Pharaoh’s Dreams

41 Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that ^(A)Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river. ² Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. ³ Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. ⁴ And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke. ⁵ He slept and dreamed a second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good. ⁶ Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the ^(B)east wind, sprang up after them. ⁷ And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream. ⁸ Now it came to pass in the morning ^(C)that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all ^(D)the magicians of Egypt and all its ^(E)wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

⁹ Then the ^(F)chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: “I remember my faults this day. ¹⁰ When Pharaoh was ^(G)angry with his servants, ^(H)and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker, ^11 (I)we each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. ¹² Now there was a young ^(J)Hebrew man with us there, a ^(K)servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he ^(L)interpreted our dreams for us; to each man he interpreted according to his own dream. ¹³ And it came to pass, just ^(M)as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.”

^14 (N)Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they ^(O)brought him quickly ^(P)out of the dungeon; and he shaved, ^(Q)changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. ¹⁵ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. ^(R)But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.”

¹⁶ So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, ^(S)“It is not in me; ^(T)God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Behold, ^(U)in my dream I stood on the bank of the river. ¹⁸ Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. ¹⁹ Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt. ²⁰ And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows. ²¹ When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke. ²² Also I saw in my dream, and suddenly seven ^[a]heads came up on one stalk, full and good. ²³ Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. ²⁴ And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads. So ^(V)I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

²⁵ Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; ^(W)God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: ²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ^[b]heads are seven years; the dreams are one. ²⁷ And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are ^(X)seven years of famine. ^28 (Y)This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. ²⁹ Indeed ^(Z)seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; ³⁰ but after them seven years of famine will ^(AA)arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine ^(AB)will deplete the land. ³¹ So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. ³² And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the ^(AC)thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

³³ “Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint ^[c]officers over the land, ^(AD)to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. ³⁵ And ^(AE)let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the ^[d]authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. ³⁶ Then that food shall be as a ^[e]reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land ^(AF)may not ^[f]perish during the famine.”

Joseph’s Rise to Power

³⁷ So ^(AG)the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. ³⁸ And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man ^(AH)in whom is the Spirit of God?”

³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. ^40 (AI)You shall be ^[g]over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” ⁴¹ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have ^(AJ)set you over all the land of Egypt.”

⁴² Then Pharaoh ^(AK)took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he ^(AL)clothed him in garments of fine linen ^(AM)and put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ And he had him ride in the second ^(AN)chariot which he had; ^(AO)and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him ^(AP)over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name ^[h]Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife ^(AQ)Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Joseph was thirty years old when he ^(AR)stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁷ Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth ^[i]abundantly. ⁴⁸ So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. ⁴⁹ Joseph gathered very much grain, ^(AS)as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.

^50 (AT)And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. ⁵¹ Joseph called the name of the firstborn ^[j]Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my ^(AU)father’s house.” ⁵² And the name of the second he called ^[k]Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be ^(AV)fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

⁵³ Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, ^54 (AW)and the seven years of famine began to come, ^(AX)as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. ⁵⁵ So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; ^(AY)whatever he says to you, do.” ⁵⁶ The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened ^[l]all the storehouses and ^(AZ)sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. ^57 (BA)So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to ^(BB)buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.

Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt

42 When ^(BC)Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” ² And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may ^(BD)live and not die.”

³ So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, ^(BE)“Lest some calamity befall him.” ⁵ And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was ^(BF)in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Now Joseph was governor ^(BG)over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and ^(BH)bowed down before him with their faces to the earth. ⁷ Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as ^(BI)a stranger to them and spoke ^[m]roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?”

And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”

⁸ So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. ⁹ Then Joseph ^(BJ)remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the ^[n]nakedness of the land!”

¹⁰ And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. ¹¹ We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.”

¹² But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”

¹³ And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one ^(BK)is no more.”

¹⁴ But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ ¹⁵ In this manner you shall be tested: ^(BL)By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be ^[o]kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” ¹⁷ So he ^[p]put them all together in prison ^(BM)three days.

¹⁸ Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, ^(BN)for I fear God: ¹⁹ If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. ²⁰ And ^(BO)bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.”

And they did so. ²¹ Then they said to one another, ^(BP)“We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; ^(BQ)therefore this distress has come upon us.”

