The Lord’s Covenant With Abram

15 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram^(A) in a vision:^(B)

² But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,^(F) what can you give me since I remain childless^(G) and the one who will inherit^[c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?^(H)” ³ And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant^(I) in my household^(J) will be my heir.”

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.^(K)” ⁵ He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars^(L)—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring^[d] be.”^(M)

⁶ Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.^(N)

⁷ He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out^(O) of Ur of the Chaldeans^(P) to give you this land to take possession of it.”^(Q)

⁸ But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,^(R) how can I know^(S) that I will gain possession of it?”^(T)

⁹ So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer,^(U) a goat and a ram, each three years old,^(V) along with a dove and a young pigeon.^(W)”

¹⁰ Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other;^(X) the birds, however, he did not cut in half.^{(Y) 11} Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses,^(Z) but Abram drove them away.

¹² As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep,^(AA) and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. ¹³ Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years^(AB) your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved^(AC) and mistreated there. ¹⁴ But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out^(AD) with great possessions.^{(AE) 15} You, however, will go to your ancestors^(AF) in peace and be buried at a good old age.^{(AG) 16} In the fourth generation^(AH) your descendants will come back here,^(AI) for the sin of the Amorites^(AJ) has not yet reached its full measure.”

¹⁷ When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch^(AK) appeared and passed between the pieces.^{(AL) 18} On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram^(AM) and said, “To your descendants I give this land,^(AN) from the Wadi^[e] of Egypt^(AO) to the great river, the Euphrates^(AP)— ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites,^(AQ) Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites,^(AR) Perizzites,^(AS) Rephaites,^{(AT) 21} Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”^(AU)

Abram and Lot Separate

13 So Abram went up from Egypt^(A) to the Negev,^(B) with his wife and everything he had, and Lot^(C) went with him. ² Abram had become very wealthy^(D) in livestock^(E) and in silver and gold.

³ From the Negev^(F) he went from place to place until he came to Bethel,^(G) to the place between Bethel and Ai^(H) where his tent had been earlier ⁴ and where he had first built an altar.^(I) There Abram called on the name of the Lord.^(J)

⁵ Now Lot,^(K) who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. ⁶ But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together.^{(L) 7} And quarreling^(M) arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites^(N) and Perizzites^(O) were also living in the land^(P) at that time.

⁸ So Abram said to Lot,^(Q) “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me,^(R) or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives.^{(S) 9} Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”^(T)

¹⁰ Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain^(U) of the Jordan toward Zoar^(V) was well watered, like the garden of the Lord,^(W) like the land of Egypt.^(X) (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom^(Y) and Gomorrah.)^{(Z) 11} So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: ¹² Abram lived in the land of Canaan,^(AA) while Lot^(AB) lived among the cities of the plain^(AC) and pitched his tents near Sodom.^{(AD) 13} Now the people of Sodom^(AE) were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.^(AF)

¹⁴ The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west.^{(AG) 15} All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring^[a] forever.^{(AH) 16} I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.^{(AI) 17} Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land,^(AJ) for I am giving it to you.”^(AK)

¹⁸ So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre^(AL) at Hebron,^(AM) where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.^(AN)

The Birth of Moses

2 Now a man of the tribe of Levi^(A) married a Levite woman,^{(B) 2} and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine^(C) child, she hid him for three months.^{(D) 3} But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus^(E) basket^[a] for him and coated it with tar and pitch.^(F) Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds^(G) along the bank of the Nile. ⁴ His sister^(H) stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

⁵ Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank.^(I) She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. ⁶ She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

⁷ Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

⁸ “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named^(J) him Moses,^[b] saying, “I drew^(K) him out of the water.”

Moses Flees to Midian

¹¹ One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people^(L) were and watched them at their hard labor.^(M) He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. ¹² Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?”^(N)

¹⁴ The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us?^(O) Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”

¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill^(P) Moses, but Moses fled^(Q) from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian,^(R) where he sat down by a well. ¹⁶ Now a priest of Midian^(S) had seven daughters, and they came to draw water^(T) and fill the troughs^(U) to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷ Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue^(V) and watered their flock.^(W)

¹⁸ When the girls returned to Reuel^(X) their father, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”

¹⁹ They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”

²⁰ “And where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.”^(Y)

²¹ Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah^(Z) to Moses in marriage. ²² Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom,^[c](AA) saying, “I have become a foreigner^(AB) in a foreign land.”

