. ⁷ Then I will take you ^[p](AD)as My people, and ^(AE)I will be ^[q]your God; and ^(AF)you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the labors of the Egyptians. ⁸ I will bring you to the land which ^(AG)I ^[r]swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and ^(AH)I will give it to you as a possession; ^(AI)I am the Lord.’” ⁹ So Moses said this to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on ^(AJ)account of their ^[s]despondency and cruel bondage.

¹⁰ Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹ “^(AK)Go, ^[t]tell Pharaoh king of Egypt ^[u]to let the sons of Israel go out of his land.” ¹² But Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; ^(AL)how then will Pharaoh listen to me, as I am ^[v](AM)unskilled in speech?” ¹³ Nevertheless, the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron and gave them a command concerning the sons of Israel and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

The Heads of Israel

¹⁴ These are the heads of their fathers’ households. ^(AN)The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben. ¹⁵ And the ^(AO)sons of Simeon: ^[w]Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon. ¹⁶ And these are the names of ^(AP)the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and the ^[x]length of Levi’s life was 137 years. ^17 (AQ)The sons of Gershon: ^[y]Libni and Shimei, according to their families. ¹⁸ And ^(AR)the sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; and the ^[z]length of Kohath’s life was 133 years. ¹⁹ And ^(AS)the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations. ²⁰ Now ^(AT)Amram ^[aa]married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the ^[ab]length of Amram’s life was 137 years. ²¹ And ^(AU)the sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. ²² And ^(AV)the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, ^[ac]Elzaphan, and Sithri. ²³ Aaron ^[ad]married Elisheba, the daughter of ^(AW)Amminadab, the sister of ^(AX)Nahshon, and she bore him ^(AY)Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ²⁴ And the ^(AZ)sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and ^[ae]Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites. ²⁵ Now Aaron’s son ^(BA)Eleazar ^[af]married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him ^(BB)Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites according to their families. ²⁶ It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “^(BC)Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their ^[ag](BD)multitudes.” ²⁷ They were the ones ^(BE)who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt ^[ah]about bringing out the sons of Israel from Egypt; it was the same Moses and Aaron.

²⁸ Now it came about on the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹ that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “^(BF)I am the Lord; ^(BG)say to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” ³⁰ But Moses said before the Lord, “Behold, I am ^[ai](BH)unskilled in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?”

I Will Extend My Hand

7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “^(BI)See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. ² As for you, you shall speak all that I command you, and your brother ^(BJ)Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land. ³ But ^(BK)I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that I may ^(BL)multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. ⁴ When ^(BM)Pharaoh does not listen to you, I will lay My hand on Egypt and ^(BN)bring out My armies, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by ^(BO)great judgments. ⁵ Then ^(BP)the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I ^(BQ)extend My hand over Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.” ⁶ So Moses and Aaron did this; ^(BR)as the Lord commanded them, so they did. ⁷ And Moses was ^(BS)eighty years old and Aaron ^[aj]eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Staff Turns into a Serpent

⁸ Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ⁹ “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘^[ak](BT)Work a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘^(BU)Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, so that it may turn into a serpent.’” ¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and so they did, just as the Lord had commanded; and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and ^[al]his servants, and it ^(BV)turned into a serpent. ¹¹ Then Pharaoh also ^(BW)called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they too, the ^(BX)soothsayer priests of Egypt, did the same with ^(BY)their secret arts. ¹² For each one threw down his staff, and they turned into serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs. ¹³ Yet ^(BZ)Pharaoh’s heart was ^[am]hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

Water Turned into Blood

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is ^[an]stubborn; he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning ^[ao]just as ^(CA)he is going out to the water, and position yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand ^(CB)the staff that was turned into a serpent. ¹⁶ And ^(CC)you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “^(CD)Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened up to now.” ¹⁷ This is what the Lord says: “^(CE)By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, I am going to strike ^[ap]the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and ^(CF)it will be turned into blood. ¹⁸ Then ^(CG)the fish that are in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will ^[aq](CH)no longer be able to drink water from the Nile.”’” ¹⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and ^(CI)extend your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their ^[ar]streams, over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, so that they may become blood; and there will be blood through all the land of Egypt, both in containers of wood and in containers of stone.’”

²⁰ So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. And he lifted up ^[as](CJ)the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants; and ^(CK)all the water that was in the Nile was turned into blood. ²¹ Then the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt. ^22 (CL)But the soothsayer priests of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was ^[at]hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. ²³ Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house ^[au]with no concern even for this. ²⁴ So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink from the water of the Nile. ²⁵ Seven days ^[av]passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.

Frogs over the Land

8 ^[aw]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “^(CM)Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. ² But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I am going to strike your entire territory with frogs. ³ The Nile will ^(CN)swarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your house, and into your bedroom and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants, and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls. ⁴ So the frogs will come up on you, your people, and on all your servants.”’” ^5 [ax]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘^(CO)Extend your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the ^[ay]streams, and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’” ⁶ So Aaron extended his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the ^[az](CP)frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷ However, ^(CQ)the soothsayer priests did the same with their secret arts, ^[ba]making frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

⁸ Then Pharaoh ^(CR)called for Moses and Aaron and said, “^(CS)Plead with the Lord ^[bb]to remove the frogs from me and from my people; and ^(CT)I will let the people go, so that they may sacrifice to the Lord.” ⁹ And Moses said to Pharaoh, “^[bc]The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I plead for you and your servants and your people, ^[bd]that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, that they be left only in the Nile?”

¹⁰ Then he said, “Tomorrow.” So he said, “May it be according to your word, so that you may know that there is ^(CU)no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹ The ^(CV)frogs will depart from you and your houses, and from your servants and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.” ¹² Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and ^(CW)Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had ^[be]inflicted upon Pharaoh. ¹³ The Lord did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. ¹⁴ So they piled them in heaps, and the land stank. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he ^[bf]hardened his heart and ^(CX)did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Insects

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Extend your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may turn into ^[bg]gnats through all the land of Egypt.’” ¹⁷ They did so; and Aaron extended his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were ^[bh]gnats on every ^[bi]person and animal. All the dust of the earth turned into ^[bj](CY)gnats through all the land of Egypt. ¹⁸ The soothsayer priests tried with their secret arts to produce ^[bk]gnats, but ^(CZ)they could not; so there were ^[bl]gnats on every person and animal. ¹⁹ Then the soothsayer priests said to Pharaoh, “^(DA)This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was ^[bm]hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

²⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “^(DB)Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, ^[bn]as ^(DC)he comes out to the water; and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “^(DD)Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. ²¹ For if you are not going to let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people, and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they live. ^22 (DE)But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are ^[bo]living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that ^[bp](DF)I, the Lord, am in the midst of the land. ²³ I will ^[bq]put a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will occur.”’” ²⁴ Then the Lord did so. And ^[br]thick swarms of flies entered the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants, and the land was ^(DG)laid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt.

²⁵ Then Pharaoh ^(DH)called for Moses and Aaron and said, “^(DI)Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” ²⁶ But Moses said, “It is not permissible for us to do so, because we will sacrifice to the Lord our God ^[bs]that which is ^(DJ)an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice ^[bt]that which is an abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? ²⁷ We must go a ^(DK)three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God, just as He ^[bu]commands us.” ²⁸ Pharaoh said, “^(DL)I will let you go, so that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. ^(DM)Plead for me.” ²⁹ Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going to leave you, and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow; only do not let Pharaoh ^(DN)deal deceitfully again in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

³⁰ So ^(DO)Moses left Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. ³¹ The Lord did ^[bv]as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. ³² But Pharaoh ^[bw]hardened his heart this time also, and ^(DP)he did not let the people go.