²² And Reuben answered them, saying, ^(BR)“Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now ^(BS)required of us.” ²³ But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. ²⁴ And he turned himself away from them and ^(BT)wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took ^(BU)Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

The Brothers Return to Canaan

²⁵ Then Joseph ^(BV)gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to ^(BW)restore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. ^(BX)Thus he did for them. ²⁶ So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there. ²⁷ But as ^(BY)one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack. ²⁸ So he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!” Then their hearts ^[q]failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”

²⁹ Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying: ³⁰ “The man who is lord of the land ^(BZ)spoke ^[r]roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. ³¹ But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. ³² We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’ ³³ Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ^(CA)‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. ³⁴ And bring your ^(CB)youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may ^(CC)trade in the land.’ ”

³⁵ Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly ^(CD)each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. ³⁶ And Jacob their father said to them, “You have ^(CE)bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take ^(CF)Benjamin. All these things are against me.”

³⁷ Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”

³⁸ But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for ^(CG)his brother is dead, and he is left alone. ^(CH)If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would ^(CI)bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”

Joseph’s Brothers Return with Benjamin

43 Now the famine was ^(CJ)severe in the land. ² And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go ^(CK)back, buy us a little food.”

³ But Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your ^(CL)brother is with you.’ ⁴ If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. ⁵ But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ”

⁶ And Israel said, “Why did you deal so ^[s]wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?”

⁷ But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

⁸ Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may ^(CM)live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. ⁹ I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. ^(CN)If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. ¹⁰ For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”

¹¹ And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and ^(CO)carry down a present for the man—a little ^(CP)balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. ¹² Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money ^(CQ)that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. ¹³ Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. ¹⁴ And may God ^(CR)Almighty ^(CS)give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. ^(CT)If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”

¹⁵ So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went ^(CU)down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph. ¹⁶ When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ^(CV)steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter ^[t]an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.” ¹⁷ Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.

¹⁸ Now the men were ^(CW)afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may ^[u]make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.”

¹⁹ When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house, ²⁰ and said, “O sir, ^(CX)we indeed came down the first time to buy food; ²¹ but ^(CY)it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand. ²² And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”

²³ But he said, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.” Then he brought ^(CZ)Simeon out to them.

²⁴ So the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and ^(DA)gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. ²⁵ Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there.

²⁶ And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and ^(DB)bowed down before him to the earth. ²⁷ Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man ^(DC)of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”

²⁸ And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” ^(DD)And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves.

²⁹ Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, ^(DE)his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother ^(DF)of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” ³⁰ Now ^(DG)his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and ^(DH)wept there. ³¹ Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the ^(DI)bread.”

³² So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the ^(DJ)Hebrews, for that is ^(DK)an abomination to the Egyptians. ³³ And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his ^(DL)birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another. ³⁴ Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was ^(DM)five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.

Joseph’s Cup

44 And he commanded ^[v]the ^(DN)steward of his house, saying, ^(DO)“Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. ² Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain money.” So he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. ³ As soon as the morning dawned, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. ⁴ When they had gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, “Get up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you ^(DP)repaid evil for good? ⁵ Is not this the one from which my lord drinks, and with which he indeed practices divination? You have done evil in so doing.’ ”

⁶ So he overtook them, and he spoke to them these same words. ⁷ And they said to him, “Why does my lord say these words? Far be it from us that your servants should do such a thing. ⁸ Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan ^(DQ)the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house? ⁹ With whomever of your servants it is found, ^(DR)let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.”

¹⁰ And he said, “Now also let it be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and you shall be blameless.” ¹¹ Then each man speedily let down his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack. ¹² So he searched. He began with the oldest and ^[w]left off with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. ¹³ Then they ^(DS)tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city.

¹⁴ So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he was still there; and they ^(DT)fell before him on the ground. ¹⁵ And Joseph said to them, “What deed is this you have done? Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?”

¹⁶ Then Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has ^(DU)found out the iniquity of your servants; here ^(DV)we are, my lord’s slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found.”

¹⁷ But he said, ^(DW)“Far be it from me that I should do so; the man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my slave. And as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

Judah Intercedes for Benjamin

¹⁸ Then Judah came near to him and said: “O my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s hearing, and ^(DX)do not let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even like Pharaoh. ¹⁹ My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ ²⁰ And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and ^(DY)a child of his old age, who is young; his brother is ^(DZ)dead, and he ^(EA)alone is left of his mother’s children, and his ^(EB)father loves him.’ ²¹ Then you said to your servants, ^(EC)‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’ ²² And we said to my lord, ‘The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ ²³ But you said to your servants, ^(ED)‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.’