²³ During that long period,^(AC) the king of Egypt died.^(AD) The Israelites groaned in their slavery^(AE) and cried out, and their cry^(AF) for help because of their slavery went up to God. ²⁴ God heard their groaning and he remembered^(AG) his covenant^(AH) with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. ²⁵ So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned^(AI) about them.

Laws of Justice and Mercy

23 “Do not spread false reports.^(A) Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.^(B)

² “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice^(C) by siding with the crowd,^{(D) 3} and do not show favoritism^(E) to a poor person in a lawsuit.

⁴ “If you come across your enemy’s^(F) ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.^{(G) 5} If you see the donkey^(H) of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.

⁶ “Do not deny justice^(I) to your poor people in their lawsuits. ⁷ Have nothing to do with a false charge^(J) and do not put an innocent^(K) or honest person to death,^(L) for I will not acquit the guilty.^(M)

⁸ “Do not accept a bribe,^(N) for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.

⁹ “Do not oppress a foreigner;^(O) you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.

Sabbath Laws

¹⁰ “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, ¹¹ but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused.^(P) Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

¹² “Six days do your work,^(Q) but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.^(R)

¹³ “Be careful^(S) to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods;^(T) do not let them be heard on your lips.^(U)

The Three Annual Festivals

¹⁴ “Three times^(V) a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.

¹⁵ “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread;^(W) for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,^(X) for in that month you came out of Egypt.

“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.^(Y)

¹⁶ “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest^(Z) with the firstfruits^(AA) of the crops you sow in your field.

“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering^(AB) at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.^(AC)

¹⁷ “Three times^(AD) a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.

¹⁸ “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast.^(AE)

“The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.^(AF)

¹⁹ “Bring the best of the firstfruits^(AG) of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.^(AH)

God’s Angel to Prepare the Way

²⁰ “See, I am sending an angel^(AI) ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.^{(AJ) 21} Pay attention to him and listen^(AK) to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive^(AL) your rebellion,^(AM) since my Name^(AN) is in him. ²² If you listen carefully to what he says and do^(AO) all that I say, I will be an enemy^(AP) to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. ²³ My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites,^(AQ) and I will wipe them out. ²⁴ Do not bow down before their gods or worship^(AR) them or follow their practices.^(AS) You must demolish^(AT) them and break their sacred stones^(AU) to pieces. ²⁵ Worship the Lord your God,^(AV) and his blessing^(AW) will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness^(AX) from among you, ²⁶ and none will miscarry or be barren^(AY) in your land. I will give you a full life span.^(AZ)

²⁷ “I will send my terror^(BA) ahead of you and throw into confusion^(BB) every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.^{(BC) 28} I will send the hornet^(BD) ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites^(BE) out of your way. ²⁹ But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals^(BF) too numerous for you. ³⁰ Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession^(BG) of the land.

³¹ “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea^[a] to the Mediterranean Sea,^[b] and from the desert to the Euphrates River.^(BH) I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out^(BI) before you. ³² Do not make a covenant^(BJ) with them or with their gods. ³³ Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare^(BK) to you.”

The Covenant Confirmed

24 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron,^(BL) Nadab and Abihu,^(BM) and seventy of the elders^(BN) of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, ² but Moses alone is to approach^(BO) the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.”

³ When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws,^(BP) they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.”^{(BQ) 4} Moses then wrote^(BR) down everything the Lord had said.

He got up early the next morning and built an altar^(BS) at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars^(BT) representing the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings^(BU) and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings^(BV) to the Lord. ⁶ Moses^(BW) took half of the blood^(BX) and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed^(BY) against the altar. ⁷ Then he took the Book of the Covenant^(BZ) and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.”^(CA)

⁸ Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people^(CB) and said, “This is the blood of the covenant^(CC) that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

⁹ Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders^(CD) of Israel went up ¹⁰ and saw^(CE) the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli,^(CF) as bright blue as the sky.^{(CG) 11} But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw^(CH) God, and they ate and drank.^(CI)

¹² The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone^(CJ) with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”

¹³ Then Moses set out with Joshua^(CK) his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain^(CL) of God. ¹⁴ He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur^(CM) are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute^(CN) can go to them.”

