²⁷ The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain^(A) of God and kissed^(B) him. ²⁸ Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform.

²⁹ Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders^(C) of the Israelites, ³⁰ and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs^(D) before the people, ³¹ and they believed.^(E) And when they heard that the Lord was concerned^(F) about them and had seen their misery,^(G) they bowed down and worshiped.^(H)

Bricks Without Straw

5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go,^(I) so that they may hold a festival^(J) to me in the wilderness.’”

² Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord,^(K) that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”^(L)

³ Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey^(M) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues^(N) or with the sword.”

⁴ But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor?^(O) Get back to your work!” ⁵ Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous,^(P) and you are stopping them from working.”

⁶ That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers^(Q) and overseers in charge of the people: ⁷ “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks;^(R) let them go and gather their own straw. ⁸ But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota.^(S) They are lazy;^(T) that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’^{(U) 9} Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”

¹⁰ Then the slave drivers^(V) and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. ¹¹ Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced^(W) at all.’” ¹² So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. ¹³ The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” ¹⁴ And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed,^(X) demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”

¹⁵ Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? ¹⁶ Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”

¹⁷ Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy!^(Y) That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ Now get to work.^(Z) You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”

¹⁹ The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” ²⁰ When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, ²¹ and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge^(AA) you! You have made us obnoxious^(AB) to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword^(AC) in their hand to kill us.”^(AD)

God Promises Deliverance

²² Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people?^(AE) Is this why you sent me? ²³ Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued^(AF) your people at all.”

6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand^(AG) he will let them go;^(AH) because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”^(AI)

² God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.^{(AJ) 3} I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,^[a](AK) but by my name^(AL) the Lord^[b](AM) I did not make myself fully known to them. ⁴ I also established my covenant^(AN) with them to give them the land^(AO) of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.^{(AP) 5} Moreover, I have heard the groaning^(AQ) of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.^(AR)

⁶ “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.^(AS) I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem^(AT) you with an outstretched arm^(AU) and with mighty acts of judgment.^{(AV) 7} I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.^(AW) Then you will know^(AX) that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. ⁸ And I will bring you to the land^(AY) I swore^(AZ) with uplifted hand^(BA) to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.^(BB) I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”^(BC)

⁹ Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.^(BD)

¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Go, tell^(BE) Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”^(BF)

¹² But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen^(BG) to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips^[c]?”^(BH)

Family Record of Moses and Aaron

¹³ Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.^(BI)

²⁶ It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt^(CE) by their divisions.”^{(CF) 27} They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh^(CG) king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—this same Moses and Aaron.^(CH)

Aaron to Speak for Moses

²⁸ Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, ²⁹ he said to him, “I am the Lord.^(CI) Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”

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

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

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

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake

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

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

The Plague of Blood

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

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

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

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

The Plague of Frogs

²⁵ Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.

The Plague on the Firstborn

11 Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go^(A) from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely.^{(B) 2} Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.”^{(C) 3} (The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed^(D) toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded^(E) in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.)

⁴ So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight^(F) I will go throughout Egypt.^{(G) 5} Every firstborn^(H) son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill,^(I) and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. ⁶ There will be loud wailing^(J) throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. ⁷ But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction^(K) between Egypt and Israel. ⁸ All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go,^(L) you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave.”^(M) Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.

⁹ The Lord had said to Moses, “Pharaoh will refuse to listen^(N) to you—so that my wonders^(O) may be multiplied in Egypt.” ¹⁰ Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart,^(P) and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.

The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread^(Q)

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, ² “This month is to be for you the first month,^(R) the first month of your year. ³ Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb^[a](S) for his family, one for each household.^{(T) 4} If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. ⁵ The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect,^(U) and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. ⁶ Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month,^(V) when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.^{(W) 7} Then they are to take some of the blood^(X) and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. ⁸ That same night^(Y) they are to eat the meat roasted^(Z) over the fire, along with bitter herbs,^(AA) and bread made without yeast.^{(AB) 9} Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs.^{(AC) 10} Do not leave any of it till morning;^(AD) if some is left till morning, you must burn it. ¹¹ This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste;^(AE) it is the Lord’s Passover.^(AF)

¹² “On that same night I will pass through^(AG) Egypt and strike down^(AH) every firstborn^(AI) of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods^(AJ) of Egypt. I am the Lord.^{(AK) 13} The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over^(AL) you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.^(AM)

¹⁴ “This is a day you are to commemorate;^(AN) for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.^{(AO) 15} For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast.^(AP) On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off^(AQ) from Israel. ¹⁶ On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work^(AR) at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.

¹⁷ “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread,^(AS) because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt.^(AT) Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.^{(AU) 18} In the first month^(AV) you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. ¹⁹ For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner^(AW) or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off^(AX) from the community of Israel. ²⁰ Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live,^(AY) you must eat unleavened bread.”^(AZ)

²¹ Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover^(BA) lamb. ²² Take a bunch of hyssop,^(BB) dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood^(BC) on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. ²³ When the Lord goes through the land to strike^(BD) down the Egyptians, he will see the blood^(BE) on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over^(BF) that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer^(BG) to enter your houses and strike you down.

²⁴ “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance^(BH) for you and your descendants. ²⁵ When you enter the land^(BI) that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. ²⁶ And when your children^(BJ) ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ ²⁷ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover^(BK) sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”^(BL) Then the people bowed down and worshiped.^{(BM) 28} The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded^(BN) Moses and Aaron.

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

The Exodus

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