Exodus 4:18-5:23

New American Standard Bible 1995

¹⁸ Then Moses departed and returned to ^[a]Jethro ^(A)his father-in-law and said to him, “Please, let me go, that I may return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” ¹⁹ Now the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go ^[b]back to Egypt, for ^(B)all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” ²⁰ So Moses took his wife and his ^(C)sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the ^(D)staff of God in his hand.

²¹ The Lord said to Moses, “When you go ^[c]back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all ^(E)the wonders which I have put in your ^[d]power; but ^(F)I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. ²² Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, “^(G)Israel is My son, My firstborn. ²³ So I said to you, ‘^(H)Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, ^(I)I will kill your son, your firstborn.”’”

²⁴ Now it came about at the lodging place on the way that the Lord met him and ^(J)sought to put him to death. ²⁵ Then Zipporah took ^(K)a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and ^[e]threw it at Moses’ feet, and she said, “You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me.” ²⁶ So He let him alone. At that time she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood”—^[f]because of the circumcision.

^27 (L)Now the Lord said to Aaron, “Go to meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the ^(M)mountain of God and kissed him. ^28 (N)Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which He had sent him, and ^(O)all the signs that He had commanded him to do. ²⁹ Then Moses and Aaron went and ^(P)assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel; ³⁰ and ^(Q)Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. He then performed the ^(R)signs in the sight of the people. ³¹ So ^(S)the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord ^[g](T)was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then ^(U)they bowed low and worshiped.

Israel’s Labor Increased

5 And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “^(V)Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘^(W)Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’” ² But Pharaoh said, “^(X)Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, ^(Y)I will not let Israel go.” ³ Then they said, “^(Z)The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, otherwise He will fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” ⁴ But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you ^[h]draw the people away from their ^[i]work? Get back to your ^[j](AA)labors!” ⁵ Again Pharaoh said, “Look, ^(AB)the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!” ⁶ So the same day Pharaoh commanded ^(AC)the taskmasters over the people and their ^(AD)foremen, saying, ⁷ “You are no longer to give the people straw to make brick as previously; let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ But the quota of bricks which they were making previously, you shall impose on them; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are ^(AE)lazy, therefore they cry out, ‘^[k]Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Let the labor be heavier on the men, and let them work at it so that they will pay no attention to false words.”

¹⁰ So ^(AF)the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I am not going to give you any straw. ¹¹ You go and get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it, but none of your labor will be reduced.’” ¹² So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. ¹³ The taskmasters pressed them, saying, “Complete your ^[l]work quota, ^[m]your daily amount, just as when ^[n]you had straw.” ¹⁴ Moreover, ^(AG)the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, ^(AH)were beaten ^[o]and were asked, “Why have you not completed your required amount either yesterday or today in making brick as previously?”

¹⁵ Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you deal this way with your servants? ¹⁶ There is no straw given to your servants, yet they keep saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are being beaten; but it is the fault of your own people.” ¹⁷ But he said, “You are ^(AI)lazy, very lazy; therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ So go now and work; for you will be given no straw, yet you must deliver the quota of bricks.” ¹⁹ The foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble ^[p]because they were told, “You must not reduce ^[q]your daily amount of bricks.” ²⁰ When they left Pharaoh’s presence, they met Moses and Aaron as they were ^[r]waiting for them. ^21 (AJ)They said to them, “^(AK)May the Lord look upon you and judge you, for you have ^(AL)made ^[s]us odious in Pharaoh’s sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

²² Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “^(AM)O Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me? ²³ Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, ^(AN)and You have not delivered Your people at all.”