7 The Lord said to Moses, “I have made you ·like God [^LGod] to ·the king of Egypt [^LPharaoh], and your brother Aaron will be like a prophet for you [^Cjust as God would speak to people through prophets so Moses would speak to Pharaoh through Aaron]. ² Tell Aaron your brother everything that I command you, and let him tell ·the king of Egypt [^LPharaoh] to let the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] leave his ·country [land]. ³ But I will ·make the king stubborn [^Lharden the heart of Pharaoh]. I will ·do many miracles [^Lmultiply my signs and wonders] in Egypt, ⁴ but ·he will still refuse to listen [^LPharaoh will not listen to you]. So then I will ·punish Egypt terribly [^Lplace my hand on Egypt with great judgments], and I will lead my ·divisions [hosts; companies; 6:26], my people the Israelites, out of ·that land [^Lthe land of Egypt]. ⁵ I will ·punish Egypt with my power [^Lextend my hand against Egypt], and I will bring the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] ·out of that land [^Lfrom their midst]. Then the Egyptians will know I am the Lord.”

⁶ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them. ⁷ Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three when they spoke to ·the king [^LPharaoh].

Aaron’s Walking Stick Becomes a Snake

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “Moses, when ·the king [^LPharaoh] asks you to do a ·miracle [wonder], tell Aaron to [^Ltake and] throw his ·walking stick [staff] down in front of ·the king [^LPharaoh], and it will become a ·snake [serpent; 4:3–5; ^Csymbols of dangerous power in Egypt; Pharaoh’s headdress had a serpent at its crest].”

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to ·the king [^LPharaoh] as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw his ·walking stick [staff] down in front of ·the king [^LPharaoh] and his officers, and it became a ·snake [serpent].

¹¹ So ·the king [^LPharaoh] called in his wise men and his ·magicians [sorcerers], and with their ·tricks [magic arts] the Egyptian magicians were able to do the same thing [^Cshowing that they had spiritual powers supporting them]. ¹² They threw their ·walking sticks [staffs] on the ground, and their ·sticks [staffs] became snakes. But Aaron’s ·stick [staff] swallowed theirs [^Cshowing God’s power was superior]. ¹³ Still the king ·was stubborn [^Lhardened his heart] and refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

The Water Becomes Blood

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “·The king is being stubborn [^LPharaoh’s heart is hard/heavy] and refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ In the morning ·the king [^LPharaoh] will go out to the ·Nile River [^Lwater]. Go meet him by the edge of the ·river [^LNile], and take with you the ·walking stick [staff] that became a ·snake [serpent]. ¹⁶ Tell him: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you. He said, ‘Let my people go ·worship [serve] me in the ·desert [wilderness].’ Until now you have not listened. ¹⁷ This is what the Lord says: ‘This is how you will know that I am the Lord. I will strike the water of the Nile River with this ·stick [staff] in my hand, and the water will change into blood. ¹⁸ Then the fish in the Nile will die, and the river will begin to stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink the water from the Nile.’”

¹⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: ‘Take the ·walking stick [staff] in your hand and stretch your hand over the rivers, canals, ponds, and pools in Egypt.’ The water will become blood everywhere in Egypt, both in wooden buckets and in stone jars.”

²⁰ So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. In front of ·the king [^LPharaoh] and his officers, Aaron raised his ·walking stick [staff] and struck the water in the Nile River. So all the water in the Nile changed into blood. ²¹ The fish in the Nile died, and the river began to stink, so the Egyptians could not drink water from it. Blood was everywhere in the land of Egypt.

²² Using their ·tricks [magic arts], the ·magicians [sorcerers] of Egypt did the same thing. So the ·king was stubborn [^Lheart of Pharaoh was hardened] and refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. ²³ ·The king [^LPharaoh] turned and went into his ·palace [house] and ·ignored what Moses and Aaron had done [^Ldid not take this to heart]. ²⁴ The Egyptians could not drink the water from the Nile, so all of them dug along the bank of the river, looking for water to drink.

The Frogs

²⁵ Seven days passed after the Lord ·changed [^Lstruck] the Nile River.

8 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go to ·worship [serve] me. ² If you refuse, I will ·punish [plague] ·Egypt [^Lyour boundaries] with frogs. ³ The Nile River will ·be filled [swarm] with frogs. They will come up into your palace, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your officers, and onto your people. They will come into your ovens and into your baking pans. ⁴ The frogs will ·jump all over [^Lcome up on] you, your people, and your officers.’”

⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron to ·hold his walking stick [stretch out his stick/staff] in his hand over the rivers, canals, and ponds. Make frogs come up out of the water onto the land of Egypt.”

⁶ So Aaron ·held [extended] his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up out of the water and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷ The ·magicians [sorcerers] used their ·tricks [magic arts] to do the same thing, so even more frogs came up onto the land of Egypt.

⁸ ·The king [^LPharaoh] called for Moses and Aaron and said, “·Pray to [Intreat; Intercede] the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people. I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

⁹ Moses said to ·the king [^LPharaoh], “Please set the time when I should ·pray [intreat; intercede] for you, your people, and your officers. Then the frogs will ·leave [be removed/cut off from] you and your houses and will remain only in the Nile.”