²⁴ “So it was, when we went up to your servant my father, that we told him the words of my lord. ²⁵ And ^(EE)our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’ ²⁶ But we said, ‘We cannot go down; if our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we may not see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ ²⁷ Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that ^(EF)my wife bore me two sons; ²⁸ and the one went out from me, and I said, ^(EG)“Surely he is torn to pieces”; and I have not seen him since. ²⁹ But if you ^(EH)take this one also from me, and calamity befalls him, you shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.’

³⁰ “Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since ^(EI)his life is bound up in the lad’s life, ³¹ it will happen, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die. So your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave. ³² For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, ^(EJ)‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father forever.’ ³³ Now therefore, please ^(EK)let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. ³⁴ For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would ^[x]come upon my father?”

Joseph Revealed to His Brothers

45 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Make everyone go out from me!” So no one stood with him ^(EL)while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. ² And he ^(EM)wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it.

³ Then Joseph said to his brothers, ^(EN)“I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. ⁴ And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, ^(EO)whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; ^(EP)for God sent me before you to preserve life. ⁶ For these two years the ^(EQ)famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. ⁷ And God ^(ER)sent me before you to preserve a ^[y]posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. ⁸ So now it was not you who sent me here, but ^(ES)God; and He has made me ^(ET)a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ^(EU)ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

⁹ “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not ^[z]tarry. ^10 (EV)You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. ¹¹ There I will ^(EW)provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.” ’

¹² “And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is ^(EX)my mouth that speaks to you. ¹³ So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and ^(EY)bring my father down here.”

¹⁴ Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. ¹⁵ Moreover he ^(EZ)kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.

¹⁶ Now the report of it was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, “Joseph’s brothers have come.” So it pleased Pharaoh and his servants well. ¹⁷ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and depart; go to the land of Canaan. ¹⁸ Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat ^(FA)the ^[aa]fat of the land. ¹⁹ Now you are commanded—do this: Take carts out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives; bring your father and come. ²⁰ Also do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ ”

²¹ Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them ^(FB)carts,^[ab] according to the command of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey. ²² He gave to all of them, to each man, ^(FC)changes of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and ^(FD)five changes of garments. ²³ And he sent to his father these things: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father for the journey. ²⁴ So he sent his brothers away, and they departed; and he said to them, “See that you do not become troubled along the way.”

²⁵ Then they went up out of Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. ²⁶ And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” ^(FE)And Jacob’s heart stood still, because he did not believe them. ²⁷ But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit ^(FF)of Jacob their father revived. ²⁸ Then Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Jacob’s Journey to Egypt^(FG)

46 So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to ^(FH)Beersheba, and offered sacrifices ^(FI)to the God of his father Isaac. ² Then God spoke to Israel ^(FJ)in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

³ So He said, “I am God, ^(FK)the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will ^(FL)make of you a great nation there. ^4 (FM)I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely ^(FN)bring you up again; and ^(FO)Joseph ^[ac]will put his hand on your eyes.”

⁵ Then ^(FP)Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the ^[ad]carts ^(FQ)which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. ⁶ So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, ^(FR)Jacob and all his descendants with him. ⁷ His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.

⁸ Now ^(FS)these were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: ^(FT)Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn. ⁹ The ^(FU)sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. ^10 (FV)The sons of Simeon were ^[ae]Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, ^[af]Jachin, ^[ag]Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. ¹¹ The sons of ^(FW)Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹² The sons of ^(FX)Judah were ^(FY)Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). ^(FZ)The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. ¹³ The sons of Issachar were Tola, ^[ah]Puvah, ^[ai]Job, and Shimron. ¹⁴ The ^(GA)sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. ¹⁵ These were the ^(GB)sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the persons, his sons and his daughters, were thirty-three.

¹⁶ The sons of Gad were ^[aj]Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, ^[ak]Ezbon, Eri, ^[al]Arodi, and Areli. ^17 (GC)The sons of Asher were Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel. ^18 (GD)These were the sons of Zilpah, ^(GE)whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons.

¹⁹ The ^(GF)sons of Rachel, ^(GG)Jacob’s wife, were Joseph and Benjamin. ^20 (GH)And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. ^21 (GI)The sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, ^(GJ)Ehi, Rosh, ^(GK)Muppim, ^[am]Huppim, and Ard. ²² These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons in all.

²³ The son of Dan was ^[an]Hushim. ^24 (GL)The sons of Naphtali were ^[ao]Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and ^[ap]Shillem. ^25 (GM)These were the sons of Bilhah, ^(GN)whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob: seven persons in all.

