Exodus 3-21

International Children’s Bible

The Burning Bush

3 One day Moses was taking care of Jethro’s sheep. Jethro was the priest of Midian and also Moses’ father-in-law. Moses led the sheep to the west side of the desert. He came to Sinai, the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in flames of fire coming out of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but it was not burning up. ³ So Moses said, “I will go closer to this strange thing. How can a bush continue burning without burning up?”

⁴ The Lord saw Moses was coming to look at the bush. So God called to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

⁵ Then God said, “Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals. You are standing on holy ground. ⁶ I am the God of your ancestors. I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” Moses covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ The Lord said, “I have seen the troubles my people have suffered in Egypt. And I have heard their cries when the Egyptian slave masters hurt them. I am concerned about their pain. ⁸ I have come down to save them from the Egyptians. I will bring them out of that land. I will lead them to a good land with lots of room. This is a land where much food grows. This is the land of these people: the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ⁹ I have heard the cries of the people of Israel. I have seen the way the Egyptians have made life hard for them. ¹⁰ So now I am sending you to the king of Egypt. Go! Bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt!”

¹¹ But Moses said to God, “I am not a great man! Why should I be the one to go to the king and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹² God said, “I will be with you. This will be the proof that I am sending you: You will lead the people out of Egypt. Then all of you will worship me on this mountain.”

¹³ Moses said to God, “When I go to the Israelites, I will say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me to you.’ What if the people say, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?”

¹⁴ Then God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.^[a] When you go to the people of Israel, tell them, ‘I AM sent me to you.’”

¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “This is what you should tell the people: ‘The Lord is the God of your ancestors. He is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. And he sent me to you.’ This will always be my name. That is how people from now on will know me.

¹⁶ “Go and gather the elders and tell them this: ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, has appeared to me. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob spoke to me. He says: I care about you, and I have seen what has happened to you in Egypt. ¹⁷ I have decided that I will take you away from the troubles you are suffering in Egypt. I will lead you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. This land grows much food.’

¹⁸ “The elders will listen to you. And then you and the elders of Israel will go to the king of Egypt. You will tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, appeared to us. Let us travel three days into the desert. There we must offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’

¹⁹ “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go. Only a great power will force him to let you go. ²⁰ So I will use my great power against Egypt. I will make miracles happen in that land. After I do this, he will let you go. ²¹ And I will cause the Egyptian people to think well of the people of Israel. So when you leave, they will give gifts to your people. ²² Each Hebrew woman will ask her Egyptian neighbor and any Egyptian woman living in her house for gifts. Ask for silver, gold and clothing. You will put those gifts on your children when you leave Egypt. In this way you will take with you the riches of the Egyptians.”

Proof for Moses

4 Then Moses answered, “What if the people of Israel do not believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

² The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

Moses answered, “It is my walking stick.”

³ The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”

So Moses threw it on the ground. And it became a snake. Moses ran from the snake. ⁴ But the Lord said to him, “Reach out and grab the snake by its tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake. When he did this, it again became a stick in his hand. ⁵ The Lord said, “When this happens, the Israelites will believe that the Lord appeared to you. I am the God of their ancestors. I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”

⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your coat.” So Moses put his hand inside his coat. When he took his hand out, it was white with a harmful skin disease.

⁷ Then the Lord said, “Now put your hand inside your coat again.” So Moses put his hand inside his coat again. When he took it out, his hand was healthy again. It was like the rest of his skin.

⁸ Then the Lord said, “The people may not believe you or be convinced by the first miracle. They may believe you when you show them this second miracle. ⁹ After these two miracles they still may not believe or listen to you. Then take some water from the Nile River. Pour it on the dry ground. The water will become blood when it touches the ground.”

¹⁰ But Moses said to the Lord, “But Lord, I am not a skilled speaker. I have never been able to speak well. And now, even after talking to you, I am not a good speaker. I speak slowly and can’t find the best words.”

¹¹ Then the Lord said to him, “Who made man’s mouth? And who makes him deaf or not able to speak? Or who gives a man sight or makes him blind? It is I, the Lord. ¹² Now go! I will help you speak. I will tell you what to say.”

¹³ But Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”

¹⁴ The Lord became angry with Moses. He said, “Your brother Aaron, from the family of Levi, is a skilled speaker. He is already coming to meet you. And he will be happy when he sees you. ¹⁵ I will tell you what to say. Then you will tell Aaron. I will help both of you know what to say and do. ¹⁶ And Aaron will speak to the people for you. You will tell him what God says. And he will speak for you. ¹⁷ Take your walking stick with you. Use it to do the miracles.”

Moses Returns to Egypt

¹⁸ Then Moses went back to Jethro, his father-in-law. Moses said to him, “Let me go back to my people in Egypt. I want to see if they are still alive.”

Jethro said to Moses, “You may go. Have a safe trip.”

¹⁹ While Moses was still in Midian, the Lord said to him, “Go back to Egypt. The men who wanted to kill you are dead now.”

²⁰ So Moses took his wife and his sons and put them on a donkey. Then he started back to Egypt. He took with him the walking stick of God.

²¹ The Lord said to Moses, “When you get back to Egypt, do all the miracles. I have given you the power to do them. Show them to the king of Egypt. But I will make the king very stubborn. He will not let the people go. ²² Then say to the king: ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. ²³ And I told you to let my son go. Let him go so he may worship me. But you refused to let Israel go. So I will kill your firstborn son.’”

²⁴ As Moses was on his way to Egypt, he stopped at a resting place for the night. The Lord met him there and tried to kill him. ²⁵ But Zipporah took a flint knife and circumcised her son. She took the skin and touched Moses’ feet with it. Then she said to him, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me.” ²⁶ Zipporah said this because she had to circumcise her son. So the Lord did not kill Moses.

²⁷ Meanwhile the Lord said to Aaron, “Go out into the desert to meet Moses.” When Aaron went, he met Moses at Sinai, the mountain of God, and kissed him. ²⁸ Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had said to him when he sent him to Egypt. And Moses told him about the miracles which the Lord had commanded him to do.

²⁹ So Moses and Aaron gathered all the elders of the Israelites. ³⁰ Aaron told them everything that the Lord had told Moses. Then Moses did the miracles for all the people to see. ³¹ So the Israelites believed. They heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their troubles. Then they bowed down and worshiped him.

