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Genesis 49 - Exodus 8
English Standard Version
Genesis 49 - Exodus 8
English Standard Version
Jacob Blesses His Sons
49 (A)Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you (B)in days to come.
2 “Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob,
listen to Israel your father.
3 “Reuben, you are (C)my firstborn,
my might, and the (D)firstfruits of my strength,
preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,
because you (E)went up to your father's bed;
then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!
5 (F)“Simeon and Levi are brothers;
weapons (G)of violence are their swords.
6 Let my soul come not into their council;
(H)O my glory, (I)be not joined to their company.
For in their anger they killed men,
and in their willfulness they (J)hamstrung oxen.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,
and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will (K)divide them in Jacob
and scatter them in Israel.
8 “Judah, (L)your brothers shall praise you;
(M)your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
(N)your father's sons shall bow down before you.
9 Judah is (O)a lion's cub;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
(P)He stooped down; he crouched as a lion
and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
10 The (Q)scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler's staff (R)from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;[a]
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11 Binding his foal to the vine
and his donkey's colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine
and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
12 His (S)eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 (T)“Zebulun shall dwell at the (U)shore of the sea;
he shall become a haven for ships,
and his border shall be at Sidon.
14 (V)“Issachar is a strong donkey,
crouching between the sheepfolds.[b]
15 He saw that a resting place was good,
and that the land was pleasant,
so he bowed his shoulder to bear,
and (W)became a servant at forced labor.
16 (X)“Dan shall (Y)judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan (Z)shall be a serpent in the way,
a viper by the path,
that bites the horse's heels
so that his rider falls backward.
18 I (AA)wait for your salvation, O Lord.
20 (AD)“Asher's food shall be rich,
and he shall yield royal delicacies.
22 “Joseph is (AF)a fruitful bough,
a fruitful bough by a spring;
his branches run over the wall.[e]
23 The archers (AG)bitterly attacked him,
shot at him, and harassed him severely,
24 yet (AH)his bow remained unmoved;
his arms[f] were made agile
by the hands of the (AI)Mighty One of Jacob
(from there is (AJ)the Shepherd,[g] (AK)the Stone of Israel),
25 (AL)by the God of your father who will help you,
by (AM)the Almighty[h] (AN)who will bless you
with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father
are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents,
up to the bounties (AO)of the everlasting hills.[i]
May they be (AP)on the head of Joseph,
and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.
27 (AQ)“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
in the morning devouring the prey
and at evening (AR)dividing the spoil.”
Jacob's Death and Burial
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. 29 Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am to be (AS)gathered to my people; (AT)bury me with my fathers (AU)in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, (AV)which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 31 (AW)There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There (AX)they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— 32 the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites.” 33 When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and (AY)was gathered to his people.
50 Then Joseph (AZ)fell on his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. 2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to (BA)embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians (BB)wept for him seventy days.
4 And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, (BC)“If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5 ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb (BD)that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.’” 6 And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.” 7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left (BE)in the land of Goshen. 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. 10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, (BF)they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he (BG)made a mourning for his father seven days. 11 When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim;[j] it is beyond the Jordan. 12 Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, 13 for (BH)his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham (BI)bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.
God's Good Purposes
15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of (BJ)the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and (BK)fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for (BL)am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but (BM)God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people[k] should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; (BN)I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
The Death of Joseph
22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years. 23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children (BO)of the third generation. The (BP)children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were (BQ)counted as Joseph's own.[l] 24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but (BR)God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land (BS)that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then (BT)Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They (BU)embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
Israel Increases Greatly in Egypt
1 (BV)These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 All the descendants of Jacob were (BW)seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. 6 Then (BX)Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7 (BY)But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.
Pharaoh Oppresses Israel
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, (BZ)who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Behold, (CA)the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 (CB)Come, (CC)let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them (CD)to afflict them with heavy (CE)burdens. They built for Pharaoh (CF)store cities, Pithom and (CG)Raamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel (CH)work as slaves 14 and (CI)made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.
15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives (CJ)feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 (CK)So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, (CL)he gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, (CM)“Every son that is born to the Hebrews[m] you shall cast into (CN)the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”
The Birth of Moses
2 Now a (CO)man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and (CP)when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes[n] and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the (CQ)reeds by the river bank. 4 And (CR)his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews' children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child's mother. 9 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became (CS)her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I (CT)drew him out of the water.”[o]
Moses Flees to Midian
11 One day, (CU)when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their (CV)burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.[p] 12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he (CW)struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 When (CX)he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” 14 He answered, (CY)“Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But (CZ)Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by (DA)a well.