¹⁰ The king answered, “Tomorrow.”

Moses said, “·What you want will happen [^LAccording to your word]. By this you will know that there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹ The frogs will ·leave [be removed from] you, your houses, your officers, and your people. They will remain only in the Nile.”

¹² After Moses and Aaron ·left the king [went out from Pharaoh], Moses ·asked [cried out to] the Lord about the frogs he had ·sent to [^Lset against] ·the king [^LPharaoh]. ¹³ And the Lord did as Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the ·yards [courtyards], and in the fields. ¹⁴ The Egyptians put them in piles, and the whole country began to stink. ¹⁵ But when ·the king [^LPharaoh] saw that they were free of the frogs, he ·became stubborn again [^Lhardened his heart]. He did not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

The Gnats

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron to ·raise [extend] his ·walking stick [staff] and strike the dust on the ground. Then everywhere in Egypt the dust will change into gnats.” ¹⁷ They did this, and when Aaron ·raised [extended] the ·walking stick [staff] that was in his hand and struck the dust on the ground, everywhere in Egypt the dust changed into gnats. The gnats got on the people and ·animals [cattle]. ¹⁸ Using their ·tricks [magic arts], the ·magicians [sorcerers] tried to do the same thing, but they could not make the dust change into gnats. The gnats remained on the people and animals. ¹⁹ So the ·magicians [sorcerers] told ·the king [^LPharaoh] that the ·power [^Lfinger] of God had done this. But the ·king was stubborn [^Lheart of Pharaoh was hard] and refused to listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Flies

²⁰ The Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning, and meet the king of Egypt as he goes out to the ·river [^Lwater]. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go so they can ·worship [serve] me. ²¹ If you don’t let them go, I will send swarms of flies into your houses. The flies will be on you, your officers, and your people. The houses of Egypt will be full of flies, and they will be all over the ground, too. ²² ·But I will not treat the Israelites the same as the Egyptian people [On that day I will separate the land of Goshen where my people are; ^Clocated in the eastern part of the Nile Delta; Gen. 45:10]. There will not be any flies ·in the land of Goshen, where my people live [^Lthere]. By this you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. ²³ I will ·treat my people differently from [or set redemption between my people and] your people. This ·miracle [sign] will happen tomorrow.’”

²⁴ So the Lord did as he had said, and great swarms of flies came into ·the king’s [^LPharaoh’s] palace and his officers’ houses. All over Egypt flies were ·ruining [destroying] the land. ²⁵ ·The king [^LPharaoh] called for Moses and Aaron and told them, “[^LGo,] Offer sacrifices to your God here in this ·country [land].”

²⁶ But Moses said, “It wouldn’t be right to do that, ·because the Egyptians hate the sacrifices we offer to the Lord our God [^Lthe sacrifices we offer to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians]. If they see us offering sacrifices they ·hate [detest], ·they will throw stones at us and kill us [^Lwill they not stone us?]. ²⁷ Let us make a three-day journey into the ·desert [wilderness]. We must offer sacrifices to the Lord our God there, as he told us to do.”

²⁸ ·The king [^LPharaoh] said, “I will let you go so that you may offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the ·desert [wilderness], but you must not go very far away. Now go and ·pray [intreat; intercede] for me.”

²⁹ Moses said, “I will ·leave [go out] and ·pray [intreat; intercede] to the Lord, and he will take the flies away from you, your officers, and your people tomorrow. But do not ·try to trick [deal falsely with] us again. Do not stop the people from going to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

³⁰ So Moses ·left the king [^Lwent out from Pharaoh] and ·prayed to [entreated; interceded with] the Lord, ³¹ and the Lord did as he asked. He removed the flies from ·the king [^LPharaoh], his officers, and his people so that not one fly was left. ³² But ·the king became stubborn [^LPharaoh hardened his heart] again and did not let the people go.

The Disease on the Farm Animals

9 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go to ·the king of Egypt [^LPharaoh] and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go to ·worship [serve] me. ² If you refuse to let them go and ·continue to hold [tighten your grip on] them, ³ the ·Lord will punish you and will send [^Lhand of the Lord will strike with] a terrible ·disease [pestilence] on your farm animals that are in the fields. He will cause your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, goats, and sheep to become sick. ⁴ But the Lord will ·treat Israel’s animals differently from [make a distinction between the animals of Israel and] the animals of Egypt. None of the animals that belong to the Israelites will die. ⁵ The Lord has set tomorrow as the [^Lappointed] time he will do this in the land.’” ⁶ The next day the Lord did as he promised. All the farm animals in Egypt died, but none of the animals belonging to Israelites died. ⁷ ·The king [^LPharaoh] sent people to see what had happened to the animals of Israel, and they found that not one of them had died. But the ·king was still stubborn [^Lheart of Pharaoh was hardened] and did not let the people go.

The Boils

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “·Fill your hands with [Take handfuls of] ·ashes [soot] from a ·furnace [kiln]. Moses, throw the ashes into the air in front of ·the king of Egypt [^LPharaoh]. ⁹ The ·ashes [soot] will spread like dust through all the land of Egypt. They will cause boils to break out and become sores on the skin of people and animals everywhere in the land [^Cperhaps skin anthrax].”

