Genesis 47:1 - Exodus 6:15

New International Version

47 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan^(A) and are now in Goshen.”^{(B) 2} He chose five of his brothers and presented them^(C) before Pharaoh.

³ Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”^(D)

“Your servants^(E) are shepherds,^(F)” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” ⁴ They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while,^(G) because the famine is severe in Canaan^(H) and your servants’ flocks have no pasture.^(I) So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”^(J)

⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, ⁶ and the land of Egypt is before you; settle^(K) your father and your brothers in the best part of the land.^(L) Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability,^(M) put them in charge of my own livestock.^(N)”

⁷ Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him^(O) before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed^[a] Pharaoh,^{(P) 8} Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

⁹ And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty.^(Q) My years have been few and difficult,^(R) and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.^(S)” ¹⁰ Then Jacob blessed^[b] Pharaoh^(T) and went out from his presence.

¹¹ So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land,^(U) the district of Rameses,^(V) as Pharaoh directed. ¹² Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.^(W)

Joseph and the Famine

¹³ There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine.^{(X) 14} Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying,^(Y) and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.^{(Z) 15} When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone,^(AA) all Egypt came to Joseph^(AB) and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes?^(AC) Our money is all gone.”

¹⁶ “Then bring your livestock,^(AD)” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.^(AE)” ¹⁷ So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses,^(AF) their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys.^(AG) And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.

¹⁸ When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone^(AH) and our livestock belongs to you,^(AI) there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. ¹⁹ Why should we perish before your eyes^(AJ)—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food,^(AK) and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh.^(AL) Give us seed so that we may live and not die,^(AM) and that the land may not become desolate.”

²⁰ So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe^(AN) for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, ²¹ and Joseph reduced the people to servitude,^[c](AO) from one end of Egypt to the other. ²² However, he did not buy the land of the priests,^(AP) because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment^(AQ) Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

²³ Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed^(AR) for you so you can plant the ground.^{(AS) 24} But when the crop comes in, give a fifth^(AT) of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”

²⁵ “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord;^(AU) we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”^(AV)

²⁶ So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth^(AW) of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.^(AX)

²⁷ Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen.^(AY) They acquired property there^(AZ) and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.^(BA)

²⁸ Jacob lived in Egypt^(BB) seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven.^{(BC) 29} When the time drew near for Israel^(BD) to die,^(BE) he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes,^(BF) put your hand under my thigh^(BG) and promise that you will show me kindness^(BH) and faithfulness.^(BI) Do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰ but when I rest with my fathers,^(BJ) carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.”^(BK)

“I will do as you say,” he said.

³¹ “Swear to me,”^(BL) he said. Then Joseph swore to him,^(BM) and Israel^(BN) worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.^[d](BO)

Manasseh and Ephraim

48 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim^(BP) along with him. ² When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel^(BQ) rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.

³ Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty^[e](BR) appeared to me at Luz^(BS) in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me^{(BT) 4} and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers.^(BU) I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land^(BV) as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’^(BW)

⁵ “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt^(BX) before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine,^(BY) just as Reuben^(BZ) and Simeon^(CA) are mine. ⁶ Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. ⁷ As I was returning from Paddan,^[f](CB) to my sorrow^(CC) Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).^(CD)

⁸ When Israel^(CE) saw the sons of Joseph,^(CF) he asked, “Who are these?”

⁹ “They are the sons God has given me here,”^(CG) Joseph said to his father.

Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless^(CH) them.”

¹⁰ Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see.^(CI) So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them^(CJ) and embraced them.^(CK)

¹¹ Israel^(CL) said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again,^(CM) and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”^(CN)

¹² Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees^(CO) and bowed down with his face to the ground.^{(CP) 13} And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand,^(CQ) and brought them close to him. ¹⁴ But Israel^(CR) reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head,^(CS) though he was the younger,^(CT) and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.^(CU)

¹⁵ Then he blessed^(CV) Joseph and said,

¹⁷ When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand^(DE) on Ephraim’s head^(DF) he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸ Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”^(DG)

¹⁹ But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great.^(DH) Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he,^(DI) and his descendants will become a group of nations.^(DJ)” ²⁰ He blessed^(DK) them that day^(DL) and said,

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you^[h](DQ) and take you^[i] back to the land of your^[j] fathers.^{(DR) 22} And to you I give one more ridge of land^[k](DS) than to your brothers,^(DT) the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword^(DU) and my bow.”

Jacob Blesses His Sons^(DV)

49 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.^(DW)

²⁸ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel,^(GT) and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing^(GU) appropriate to him.