Moses and Aaron Before the King

5 After Moses and Aaron talked to the people, they went to the king of Egypt. They said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Let my people go so they may hold a feast for me in the desert.’”

² But the king of Egypt said, “Who is the Lord? Why should I obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord. And I will not let Israel go.”

³ Then Aaron and Moses said, “The God of the Hebrews has talked with us. Now let us travel three days into the desert. There we will offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we don’t do this, he may kill us with a disease or in war.”

⁴ But the king said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Go back to your hard work! ⁵ There are very many Hebrews. And now you want them to quit their hard work!”

⁶ That same day the king gave a command to the slave masters and foremen. ⁷ He said, “Don’t give the people straw to make bricks as you used to do. Let them gather their own straw. ⁸ But they must still make the same number of bricks as they did before. Do not accept fewer. They have become lazy. That is why they are asking me, ‘Let us go to offer sacrifices to our God.’ ⁹ Make these people work harder. Keep them busy. Then they will not have time to listen to the lies of Moses.”

¹⁰ So the slave masters and foremen went to the Israelites and said, “This is what the king says: I will no longer give you straw. ¹¹ Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it. But you must make as many bricks as you made before.” ¹² So the people went everywhere in Egypt looking for dry stalks to use for straw. ¹³ The slave masters kept forcing the people to work harder. They said, “You must make just as many bricks as you did when you were given straw.” ¹⁴ The king’s slave masters had chosen the Israelite foremen. They had made them responsible for the work the people did. The Egyptian slave masters beat these men and asked them, “Why aren’t you making as many bricks as you made in the past?”

¹⁵ Then the Israelite foremen went to the king. They complained and said, “Why are you treating us, your servants, this way? ¹⁶ You give us no straw. But we are commanded to make bricks. Our slave masters beat us. But it is your own people’s fault.”

¹⁷ The king answered, “You are lazy! You don’t want to work! That is why you ask to leave here and make sacrifices to the Lord. ¹⁸ Now, go back to work! We will not give you any straw. But you must make just as many bricks as you did before.”

¹⁹ The Israelite foremen knew they were in trouble. This was because the king had told them: “You must make just as many bricks each day as you did before.” ²⁰ As they were leaving the meeting with the king, they met Moses and Aaron. Moses and Aaron were waiting for them. ²¹ So they said to Moses and Aaron, “May the Lord punish you. You caused the king and his officers to hate us. You have given them an excuse to kill us.”

Moses Complains to God

²² Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Lord, why have you brought this trouble on your people? Is this why you sent me here? ²³ I went to the king and said what you told me to say. But ever since that time he has made the people suffer. And you have done nothing to save them.”

6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to the king of Egypt. I will use my great power against him, and he will let my people go. Because of my power, he will force them out of his country.”

² Then God said to Moses, “I am the Lord. ³ I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by the name, God All-Powerful. But they did not know me by my name, the Lord. ⁴ I also made my agreement with them to give them the land of Canaan. They lived in that land, but it was not their own land. ⁵ Now I have heard the cries of the Israelites. The Egyptians are treating them as slaves. And I remember my agreement. ⁶ So tell the people of Israel that I say to them, ‘I am the Lord. I will save you from the hard work the Egyptians force you to do. I will make you free. You will not be slaves to the Egyptians. I will free you by my great power. And I will punish the Egyptians terribly. ⁷ I will make you my own people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God. I am the One who saves you from the hard work the Egyptians force you to do. ⁸ I will lead you to the land that I promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I will give you that land to own. I am the Lord.’”

⁹ So Moses told this to the people of Israel. But they would not listen to him. They were discouraged, and their slavery was hard.

¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Go tell the king of Egypt that he must let the Israelites leave his land.”

¹² But Moses answered, “The Israelites will not listen to me. So surely the king will not listen to me, either. I am not a good speaker.”

¹³ But the Lord told Moses and Aaron to talk to the king. He commanded them to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

Families of Israel

¹⁴ These are the leaders of the families of Israel:

Israel’s first son, Reuben, had four sons. They were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These are the family groups of Reuben.

¹⁵ Simeon’s sons were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul. Shaul was the son of a Canaanite woman. These are the family groups of Simeon.

¹⁶ Levi lived 137 years. These are the names of his sons according to their family history: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

¹⁷ Gershon had two sons, Libni and Shimei, with their families.

¹⁸ Kohath lived 133 years. The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

¹⁹ The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.

These are the family groups of Levi, according to their family history.

²⁰ Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed. Jochebed gave birth to Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.

²¹ Izhar’s sons were Korah, Nepheg and Zicri.

²² Uzziel’s sons were Mishael, Elzaphan and Sithri.

²³ Aaron married Elisheba. She was the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon. Elisheba gave birth to Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

²⁴ The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These are the family groups of the Korahites.

²⁵ Eleazar son of Aaron married a daughter of Putiel. And she gave birth to Phinehas.

These are the leaders of the family groups of the Levites.

²⁶ This was the Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord spoke. He said, “Lead my people out of Israel in their divisions.” ²⁷ Aaron and Moses are the ones who talked to the king of Egypt. They told him to let the people of Israel leave Egypt.

God Repeats His Call to Moses

²⁸ The Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt. ²⁹ He said, “I am the Lord. Tell the king of Egypt everything I tell you.”

³⁰ But Moses answered, “I am not a good speaker. The king will not listen to me.”

7 The Lord said to Moses, “I have made you like God to the king of Egypt. And your brother Aaron will be like a prophet for you. ² Tell Aaron your brother everything that I command you. Then let him tell the king of Egypt to let the Israelites leave his country. ³ But I will make the king stubborn. Then I will do many miracles in Egypt. ⁴ But he will still refuse to listen. So then I will punish Egypt terribly. And I will lead my divisions, my people the Israelites, out of that land. ⁵ I will punish Egypt with my power. And I will bring the Israelites out of that land. Then they will know I am the Lord.”

⁶ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them. ⁷ Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron was 83, when they spoke to the king.

Aaron’s Walking Stick Becomes a Snake

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “The king will ask you to do a miracle. When he does, Moses, you tell Aaron to throw his walking stick down in front of the king. It will become a snake.”