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron took ·ashes [soot] from a ·furnace [kiln] and went and stood before ·the king [^LPharaoh]. Moses threw ·ashes [the soot; ^Lit] into the air, which caused boils to break out and become sores on people and animals. ¹¹ The ·magicians [sorcerers] could not stand before Moses, because all the Egyptians had boils, even the ·magicians [sorcerers]. ¹² But the Lord ·made the king stubborn [^Lhardened the heart of Pharaoh], so he refused to listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Hail

¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and ·go to the king of Egypt [stand before Pharaoh]. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go to ·worship [serve] me. ¹⁴ If you don’t, this time I will ·punish you, your officers, and your people, with all my power [^Lsend all my plagues against you, your officers, and your people]. Then you will know there is no one in the whole land like me. ¹⁵ By now I could have ·used my power [^Lstretched out my hand] and caused a terrible disease that would have destroyed you and your people from the earth. ¹⁶ But I have let you live for this reason: to show you my power so that my ·name [fame; reputation] will be ·talked about [recounted] in all the earth. ¹⁷ You are still [^Lexalting yourself] against my people and do not want to let them go. ¹⁸ So at this time tomorrow, I will send a ·terrible [very heavy] hailstorm, the worst in Egypt ·since it became a nation [^Lfrom the day it was founded until now]. ¹⁹ Now send for your animals and whatever you have in the fields, and bring them into a safe place. The hail will fall on every person or animal that is still in the fields. If they have not been brought in, they will die.’” ²⁰ Some of ·the king’s [^LPharaoh’s] officers ·respected [^Lfeared] the word of the Lord and hurried to bring their slaves and animals inside. ²¹ But others ·ignored [^Ldid not set their heart on] the Lord’s ·message [word] and left their slaves and animals in the fields.

²² The Lord told Moses, “·Raise [Stretch out] your hand toward the ·sky [heavens]. Then the hail will start falling in all the land of Egypt. It will fall on people, animals, and on ·everything that grows [all the plants] in the fields of Egypt.” ²³ When Moses ·raised his walking stick [stretched out his staff] toward the ·sky [heavens], the Lord sent thunder and hail, and ·lightning [^Lfire] ·flashed [^Lcame] down to the earth. So he caused hail to fall upon the land of Egypt. ²⁴ There was hail, and lightning flashed as it hailed—the ·worst [most severe] hailstorm in Egypt since it had become a nation. ²⁵ The hail ·destroyed [^Lstruck] all the people and animals that were in the fields in all the land of Egypt. It also ·destroyed [^Lstruck] ·everything that grew [the plants] in the fields and broke all the trees in the fields. ²⁶ The only place it did not hail was in the land of Goshen [8:22], where the Israelites lived.

²⁷ ·The king [^LPharaoh] sent for Moses and Aaron and told them, “This time I have sinned. The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are ·in the wrong [guilty]. ²⁸ ·Pray to [Entreat; Intercede with] the Lord. We have had enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you do not have to stay here any longer.”

²⁹ Moses told ·the king [^Lhim], “When I ·leave [^Lgo out from] the city, I will ·raise [^Lspread] my hands to the Lord in prayer, and the thunder [^Lwill cease] and hail will ·stop [^Lbe no more]. Then you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord. ³⁰ But I know that you and your officers do not yet fear the Lord God.”

³¹ The flax was in ·bloom [bud], and the barley ·had ripened [was in the ear], so these crops were ·destroyed [ruined]. ³² But ·both wheat crops [^Lthe wheat and the spelt] ripen later, so they were not ·destroyed [ruined].

³³ Moses left ·the king [^LPharaoh] and went outside the city. He ·raised [^Lspread] his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and hail ·stopped [^Lceased]. The rain ·also stopped falling to [^Lno longer poured on] the ground. ³⁴ When ·the king [^LPharaoh] saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ·stopped [^Lceased], he sinned again, and he and his officers ·became stubborn [^Lhardened their hearts]. ³⁵ So ·the king [^LPharaoh] ·became stubborn [^Lhardened his heart] and refused to let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through [^Lthe hand of] Moses.

The Locusts

10 The Lord said to Moses, “Go to ·the king of Egypt [^LPharaoh]. I have ·made him and his officers stubborn [^Lhardened his heart and the hearts of his officers] so I could show them ·my powerful miracles [^Lthese signs of mine]. ² I also did this so you could ·tell [^Lrecount to] your children and your grandchildren how I ·was hard on [or made sport of] the Egyptians. ·Tell [^LRecount to] them about the ·miracles [^Lsigns] I did among them so that all of you will know that I am the Lord.”

³ So Moses and Aaron went to ·the king [^LPharaoh] and told him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to ·be sorry for what you have done [^Lhumble yourself before me]? Let my people go to ·worship [serve] me. ⁴ If you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your ·country [land]. ⁵ They will cover the [^Lsurface of the] land so that no one will be able to see the ·ground [land]. They will eat ·anything that was [^Lthe last remains] left from the hailstorm and the leaves from every tree growing in the field. ⁶ They will fill your ·palaces [^Lhouses] and all your officers’ houses, as well as the houses of all the Egyptians. There will be more locusts than your fathers or ·ancestors [^Lthe fathers of your fathers] have ever seen—more than ·there have been since people began living in Egypt [or the day they came on the earth until now].’” Then Moses turned and walked away from ·the king [^LPharaoh].