^26 (GO)All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, ^(GP)besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six persons in all. ²⁷ And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. ^(GQ)All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.

Jacob Settles in Goshen

²⁸ Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, ^(GR)to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came ^(GS)to the land of Goshen. ²⁹ So Joseph made ready his ^(GT)chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and ^(GU)fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while.

³⁰ And Israel said to Joseph, ^(GV)“Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.”

³¹ Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, ^(GW)“I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. ³² And the men are ^(GX)shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.’ ³³ So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ^(GY)‘What is your occupation?’ ³⁴ that you shall say, ‘Your servants’ ^(GZ)occupation has been with livestock ^(HA)from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is ^(HB)an^[aq] abomination to the Egyptians.”

Joseph Is Governor of Egypt

47 Then Joseph ^(HC)went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in ^(HD)the land of Goshen.” ² And he took five men from among his brothers and ^(HE)presented them to Pharaoh. ³ Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, ^(HF)“What is your occupation?”

And they said to Pharaoh, ^(HG)“Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.” ⁴ And they said to Pharaoh, ^(HH)“We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, ^(HI)for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants ^(HJ)dwell in the land of Goshen.”

⁵ Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. ^6 (HK)The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell ^(HL)in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”

⁷ Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob ^(HM)blessed Pharaoh. ⁸ Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”

⁹ And Jacob said to Pharaoh, ^(HN)“The days of the years of my ^[ar]pilgrimage are ^(HO)one hundred and thirty years; ^(HP)few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and ^(HQ)they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” ¹⁰ So Jacob ^(HR)blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

¹¹ And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of ^(HS)Rameses, ^(HT)as Pharaoh had commanded. ¹² Then Joseph provided ^(HU)his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with bread, according to the number in their families.

Joseph Deals with the Famine

¹³ Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, ^(HV)so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. ^14 (HW)And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.

¹⁵ So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, for ^(HX)why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.”

¹⁶ Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.” ¹⁷ So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he ^[as]fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.

¹⁸ When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. ¹⁹ Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may ^(HY)live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.”

²⁰ Then Joseph ^(HZ)bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. ²¹ And as for the people, he ^[at]moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end. ^22 (IA)Only the land of the ^(IB)priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.

²³ Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. ²⁴ And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”

²⁵ So they said, “You have saved ^(IC)our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” ²⁶ And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, ^(ID)except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.

Joseph’s Vow to Jacob

²⁷ So Israel ^(IE)dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and ^(IF)grew and multiplied exceedingly. ²⁸ And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years. ²⁹ When the time ^(IG)drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please ^(IH)put your hand under my thigh, and ^(II)deal kindly and truly with me. ^(IJ)Please do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰ but ^(IK)let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and ^(IL)bury me in their burial place.”

And he said, “I will do as you have said.”

³¹ Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So ^(IM)Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.

⁸ Now there arose a new king over Egypt, ^(A)who did not know Joseph. ⁹ And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and ^(B)mightier than we; ^10 (C)come, let us ^(D)deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.” ¹¹ Therefore they set taskmasters over them ^(E)to afflict them with their ^(F)burdens. And they built for Pharaoh ^(G)supply cities, Pithom ^(H)and Raamses. ¹² But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. ¹³ So the Egyptians made the children of Israel ^(I)serve with ^[a]rigor. ¹⁴ And they ^(J)made their lives bitter with hard bondage—^(K)in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.

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The First Plague: Waters Become Blood

¹⁴ So the Lord said to Moses: ^(A)“Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the ^(B)water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and ^(C)the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. ¹⁶ And you shall say to him, ^(D)‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, ^(E)that they may ^[a]serve Me in the wilderness”; but indeed, until now you would not hear! ¹⁷ Thus says the Lord: “By this ^(F)you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and ^(G)they shall be turned ^(H)to blood. ¹⁸ And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will ^(I)loathe^[b] to drink the water of the river.” ’ ”

¹⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and ^(J)stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.’ ” ²⁰ And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he ^(K)lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the ^(L)waters that were in the river were turned to blood. ²¹ The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians ^(M)could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

^22 (N)Then the magicians of Egypt did ^(O)so with their ^[c]enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, ^(P)as the Lord had said. ²³ And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this. ²⁴ So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. ²⁵ And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river.

The Second Plague: Frogs

8 And the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, ^(Q)that they may serve Me. ² But if you ^(R)refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with ^(S)frogs. ³ So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your ^(T)bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. ⁴ And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants.” ’ ”

⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ^(U)‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’ ” ⁶ So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and ^(V)the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ^7 (W)And the magicians did so with their ^[d]enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.