16 Now the (DB)priest of Midian had seven daughters, and (DC)they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17 The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and (DD)watered their flock. 18 When they came home to their father (DE)Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and (DF)watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may (DG)eat bread.” 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter (DH)Zipporah. 22 She gave birth to a son, and he called his name (DI)Gershom, for he said, “I have been a (DJ)sojourner[q] in a foreign land.”
God Hears Israel's Groaning
23 (DK)During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel (DL)groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. (DM)Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And (DN)God heard their groaning, and God (DO)remembered his covenant with (DP)Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God (DQ)saw the people of Israel—and God (DR)knew.
The Burning Bush
3 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the (DS)mountain of God. 2 (DT)And (DU)the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, (DV)God called to him (DW)out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; (DX)take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, (DY)“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for (DZ)he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the Lord said, (EA)“I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their (EB)taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and (EC)I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and (ED)to bring them up out of that land to a (EE)good and broad land, a land (EF)flowing with milk and honey, to the place of (EG)the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, (EH)the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the (EI)oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 (EJ)Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, (EK)“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, (EL)“But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, (EM)you shall serve God on this mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”[r] And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: (EN)‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord,[s] the (EO)God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is (EP)my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. 16 Go and (EQ)gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, (ER)“I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that (ES)I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land (ET)flowing with milk and honey.”’ 18 And (EU)they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel (EV)shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has (EW)met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt (EX)will not let you go unless compelled (EY)by a mighty hand.[t] 20 So (EZ)I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with (FA)all the wonders that I will do in it; (FB)after that he will let you go. 21 And (FC)I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for (FD)silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So (FE)you shall plunder the Egyptians.”
Moses Given Powerful Signs
4 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” 2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, (FF)“A staff.” 3 And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. 4 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— 5 “that they may (FG)believe that the Lord, (FH)the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” 6 Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.”[u] And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was (FI)leprous[v] like snow. 7 Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, (FJ)it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8 “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. 9 If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile (FK)will become blood on the dry ground.”
10 But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but (FL)I am slow of speech and of tongue.” 11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore go, and (FM)I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” 13 But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” 14 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, (FN)he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 (FO)You shall speak to him and (FP)put the words in his mouth, and (FQ)I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16 (FR)He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and (FS)you shall be as God to him. 17 And take in your hand (FT)this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”
Moses Returns to Egypt
18 Moses went back to (FU)Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for (FV)all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took (FW)his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took (FX)the staff of God in his hand.
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the (FY)miracles that I have put in your power. But (FZ)I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, (GA)Israel is my (GB)firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I (GC)will kill your firstborn son.’”
24 At a lodging place on the way (GD)the Lord met him and (GE)sought to put him to death. 25 Then (GF)Zipporah took a (GG)flint and cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses'[w] feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26 So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.
27 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness (GH)to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the (GI)mountain of God and kissed him. 28 And Moses (GJ)told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak, and all (GK)the signs that he had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron (GL)went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30 (GM)Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people (GN)believed; and when they heard that the Lord had (GO)visited the people of Israel and that he had (GP)seen their affliction, (GQ)they bowed their heads and worshiped.
Making Bricks Without Straw
5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold (GR)a feast to me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, (GS)“Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, (GT)I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The (GU)God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your (GV)burdens.” 5 And Pharaoh said, “Behold, (GW)the people of the land are now many,[x] and you make them rest from their burdens!” 6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the (GX)taskmasters of the people and their (GY)foremen, 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”
10 So the (GZ)taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. 11 Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’” 12 So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The (HA)taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” 14 And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh's (HB)taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?”
15 Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? 16 No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” 17 But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” 19 The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.” 20 They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; 21 and (HC)they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
22 Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”
God Promises Deliverance
6 But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with (HD)a strong hand he will (HE)drive them out of his land.”
