29 that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “(A)I am the Lord; (B)say to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” 30 But Moses said before the Lord, “Behold, I am [a](C)unskilled in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?”

I Will Extend My Hand

Then the Lord said to Moses, “(D)See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. As for you, you shall speak all that I command you, and your brother (E)Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land. But (F)I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that I may (G)multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. When (H)Pharaoh does not listen to you, I will lay My hand on Egypt and (I)bring out My armies, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by (J)great judgments. Then (K)the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I (L)extend My hand over Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.” So Moses and Aaron did this; (M)as the Lord commanded them, so they did.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 6:30 Lit uncircumcised of lips

29 he said to him, “I am the Lord.(A) Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”

30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips,(B) why would Pharaoh listen to me?”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God(C) to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.(D) 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. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,(E) and though I multiply my signs and wonders(F) in Egypt, he will not listen(G) to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment(H) I will bring out my divisions,(I) my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord(J) when I stretch out my hand(K) against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded(L) them.

Water Turned into Blood

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is [a]stubborn; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning [b]just as (A)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 (B)the staff that was turned into a serpent. 16 And (C)you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “(D)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: “(E)By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, I am going to strike [c]the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and (F)it will be turned into blood. 18 Then (G)the fish that are in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will [d](H)no longer be able to drink water from the Nile.”’” 19 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and (I)extend your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their [e]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 [f](J)the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants; and (K)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 (L)But the soothsayer priests of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was [g]hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. 23 Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house [h]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 [i]passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.

Frogs over the Land

[j]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “(M)Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I am going to strike your entire territory with frogs. The Nile will (N)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. So the frogs will come up on you, your people, and on all your servants.”’” [k]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘(O)Extend your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the [l]streams, and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’” So Aaron extended his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the [m](P)frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. However, (Q)the soothsayer priests did the same with their secret arts, [n]making frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

Then Pharaoh (R)called for Moses and Aaron and said, “(S)Plead with the Lord [o]to remove the frogs from me and from my people; and (T)I will let the people go, so that they may sacrifice to the Lord.” And Moses said to Pharaoh, “[p]The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I plead for you and your servants and your people, [q]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 (U)no one like the Lord our God. 11 The (V)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 (W)Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had [r]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 [s]hardened his heart and (X)did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 7:14 Or hard; lit heavy
  2. Exodus 7:15 Lit behold
  3. Exodus 7:17 Lit upon the waters
  4. Exodus 7:18 Lit be weary of
  5. Exodus 7:19 Or canals
  6. Exodus 7:20 Lit with the staff
  7. Exodus 7:22 Lit strong
  8. Exodus 7:23 Lit and he did not set his heart even to this
  9. Exodus 7:25 Lit were fulfilled
  10. Exodus 8:1 Ch 7:26 in Heb
  11. Exodus 8:5 Ch 8:1 in Heb
  12. Exodus 8:5 Or canals
  13. Exodus 8:6 Lit frog
  14. Exodus 8:7 Lit and made
  15. Exodus 8:8 Lit that He remove
  16. Exodus 8:9 Lit Glory over me
  17. Exodus 8:9 Lit cut off the frogs from
  18. Exodus 8:12 Lit placed
  19. Exodus 8:15 Lit made heavy

The Plague of Blood

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding;(A) he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river.(B) Confront him on the bank of the Nile,(C) 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(D) me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.(E) 17 This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord:(F) With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.(G) 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink;(H) the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”(I)

19 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff(J) and stretch out your hand(K) 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.(L) He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile,(M) and all the water was changed into blood.(N) 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(O) did the same things by their secret arts,(P) and Pharaoh’s heart(Q) 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(R), because they could not drink the water of the river.

The Plague of Frogs

25 Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile. [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(S) me. If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs(T) on your whole country. 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,(U) and into your ovens and kneading troughs.(V) The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”

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

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

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

Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time(AC) 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.(AD) 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.(AE) 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,(AF) he hardened his heart(AG) and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 7:19 Or even on their idols
  2. Exodus 8:1 In Hebrew texts 8:1-4 is numbered 7:26-29, and 8:5-32 is numbered 8:1-28.

The Last Plague

11 Now the Lord said to Moses, “One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; (A)after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will assuredly drive you out from here completely.

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The Plague on the Firstborn

11 Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go(A) from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely.(B)

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The Passover Lamb

12 Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of [a]Egypt, (A)This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year for you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are, each one, to take a [b]lamb for themselves, according to the fathers’ households, a [c]lamb for [d]each household. Now if the household is too small for a [e]lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the [f]number of persons in them; in proportion to [g]what each one should eat, you are to [h]divide the lamb. Your [i]lamb shall be (B)an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. [j]You shall keep it until the (C)fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it [k](D)at twilight. (E)Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel [l]of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh (F)that same night, (G)roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with (H)unleavened bread [m](I)and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather (J)roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with (K)its entrails. 10 (L)And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall completely burn with fire. 11 Now you shall eat it in this way: with your garment [n]belted around your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in a hurry—it is (M)the Lords Passover. 12 For (N)I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and fatally strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the human firstborn to animals; and (O)against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—(P)I am the Lord. 13 (Q)The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you [o]live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will come upon you [p]to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 12:1 Lit Egypt, saying
  2. Exodus 12:3 Or kid
  3. Exodus 12:3 Or kid
  4. Exodus 12:3 Lit the
  5. Exodus 12:4 Or kid
  6. Exodus 12:4 Or amount
  7. Exodus 12:4 Lit each man’s eating
  8. Exodus 12:4 Lit compute for
  9. Exodus 12:5 Or kid
  10. Exodus 12:6 Lit It shall be to you for a guarding
  11. Exodus 12:6 Lit between the two evenings
  12. Exodus 12:7 Lit upon
  13. Exodus 12:8 Lit in addition to
  14. Exodus 12:11 I.e., for travel
  15. Exodus 12:13 Lit are
  16. Exodus 12:13 Lit for destruction

The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread(A)

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month is to be for you the first month,(B) the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb[a](C) for his family, one for each household.(D) If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect,(E) and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month,(F) when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.(G) Then they are to take some of the blood(H) and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night(I) they are to eat the meat roasted(J) over the fire, along with bitter herbs,(K) and bread made without yeast.(L) Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs.(M) 10 Do not leave any of it till morning;(N) if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste;(O) it is the Lord’s Passover.(P)

12 “On that same night I will pass through(Q) Egypt and strike down(R) every firstborn(S) of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods(T) of Egypt. I am the Lord.(U) 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over(V) you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.(W)

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 12:3 The Hebrew word can mean lamb or kid; also in verse 4.

28 Then the sons of Israel went and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

29 Now it came about at (A)midnight that (B)the Lord struck all (C)the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of (D)cattle. 30 And Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was (E)a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead. 31 Then (F)he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Rise up, (G)get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, [a]worship the Lord, as you have said. 32 Take (H)both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.”

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 12:31 Or serve

28 The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded(A) Moses and Aaron.

29 At midnight(B) the Lord(C) struck down all the firstborn(D) in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock(E) as well. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing(F) in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

The Exodus

31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship(G) the Lord as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds,(H) as you have said, and go. And also bless(I) me.”

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