⁸ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, ^(X)“Entreat^[e] the Lord that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people ^(Y)go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.”

⁹ And Moses said to Pharaoh, “Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.”

¹⁰ So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that ^(Z)there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹ And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.”

¹² Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses ^(AA)cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. ¹³ So the Lord did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. ¹⁴ They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was ^(AB)relief, ^(AC)he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said.

The Third Plague: Lice

¹⁶ So the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become ^[f]lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’ ” ¹⁷ And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and ^(AD)it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

¹⁸ Now ^(AE)the magicians so worked with their ^[g]enchantments to bring forth lice, but they ^(AF)could not. So there were lice on man and beast. ¹⁹ Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is ^(AG)the^[h] finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s ^(AH)heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.

The Fourth Plague: Flies

²⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(AI)“Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(AJ)“Let My people go, that they may serve Me. ²¹ Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. ²² And in that day ^(AK)I will set apart the land of ^(AL)Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may ^(AM)know that I am the Lord in the midst of the ^(AN)land. ²³ I will ^[i]make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this ^(AO)sign shall be.” ’ ” ²⁴ And the Lord did so. ^(AP)Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.

²⁵ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.”

²⁶ And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing ^(AQ)the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not ^[j]stone us? ²⁷ We will go ^(AR)three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as ^(AS)He will command us.”

²⁸ So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. ^(AT)Intercede for me.”

²⁹ Then Moses said, “Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the Lord, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not ^(AU)deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

³⁰ So Moses went out from Pharaoh and ^(AV)entreated the Lord. ³¹ And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. ³² But Pharaoh ^(AW)hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.

The Fifth Plague: Livestock Diseased

9 Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(AX)“Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may ^(AY)serve Me. ² For if you ^(AZ)refuse to let them go, and still hold them, ³ behold, the ^(BA)hand of the Lord will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep—a very severe pestilence. ⁴ And ^(BB)the Lord will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.” ’ ” ⁵ Then the Lord appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”

⁶ So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and ^(BC)all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. ⁷ Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the ^(BD)heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go.

The Sixth Plague: Boils^(BE)

⁸ So the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. ⁹ And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause ^(BF)boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰ Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused ^(BG)boils that break out in sores on man and beast. ¹¹ And the ^(BH)magicians could not stand before Moses because of the ^(BI)boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. ¹² But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he ^(BJ)did not heed them, just ^(BK)as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

The Seventh Plague: Hail

¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(BL)“Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may ^(BM)serve Me, ¹⁴ for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, ^(BN)that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. ¹⁵ Now if I had ^(BO)stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with ^(BP)pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. ¹⁶ But indeed for ^(BQ)this purpose I have raised you up, that I may ^(BR)show My power in you, and that My ^(BS)name may be declared in all the earth. ¹⁷ As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go. ¹⁸ Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now. ¹⁹ Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die.” ’ ”

²⁰ He who ^(BT)feared the word of the Lord among the ^(BU)servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. ²¹ But he who did not regard the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be ^(BV)hail in all the land of Egypt—on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” ²³ And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and ^(BW)the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. ²⁴ So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. ²⁵ And the ^(BX)hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. ^26 (BY)Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.

²⁷ And Pharaoh sent and ^(BZ)called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, ^(CA)“I have sinned this time. ^(CB)The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. ^28 (CC)Entreat^[k] the Lord, that there may be no more ^[l]mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you ^(CD)go, and you shall stay no longer.”

²⁹ So Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will ^(CE)spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the ^(CF)earth is the Lord’s. ³⁰ But as for you and your servants, ^(CG)I know that you will not yet fear the Lord God.”

³¹ Now the flax and the barley were struck, ^(CH)for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud. ³² But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are ^[m]late crops.

³³ So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and ^(CI)spread out his hands to the Lord; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth. ³⁴ And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. ³⁵ So ^(CJ)the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had spoken by Moses.

The Eighth Plague: Locusts^(CK)

10 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; ^(CL)for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, ^(CM)that I may show these signs of Mine before him, ² and that ^(CN)you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may ^(CO)know that I am the Lord.”

³ So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to ^(CP)humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may ^(CQ)serve Me. ⁴ Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring ^(CR)locusts into your territory. ⁵ And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and ^(CS)they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field. ⁶ They shall ^(CT)fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians—which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’ ” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

⁷ Then Pharaoh’s ^(CU)servants said to him, “How long shall this man be ^(CV)a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?”