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to the king as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw his walking stick down in front of the king and his officers. And it became a snake.

¹¹ So the king called in his wise men and his magicians. With their tricks the Egyptian magicians were able to do the same thing. ¹² They threw their walking sticks on the ground, and their sticks became snakes. But then Aaron’s stick swallowed theirs. ¹³ But the king was stubborn. He 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. He refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ In the morning the king will go out to the Nile River. Go meet him by the edge of the river. Take with you the walking stick that became a snake. ¹⁶ Tell him this: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you. He said, ‘Let my people go worship me in the desert.’ 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 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. And the Egyptians will not be able to drink the water from the Nile.’”

¹⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron to stretch the walking stick in his hand over the rivers, canals, ponds and pools in Egypt. The water will become blood everywhere in Egypt. There even will be blood in the wooden buckets and stone jars.”

²⁰ So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. Aaron raised his walking stick and struck the water in the Nile River. He did this in front of the king and his officers. 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, their magicians of Egypt did the same thing. So the king was stubborn and refused to listen to Moses and Aaron. This happened just as the Lord had said. ²³ The king turned and went into his palace. He ignored what Moses and Aaron had done. ²⁴ The Egyptians could not drink the water from the Nile. So all of them dug along the bank of the river. They were looking for water to drink.

The Frogs

²⁵ Seven days passed after the Lord changed 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 me. ² If you refuse, then I will punish Egypt with frogs. ³ The Nile River will be filled with frogs. They will come from the river and enter your palace. They will be in your bedroom and your bed. The frogs will enter the houses of your officers and your people. They will enter your ovens and your baking pans. ⁴ The frogs will jump up all over you, your people and your officers.’”

⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron to hold his walking stick 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 his hand over all the waters of Egypt. The frogs came up out of the water and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷ The magicians used their tricks to do the same thing. So even more frogs came up onto the land of Egypt.

⁸ So the king called for Moses and Aaron. He said, “Pray to 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, “Please set the time that I should pray for you, your people and your officers. Then the frogs will leave you and your houses. They will remain only in the Nile.”

¹⁰ The king answered, “Tomorrow.”

Moses said, “What you want will happen. By this you will know that there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹ The frogs will leave you, your houses, your officers and your people. They will remain only in the Nile.”

¹² Moses and Aaron left the king. Moses asked the Lord about the frogs he had sent to the king. ¹³ And the Lord did as Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the yards and in the fields. ¹⁴ The Egyptians put them in piles. The whole country began to stink. ¹⁵ When the king saw that they were free of the frogs, he became stubborn again. 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 his walking stick and strike the dust on the ground. Then everywhere in Egypt the dust will change into gnats.” ¹⁷ They did this. Aaron raised the walking stick that was in his hand and struck the dust on the ground. Then everywhere in Egypt the dust changed into gnats. The gnats got on the people and animals. ¹⁸ Using their tricks, the magicians 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 told the king that the power of God had done this. But the king was stubborn and refused to listen to them. This happened just as the Lord had said.

The Flies

²⁰ The Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning. Meet the king of Egypt as he goes out to the river. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go so they can worship me. ²¹ If you don’t let them go, I will send swarms of flies. I will send them 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 people of Israel the same as the Egyptian people. There will not be any flies in the land of Goshen, where my people live. By this you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. ²³ I will treat my people differently from your people. This miracle will happen tomorrow.’”

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

²⁶ But Moses said, “It wouldn’t be right to do that. The Egyptians hate the sacrifices we offer to the Lord our God. They will see us offer sacrifices they hate. Then they will throw stones at us and kill us. ²⁷ Let us make a three-day journey into the desert. We must offer sacrifices to the Lord our God there. This is what the Lord told us to do.”

²⁸ The king said, “I will let you go. Then you may offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the desert. But you must not go very far away. Now go and pray for me.”

²⁹ Moses said, “I will leave and pray to the Lord. He will take the flies away from you, your officers and your people tomorrow. But do not try to trick us again. Do not stop the people from going to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

³⁰ So Moses left the king and prayed to the Lord. ³¹ And the Lord did as Moses asked. He removed the flies from the king, his officers and his people. Not one fly was left. ³² But the king became stubborn 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. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go to worship me. ² You might refuse to let them go and continue to hold them. ³ Then the Lord will punish you. He will send a terrible disease on all your farm animals. He will cause all of your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle and sheep to become sick. ⁴ But the Lord will treat Israel’s animals differently from the animals of Egypt. None of the animals that belong to the Israelites will die. ⁵ The Lord has set tomorrow as the 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 sent people to see what had happened to the animals of Israel. They found that not one of them had died. But the king was still stubborn. He did not let the people go.

The Boils

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Fill your hands with the ashes from a furnace. Moses, throw the ashes into the air in front of the king of Egypt. ⁹ The ashes will spread like dust through all the land of Egypt. The dust will cause boils to break out and become sores on the skin. These sores will be on people and animals everywhere in the land.”

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron took ashes from a furnace. Then they went and stood before the king. Moses threw ashes into the air. It caused boils to break out and become sores on people and animals. ¹¹ The magicians could not stand before Moses. This was because all the Egyptians had boils, even the magicians. ¹² But the Lord made the king stubborn. So he refused to listen to Moses and Aaron. This happened 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. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go to worship me. ¹⁴ If you do not do this, this time I will punish you with all my power. I will punish you, your officers and your people. Then you will know that there is no one in the whole land like me. ¹⁵ By now I could have used my power and caused a bad disease. It 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. In this way my name will be talked about in all the earth. ¹⁷ You are still against my people. You do not want to let them go. ¹⁸ So at this time tomorrow, I will send a terrible hailstorm. It will be the worst in Egypt since it became a nation. ¹⁹ Now send for your animals and whatever you have in the fields. 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 officers respected the word of the Lord. They hurried to bring their slaves and animals inside. ²¹ But others ignored the Lord’s message. They left their slaves and animals in the fields.