⁷ ·The king’s [^LPharaoh’s] officers asked him, “How long will this man ·make trouble for [^Lbe a snare to] us? Let the ·Israelites [^Lmen] go to ·worship [serve] the Lord their God. Don’t you know [^Lyet] that Egypt is ·ruined [destroyed]?”

⁸ So Moses and Aaron were brought back to ·the king [^LPharaoh]. He said to them, “Go and ·worship [serve] the Lord your God. But tell me, just who is going?”

⁹ Moses answered, “We will go with our young and old people, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds, because we are going to ·have a feast [celebrate a festival; or make a pilgrimage] to honor the Lord.”

¹⁰ ·The king [^LHe] said to them, “The Lord will really have to be with you if ever I let you and all of your children leave Egypt. See, you are planning something evil! ¹¹ No! Only the men may go and ·worship [serve] the Lord, which is what you have been asking for.” Then ·the king forced Moses and Aaron out of his palace [^Lhe drove them from the presence of Pharaoh].

¹² The Lord told Moses, “·Raise [Extend; Stretch] your hand over the land of Egypt, and the locusts will come. They will ·spread all [^Lgo up] over the land of Egypt and will eat all the ·plants [vegetation] the hail ·did not destroy [^Lleft behind].”

¹³ So Moses ·raised [extended; stretched] his ·walking stick [staff] over the land of Egypt, and the Lord caused a strong east wind to blow across the land all that day and night, and when morning came, the east wind had brought the locusts. ¹⁴ Swarms of locusts ·covered [^Lwent up on] all the land of Egypt and ·settled [rested] ·everywhere [^Lwithin all the borders of Egypt]. There were more locusts than ever before or after, ¹⁵ and they covered the [^Lsurface of the] whole land so that it was ·black [darkened]. They ate everything that was left after the hail—·every plant [^Lall the vegetation] in the field and all the fruit on the trees. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant anywhere in Egypt.

¹⁶ ·The king [^LPharaoh] quickly called for Moses and Aaron. He said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. ¹⁷ Now forgive my sin this time. ·Pray to [Entreat; Intercede with] the Lord your God, and ask him to ·stop [turn aside] this ·punishment that kills [deadly thing from me].”

¹⁸ Moses left ·the king [^LPharaoh] and ·prayed to [entreated; interceded with] the Lord. ¹⁹ So the Lord ·changed [turned around; diverted] the wind. He made a very strong wind blow from the west, and it ·blew [^Lcarried and drove] the locusts away into the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [^Cprobably a body of water north of the Gulf of Suez]. Not one locust was left ·anywhere in [^Lwithin the borders of] Egypt. ²⁰ But the Lord ·caused the king to be stubborn again [^Lhardened the heart of Pharaoh], and he did not let the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] go.

The Darkness

²¹ Then the Lord told Moses, “·Raise [Stretch; Extend] your hand toward the ·sky [heavens], and darkness will ·cover [^Lbe over] the land of Egypt. It will be so dark ·you will be able to feel it [or you will have to grope around].” ²² Moses ·raised [stretched; extended] his hand toward the ·sky [heavens], and ·total [dense; deep] darkness was everywhere in Egypt for three days. ²³ No one could see ·anyone else [^Lhis brother], and no one could go anywhere for three days. But the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] had light where they lived.

²⁴ Again ·the king of Egypt [^LPharaoh] called for Moses. He said, “All of you may go and ·worship [serve] the Lord. You may take your ·women and children [^Lchildren] with you, but you must leave your flocks and herds here.”

²⁵ Moses said, “You must ·let us have animals to use as [^Lgive into our hands] ·sacrifices [offerings] and burnt offerings [Lev. 1], ·because we have to offer them to [^L…for] the Lord our God. ²⁶ So we must take our animals with us; not a hoof will be left behind. We have to use some of the animals to ·worship [serve] the Lord our God. We won’t know exactly what we will need to ·worship [serve] the Lord until we get there.”

²⁷ But the Lord ·made the king stubborn again [^Lhardened the heart of Pharaoh], so he ·refused [was unwilling] to let them go. ²⁸ Then ·he [^LPharaoh] told Moses, “Get ·out of here [^Laway from me], ·and don’t come again [^Lwatch out that you don’t see my face again]! ·The next time you see me, [^LOn the day you see my face,] you will die.”

²⁹ Then Moses ·told the king [^Lsaid], “I’ll do what you say. I will not ·come to see you [^Lsee your face] again.”