¹⁵ When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud^(CO) covered it, ¹⁶ and the glory^(CP) of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai.^(CQ) For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.^{(CR) 17} To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire^(CS) on top of the mountain. ¹⁸ Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty^(CT) days and forty nights.^(CU)

Offerings for the Tabernacle^(CV)

25 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts^(CW) them to give. ³ These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; ⁴ blue, purple and scarlet yarn^(CX) and fine linen; goat hair; ⁵ ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather^[c];^(CY) acacia wood;^{(CZ) 6} olive oil^(DA) for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;^{(DB) 7} and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod^(DC) and breastpiece.^(DD)

⁸ “Then have them make a sanctuary^(DE) for me, and I will dwell^(DF) among them. ⁹ Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern^(DG) I will show you.

The Ark^(DH)

¹⁰ “Have them make an ark^[d](DI) of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.^{[e] 11} Overlay^(DJ) it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. ¹² Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings^(DK) on one side and two rings on the other. ¹³ Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.^{(DL) 14} Insert the poles^(DM) into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it. ¹⁵ The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed.^{(DN) 16} Then put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law,^(DO) which I will give you.

¹⁷ “Make an atonement cover^(DP) of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. ¹⁸ And make two cherubim^(DQ) out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. ¹⁹ Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. ²⁰ The cherubim^(DR) are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing^(DS) the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. ²¹ Place the cover on top of the ark^(DT) and put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law^(DU) that I will give you. ²² There, above the cover between the two cherubim^(DV) that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet^(DW) with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.^(DX)

The Table^(DY)

²³ “Make a table^(DZ) of acacia wood—two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high.^{[f] 24} Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it. ²⁵ Also make around it a rim a handbreadth^[g] wide and put a gold molding on the rim. ²⁶ Make four gold rings for the table and fasten them to the four corners, where the four legs are. ²⁷ The rings are to be close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table. ²⁸ Make the poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold^(EA) and carry the table with them. ²⁹ And make its plates and dishes of pure gold, as well as its pitchers and bowls for the pouring out of offerings.^{(EB) 30} Put the bread of the Presence^(EC) on this table to be before me at all times.

The Lampstand^(ED)

³¹ “Make a lampstand^(EE) of pure gold. Hammer out its base and shaft, and make its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms of one piece with them. ³² Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. ³³ Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. ³⁴ And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. ³⁵ One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair—six branches in all. ³⁶ The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.^(EF)

³⁷ “Then make its seven lamps^(EG) and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it. ³⁸ Its wick trimmers and trays^(EH) are to be of pure gold. ³⁹ A talent^[h] of pure gold is to be used for the lampstand and all these accessories. ⁴⁰ See that you make them according to the pattern^(EI) shown you on the mountain.

Moses and the Burning Bush

3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro^(A) his father-in-law, the priest of Midian,^(B) and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb,^(C) the mountain^(D) of God. ² There the angel of the Lord^(E) appeared to him in flames of fire^(F) from within a bush.^(G) Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

⁴ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called^(H) to him from within the bush,^(I) “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”^(J)

⁵ “Do not come any closer,”^(K) God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”^{(L) 6} Then he said, “I am the God of your father,^[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”^(M) At this, Moses hid^(N) his face, because he was afraid to look at God.^(O)

⁷ The Lord said, “I have indeed seen^(P) the misery^(Q) of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned^(R) about their suffering.^{(S) 8} So I have come down^(T) to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land,^(U) a land flowing with milk and honey^(V)—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites^(W) and Jebusites.^{(X) 9} And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing^(Y) them. ¹⁰ So now, go. I am sending^(Z) you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”^(AA)

¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I^(AB) that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹² And God said, “I will be with you.^(AC) And this will be the sign^(AD) to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you^[b] will worship God on this mountain.^(AE)”

¹³ Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’^(AF) Then what shall I tell them?”

¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am.^[c] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am^(AG) has sent me to you.’”

¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,^[d] the God of your fathers^(AH)—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob^(AI)—has sent me to you.’

¹⁶ “Go, assemble the elders^(AL) of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob^(AM)—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen^(AN) what has been done to you in Egypt. ¹⁷ And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt^(AO) into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’^(AP)

¹⁸ “The elders of Israel will listen^(AQ) to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews,^(AR) has met^(AS) with us. Let us take a three-day journey^(AT) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices^(AU) to the Lord our God.’ ¹⁹ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand^(AV) compels him. ²⁰ So I will stretch out my hand^(AW) and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders^(AX) that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.^(AY)

²¹ “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed^(AZ) toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed.^{(BA) 22} Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver^(BB) and gold^(BC) and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder^(BD) the Egyptians.”^(BE)

7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God^(A) to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.^{(B) 2} You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. ³ But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,^(C) and though I multiply my signs and wonders^(D) in Egypt, ⁴ he will not listen^(E) to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment^(F) I will bring out my divisions,^(G) my people the Israelites. ⁵ And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord^(H) when I stretch out my hand^(I) against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

⁶ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded^(J) them. ⁷ Moses was eighty years old^(K) and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,^(L)’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”^(M)

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. ¹¹ Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers,^(N) and the Egyptian magicians^(O) also did the same things by their secret arts:^{(P) 12} Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³ Yet Pharaoh’s heart^(Q) became hard and he would not listen^(R) to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Blood

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding;^(S) he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river.^(T) Confront him on the bank of the Nile,^(U) and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. ¹⁶ Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship^(V) me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.^{(W) 17} This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord:^(X) With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.^{(Y) 18} The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink;^(Z) the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”^(AA)

¹⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff^(AB) and stretch out your hand^(AC) over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels^[a] of wood and stone.”

²⁰ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded.^(AD) He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile,^(AE) and all the water was changed into blood.^{(AF) 21} The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

²² But the Egyptian magicians^(AG) did the same things by their secret arts,^(AH) and Pharaoh’s heart^(AI) became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. ²³ Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. ²⁴ And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water^(AJ), because they could not drink the water of the river.

The Plague of Frogs

²⁵ Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile. 8 ^1 [b]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship^(AK) me. ² If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs^(AL) on your whole country. ³ The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people,^(AM) and into your ovens and kneading troughs.^{(AN) 4} The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”

⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff^(AO) over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs^(AP) come up on the land of Egypt.’”

⁶ So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs^(AQ) came up and covered the land. ⁷ But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts;^(AR) they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

⁸ Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray^(AS) to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices^(AT) to the Lord.”

⁹ Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time^(AU) for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.”

¹⁰ “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.

Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God.^{(AV) 11} The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.”

¹² After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. ¹³ And the Lord did what Moses asked.^(AW) The frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields. ¹⁴ They were piled into heaps, and the land reeked of them. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief,^(AX) he hardened his heart^(AY) and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Gnats

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff^(AZ) and strike the dust of the ground,’ and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats.” ¹⁷ They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats^(BA) came on people and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats. ¹⁸ But when the magicians^(BB) tried to produce gnats by their secret arts,^(BC) they could not.

Since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere, ¹⁹ the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger^(BD) of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart^(BE) was hard and he would not listen,^(BF) just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Flies

²⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning^(BG) and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship^(BH) me. ²¹ If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them.

²² “‘But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen,^(BI) where my people live;^(BJ) no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know^(BK) that I, the Lord, am in this land. ²³ I will make a distinction^[c] between my people and your people.^(BL) This sign will occur tomorrow.’”

²⁴ And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.^(BM)

²⁵ Then Pharaoh summoned^(BN) Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.”

²⁶ But Moses said, “That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians.^(BO) And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? ²⁷ We must take a three-day journey^(BP) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices^(BQ) to the Lord our God, as he commands us.”

²⁸ Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray^(BR) for me.”

²⁹ Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only let Pharaoh be sure that he does not act deceitfully^(BS) again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

³⁰ Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord,^{(BT) 31} and the Lord did what Moses asked. The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained. ³² But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart^(BU) and would not let the people go.