²² The Lord told Moses, “Raise your hand toward the sky. Then the hail will start falling over all the land of Egypt. It will fall on people, animals and on everything that grows in the fields of Egypt.” ²³ So Moses raised his walking stick toward the sky. And the Lord sent thunder and hail. And lightning flashed down to the earth. So he caused hail to fall upon the land of Egypt. ²⁴ There was hail, and there was lightning flashing as it hailed. This was the worst hailstorm in Egypt since it had become a nation. ²⁵ The hail destroyed everything that was in the fields in all the land of Egypt. The hail destroyed both people and animals. It also destroyed everything that grew in the fields. It broke all the trees in the fields. ²⁶ The only place it did not hail was in the land of Goshen. The people of Israel lived there.

²⁷ The king sent for Moses and Aaron. He told them, “This time I have sinned. The Lord is in the right. And I and my people are in the wrong. ²⁸ Pray to 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, “When I leave the city, I will raise my hands to the Lord in prayer. And the thunder and hail will stop. 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, and the barley had ripened. So these crops were destroyed. ³² But both wheat crops ripen later. So they were not destroyed.

³³ Moses left the king and went outside the city. He raised his hands to the Lord. And the thunder and hail stopped. The rain also stopped falling to the ground. ³⁴ The king saw that the rain, hail and thunder had stopped. Then he sinned again. He and his officers became stubborn again. ³⁵ The king became stubborn and refused to let the Israelites go. This happened just as the Lord had said through Moses.

The Locusts

10 The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the king of Egypt. I have made him and his officers stubborn. I did this so I could show them my powerful miracles. ² I also did this so you could tell your children and your grandchildren. Tell them how I made fools of the Egyptians. Tell them about the miracles I did among them. Then all of you will know that I am the Lord.”

³ So Moses and Aaron went to the king. They 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? Let my people go to worship me. ⁴ If you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country. ⁵ They will cover the land, and no one will be able to see the ground. They will eat anything that was left from the hailstorm. They will eat the leaves from every tree growing in the field. ⁶ They will fill your palaces and all your officers’ houses. They will fill the houses of all the Egyptian people. There will be more locusts than your fathers or ancestors have ever seen. There will be more locusts than there have been since people began living in Egypt.’” Then Moses turned and walked away from the king.

⁷ The king’s officers asked him, “How long will this man make trouble for us? Let the Israelite men go to worship the Lord their God. Don’t you know that Egypt is ruined?”

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

⁹ Moses answered, “We will go with our young and our old people, our sons and daughters and sheep and cattle. This is because we are going to have a feast to honor the Lord.”

¹⁰ The king said to them, “The Lord really will 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 the Lord. That is what you have been asking for.” Then the king forced Moses and Aaron out of his palace.

¹² The Lord told Moses, “Raise your hand over the land of Egypt, and the locusts will come. They will spread all over the land of Egypt. They will eat all the plants that the hail did not destroy.”

¹³ So Moses raised his walking stick over the land of Egypt. And the Lord caused a strong wind to blow from the east. It blew across the land all that day and night. When morning came, the east wind had brought the locusts. ¹⁴ Swarms of locusts covered all the land of Egypt and settled everywhere. There were more locusts than ever before or after. ¹⁵ The locusts covered the whole land so that it was black. They ate everything that was left after the hail. They ate every plant 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 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 the Lord your God. Ask him to stop this punishment that kills.”

¹⁸ Moses left the king and prayed to the Lord. ¹⁹ So the Lord changed the wind. He made a very strong wind to blow from the west. It blew the locusts away into the Red Sea. Not one locust was left anywhere in Egypt. ²⁰ But the Lord caused the king to be stubborn again. And he did not let the people of Israel go.

The Darkness

²¹ Then the Lord told Moses, “Raise your hand toward the sky, and darkness will cover the land of Egypt. It will be so dark you will be able to feel it.” ²² So Moses raised his hand toward the sky. Then total darkness was everywhere in Egypt for three days. ²³ No one could see anyone else. And no one could go anywhere for three days. But the Israelites had light where they lived.

²⁴ Again the king of Egypt called for Moses. He said, “All of you may go and worship the Lord. You may take your women and children with you. But you must leave your sheep and cattle here.”

²⁵ Moses said, “You must let us have animals to use as sacrifices and burnt offerings. We have to offer them to 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 the Lord our God. We do not yet know exactly what we will need to worship the Lord. We will know when we get there.”

²⁷ But the Lord made the king stubborn again. So he refused to let them go. ²⁸ Then he told Moses, “Get out of here! Don’t come here again! The next time you see me, you will die.”

²⁹ Then Moses told the king, “I’ll do what you say. I will not come to see you 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 Egypt. After this, the king will send all of you away from Egypt. When he does, he will force you to leave completely. ² Tell the men and women of Israel to ask their neighbors for things made of silver and gold.” ³ The Lord had caused the Egyptians to respect the Israelites. The king’s officers and the Egyptian people already considered Moses to be a great man.

⁴ So Moses said to the king, “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. The firstborn son of the king, who sits on his throne, will die. Even the firstborn of the slave girl grinding grain will die. Also the firstborn farm animals will die. ⁶ There will be loud crying everywhere in Egypt. It will be worse than any time before or after this. ⁷ But not even a dog will bark at the Israelites or their animals.’ Then you will know that the Lord treats Israel differently from Egypt. ⁸ Then all your officers will come to me. They will bow facedown to the ground before me. They will say, ‘Leave and take all your people with you.’ After that, I will leave.” Then Moses very angrily left the king.

⁹ The Lord had told Moses, “The king will not listen to you and Aaron. This is so that I may do many miracles in the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰ Moses and Aaron did all these great miracles in front of the king. But the Lord made him stubborn. And the king would not let the people of Israel leave his country.