2 God spoke to Moses and said to him, (HF)“I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as (HG)God Almighty,[y] but by my name the (HH)Lord I did not make myself known to them. 4 (HI)I also established my covenant with them (HJ)to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. 5 Moreover, (HK)I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, (HL)‘I am the Lord, and (HM)I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and (HN)I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I (HO)will take you to be my people, and (HP)I will be your God, and you shall know that (HQ)I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out (HR)from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into (HS)the land that I (HT)swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. (HU)I am the Lord.’” 9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they (HV)did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
10 So the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.” 12 But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the people of Israel have (HW)not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for (HX)I am of uncircumcised lips?” 13 But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron
14 These are the heads of their fathers' houses: the (HY)sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben. 15 The (HZ)sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon. 16 These are the names of the (IA)sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the years of the life of Levi being 137 years. 17 The (IB)sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their clans. 18 The (IC)sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, the years of the life of Kohath being 133 years. 19 The (ID)sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their generations. 20 (IE)Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father's sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years. 21 (IF)The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 The (IG)sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23 Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of (IH)Amminadab and the sister of (II)Nahshon, and she bore him (IJ)Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24 The (IK)sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the clans of the Korahites. 25 Eleazar, Aaron's son, took as his wife one of the daughters of Putiel, and (IL)she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites by their clans.
26 These are the Aaron and Moses (IM)to whom the Lord said: “Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt (IN)by their hosts.” 27 It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the people of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron.
28 On the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 the Lord said to Moses, (IO)“I am the Lord; (IP)tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” 30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, (IQ)I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?”
Moses and Aaron Before Pharaoh
7 And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like (IR)God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your (IS)prophet. 2 (IT)You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. 3 But (IU)I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I (IV)multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, 4 Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. 5 The Egyptians (IW)shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.” 6 Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them. 7 Now Moses was (IX)eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, (IY)‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’” 10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the (IZ)magicians of Egypt, also (JA)did the same by their secret arts. 12 For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Still (JB)Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, (JC)as the Lord had said.
The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. 15 (JD)Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand (JE)the staff that turned into a (JF)serpent. 16 And you shall say to him, ‘The (JG)Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, (JH)that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed. 17 Thus says the Lord, “By this (JI)you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and (JJ)it shall turn into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will (JK)grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.”’” 19 And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and (JL)stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”
20 Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he (JM)lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the (JN)water in the Nile turned into blood. 21 And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians (JO)could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 22 But (JP)the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So (JQ)Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as (JR)the Lord had said. 23 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.
25 Seven full days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.
The Second Plague: Frogs
8 [z] Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that (JS)they may serve me. 2 But if you (JT)refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with (JU)frogs. 3 The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into (JV)your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people,[aa] and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 4 The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’” 5 [ab] And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, (JW)‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt!’” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and (JX)the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But (JY)the magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, (JZ)“Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and (KA)I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when (KB)I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” 10 And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so (KC)that you may know that (KD)there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.” 12 So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh.[ac] 13 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields.
Footnotes
- Genesis 49:10 By a slight revocalization; a slight emendation yields (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Targum) until he comes to whom it belongs; Hebrew until Shiloh comes, or until he comes to Shiloh
- Genesis 49:14 Or between its saddlebags
- Genesis 49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for raiders and raid
- Genesis 49:21 Or he gives beautiful words, or that bears fawns of the fold
- Genesis 49:22 Or Joseph is a wild donkey, a wild donkey beside a spring, his wild colts beside the wall
- Genesis 49:24 Hebrew the arms of his hands
- Genesis 49:24 Or by the name of the Shepherd
- Genesis 49:25 Hebrew Shaddai
- Genesis 49:26 A slight emendation yields (compare Septuagint) the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills
- Genesis 50:11 Abel-mizraim means mourning (or meadow) of Egypt
- Genesis 50:20 Or a numerous people
- Genesis 50:23 Hebrew were born on Joseph's knees
- Exodus 1:22 Samaritan, Septuagint, Targum; Hebrew lacks to the Hebrews
- Exodus 2:3 Hebrew papyrus reeds
- Exodus 2:10 Moses sounds like the Hebrew for draw out
- Exodus 2:11 Hebrew brothers
- Exodus 2:22 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for sojourner
- Exodus 3:14 Or I am what I am, or I will be what I will be
- Exodus 3:15 The word Lord, when spelled with capital letters, stands for the divine name, YHWH, which is here connected with the verb hayah, “to be” in verse 14
- Exodus 3:19 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew go, not by a mighty hand
- Exodus 4:6 Hebrew into your bosom; also verse 7
- Exodus 4:6 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
- Exodus 4:25 Hebrew his
- Exodus 5:5 Samaritan they are now more numerous than the people of the land
- Exodus 6:3 Hebrew El Shaddai
- Exodus 8:1 Ch 7:26 in Hebrew
- Exodus 8:3 Or among your people
- Exodus 8:5 Ch 8:1 in Hebrew
- Exodus 8:12 Or which he had brought upon Pharaoh
Genesis 49 - Exodus 8
New International Version
Genesis 49 - Exodus 8
New International Version
Jacob Blesses His Sons(A)
49 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.(B)
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,(E)
my might, the first sign of my strength,(F)
excelling in honor,(G) excelling in power.