The Death of the Firstborn

11 Now the Lord had told Moses, “I have one more ·way to punish the king and the people of [^Lplague to bring on Pharaoh and] Egypt. After this, ·the king [^Lhe] will send all of you away from ·Egypt [^Lthis place]. When he does, he will ·force you to leave completely [drive you away]. ² Tell ·the men and women of Israel [^Lin the hearing of the people] ·to ask their neighbors [that each man should ask his neighbor and each woman should ask her neighbor] for things made of silver and gold.” ³ The Lord had caused the Egyptians to ·respect [show favor to] the Israelites, and both ·the king’s [^LPharaoh’s] officers and the Egyptian people considered Moses to be a great man.

⁴ So Moses said to ·the king [^Lhim], “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight tonight I will go through all Egypt. ⁵ Every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die—from the firstborn son of ·the king [^LPharaoh], who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl ·grinding grain [^Lwho is behind the handmill]. Also the firstborn farm animals will die. ⁶ There will be loud outcries everywhere in Egypt, worse than any time before or after this. ⁷ But not even a dog will ·bark [growl] at the ·Israelites [^Lthe sons/^Tchildren of Israel] or their animals.’ Then you will know that the Lord ·treats Israel differently from [makes a distinction between Israel and] Egypt. ⁸ All your officers will come to me. They will bow facedown to the ground before me and say, ‘Leave and take all your people ·with you [who follow you; ^Lwho are on your foot].’ After that, I will leave.” Then Moses very angrily left ·the king [^LPharaoh].

⁹ The Lord had told Moses, “·The king [^LPharaoh] will not listen to ·you and Aaron [^Lyou] so that I may do many ·miracles [wonders] in the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰ Moses and Aaron did all these great ·miracles [wonders] in front of ·the king [^LPharaoh]. But the Lord ·made him stubborn [^Lhardened the heart of Pharaoh], and the king would not let the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] leave his country.

The First Passover

12 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: ² “This month will be the beginning of months, the first month [^Cin terms of both the calendar and its importance] of the year for you. ³ Tell the whole ·community [congregation; assembly] of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man must get one lamb for [^Leach family, a lamb for] ·the people in his house [^Leach household]. ⁴ If there are not enough people in his house to eat a whole lamb, he must share it with his closest neighbor, considering the number of people. There must be enough lamb for everyone to eat. ⁵ The lamb must be a one-year-old male that has ·nothing wrong with it [no blemish]. This animal can be either a young sheep or a young goat. ⁶ Take care of the animals until the fourteenth day of the month. On that day all the ·people of the community [assembly of the congregation] of Israel will ·kill [slaughter] them ·in the evening before dark [at twilight]. ⁷ The people must take some of the blood and put it on the ·sides and tops of the doorframes [doorposts and lintels] of the houses where they eat the lambs. ⁸ On this night they must roast the lamb over a fire. They must eat it with bitter herbs and ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread]. ⁹ Do not eat the lamb raw or boiled in water. Roast the whole lamb over a fire—with its head, legs, and inner organs. ¹⁰ You must not leave any of it until morning, but if any of it is left over until morning, you must burn it with fire.

¹¹ “This is the way you must eat it: ·You must be fully dressed as if you were going on a trip [^LWith your loins girded]. You must have your sandals on [^Lyour feet] and your walking stick in your hand. You must eat it in a hurry; this is the Lord’s Passover.

¹² “That night I will ·go [cross; pass] through the land of Egypt and ·kill [^Lstrike] all the firstborn animals and [^Lfirstborn] people in the land of Egypt. I will also ·punish [judge; have victory over] all the gods of Egypt [^Cthe spiritual forces (demons) who spiritually empower Egypt]. I am the Lord. ¹³ But the blood will be a sign on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you [^Cthe verb is related to the Hebrew word for Passover]. ·Nothing terrible will hurt [^LNo plague will destroy] you when I ·punish [^Lstrike] the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ “You are always to remember this day and celebrate it with a feast to the Lord. ·Your descendants are to honor the Lord with this feast from now on [^LYou are to observe it throughout your generations as a perpetual statute/ordinance/requirement]. ¹⁵ For this feast you must eat ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread] for seven days. On the first day, you are to remove all the ·yeast [leaven] from your houses. No one should eat ·any yeast [anything leavened] from the first day until the seventh day, or that person will be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶ You are to have ·holy meetings [sacred/solemn convocation] on the first and last days of the feast. You must not do any work on these days; the only work you may do is to prepare your meals. ¹⁷ You must ·celebrate [^Lkeep; guard] the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought your ·divisions of people [hosts; ^Ca military designation] out of Egypt. So all of your descendants must celebrate this day. This is a ·law that will last from now on [^Lperpetual statute/ordinance/requirement throughout your generations]. ¹⁸ In the first month of the year you are to eat ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread], from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day [^Cto commemorate their rapid departure; 12:39]. ¹⁹ For seven days there must not be any ·yeast [leaven] in your houses. Anybody who eats ·yeast [something leavened] during this time, either an ·Israelite [^Lnative citizen in the land] or ·non-Israelite [^Lalien; sojourner], must be cut off from the ·community [congregation; assembly] of Israel. ²⁰ During this feast you must not eat anything ·made with yeast [leavened]. You must eat only ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread] wherever you live.”