Passover

12 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: ² “This month will be the first month of the year for you. ³ Both of you are to tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth day of this month each man must get one lamb. It is for the people in his house. ⁴ There may not be enough people in his house to eat a whole lamb. Then he must share it with his closest neighbor. There must be enough lamb for everyone to eat. ⁵ The lamb must be a one-year-old male. It must have nothing wrong with it. This animal can be either a young sheep or a young goat. ⁶ Keep the animal with you to take care of it until the fourteenth day of the month. On that day all the people of the community of Israel will kill these animals. They will do this as soon as the sun goes down. ⁷ The people must take some of the blood. They must put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes. These are the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. ⁸ On this night they must roast the lamb over a fire. Then they must eat it with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast. 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. You must have your sandals on, and you must have 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 through the land of Egypt. I will kill all the firstborn of animals and people in the land of Egypt. I will punish all the gods of 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. Nothing terrible will hurt you when I punish the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ “You are always to remember this day. Celebrate it with a feast to the Lord. Your descendants are to honor the Lord with this feast from now on. ¹⁵ For this feast you must eat bread made without yeast for seven days. On the first day of this feast, you are to remove all the yeast from your houses. No one should eat any yeast for the full seven days of the feast. If anyone eats yeast, then that person will be separated from Israel. ¹⁶ You are to have holy meetings on the first and last days of the feast. You must not do any work on these days. The only work you may do on these days is to prepare your meals. ¹⁷ You must celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Do this because on this very day I brought your divisions of people out of Egypt. So all of your descendants must celebrate this day. This is a law that will last from now on. ¹⁸ You are to eat bread made without yeast. Start this on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month of your year. Eat this until the evening of the twenty-first day. ¹⁹ For seven days there must not be any yeast in your houses. Anybody who eats yeast during this time must be separated from the community of Israel. This includes Israelites and non-Israelites. ²⁰ During this feast you must not eat yeast. You must eat bread made without yeast wherever you live.”

²¹ Then Moses called all the elders of Israel together. He told them, “Get the animals for your families. Kill the animals for the Passover. ²² Take a branch of the hyssop plant and dip it into the bowl filled with blood. Wipe the blood on the sides and tops of the doorframes. No one may leave his house until morning. ²³ The Lord will go through Egypt to kill the Egyptians. He will see the blood on the sides and tops of the doorframes. Then the Lord will pass over that house. He will not let the one who brings death come into your houses and kill you.

²⁴ “You must keep this command. This law is for you and your descendants from now on. ²⁵ Do this when you go to the land the Lord has promised to give to you. ²⁶ When your children ask you, ‘Why are we doing these things?’ 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. The Lord killed the Egyptians, but he saved our homes.’” So now 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 all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt. The firstborn of the king, who sat on the throne, died. Even the firstborn of the prisoner in jail died. Also all the firstborn farm animals died. ³⁰ The king, his officers and all the Egyptians got up during the night. Someone had died in every house. So there was loud crying everywhere in Egypt.

Israel Leaves Egypt

³¹ During the night the king called for Moses and Aaron. He said to them, “Get up and leave my people. You and your people may do as you have asked. Go and worship the Lord. ³² Take all of your sheep and cattle as you have asked. Go. And also bless me.” ³³ The Egyptians also asked the Israelites to hurry and leave. They said, “If you don’t leave, we will all die!”

³⁴ The people of Israel took their dough before the yeast was added. They wrapped the bowls for making dough in clothing and carried them on their shoulders. ³⁵ The people of Israel did what Moses told them to do. They asked their Egyptian neighbors for things made of silver and gold and for clothing. ³⁶ The Lord caused the Egyptians to think well of the Israelites. So the Israelites took rich gifts from the Egyptians.

³⁷ The Israelites traveled from Rameses to Succoth. There were about 600,000 men walking. This does not include the women and children. ³⁸ Many other people who were not Israelites went with them. A large number of sheep, goats and cattle went with them. ³⁹ The Israelites used the dough they had brought out of Egypt. They baked loaves of bread without yeast. The dough had no yeast in it because they had been rushed out of Egypt. So they had no time to get food ready for their trip.

⁴⁰ The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years. ⁴¹ On the day the 430 years ended, the Lord’s divisions of people left Egypt. ⁴² That night the Lord kept watch to bring them out of Egypt. So on this same night the Israelites are to keep watch. They are to do this to honor the Lord from now on.

⁴³ The Lord told Moses and Aaron, “Here are the rules for Passover: No foreigner is to eat the Passover. ⁴⁴ Suppose a person buys a slave and circumcises him. Then the slave may eat the Passover. ⁴⁵ But no one who lives for a short time in your country may eat it. No hired worker may eat it.

⁴⁶ “The meal must be eaten inside the house. None of the meat is to be taken outside the house. Don’t break any of the bones. ⁴⁷ The whole community of Israel must take part in this feast. ⁴⁸ A foreigner who lives with you may share in the Lord’s Passover. But first all the males in his house must be circumcised. Then, since he will be like a citizen 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 apply to an Israelite born in the country. And they apply to a foreigner living there.”

⁵⁰ So all the Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹ Then on that same day, the Lord led the Israelites out of Egypt. The people left by divisions.

The Law of the Firstborn

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Give every firstborn male to me. Every firstborn male among the Israelites 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. The Lord with his great power brought you out of it. You must not eat bread made with yeast. ⁴ Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving Egypt. ⁵ The Lord made a promise to your ancestors. The Lord promised to give you the land of these people: the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites. The Lord will lead you to this land where much food grows. There you must celebrate this feast during the first month of every year. ⁶ For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. 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. There must be no bread made with yeast anywhere in your land. ⁸ On that day you should tell your son: ‘We are having this feast because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹ This feast will help you remember. It will be like a mark on your hand. It will be like a reminder on your forehead. This feast will remind you to speak the Lord’s teachings. This is because the Lord used his great power to bring you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ So celebrate this feast every year at the right time.

¹¹ “The Lord will take you into the land of the Canaanites. He promised to give this land to you and your ancestors. ¹² Then you must give him every firstborn male. And every firstborn male animal must be given to the Lord. ¹³ Buy back every firstborn donkey by offering a lamb. If you don’t want to buy the donkey back, then break its neck. You must buy back from the Lord every firstborn of your sons.

¹⁴ “From now on your son will ask you: ‘What does this mean?’ You will answer, ‘With his great power, the Lord brought us out of Egypt. We were slaves in that land. ¹⁵ In Egypt the king was stubborn. He 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 to the Lord. And that is why I buy back each of my firstborn sons from the Lord.’ ¹⁶ This feast is like a mark on your hand. And it is like a reminder on your forehead. It will help you remember that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his great power.”

The Way Out of Egypt

¹⁷ The king sent the people out of Egypt. God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country. That road is the shortest way. But God said, “They might think they will have to fight. Then they might change their minds and go back to Egypt.” ¹⁸ So God led them through the desert toward the Red Sea. The Israelites were dressed for fighting when they left the land of Egypt.

