Moses and Aaron Speak to Pharaoh

5 After this presentation to Israel’s leaders, Moses and Aaron went and spoke to Pharaoh. They told him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go so they may hold a festival in my honor in the wilderness.”

⁹ Moses replied, “We will all go—young and old, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds. We must all join together in celebrating a festival to the Lord.”

²⁹ And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word.

²⁸ “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.^[a]

¹⁸ You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me.^[a]

³ This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all.^{[a] 4} On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!”

⁶ “Son of man, do not fear them or their words. Don’t be afraid even though their threats surround you like nettles and briers and stinging scorpions. Do not be dismayed by their dark scowls, even though they are rebels.