⁸ So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. Who are the ones that are going?”

⁹ And Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for ^(CW)we must hold a feast to the Lord.”

¹⁰ Then he said to them, “The Lord had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you. ¹¹ Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the Lord, for that is what you desired.” And they were driven ^(CX)out from Pharaoh’s presence.

¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(CY)“Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and ^(CZ)eat every herb of the land—all that the hail has left.” ¹³ So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. ¹⁴ And ^(DA)the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; ^(DB)previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them. ¹⁵ For they ^(DC)covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ^(DD)ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.

¹⁶ Then Pharaoh called ^(DE)for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, ^(DF)“I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. ¹⁷ Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and ^(DG)entreat^[n] the Lord your God, that He may take away from me this death only.” ¹⁸ So he ^(DH)went out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord. ¹⁹ And the Lord turned a very strong west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them ^(DI)into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt. ²⁰ But the Lord ^(DJ)hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

²¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(DK)“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, ^[o]darkness which may even be felt.” ²² So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was ^(DL)thick darkness in all the land of Egypt ^(DM)three days. ²³ They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. ^(DN)But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

²⁴ Then Pharaoh called to Moses and ^(DO)said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your ^(DP)little ones also go with you.”

²⁵ But Moses said, “You must also give ^[p]us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. ²⁶ Our ^(DQ)livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the Lord our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.”

²⁷ But the Lord ^(DR)hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. ²⁸ Then Pharaoh said to him, ^(DS)“Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!”

²⁹ So Moses said, “You have spoken well. ^(DT)I will never see your face again.”

Death of the Firstborn Announced^(DU)

11 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. ^(DV)Afterward he will let you go from here. ^(DW)When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether. ² Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, ^(DX)articles of silver and articles of gold.” ^3 (DY)And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man ^(DZ)Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.

⁴ Then Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ^(EA)‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; ⁵ and ^(EB)all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. ^6 (EC)Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, ^(ED)such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again. ^7 (EE)But against none of the children of Israel ^(EF)shall a dog ^[q]move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.’ ⁸ And ^(EG)all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will go out.” ^(EH)Then he went out from Pharaoh in great anger.

⁹ But the Lord said to Moses, ^(EI)“Pharaoh will not heed you, so that ^(EJ)My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; ^(EK)and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

The Passover Instituted^(EL)

12 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, ^2 (EM)“This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. ³ Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the ^(EN)tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. ⁴ And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. ⁵ Your lamb shall be ^(EO)without^[r] blemish, a male ^[s]of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ⁶ Now you shall keep it until the ^(EP)fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. ⁷ And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. ⁸ Then they shall eat the flesh on that ^(EQ)night; ^(ER)roasted in fire, with ^(ES)unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. ⁹ Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but ^(ET)roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. ^10 (EU)You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. ¹¹ And thus you shall eat it: ^[t]with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. ^(EV)It is the Lord’s Passover.

¹² ‘For I ^(EW)will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and ^(EX)against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: ^(EY)I am the Lord. ¹³ Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ ‘So this day shall be to you ^(EZ)a memorial; and you shall keep it as a ^(FA)feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast ^(FB)by an everlasting ordinance. ^15 (FC)Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, ^(FD)that ^[u]person shall be ^[v]cut off from Israel. ¹⁶ On the first day there shall be ^(FE)a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. ¹⁷ So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for ^(FF)on this same day I will have brought your ^[w]armies ^(FG)out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. ^18 (FH)In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. ¹⁹ For ^(FI)seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. ²⁰ You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ”

²¹ Then ^(FJ)Moses called for all the ^(FK)elders of Israel and said to them, ^(FL)“Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. ^22 (FM)And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and ^(FN)strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. ^23 (FO)For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the ^(FP)blood on the ^[x]lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and ^(FQ)not allow ^(FR)the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. ²⁴ And you shall ^(FS)observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. ²⁵ It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, ^(FT)just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. ^26 (FU)And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ ²⁷ that you shall say, ^(FV)‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ ” So the people ^(FW)bowed their heads and worshiped. ²⁸ Then the children of Israel went away and ^(FX)did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn^(FY)

^29 (FZ)And it came to pass at midnight that ^(GA)the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was ^[y]in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of ^(GB)livestock. ³⁰ So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

²³ For ^(A)the wages of sin is death, but ^(B)the ^[a]gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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