¹⁹ Moses carried the bones of Joseph with him. Before Joseph died, he had made the sons of Israel promise to do this. He had said, “When God saves you, remember to carry my bones with you out of Egypt.”

²⁰ The people of Israel left Succoth and camped at Etham. Etham was on the edge of the desert. ²¹ The Lord showed them the way. During the day he went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud. And during the night the Lord was in a pillar of fire to give them light. They could travel during the day or night. ²² The pillar of cloud was always with them during the day. And the pillar of fire was always with them at night.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites to turn back to Pi Hahiroth. Tell them to camp for the night between Migdol and the Red Sea. This is near Baal Zephon. ³ The king will think, ‘The Israelites are lost, trapped by the desert.’ ⁴ I will make the king stubborn again so he will chase after them. But I will defeat the king and his army. This will bring honor to me. Then the people of Egypt will know that I am the Lord.” The people of Israel did just as they were told.

The King Chases the Israelites

⁵ The king of Egypt was told that the people of Israel had already left. Then he and his officers changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We have let the people of Israel leave. We have lost our slaves!” ⁶ So the king prepared his war chariot and took his army with him. ⁷ He took 600 of his best chariots. He also took all the other chariots of Egypt. Each chariot had an officer in it. ⁸ The Lord made the king of Egypt stubborn. So he chased the Israelites, who were leaving victoriously. ⁹ The king of Egypt came with his horses, chariot drivers and army. And they chased the Israelites. They caught up with the Israelites while they were camped by the Red Sea. This was near Pi Hahiroth and Baal Zephon.

¹⁰ The Israelites saw the king and his army 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? There were plenty of graves for us in Egypt. ¹² We told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone! Let us stay and serve the Egyptians.’ Now we will die in the desert.”

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

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Command the people of Israel to start moving. ¹⁶ Raise your walking stick and hold it over the sea. The sea will split. Then the people can cross the sea on dry land. ¹⁷ I have made the Egyptians stubborn so they will chase the Israelites. But I will be honored when I defeat the king and all of his chariot drivers and chariots. ¹⁸ I will defeat the king, his chariot drivers and chariots. Then Egypt will know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁹ The angel of God usually traveled in front of Israel’s army. Now the angel of God moved behind them. Also, the pillar of cloud moved from in front of the people and stood behind them. ²⁰ So the cloud came between the Egyptians and the people of Israel. The cloud made it dark for the Egyptians. But it gave light to the Israelites. So the cloud kept the two armies apart all night.

²¹ Moses held his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind. And so he made the sea become dry ground. The water was split. ²² And the Israelites went through the sea on dry land. A wall of water was on both sides.

²³ Then all the king’s horses, chariots and chariot drivers followed them into the sea. ²⁴ Between two and six o’clock in the morning, the Lord looked down from the pillar of cloud and fire at the Egyptian army. He made them panic. ²⁵ He kept the wheels of the chariots from turning. This made it hard to drive the chariots. The Egyptians shouted, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them and against us Egyptians.”

²⁶ Then the Lord told Moses, “Hold your hand over the sea. Then the water will come back over the Egyptians, their chariots and chariot drivers.” ²⁷ So Moses raised his hand over the sea. And at dawn the water became deep again. The Egyptians were trying to run from it. But the Lord swept them away into the sea. ²⁸ The water became deep again. It covered the chariots and chariot drivers. So all the king’s army that had followed the Israelites into the sea was covered. Not one of them survived.

²⁹ But the people of Israel crossed the sea on dry land. There was 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 people of Israel saw the great power that the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord. And they trusted the Lord and his servant Moses.

The Song of Moses

15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

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

The Bitter Water

²² Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea. The people went into the Desert of Shur. They traveled for three days in the desert 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.^{[b] 24} The people grumbled to Moses. They asked, “What will we drink?”

²⁵ Moses cried out to the Lord. So the Lord showed him a tree. Moses threw the tree into the water. And the water became good to drink.

There the Lord gave the people a rule and a law to live by. There he also tested their loyalty to him. ²⁶ He said, “You must obey the Lord, your God. You must do what the Lord said is right. You must obey all his laws and keep his rules. If you do these things, I will not give you any of the sicknesses I gave the Egyptians. I am the Lord. I am the Lord who heals you.”

²⁷ Then the people traveled to Elim. At Elim there were 12 springs of water and 70 palm trees. So the people camped there near the water.

The People Demand Food

16 Then the whole Israelite community left Elim. They came to the Desert of Sin. This place was between Elim and Sinai. They came to this place on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt. ² Then the whole Israelite community grumbled to Moses and Aaron in the desert. ³ The Israelites said to them, “It would have been better if the Lord had killed us in the land of Egypt. There we had meat to eat. We had all the food we wanted. But you have brought us into this desert. You will starve us to death here.”

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will cause food to fall like rain from the sky. This food will be for all of you. Every day the people must go out and gather what they need for that day. I will do this to see if the people will do what I teach them. ⁵ On the sixth day of each week, they are to gather twice as much as they gather on other days. Then they are to prepare it.”

⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites: “This evening you will know that the Lord is the one who brought you out of Egypt. ⁷ Tomorrow morning you will see the greatness of the Lord. He has heard you grumble against him. We are nothing. You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.” ⁸ And Moses said, “Each evening the Lord will give you meat to eat. And every morning he will give you all the bread you want. He will do this because he has heard you grumble against him. You are not grumbling against Aaron and me. You are grumbling against the Lord.”

⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Speak to the whole community of the Israelites. Say to them, ‘Meet together in front of the Lord because he has heard your grumblings.’”

¹⁰ So Aaron spoke to the whole community of the Israelites. While he was speaking, they looked toward the desert. There the greatness of the Lord appeared in a cloud.

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel. So tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat. And every morning you will eat all the bread you want. Then you will know I am the Lord, your God.’”

¹³ That evening, quail came and covered the camp. And in the morning dew lay around the camp. ¹⁴ When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost were on the desert ground. ¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other, “What is that?” They asked this question because they did not know what it was.

So Moses told them, “This is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶ The Lord has commanded, ‘Each one of you must gather what he needs. Gather about two quarts for every person in your family.’”

¹⁷ So the people of Israel did this. Some people gathered much, and some gathered little. ¹⁸ Then they measured it. The person who gathered more did not have too much. The person who gathered less did not have too little. Each person gathered just as much as he needed.