The Death of Jacob

²⁹ Then he gave them these instructions:^(GV) “I am about to be gathered to my people.^(GW) Bury me with my fathers^(GX) in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,^{(GY) 30} the cave in the field of Machpelah,^(GZ) near Mamre^(HA) in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field^(HB) as a burial place^(HC) from Ephron the Hittite. ³¹ There Abraham^(HD) and his wife Sarah^(HE) were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah^(HF) were buried, and there I buried Leah.^{(HG) 32} The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.^[aa](HH)”

³³ When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.^(HI)

50 Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him.^{(HJ) 2} Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him,^{(HK) 3} taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.^(HL)

⁴ When the days of mourning^(HM) had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court,^(HN) “If I have found favor in your eyes,^(HO) speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, ⁵ ‘My father made me swear an oath^(HP) and said, “I am about to die;^(HQ) bury me in the tomb I dug for myself^(HR) in the land of Canaan.”^(HS) Now let me go up and bury my father;^(HT) then I will return.’”

⁶ Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”

⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials^(HU) accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court^(HV) and all the dignitaries of Egypt— ⁸ besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household.^(HW) Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen.^{(HX) 9} Chariots^(HY) and horsemen^[ab] also went up with him. It was a very large company.

¹⁰ When they reached the threshing floor^(HZ) of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly;^(IA) and there Joseph observed a seven-day period^(IB) of mourning^(IC) for his father.^{(ID) 11} When the Canaanites^(IE) who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.”^(IF) That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.^[ac]

¹² So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them:^{(IG) 13} They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah,^(IH) near Mamre,^(II) which Abraham had bought along with the field^(IJ) as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.^{(IK) 14} After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.^(IL)

Joseph Reassures His Brothers

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge^(IM) against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”^{(IN) 16} So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions^(IO) before he died: ¹⁷ ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins^(IP) and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’^(IQ) Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.^(IR)” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.^(IS)

¹⁸ His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him.^(IT) “We are your slaves,”^(IU) they said.

¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?^{(IV) 20} You intended to harm me,^(IW) but God intended^(IX) it for good^(IY) to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.^{(IZ) 21} So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.^(JA)” And he reassured them and spoke kindly^(JB) to them.

The Death of Joseph

²² Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years^{(JC) 23} and saw the third generation^(JD) of Ephraim’s^(JE) children.^(JF) Also the children of Makir^(JG) son of Manasseh^(JH) were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.^[ad](JI)

²⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die.^(JJ) But God will surely come to your aid^(JK) and take you up out of this land to the land^(JL) he promised on oath to Abraham,^(JM) Isaac^(JN) and Jacob.”^{(JO) 25} And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath^(JP) and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones^(JQ) up from this place.”^(JR)

²⁶ So Joseph died^(JS) at the age of a hundred and ten.^(JT) And after they embalmed him,^(JU) he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

The Israelites Oppressed

1 These are the names of the sons of Israel^(JV) who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: ² Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; ³ Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; ⁴ Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.^{(JW) 5} The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy^[ae] in all;^(JX) Joseph was already in Egypt.

⁶ Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died,^{(JY) 7} but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers^(JZ) and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.

⁸ Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.^{(KA) 9} “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous^(KB) for us.^{(KC) 10} Come, we must deal shrewdly^(KD) with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”^(KE)

¹¹ So they put slave masters^(KF) over them to oppress them with forced labor,^(KG) and they built Pithom and Rameses^(KH) as store cities^(KI) for Pharaoh. ¹² But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites ¹³ and worked them ruthlessly.^{(KJ) 14} They made their lives bitter with harsh labor^(KK) in brick^(KL) and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.^(KM)

¹⁵ The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives,^(KN) whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, ¹⁶ “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.”^{(KO) 17} The midwives, however, feared^(KP) God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do;^(KQ) they let the boys live. ¹⁸ Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

¹⁹ The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”^(KR)

²⁰ So God was kind to the midwives^(KS) and the people increased and became even more numerous. ²¹ And because the midwives feared^(KT) God, he gave them families^(KU) of their own.

²² Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile,^(KV) but let every girl live.”^(KW)

The Birth of Moses

2 Now a man of the tribe of Levi^(KX) married a Levite woman,^{(KY) 2} and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine^(KZ) child, she hid him for three months.^{(LA) 3} But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus^(LB) basket^[af] for him and coated it with tar and pitch.^(LC) Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds^(LD) along the bank of the Nile. ⁴ His sister^(LE) stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

⁵ Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank.^(LF) She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. ⁶ She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

⁷ Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

⁸ “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named^(LG) him Moses,^[ag] saying, “I drew^(LH) him out of the water.”

Moses Flees to Midian

¹¹ One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people^(LI) were and watched them at their hard labor.^(LJ) He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. ¹² Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?”^(LK)

¹⁴ The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us?^(LL) Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”

¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill^(LM) Moses, but Moses fled^(LN) from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian,^(LO) where he sat down by a well. ¹⁶ Now a priest of Midian^(LP) had seven daughters, and they came to draw water^(LQ) and fill the troughs^(LR) to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷ Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue^(LS) and watered their flock.^(LT)

¹⁸ When the girls returned to Reuel^(LU) their father, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”

¹⁹ They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”

²⁰ “And where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.”^(LV)

²¹ Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah^(LW) to Moses in marriage. ²² Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom,^[ah](LX) saying, “I have become a foreigner^(LY) in a foreign land.”