4 Turbulent as the waters,(H) you will no longer excel,
for you went up onto your father’s bed,
onto my couch and defiled it.(I)
5 “Simeon(J) and Levi(K) are brothers—
their swords[a] are weapons of violence.(L)
6 Let me not enter their council,
let me not join their assembly,(M)
for they have killed men in their anger(N)
and hamstrung(O) oxen as they pleased.
7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
and their fury,(P) so cruel!(Q)
I will scatter them in Jacob
and disperse them in Israel.(R)
8 “Judah,[b](S) your brothers will praise you;
your hand will be on the neck(T) of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.(U)
9 You are a lion’s(V) cub,(W) Judah;(X)
you return from the prey,(Y) my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,(Z)
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,[c]
until he to whom it belongs[d] shall come(AA)
and the obedience of the nations shall be his.(AB)
11 He will tether his donkey(AC) to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;(AD)
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.(AE)
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
his teeth whiter than milk.[e](AF)
13 “Zebulun(AG) will live by the seashore
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.(AH)
14 “Issachar(AI) is a rawboned[f] donkey
lying down among the sheep pens.[g](AJ)
15 When he sees how good is his resting place
and how pleasant is his land,(AK)
he will bend his shoulder to the burden(AL)
and submit to forced labor.(AM)
16 “Dan[h](AN) will provide justice for his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.(AO)
17 Dan(AP) will be a snake by the roadside,
a viper along the path,(AQ)
that bites the horse’s heels(AR)
so that its rider tumbles backward.
22 “Joseph(BB) is a fruitful vine,(BC)
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches(BD) climb over a wall.[k]
23 With bitterness archers attacked him;(BE)
they shot at him with hostility.(BF)
24 But his bow remained steady,(BG)
his strong arms(BH) stayed[l] limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,(BI)
because of the Shepherd,(BJ) the Rock of Israel,(BK)
25 because of your father’s God,(BL) who helps(BM) you,
because of the Almighty,[m](BN) who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
blessings of the deep springs below,(BO)
blessings of the breast(BP) and womb.(BQ)
26 Your father’s blessings are greater
than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
than[n] the bounty of the age-old hills.(BR)
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,(BS)
on the brow of the prince among[o] his brothers.(BT)
27 “Benjamin(BU) is a ravenous wolf;(BV)
in the morning he devours the prey,(BW)
in the evening he divides the plunder.”(BX)
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel,(BY) and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing(BZ) appropriate to him.
The Death of Jacob
29 Then he gave them these instructions:(CA) “I am about to be gathered to my people.(CB) Bury me with my fathers(CC) in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,(CD) 30 the cave in the field of Machpelah,(CE) near Mamre(CF) in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field(CG) as a burial place(CH) from Ephron the Hittite. 31 There Abraham(CI) and his wife Sarah(CJ) were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah(CK) were buried, and there I buried Leah.(CL) 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.[p](CM)”
33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.(CN)
50 Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him.(CO) 2 Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him,(CP) 3 taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.(CQ)
4 When the days of mourning(CR) had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court,(CS) “If I have found favor in your eyes,(CT) speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, 5 ‘My father made me swear an oath(CU) and said, “I am about to die;(CV) bury me in the tomb I dug for myself(CW) in the land of Canaan.”(CX) Now let me go up and bury my father;(CY) then I will return.’”
6 Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials(CZ) accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court(DA) and all the dignitaries of Egypt— 8 besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household.(DB) Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen.(DC) 9 Chariots(DD) and horsemen[q] also went up with him. It was a very large company.
10 When they reached the threshing floor(DE) of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly;(DF) and there Joseph observed a seven-day period(DG) of mourning(DH) for his father.(DI) 11 When the Canaanites(DJ) who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.”(DK) That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.[r]
12 So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them:(DL) 13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah,(DM) near Mamre,(DN) which Abraham had bought along with the field(DO) as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.(DP) 14 After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.(DQ)
Joseph Reassures His Brothers
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge(DR) against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”(DS) 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions(DT) before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins(DU) and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’(DV) Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.(DW)” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.(DX)
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him.(DY) “We are your slaves,”(DZ) they said.
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?(EA) 20 You intended to harm me,(EB) but God intended(EC) it for good(ED) to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.(EE) 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.(EF)” And he reassured them and spoke kindly(EG) to them.
The Death of Joseph
22 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years(EH) 23 and saw the third generation(EI) of Ephraim’s(EJ) children.(EK) Also the children of Makir(EL) son of Manasseh(EM) were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.[s](EN)
24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die.(EO) But God will surely come to your aid(EP) and take you up out of this land to the land(EQ) he promised on oath to Abraham,(ER) Isaac(ES) and Jacob.”(ET) 25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath(EU) and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones(EV) up from this place.”(EW)
26 So Joseph died(EX) at the age of a hundred and ten.(EY) And after they embalmed him,(EZ) he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
The Israelites Oppressed
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel(FA) who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.(FB) 5 The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy[t] in all;(FC) Joseph was already in Egypt.
6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died,(FD) 7 but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers(FE) and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.
8 Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.(FF) 9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous(FG) for us.(FH) 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly(FI) with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”(FJ)
11 So they put slave masters(FK) over them to oppress them with forced labor,(FL) and they built Pithom and Rameses(FM) as store cities(FN) for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked them ruthlessly.(FO) 14 They made their lives bitter with harsh labor(FP) in brick(FQ) and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.(FR)
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives,(FS) whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.”(FT) 17 The midwives, however, feared(FU) God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do;(FV) they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”(FW)
20 So God was kind to the midwives(FX) and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared(FY) God, he gave them families(FZ) of their own.
22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile,(GA) but let every girl live.”(GB)
The Birth of Moses
2 Now a man of the tribe of Levi(GC) married a Levite woman,(GD) 2 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine(GE) child, she hid him for three months.(GF) 3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus(GG) basket[u] for him and coated it with tar and pitch.(GH) Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds(GI) along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister(GJ) stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
5 Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank.(GK) She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. 6 She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.
7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”
8 “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. 9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named(GL) him Moses,[v] saying, “I drew(GM) him out of the water.”
Moses Flees to Midian
11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people(GN) were and watched them at their hard labor.(GO) He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?”(GP)
14 The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us?(GQ) Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”
15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill(GR) Moses, but Moses fled(GS) from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian,(GT) where he sat down by a well. 16 Now a priest of Midian(GU) had seven daughters, and they came to draw water(GV) and fill the troughs(GW) to water their father’s flock. 17 Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue(GX) and watered their flock.(GY)
18 When the girls returned to Reuel(GZ) their father, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”
19 They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”
20 “And where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.”(HA)
21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah(HB) to Moses in marriage. 22 Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom,[w](HC) saying, “I have become a foreigner(HD) in a foreign land.”
23 During that long period,(HE) the king of Egypt died.(HF) The Israelites groaned in their slavery(HG) and cried out, and their cry(HH) for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered(HI) his covenant(HJ) with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned(HK) about them.
Moses and the Burning Bush
3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro(HL) his father-in-law, the priest of Midian,(HM) and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb,(HN) the mountain(HO) of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord(HP) appeared to him in flames of fire(HQ) from within a bush.(HR) Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called(HS) to him from within the bush,(HT) “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”(HU)
5 “Do not come any closer,”(HV) God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”(HW) 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father,[x] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”(HX) At this, Moses hid(HY) his face, because he was afraid to look at God.(HZ)
7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen(IA) the misery(IB) of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned(IC) about their suffering.(ID) 8 So I have come down(IE) to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land,(IF) a land flowing with milk and honey(IG)—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites(IH) and Jebusites.(II) 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing(IJ) them. 10 So now, go. I am sending(IK) you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”(IL)
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I(IM) that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 And God said, “I will be with you.(IN) And this will be the sign(IO) to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[y] will worship God on this mountain.(IP)”
13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’(IQ) Then what shall I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.[z] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am(IR) has sent me to you.’”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,[aa] the God of your fathers(IS)—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob(IT)—has sent me to you.’