²¹ Then Moses called all the elders of Israel together and told them, “·Get the animals [^LGo, select/separate lambs] for your families and ·kill [slaughter] the lamb for the Passover. ²² Take a ·branch of the hyssop plant [^La bunch of hyssop], dip it into the bowl filled with blood, and then ·wipe [smear; ^Ltouch] the blood on the ·sides and tops of the doorframes [doorposts and lintel]. No one may ·leave that [^Lgo out of the door of his] house until morning. ²³ When the Lord ·goes [passes; crosses] through Egypt to ·kill [strike down; ^Lplague] the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the ·sides and tops of the doorframes [doorposts and lintel], and he will ·pass over [12:13] that house. He will not let the ·one who brings death [destroyer] come into your houses and ·kill [strike; plague] you.

²⁴ “You must keep this ·command [word] as a ·law [statute; ordinance; requirement] for you and your ·descendants [sons; children] ·from now on [forever]. ²⁵ ·Do this [^LYou will keep/observe this ritual] when you go to the land the Lord has promised to give you [23:14–15; Lev. 23:5–8; Num. 9:1–14; Deut. 16:1–8; Josh. 5:10–11]. ²⁶ When your ·children [sons] ask you, ‘·Why are we doing these things [^LWhat does this ritual mean]?’ ²⁷ you will say, ‘This is the Passover sacrifice to honor the Lord. When we were in Egypt, the Lord passed over the houses of ·Israel [^Lthe sons/^Tchildren of Israel], and when he ·killed [struck down; plagued] the Egyptians, he ·saved [rescued; delivered] our homes.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped the Lord. ²⁸ They did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.

²⁹ At midnight the Lord ·killed [struck] all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt—from the firstborn of ·the king [^LPharaoh] who sat on the throne to the firstborn of the prisoner in ·jail [dungeon; ^Lpit]. Also, all the firstborn farm animals died. ³⁰ ·The king [^LPharaoh], his officers, and all the Egyptians got up during the night because someone had died in every house. So there was a loud outcry everywhere in Egypt.

Israel Leaves Egypt

³¹ During the night ·the king [^Lhe] called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Get up and leave my people. You and ·your people [^Lthe sons/^Tchildren of Israel] may do as you have asked; go and ·worship [serve] the Lord. ³² Take all of your flocks and herds as you have asked, and go. And also bless me.” ³³ The Egyptians also ·asked [^Lurged] the ·Israelites [^Lpeople] to hurry and leave, saying, “If you don’t leave, we will all die!”

³⁴ So the people took their dough before the ·yeast [leaven] was added. They wrapped the ·bowls for making dough [^Lkneading bowls] in clothing and carried them on their shoulders. ³⁵ The ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] did what Moses told them to do and asked their Egyptian neighbors for things made of silver and gold and for clothing. ³⁶ The Lord caused the Egyptians to think ·well [favorably] of them, and the Egyptians gave the people everything they asked for. So ·the Israelites took rich gifts from them [^Lthey plundered/picked clean the Egyptians].

³⁷ The ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] traveled from Rameses to Succoth [^Cboth were in the Nile Delta]. There were about six hundred thousand men ·walking [^Lon foot], not including the ·women and children [^Lchildren]. ³⁸ ·Many other people who were not Israelites [^LA mixed multiude] went with them, as well as a large number of sheep, goats, and cattle. ³⁹ ·The Israelites [^LThey] used the dough they had brought out of Egypt to bake loaves of ·bread without yeast [unleavened bread]. The dough ·had no yeast in it [was unleavened], because they had been ·rushed [driven] out of Egypt and had no time to get food ready for their trip.

⁴⁰ The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for four hundred thirty years; ⁴¹ on the very day the four hundred thirty years ended, the Lord’s ·divisions [hosts; 12:17] of people left Egypt. ⁴² That night the Lord kept watch to bring them out of Egypt, and so on this same night the Israelites are to keep watch to honor the Lord ·from now on [^Lthroughout their generations].

⁴³ The Lord told Moses and Aaron, “Here are the ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] for Passover: No foreigner is to eat the Passover. ⁴⁴ If someone buys a slave and circumcises him, the slave may eat the Passover. ⁴⁵ But neither ·a person who lives for a short time in your country [^Lalien; temporary resident] nor a hired worker may eat it.

⁴⁶ “The meal must be eaten inside a house; take none of the meat outside the house. Don’t break any of the bones. ⁴⁷ The whole ·community [congregation; assembly] of Israel ·must take part in this feast [^Lwill act thus]. ⁴⁸ A ·foreigner [sojourner; wanderer; resident alien] who ·lives [sojourns] with you may share in the Lord’s Passover if all the males in his house become circumcised. Then, since he will be like a ·citizen [native] of Israel, he may share in the meal. But a man who is not circumcised may not eat the Passover meal. ⁴⁹ The same ·rules [laws; instructions] apply to ·an Israelite born in the country [the native] or to a ·foreigner [sojourner, wanderer; resident alien] living there.”

⁵⁰ So all the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹ On that same day the Lord led the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] out of Egypt by their ·divisions [hosts; 12:17].

The Law of the Firstborn

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “·Give [Consecrate; Set apart] every firstborn male to me. ·Every firstborn male [^LWhoever is first to open the womb] among the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] belongs to me, whether human or animal.”

³ Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, the day you left Egypt. ·You were slaves in that land [^L…the house of slavery/bondage/service], but the Lord with his ·great power [^Lstrong hand] brought you out of it. You must not eat ·bread made with yeast [unleavened bread]. ⁴ Today, in the month of Abib [^Cthe first month of the year, March–April; 12:18], you are ·leaving Egypt [^Lcoming out]. ⁵ The Lord will ·lead [or bring] you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites [^Cvarious peoples who lived in the Promised Land]. This is the land he promised your ancestors he would give you [Gen. 12:1–3], a ·fertile land [^La land flowing with milk and honey; 3:8]. There you must ·celebrate this feast during the first month of every year [^Lkeep this observance in this month]. ⁶ For seven days you must eat ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread], and on the seventh day there will be a feast to honor the Lord. ⁷ So for seven days you must not eat any ·bread made with yeast [unleavened bread]. There must be no ·bread made with yeast [unleavened bread and no leaven will be] anywhere ·in your land [^Lwithin your borders]. ⁸ On that day you should tell your ·son [child]: ‘·We are having this feast [^LIt is] because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹ This feast will help you remember, like a ·mark [sign] on your hand or a reminder ·on your forehead [^Lbetween your eyes]. This feast will remind you to speak the Lord’s ·teachings [law; instructions], because the Lord used his ·great power [^Lstrong hand] to bring you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ ·So celebrate this feast every year at the right time [^LYou must observe/keep/guard this statute/ordinance/requirement as an appointed time for all time].

¹¹ “And when the Lord ·takes [brings] you into the land of the Canaanites, the land he promised to give you and your ancestors [Gen. 12:1–3], ¹² you must ·give him [^Lturn over to the Lord] ·every firstborn male [^Lall that first opens the womb]. Also every firstborn male animal must be given to the Lord. ¹³ ·Buy back [Redeem; Ransom] every firstborn donkey by offering a lamb. But if you don’t want to ·buy the donkey back [redeem/ransom it], then break its neck. You must ·buy back from the Lord [redeem; ransom] every firstborn of your sons.

¹⁴ “·From now on [In the future; ^LTomorrow] when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you will answer, ‘With his ·great power [strong hand], the Lord brought us out from Egypt, ·the land where we were slaves [^Lfrom the house of bondage]. ¹⁵ ·The king of Egypt [^LPharaoh] was stubborn and refused to let us leave. But the Lord killed every firstborn male in Egypt, both human and animal. That is why I sacrifice ·every firstborn male animal [^Levery male that first opens the womb] to the Lord, and that is why I ·buy back [redeem; ransom] each of my firstborn sons from the Lord.’ ¹⁶ This feast is like a ·mark [sign] on your hand and a ·reminder [phylactery; ^Clater a leather box containing Scripture worn on arm and forehead, though here perhaps figurative] ·on your forehead [^Lbetween your eyes] to help you remember that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his ·great power [^Lmighty hand].”

The Way Out of Egypt

¹⁷ When ·the king [^LPharaoh] ·sent the people out of Egypt [^Llet the people go], God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was the shortest way. God said, “If they ·have to fight [^Lsee battle], they might change their minds and go back to Egypt.” ¹⁸ So God led them through the ·desert [wilderness] toward the ·Red [or Reed; 10:19] Sea. The Israelites were ·dressed for fighting [prepared for battle] when they left the land of Egypt.

¹⁹ Moses carried the bones of Joseph with him, because before Joseph died, he had made the ·Israelites [^Lsons of Israel; ^Chere Joseph’s brothers, the sons of Israel (Jacob)] promise to do this [Gen. 50:22–26]. He had said, “When God ·saves [shows concern toward; visits] you, remember to carry my bones with you out of Egypt.”

²⁰ The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham [^Cits exact location is undetermined], on the edge of the ·desert [wilderness]. ²¹ The Lord showed them the way; during the day he went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud, and during the night he was in a pillar of fire to give them light. In this way they could travel during the day or night. ²² The pillar of cloud ·was always with [^Lnever withdrew from] them during the day, and the pillar of fire ·was always with [^Lnever withdrew from] them at night.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] to turn back to Pi Hahiroth and to camp between Migdol and the ·Red [or Reed; 10:19] Sea. Camp ·across from [opposite] Baal Zephon [^Cin the eastern Nile Delta; the exact locations of these sites are unknown], ·on the shore of [^Lby] the sea. ³ ·The king [^LPharaoh] will think, ‘The ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] are ·lost [wandering around], ·trapped [closed/shut in] by the ·desert [wilderness].’ ⁴ I will ·make the king stubborn [^Lharden the heart of Pharaoh] again so he will ·chase after [pursue] them, but I will ·defeat the king and his army, bringing honor to me [^Lgain glory over Pharaoh and over his army], and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” ·The Israelites [^LThey] did just as they were told.