¹⁹ Moses said to them, “Don’t keep any of it to eat the next day.” ²⁰ But some of the people did not listen to Moses. They kept part of it to eat the next morning. But it became full of worms and began to stink. So Moses was angry with these people.

²¹ Every morning each person gathered as much food as he needed. But when the sun became hot, it melted away.

²² On the sixth day the people gathered twice as much food. They gathered four quarts for every person. So all the leaders of the community came and told this to Moses. ²³ Moses said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded. Tomorrow is the Sabbath, the Lord’s holy day of rest. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil today. But save the rest of the food until tomorrow morning.”

²⁴ So the people saved it until the next morning, as Moses had commanded. And none of it began to stink or have worms in it. ²⁵ Moses told the people, “Eat the food you gathered yesterday. Today is a Sabbath, the Lord’s day of rest. So you will not find any out in the field today. ²⁶ You should gather the food for six days. But the seventh day is a Sabbath day. On that day there will not be any food on the ground.”

²⁷ On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather food, but they couldn’t find any. ²⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will all you people refuse to obey my commands and teachings? ²⁹ Look, the Lord has made the Sabbath a day of rest for all of you. So on the sixth day he will give you enough food for two days. But on the Sabbath each of you must stay where you are. Do not leave your house.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the Sabbath.

³¹ The people of Israel called the food manna. The manna was like small white seeds. It tasted like wafers made with honey.

³² Then Moses said, “The Lord said, ‘Save two quarts of this food for your descendants. Then they can see the food that I gave you to eat. I did this in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.’”

³³ Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. And save this manna for your descendants.” ³⁴ So Aaron did what the Lord had commanded Moses. Aaron put the jar of manna in front of the Ark of the Covenant. He did this so it could be kept. ³⁵ The Israelites ate manna for 40 years. They ate it until they came to the land where they settled. They ate manna until they came to the edge of the land of Canaan. ³⁶ The measure they used for the manna was two quarts. It was one-tenth of an ephah.^[c]

Water from a Rock

17 The whole Israelite community left the Desert of Sin. They traveled from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim. But there was no water there for the people to drink. ² So they quarreled with Moses. They said, “Give us water to drink.”

But Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why are you testing the Lord?”

³ But the people were very thirsty for water. So they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Was it to kill us, our children and our farm animals with thirst?”

⁴ So Moses cried to the Lord, “What can I do with these people? They are almost ready to kill me with stones.”

⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Go ahead of the people of Israel. And take some of the elders of Israel with you. Carry with you the walking stick that you used to strike the Nile River. Now go! ⁶ I will stand in front of you on a rock at Mount Sinai. Hit that rock with the stick, and water will come out of it. Then the people can drink.” Moses did these things as the elders of Israel watched. ⁷ Moses named that place Massah^[d] because the Israelites tested the Lord. They asked, “Is the Lord with us or not?” He also named it Meribah^[e] because they quarreled.

The Amalekites Fight Israel

⁸ At Rephidim the Amalekites came and fought the Israelites. ⁹ So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men and go and fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill. I will hold the stick God gave me to carry.”

¹⁰ Joshua obeyed Moses and went to fight the Amalekites. At the same time Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses held his hands up, the Israelites would win the fight. But when Moses put his hands down, the Amalekites would win. ¹² Later, Moses’ arms became tired. So the men put a large rock under Moses, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands. Aaron was on one side of Moses, and Hur was on the other side. They held his hands up like this until the sun went down. ¹³ So Joshua defeated the Amalekites in this battle.

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write about this battle in a book so people will remember. And be sure to tell Joshua. Tell him because I will completely destroy the Amalekites from the earth.”

¹⁵ Then Moses built an altar. He named it The Lord is my Banner. ¹⁶ Moses said, “I lifted my hands toward the Lord’s throne. The Lord will fight against the Amalekites forever.”

Jethro Visits Moses

18 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, was the priest of Midian. He heard about everything that God had done for Moses and his people, the Israelites. Jethro heard how the Lord had led the Israelites out of Egypt. ² Moses had sent his wife Zipporah to Jethro, his father-in-law. ³ Moses had also sent his two sons. The first son was named Gershom.^[f] When he was born, Moses said, “I am a stranger in a foreign country.” ⁴ The other son was named Eliezer.^[g] When he was born, Moses said, “The God of my father is my help. He saved me from the king of Egypt.”

⁵ So Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, went to Moses. Moses was camped in the desert near Sinai, the mountain of God. Moses’ wife and his two sons came with Jethro. ⁶ Jethro had sent a message ahead to Moses. He said, “I am Jethro, your father-in-law. I am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

⁷ So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. Moses bowed down and then kissed him. The two men asked about each other’s health. Then they went into Moses’ tent. ⁸ Moses told his father-in-law everything the Lord had done to the king and the Egyptians. The Lord had done these things to help Israel. Moses told about all the problems they had faced along the way. And Moses told him how the Lord had saved them.

⁹ Jethro was very happy when he heard all the good things the Lord had done for Israel. He was happy because the Lord had saved them from the Egyptians. ¹⁰ Jethro said, “Praise the Lord. He has saved all of you from the Egyptians and their king. He has saved the people from the power of the Egyptians. ¹¹ Now I know the Lord is greater than all gods. He did this to those who looked down on Israel.” ¹² Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, gave a whole burnt offering and other sacrifices to God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to Moses’ father-in-law. They ate the holy meal together before God.

¹³ The next day Moses solved disagreements among the people. So the people stood around Moses from morning until night. ¹⁴ Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people. He asked, “What is all this you are doing for the people? Why are you the only one to solve disagreements? All the people are standing around you from morning until night!”

¹⁵ Then Moses said to his father-in-law, “It is because the people come to me for God’s help in solving their disagreements. ¹⁶ When people have a disagreement, they come to me. I decide who is right. And I tell them God’s laws and teachings.”

