When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”

God also said to Moses, “You must say this to the Israelites, ‘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 forever, and this is my memorial from generation to generation.’

The Lord said, “Throw it to the ground.” So he threw it to the ground, and it became a snake, and Moses ran from it.

But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and grab it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—

Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not an eloquent man, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant, for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

But Moses said, “O my Lord, please send anyone else whom you wish to send!”

Then the Lord became angry with Moses, and he said, “What about your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he can speak very well. Moreover, he is coming to meet you, and when he sees you he will be glad in his heart.

The Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, because all the men who were seeking your life are dead.”

The Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put under your control. But I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.

The Lord said to Aaron, “Go to the wilderness to meet Moses. So he went and met him at the mountain of God and greeted him with a kiss.

Opposition to the Plan of God

Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said, ‘Release my people so that they may hold a pilgrim feast to me in the wilderness.’”

The Assurance of Deliverance

Moses returned to the Lord, and said, “Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? Why did you ever send me?

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for compelled by my strong hand he will release them, and by my strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord.

Then the Lord said to Moses,

It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their regiments.”

But Moses said before the Lord, “Since I speak with difficulty, why should Pharaoh listen to me?”

So the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

Plague One: Water to Blood

The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to release the people.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over Egypt’s waters—over their rivers, over their canals, over their ponds, and over all their reservoirs—so that it becomes blood.’ There will be blood everywhere in the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.”

(7:26) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord has said: “Release my people in order that they may serve me!

Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord that he may take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will release the people that they may sacrifice to the Lord.”

He said, “Tomorrow.” And Moses said, “It will be as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.

Plague Three: Gnats

The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Extend your staff and strike the dust of the ground, and it will become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.’”