Moses Goes to Egypt

¹⁸ So Moses went and returned to ^(A)Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, “Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.”

And Jethro said to Moses, ^(B)“Go in peace.”

¹⁹ Now the Lord said to Moses in ^(C)Midian, “Go, return to ^(D)Egypt; for all the men who ^(E)sought your life are dead.” ²⁰ Then Moses ^(F)took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took ^(G)the rod of God in his hand.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those ^(H)wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But ^(I)I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. ²² Then you shall ^(J)say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(K)“Israel is My son, ^(L)My firstborn. ²³ So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed ^(M)I will kill your son, your firstborn.” ’ ”

²⁴ And it came to pass on the way, at the ^(N)encampment, that the Lord ^(O)met him and sought to ^(P)kill him. ²⁵ Then ^(Q)Zipporah took ^(R)a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and ^[a]cast it at ^[b]Moses’ feet, and said, “Surely you are a husband of blood to me!” ²⁶ So He let him go. Then she said, “You are a ^[c]husband of blood!”—because of the circumcision.

²⁷ And the Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness ^(S)to meet Moses.” So he went and met him on ^(T)the mountain of God, and kissed him. ²⁸ So Moses ^(U)told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had sent him, and all the ^(V)signs which He had commanded him. ²⁹ Then Moses and Aaron ^(W)went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. ^30 (X)And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. Then he did the signs in the sight of the people. ³¹ So the people ^(Y)believed; and when they heard that the Lord had ^(Z)visited the children of Israel and that He ^(AA)had looked on their affliction, then ^(AB)they bowed their heads and worshiped.

First Encounter with Pharaoh

5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may ^[d]hold ^(AC)a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ”

² And Pharaoh said, ^(AD)“Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, ^(AE)nor will I let Israel go.”

³ So they said, ^(AF)“The God of the Hebrews has ^(AG)met with us. Please, let us go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with ^(AH)pestilence or with the sword.”

⁴ Then the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your ^(AI)labor.” ⁵ And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are ^(AJ)many now, and you make them rest from their labor!”

⁶ So the same day Pharaoh commanded the ^(AK)taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying, ⁷ “You shall no longer give the people straw to make ^(AL)brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.”

¹⁰ And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, “Thus says Pharaoh: ‘I will not give you straw. ¹¹ Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it; yet none of your work will be reduced.’ ” ¹² So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. ¹³ And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, “Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there was straw.” ¹⁴ Also the ^(AM)officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were ^(AN)beaten and were asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?”

¹⁵ Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why are you dealing thus with your servants? ¹⁶ There is no straw given to your servants, and they say to us, ‘Make brick!’ And indeed your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your own people.”

¹⁷ But he said, “You are idle! Idle! Therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ Therefore go now and work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the quota of bricks.” ¹⁹ And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble after it was said, “You shall not reduce any bricks from your daily quota.”

²⁰ Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them. ^21 (AO)And they said to them, “Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made ^[e]us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

Israel’s Deliverance Assured^(AP)

²² So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? ²³ For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.”

God Renews His Promise to Israel

6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For ^(AQ)with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand ^(AR)he will drive them out of his land.”

² And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am ^[f]the Lord. ^3 (AS)I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as ^(AT)God Almighty, but by My name ^(AU)Lord^[g] I was not known to them. ^4 (AV)I have also ^[h]established My covenant with them, ^(AW)to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their ^[i]pilgrimage, ^(AX)in which they were ^[j]strangers. ⁵ And ^(AY)I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. ⁶ Therefore say to the children of Israel: ^(AZ)‘I am the Lord; ^(BA)I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will ^(BB)rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with ^[k]an outstretched arm and with great judgments. ⁷ I will ^(BC)take you as My people, and ^(BD)I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out ^(BE)from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ⁸ And I will bring you into the land which I ^(BF)swore^[l] to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.’ ” ⁹ So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; ^(BG)but they did not heed Moses, because of ^(BH)anguish^[m] of spirit and cruel bondage.

⁵ “Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On the day when ^(A)I chose Israel and raised My hand in an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob, and made Myself ^(B)known to them in the land of Egypt, I raised My hand in an oath to them, saying, ^(C)‘I am the Lord your God.’ ⁶ On that day I raised My hand in an oath to them, ^(D)to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, ^(E)‘flowing with milk and honey,’ ^(F)the glory of all lands. ⁷ Then I said to them, ‘Each of you, ^(G)throw away ^(H)the abominations which are before his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with ^(I)the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’ ⁸ But they rebelled against Me and would not ^[a]obey Me. They did not all cast away the abominations which were before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said, ‘I will ^(J)pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.’ ^9 (K)But I acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles among whom they were, in whose sight I had made Myself ^(L)known to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt.