The Beginning of the World

1 In the beginning God created the sky and the earth. ² The earth was empty and had no form. Darkness covered the ocean, and God’s Spirit was moving over the water.

³ Then God said, “Let there be light!” And there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good. So he divided the light from the darkness. ⁵ God named the light “day” and the darkness “night.” Evening passed, and morning came. This was the first day.

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be something to divide the water in two!” ⁷ So God made the air to divide the water in two. Some of the water was above the air, and some of the water was below it. ⁸ God named the air “sky.” Evening passed, and morning came. This was the second day.

⁹ Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered together so the dry land will appear.” And it happened. ¹⁰ God named the dry land “earth.” He named the water that was gathered together “seas.” God saw that this was good.

¹¹ Then God said, “Let the earth produce plants. Some plants will make grain for seeds. Others will make fruit with seeds in it. Every seed will produce more of its own kind of plant.” And it happened. ¹² The earth produced plants. Some plants had grain for seeds. The trees made fruit with seeds in it. Each seed grew its own kind of plant. God saw that all this was good. ¹³ Evening passed, and morning came. This was the third day.

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let there be lights in the sky to separate day from night. These lights will be used for signs, seasons, days and years. ¹⁵ They will be in the sky to give light to the earth.” And it happened.

¹⁶ So God made the two large lights. He made the brighter light to rule the day. He made the smaller light to rule the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God put all these in the sky to shine on the earth. ¹⁸ They are to rule over the day and over the night. He put them there to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that all these things were good. ¹⁹ Evening passed, and morning came. This was the fourth day.

²⁰ Then God said, “Let the water be filled with living things. And let birds fly in the air above the earth.”

²¹ So God created the large sea animals. He created every living thing that moves in the sea. The sea is filled with these living things. Each one produces more of its own kind. God also made every bird that flies. And each bird produces more of its own kind. God saw that this was good. ²² God blessed them and said, “Have many young ones and grow in number. Fill the water of the seas, and let the birds grow in number on the earth.” ²³ Evening passed, and morning came. This was the fifth day.

²⁴ Then God said, “Let the earth be filled with animals. And let each produce more of its own kind. Let there be tame animals and small crawling animals and wild animals. And let each produce more of its kind.” And it happened.

²⁵ So God made the wild animals, the tame animals and all the small crawling animals to produce more of their own kind. God saw that this was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image and likeness. And let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky. Let them rule over the tame animals, over all the earth and over all the small crawling animals on the earth.”

²⁷ So God created human beings in his image. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female. ²⁸ God blessed them and said, “Have many children and grow in number. Fill the earth and be its master. Rule over the fish in the sea and over the birds in the sky. Rule over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

²⁹ God said, “Look, I have given you all the plants that have grain for seeds. And I have given you all the trees whose fruits have seeds in them. They will be food for you. ³⁰ I have given all the green plants to all the animals to eat. They will be food for every wild animal, every bird of the air and every small crawling animal.” And it happened. ³¹ God looked at everything he had made, and it was very good. Evening passed, and morning came. This was the sixth day.

The Seventh Day—Rest

2 So the sky, the earth and all that filled them were finished. ² By the seventh day God finished the work he had been doing. So on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³ God blessed the seventh day and made it a holy day. He made it holy because on that day he rested. He rested from all the work he had done in creating the world.

The First People

⁴ This is the story of the creation of the sky and the earth. When the Lord God made the earth and the sky, ⁵ there were no plants on the earth. Nothing was growing in the fields. The Lord God had not yet made it rain on the land. And there was no man to care for the ground. ⁶ But a mist often rose from the earth and watered all the ground.