The King Chases the Israelites

⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the ·Israelites [people] had ·left [or fled], he and his officers changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We have ·lost [sent away] the Israelites who served us!” ⁶ So ·the king [^Lhe] ·prepared [harnessed] his war chariot and took his army with him. ⁷ He took six hundred of his best chariots, together with all the other chariots of Egypt, each with an officer in it. ⁸ The Lord ·made the king of Egypt stubborn [^Lhardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt], so he ·chased [pursued] the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel], who were leaving ·victoriously [boldly; ^Lwith uplifted hand]. ⁹ The Egyptians—with all the king’s horses, chariot drivers, and army—·chased the Israelites [^Lpursued them]. They caught up with them while they were camped by the ·Red Sea [^LSea; 10:19], near Pi Hahiroth and Baal Zephon [14:1].

¹⁰ When the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] saw ·the king and his army [^LEgypt] coming after them, they were very frightened and cried to the Lord for help. ¹¹ They said to Moses, “What have you done to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in the ·desert [wilderness]? ·There were [^LWere there not…?] plenty of graves for us in Egypt. ¹² ·We told [^LDid we not tell…?] you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone; we will stay and serve the Egyptians.’ Now we will die in the desert.”

¹³ But Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still and you will see the Lord save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again after today. ¹⁴ You only need to remain ·calm [or still]; the Lord will fight for you [15:3].”

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Command the Israelites to ·start moving [get going; depart]. ¹⁶ Raise your ·walking stick [staff] and ·hold it [^Lextend/stretch your hand] over the sea so that the sea will split and the ·people [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] can ·cross it [^Lgo in the midst of the sea] on dry land. ¹⁷ I will ·make the Egyptians stubborn [^Lharden the hearts of the Egyptians] so they will ·chase the Israelites [^Lgo after them], but I will be ·honored [glorified] when I defeat ·the king [^LPharaoh] and all of his chariot drivers and chariots. ¹⁸ When I defeat ·the king [^LPharaoh], his chariot drivers, and chariots, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁹ Now the angel of God that usually traveled in front of ·Israel’s army [^Lthem] moved behind them. Also, the pillar of cloud [13:21] moved from in front of the people and stood behind them. ²⁰ So the cloud came between the camp of the Egyptians and camp of the Israelites. This made it dark for the Egyptians but gave light to the Israelites. So the cloud kept ·the two armies [^Lthem] apart all night.

²¹ Then Moses ·held [extended; stretched] his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind, making the sea become dry ground. The water was split, ²² and the ·Israelites [^Lthe sons/^Tchildren of Israel] went through the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

²³ Then all ·the king’s [^LPharaoh’s] horses, chariots, and chariot drivers ·followed [pursued] them into the sea. ²⁴ ·When morning came [^LAt the morning watch], the Lord looked down from the pillar of cloud and fire at the Egyptian army and made them panic. ²⁵ He clogged their chariot wheels,^[a] making it hard to ·drive the chariots [^Lturn]. The Egyptians shouted, “Let’s ·get away [flee] from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them and against Egypt [15:3].”

²⁶ Then the Lord told Moses, “·Hold [Extend; Stretch] your hand over the sea so that the water will come back over the Egyptians, their chariots, and chariot drivers.” ²⁷ So Moses ·raised [extended; stretched] his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its ·place [or normal depth]. The Egyptians tried to ·run [flee] from it, but the Lord ·swept them away [tossed; overthrew them] into the sea. ²⁸ The water returned, covering the chariots, chariot drivers, and all ·the king’s [^LPharaoh’s] army that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them ·survived [remained].

²⁹ But the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] crossed the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. ³⁰ So that day the Lord saved the Israelites from the Egyptians, and the Israelites saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. ³¹ When the Israelites saw ·the great power the Lord had used [^Lwhat God did with his strong hand] against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they ·trusted [had confidence in] the Lord and his servant Moses.

The Song of Moses

15 Then Moses and the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] sang this song to the Lord:

¹⁹ The horses, chariot drivers, and chariots of ·the king of Egypt [^LPharaoh] went into the sea, and the Lord ·covered them with [^Lreturned on them the] water from the sea. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry land. ²⁰ Then Aaron’s sister Miriam, a prophetess, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed her, playing tambourines and dancing. ²¹ Miriam told them:

Bitter Water Becomes Good

²² Moses led the Israelites away from the ·Red [or Reed; 10:19] Sea into the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Shur. They traveled for three days in the ·desert [wilderness] but found no water. ²³ Then they came to Marah, where there was water, but they could not drink it because it was too bitter. (That is why the place was named Marah [^CHebrew for “bitter”].) ²⁴ The people ·grumbled [complained] to Moses and asked, “What will we drink?”

²⁵ So Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a ·tree [or piece of wood]. When Moses threw the ·tree [or piece of wood] into the water, the water became ·good to drink [^Lsweet].

There the Lord gave the people a ·rule [statute; ordinance; requirement] and a law to live by, and there he tested ·their loyalty to him [^Lthem]. ²⁶ He said, “You must ·obey [or listen to the voice of] the Lord your God and do what ·he says is right [^Lis right in his eyes/sight]. If you obey all his ·commands [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and keep his rules, I will not bring on you any of the ·sicknesses [diseases] I brought on the Egyptians. I am the Lord ·who heals you [your physician].”

²⁷ Then the people traveled to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. So the people camped there near the water.