16 “Go, assemble the elders(IW) of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob(IX)—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen(IY) what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt(IZ) into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’(JA)
18 “The elders of Israel will listen(JB) to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews,(JC) has met(JD) with us. Let us take a three-day journey(JE) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices(JF) to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand(JG) compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand(JH) and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders(JI) that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.(JJ)
21 “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed(JK) toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed.(JL) 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver(JM) and gold(JN) and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder(JO) the Egyptians.”(JP)
Signs for Moses
4 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen(JQ) to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”
2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,”(JR) he replied.
3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake,(JS) and he ran from it. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe(JT) that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”
6 Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous[ab]—it had become as white as snow.(JU)
7 “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored,(JV) like the rest of his flesh.
8 Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe(JW) you or pay attention to the first sign,(JX) they may believe the second. 9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood(JY) on the ground.”
10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”(JZ)
11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute?(KA) Who gives them sight or makes them blind?(KB) Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go;(KC) I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”(KD)
13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”(KE)
14 Then the Lord’s anger burned(KF) against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet(KG) you, and he will be glad to see you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth;(KH) I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth(KI) and as if you were God to him.(KJ) 17 But take this staff(KK) in your hand(KL) so you can perform the signs(KM) with it.”
Moses Returns to Egypt
18 Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.”
Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.”
19 Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill(KN) you are dead.(KO)” 20 So Moses took his wife and sons,(KP) put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff(KQ) of God in his hand.
21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders(KR) I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart(KS) so that he will not let the people go.(KT) 22 Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son,(KU) 23 and I told you, “Let my son go,(KV) so he may worship(KW) me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’”(KX)
24 At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses[ac] and was about to kill(KY) him. 25 But Zipporah(KZ) took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin(LA) and touched Moses’ feet with it.[ad] “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. 26 So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)
27 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain(LB) of God and kissed(LC) 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(LD) of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs(LE) before the people, 31 and they believed.(LF) And when they heard that the Lord was concerned(LG) about them and had seen their misery,(LH) they bowed down and worshiped.(LI)
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,(LJ) so that they may hold a festival(LK) to me in the wilderness.’”
2 Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord,(LL) that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”(LM)
3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey(LN) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues(LO) or with the sword.”
4 But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor?(LP) Get back to your work!” 5 Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous,(LQ) and you are stopping them from working.”
6 That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers(LR) and overseers in charge of the people: 7 “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks;(LS) 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.(LT) They are lazy;(LU) that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’(LV) 9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
10 Then the slave drivers(LW) 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(LX) 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,(LY) 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!(LZ) That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Now get to work.(MA) 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(MB) you! You have made us obnoxious(MC) to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword(MD) in their hand to kill us.”(ME)
God Promises Deliverance
22 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people?(MF) 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(MG) 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(MH) he will let them go;(MI) because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”(MJ)
2 God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.(MK) 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,[ae](ML) but by my name(MM) the Lord[af](MN) I did not make myself fully known to them. 4 I also established my covenant(MO) with them to give them the land(MP) of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.(MQ) 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning(MR) of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.(MS)
6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.(MT) I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem(MU) you with an outstretched arm(MV) and with mighty acts of judgment.(MW) 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.(MX) Then you will know(MY) 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(MZ) I swore(NA) with uplifted hand(NB) to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.(NC) I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”(ND)
9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.(NE)
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go, tell(NF) Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”(NG)
12 But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen(NH) to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips[ag]?”(NI)
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.(NJ)
14 These were the heads of their families[ah]:(NK)
The sons of Reuben(NL) the firstborn son of Israel were Hanok and Pallu, Hezron and Karmi. These were the clans of Reuben.
15 The sons of Simeon(NM) were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.
16 These were the names of the sons of Levi(NN) according to their records: Gershon,(NO) Kohath and Merari.(NP) Levi lived 137 years.
17 The sons of Gershon, by clans, were Libni and Shimei.(NQ)
18 The sons of Kohath(NR) were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.(NS) Kohath lived 133 years.
19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.(NT)
These were the clans of Levi according to their records.
20 Amram(NU) married his father’s sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses.(NV) Amram lived 137 years.
21 The sons of Izhar(NW) were Korah, Nepheg and Zikri.
22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan(NX) and Sithri.