⁷ Then the Lord God took dust from the ground and formed man from it. The Lord breathed the breath of life into the man’s nose. And the man became a living person. ⁸ Then the Lord God planted a garden in the East, in a place called Eden. He put the man he had formed in that garden. ⁹ The Lord God caused every beautiful tree and every tree that was good for food to grow out of the ground. In the middle of the garden, God put the tree that gives life. And he put there the tree that gives the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ A river flowed through Eden and watered the garden. From that point the river was divided. It had four streams flowing into it. ¹¹ The name of the first stream is Pishon. It flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² That gold is good. Bdellium and onyx^[a] are also there. ¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon. It flows around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is Tigris. It flows out of Assyria toward the east. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵ The Lord God put the man in the garden of Eden to care for it and work it. ¹⁶ The Lord God commanded him, “You may eat the fruit from any tree in the garden. ¹⁷ But you must not eat the fruit from the tree which gives the knowledge of good and evil. If you ever eat fruit from that tree, you will die!”

The First Woman

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him.”

¹⁹ From the ground God formed every wild animal and every bird in the sky. He brought them to the man so the man could name them. Whatever the man called each living thing, that became its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all the tame animals, to the birds in the sky and to all the wild animals. But Adam^[b] did not find a helper that was right for him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused the man to sleep very deeply. While the man was asleep, God took one of the ribs from the man’s body. Then God closed the man’s skin at the place where he took the rib. ²² The Lord God used the rib from the man to make a woman. Then the Lord brought the woman to the man.

²³ And the man said,

²⁴ So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife. And the two people will become one body.

²⁵ The man and his wife were naked, but they were not ashamed.

The Beginning of Sin

3 Now the snake was the most clever of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day the snake spoke to the woman. He said, “Did God really say that you must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”

² The woman answered the snake, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. ³ But God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch it, or you will die.’”

⁴ But the snake said to the woman, “You will not die. ⁵ God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil. Then you will be like God!”

⁶ The woman saw that the tree was beautiful. She saw that its fruit was good to eat and that it would make her wise. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of the fruit to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

⁷ Then, it was as if the man’s and the woman’s eyes were opened. They realized they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made something to cover themselves.

⁸ Then they heard the Lord God walking in the garden. This was during the cool part of the day. And the man and his wife hid from the Lord God among the trees in the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man. The Lord said, “Where are you?”

¹⁰ The man answered, “I heard you walking in the garden. I was afraid because I was naked. So I hid.”

¹¹ God said to the man, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from that tree? I commanded you not to eat from that tree.”

¹² The man said, “You gave this woman to me. She gave me fruit from the tree. So I ate it.”

¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?”

She answered, “The snake tricked me. So I ate the fruit.”

¹⁴ The Lord God said to the snake,

¹⁶ Then God said to the woman,

¹⁷ Then God said to the man, “You listened to what your wife said. And you ate fruit from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from.

²⁰ The man named his wife Eve.^[c] This is because she is the mother of everyone who ever lived.

²¹ The Lord God made clothes from animal skins for the man and his wife. And so the Lord dressed them. ²² Then the Lord God said, “Look, the man has become like one of us. He knows good and evil. And now we must keep him from eating some of the fruit from the tree of life. If he does, he will live forever.” ²³ So the Lord God forced the man out of the garden of Eden. He had to work the ground he was taken from. ²⁴ God forced the man out of the garden. Then God put angels on the east side of the garden. He also put a sword of fire there. It flashed around in every direction. This kept people from getting to the tree of life.

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.^{[a] 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.

³⁷ God can do everything!”

Read full chapter

²³ Then Jesus looked at his followers and said, “How hard it will be for those who are rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

²⁴ The followers were amazed at what Jesus said. But he said again, “My children, it is very hard^[a] to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ And it will be very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle!”

²⁶ The followers were even more amazed and said to each other, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁷ Jesus looked straight at them and said, “For people this is impossible. But for God all things are possible.”

Read full chapter

²³ Then Jesus said to his followers, “I tell you the truth. It will be very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Yes, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When the followers heard this, they were very surprised. They asked, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “For men this is impossible. But for God all things are possible.”

Read full chapter