²³ During that long period,^(LZ) the king of Egypt died.^(MA) The Israelites groaned in their slavery^(MB) and cried out, and their cry^(MC) for help because of their slavery went up to God. ²⁴ God heard their groaning and he remembered^(MD) his covenant^(ME) with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. ²⁵ So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned^(MF) about them.

Moses and the Burning Bush

3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro^(MG) his father-in-law, the priest of Midian,^(MH) and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb,^(MI) the mountain^(MJ) of God. ² There the angel of the Lord^(MK) appeared to him in flames of fire^(ML) from within a bush.^(MM) Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

⁴ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called^(MN) to him from within the bush,^(MO) “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”^(MP)

⁵ “Do not come any closer,”^(MQ) God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”^{(MR) 6} Then he said, “I am the God of your father,^[ai] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”^(MS) At this, Moses hid^(MT) his face, because he was afraid to look at God.^(MU)

⁷ The Lord said, “I have indeed seen^(MV) the misery^(MW) of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned^(MX) about their suffering.^{(MY) 8} So I have come down^(MZ) to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land,^(NA) a land flowing with milk and honey^(NB)—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites^(NC) and Jebusites.^{(ND) 9} And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing^(NE) them. ¹⁰ So now, go. I am sending^(NF) you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”^(NG)

¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I^(NH) that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹² And God said, “I will be with you.^(NI) And this will be the sign^(NJ) to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you^[aj] will worship God on this mountain.^(NK)”

¹³ Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’^(NL) Then what shall I tell them?”

¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am.^[ak] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am^(NM) has sent me to you.’”

¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,^[al] the God of your fathers^(NN)—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob^(NO)—has sent me to you.’

¹⁶ “Go, assemble the elders^(NR) of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob^(NS)—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen^(NT) what has been done to you in Egypt. ¹⁷ And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt^(NU) into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’^(NV)

¹⁸ “The elders of Israel will listen^(NW) to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews,^(NX) has met^(NY) with us. Let us take a three-day journey^(NZ) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices^(OA) to the Lord our God.’ ¹⁹ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand^(OB) compels him. ²⁰ So I will stretch out my hand^(OC) and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders^(OD) that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.^(OE)

²¹ “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed^(OF) toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed.^{(OG) 22} Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver^(OH) and gold^(OI) and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder^(OJ) the Egyptians.”^(OK)

Signs for Moses

4 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen^(OL) to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

² Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A staff,”^(OM) he replied.

³ The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”

Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake,^(ON) and he ran from it. ⁴ Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. ⁵ “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe^(OO) that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”

⁶ Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous^[am]—it had become as white as snow.^(OP)

⁷ “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored,^(OQ) like the rest of his flesh.

⁸ Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe^(OR) you or pay attention to the first sign,^(OS) they may believe the second. ⁹ But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood^(OT) on the ground.”

¹⁰ Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”^(OU)

¹¹ The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute?^(OV) Who gives them sight or makes them blind?^(OW) Is it not I, the Lord? ¹² Now go;^(OX) I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”^(OY)

¹³ But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”^(OZ)

¹⁴ Then the Lord’s anger burned^(PA) against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet^(PB) you, and he will be glad to see you. ¹⁵ You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth;^(PC) I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. ¹⁶ He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth^(PD) and as if you were God to him.^{(PE) 17} But take this staff^(PF) in your hand^(PG) so you can perform the signs^(PH) with it.”

Moses Returns to Egypt

¹⁸ Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.”

Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.”

¹⁹ Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill^(PI) you are dead.^(PJ)” ²⁰ So Moses took his wife and sons,^(PK) put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff^(PL) of God in his hand.

²¹ The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders^(PM) I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart^(PN) so that he will not let the people go.^{(PO) 22} Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son,^{(PP) 23} and I told you, “Let my son go,^(PQ) so he may worship^(PR) me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’”^(PS)

²⁴ At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses^[an] and was about to kill^(PT) him. ²⁵ But Zipporah^(PU) took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin^(PV) and touched Moses’ feet with it.^[ao] “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. ²⁶ So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)

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

²⁹ Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders^(PY) of the Israelites, ³⁰ and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs^(PZ) before the people, ³¹ and they believed.^(QA) And when they heard that the Lord was concerned^(QB) about them and had seen their misery,^(QC) they bowed down and worshiped.^(QD)

Bricks Without Straw

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

God Promises Deliverance

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

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

² God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.^{(RF) 3} I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,^[ap](RG) but by my name^(RH) the Lord^[aq](RI) I did not make myself fully known to them. ⁴ I also established my covenant^(RJ) with them to give them the land^(RK) of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.^{(RL) 5} Moreover, I have heard the groaning^(RM) of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.^(RN)

⁶ “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.^(RO) I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem^(RP) you with an outstretched arm^(RQ) and with mighty acts of judgment.^{(RR) 7} I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.^(RS) Then you will know^(RT) that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. ⁸ And I will bring you to the land^(RU) I swore^(RV) with uplifted hand^(RW) to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.^(RX) I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”^(RY)

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

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

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

Family Record of Moses and Aaron

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