23 Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab(NY) and sister of Nahshon,(NZ) and she bore him Nadab and Abihu,(OA) Eleazar(OB) and Ithamar.(OC)
24 The sons of Korah(OD) were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans.
25 Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas.(OE)
These were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan.
26 It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt(OF) by their divisions.”(OG) 27 They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh(OH) king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—this same Moses and Aaron.(OI)
Aaron to Speak for Moses
28 Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the Lord.(OJ) Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”
30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips,(OK) why would Pharaoh listen to me?”
7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God(OL) to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.(OM) 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,(ON) and though I multiply my signs and wonders(OO) in Egypt, 4 he will not listen(OP) to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment(OQ) I will bring out my divisions,(OR) my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord(OS) when I stretch out my hand(OT) against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”
6 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded(OU) them. 7 Moses was eighty years old(OV) 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,(OW)’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”(OX)
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,(OY) and the Egyptian magicians(OZ) also did the same things by their secret arts:(PA) 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(PB) became hard and he would not listen(PC) to them, just as the Lord had said.
The Plague of Blood
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding;(PD) he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river.(PE) Confront him on the bank of the Nile,(PF) 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(PG) me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.(PH) 17 This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord:(PI) With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.(PJ) 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink;(PK) the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”(PL)
19 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff(PM) and stretch out your hand(PN) 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[ai] of wood and stone.”
20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded.(PO) He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile,(PP) and all the water was changed into blood.(PQ) 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(PR) did the same things by their secret arts,(PS) and Pharaoh’s heart(PT) 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(PU), because they could not drink the water of the river.
The Plague of Frogs
25 Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile. 8 1 [aj]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship(PV) me. 2 If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs(PW) on your whole country. 3 The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people,(PX) and into your ovens and kneading troughs.(PY) 4 The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”
5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff(PZ) over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs(QA) come up on the land of Egypt.’”
6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs(QB) came up and covered the land. 7 But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts;(QC) they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
8 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray(QD) to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices(QE) to the Lord.”
9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time(QF) for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.”
10 “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.
Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God.(QG) 11 The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.”
12 After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did what Moses asked.(QH) The frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields.
Footnotes
- Genesis 49:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Genesis 49:8 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.
- Genesis 49:10 Or from his descendants
- Genesis 49:10 Or to whom tribute belongs; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Genesis 49:12 Or will be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk
- Genesis 49:14 Or strong
- Genesis 49:14 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
- Genesis 49:16 Dan here means he provides justice.
- Genesis 49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders.
- Genesis 49:21 Or free; / he utters beautiful words
- Genesis 49:22 Or Joseph is a wild colt, / a wild colt near a spring, / a wild donkey on a terraced hill
- Genesis 49:24 Or archers will attack … will shoot … will remain … will stay
- Genesis 49:25 Hebrew Shaddai
- Genesis 49:26 Or of my progenitors, / as great as
- Genesis 49:26 Or of the one separated from
- Genesis 49:32 Or the descendants of Heth
- Genesis 50:9 Or charioteers
- Genesis 50:11 Abel Mizraim means mourning of the Egyptians.
- Genesis 50:23 That is, were counted as his
- Exodus 1:5 Masoretic Text (see also Gen. 46:27); Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint (see also Acts 7:14 and note at Gen. 46:27) seventy-five
- Exodus 2:3 The Hebrew can also mean ark, as in Gen. 6:14.
- Exodus 2:10 Moses sounds like the Hebrew for draw out.
- Exodus 2:22 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for a foreigner there.
- Exodus 3:6 Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch (see Acts 7:32) fathers
- Exodus 3:12 The Hebrew is plural.
- Exodus 3:14 Or I will be what I will be
- Exodus 3:15 The Hebrew for Lord sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for I am in verse 14.
- Exodus 4:6 The Hebrew word for leprous was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
- Exodus 4:24 Hebrew him
- Exodus 4:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
- Exodus 6:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
- Exodus 6:3 See note at 3:15.
- Exodus 6:12 Hebrew I am uncircumcised of lips; also in verse 30
- Exodus 6:14 The Hebrew for families here and in verse 25 refers to units larger than clans.
- Exodus 7:19 Or even on their idols
- Exodus 8:1 In Hebrew texts 8:1-4 is numbered 7:26-29, and 8:5-32 is numbered 8:1-28.
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