¹⁷ Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “You are not doing this right. ¹⁸ You and the people who come to you will get too tired. This is too much work for you. You can’t do it by yourself. ¹⁹ Now listen to me. I will give you some advice. I want God to be with you. You must talk to God for the people. You must tell him about their disagreements. ²⁰ You should tell them the laws and teachings. Tell them the right way to live and what they should do. ²¹ But choose some capable men from among the people. Choose men who respect God and who can be trusted. They will not change their decisions for money. Make these men officers over groups of 1,000, 100, 50 and 10 people. ²² Let these officers solve the disagreements among the people all the time. They can bring the hard cases to you. But they can decide the simple cases themselves. That will make it easier for you. These men will share the work with you. ²³ Do this if it is what God commands. Then you will be able to do your job. And all the people will go home with their disagreements solved.”

²⁴ So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. ²⁵ He chose capable men from all the Israelites. He made them leaders over the people. They were officers over groups of 1,000, 100, 50 and 10 people. ²⁶ These officers solved disagreements among the people all the time. They brought the hard cases to Moses. But they decided the simple cases themselves.

²⁷ Then Moses let his father-in-law leave. And Jethro went back to his own home.

Israel at Sinai

19 Exactly three months after the Israelites had left Egypt, they reached the Desert of Sinai. ² They had left Rephidim and had come to the Desert of Sinai. The Israelites camped in the desert in front of Mount Sinai. ³ Then Moses went up on the mountain to God. The Lord called to him from the mountain. The Lord said, “Say this to the family of Jacob. And tell this to the people of Israel: ⁴ ‘Every one of you has seen what I did to the people of Egypt. You saw how I carried you out of Egypt. I did it as an eagle carries her young on her wings. And I brought you here to me. ⁵ So now obey me and keep my agreement. Do this, and you will be my own possession, chosen from all nations. Even though the whole earth is mine, ⁶ you will be my kingdom of priests. You will be a nation that belongs to me alone.’ You must tell the Israelites these words.”

⁷ So Moses went down and called the elders of the people together. He told them all the words the Lord had commanded him to say. ⁸ And all the people answered together, “We will do everything he has said.” Then Moses took their answer back to the Lord.

⁹ And the Lord said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud. I will speak to you. The people will hear me talking to you. I will do this so the people will always trust you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.

¹⁰ The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and have them spend today and tomorrow preparing themselves. They must wash their clothes ¹¹ and be ready by the day after tomorrow. On that day I, the Lord, will come down on Mount Sinai. And all the people will see me. ¹² But you must set a limit around the mountain. The people are not to cross it. Tell the people not to go up on the mountain. Tell them not to touch the foot of it. Anyone who touches the mountain must be put to death. ¹³ He must be put to death with stones or shot with arrows. No one is allowed to touch him. Whether it is a person or an animal, he will not live. But the trumpet will make a long blast. Only then may the people go up on the mountain.”

¹⁴ So Moses went down from the mountain to the people. He made them prepare themselves for service to God. And the people washed their clothes. ¹⁵ Then Moses said to the people, “Be ready in three days. Do not have physical relations during this time.”

¹⁶ It was the morning of the third day. There was thunder and lightning with a thick cloud on the mountain. And there was a very loud blast from a trumpet. All the people in the camp were frightened. ¹⁷ Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God. They stood at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Mount Sinai was covered with smoke. This happened because the Lord came down on it in fire. The smoke rose from the mountain like smoke from a furnace. And the whole mountain shook wildly. ¹⁹ The sound from the trumpet became louder. Then Moses spoke, and the voice of God answered him.

²⁰ So the Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai. Then he called Moses to come up to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up. ²¹ The Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people. They must not force their way through to see me. If they do, many of them will die. ²² Even the priests, who may come near me, must first prepare themselves. If they don’t, I, the Lord, will punish them.”

²³ Moses told the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai. You yourself told us to set a limit around the mountain. We made it holy.”

²⁴ The Lord said to him, “Go down and bring Aaron with you. But don’t allow the priests or the people to force their way through. They must not come up to the Lord. If they do, I will punish them.”

²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them these things.

The Ten Commandments

20 Then God spoke all these words:

² “I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.

³ “You must not have any other gods except me.

⁴ “You must not make for yourselves any idols. Don’t make something that looks like anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the water below the land. ⁵ You must not worship or serve any idol. This is because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. A person may sin against me and hate me. I will punish his children, even his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. ⁶ But I will be very kind to thousands who love me and obey my commands.

⁷ “You must not use the name of the Lord your God thoughtlessly. The Lord will punish anyone who is guilty and misuses his name.

⁸ “Remember to keep the Sabbath as a holy day. ⁹ You may work and get everything done during six days each week. ¹⁰ But the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the Lord your God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, or your men or women slaves. Neither your animals nor the foreigners living in your cities may work. ¹¹ The reason is that in six days the Lord made everything. He made the sky, earth, sea and everything in them. And on the seventh day, he rested. So the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

¹² “Honor your father and your mother. Then you will live a long time in the land. The Lord your God is going to give you this land.

¹³ “You must not murder anyone.

¹⁴ “You must not be guilty of adultery.

¹⁵ “You must not steal.

¹⁶ “You must not tell lies about your neighbor in court.

¹⁷ “You must not want to take your neighbor’s house. You must not want his wife or his men or women slaves. You must not want his ox or his donkey. You must not want to take anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

¹⁸ The people heard the thunder and the trumpet. They saw the lightning on the mountain and smoke rising from the mountain. They shook with fear and stood far away from the mountain. ¹⁹ Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself. Then we will listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”

²⁰ Then Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. God has come to test you. He wants you to respect him so you will not sin.”

²¹ The people stood far away from the mountain while Moses went near the dark cloud where God was. ²² Then the Lord told Moses to say these things to the Israelites: “You yourselves have seen that I talked with you from heaven. ²³ You must not use gold or silver to make idols for yourselves. You must not worship these false gods in addition to me.

²⁴ “Make an altar of dirt for me. Offer your whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on this altar as a sacrifice to me. Use your sheep and your cattle to do this. Worship me in every place that I choose. Then I will come and bless you. ²⁵ You may use stones to make an altar for me. But don’t use stones that you have made smooth with tools. You must not use any tools on the stones. If you do, you make them unsuitable for use in worship. ²⁶ And you must not make steps leading up to my altar. If you go up steps, people will be able to see under your clothes.”

Laws for Living

21 Then God said to Moses, “These are the laws for living that you will give to the Israelites:

² “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve you for six years. In the seventh year you are to set him free. And he will have to pay nothing.