Then you should say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son.

Moses and Aaron Before Pharaoh

After Moses and Aaron talked to the people, they went to Pharaoh and said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Let my people go into the desert so that they can have a festival to honor me.’”

So the Lord says that he will do something to show you that he is the Lord. I will hit the water of the Nile River with this walking stick in my hand, and the river will turn into blood.

Then the Lord told Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that the Lord says, ‘Let my people go to worship me!

The Flies

The Lord said to Moses, “Get up in the morning and go to Pharaoh. He will go out to the river. Tell him that the Lord says, ‘Let my people go and worship me!

The Disease of the Farm Animals

Then the Lord told Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him: “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘Let my people go to worship me!’

The Hail

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up in the morning and go to Pharaoh. Tell him that the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘Let my people go to worship me!

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They told him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘How long will you refuse to obey me? Let my people go to worship me!

Moses said to the king, “The Lord says, ‘At midnight tonight, I will go through Egypt,

The Lord says, ‘Each of you should gather what you need, a basket of manna for everyone in your family.’”

All the people spoke at the same time and said, “We will obey everything the Lord says.” Then Moses went back up the mountain and told the Lord that the people would obey him.

Then Moses said to them, “I will tell you what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Every man must get his sword and go from one end of the camp to the other. You men must kill those who are against the Lord, even if they are your brothers, friends, or neighbors.’”

Then Moses said to Aaron, “The Lord says, ‘The priests who come near me must respect me. I must be holy to them and to all the people.’” So Aaron did not say anything about his sons dying.

Moses said to them, “I will ask the Lord what he says about this.”

So tell them, ‘The Lord says that he will surely do all those things to you that you complained about. This is what will happen to you:

If Joshua needs to make a decision, he will go to Eleazar the priest. Eleazar will use the Urim to learn the Lord’s answer. Then Joshua and all the Israelites will do the things God says. If he says, ‘go to war,’ they will go to war. And if he says, ‘go home,’ they will go home.”

But we, your servants, will cross the Jordan River. We will march before the Lord into battle, as our master says.”

Moses, you go near and hear everything the Lord our God says. Then tell us everything the Lord tells you. We will listen to you, and we will do everything you say.’

He humbled you and let you be hungry. Then he fed you with manna—something you did not know about before. It was something your ancestors had never seen. Why did the Lord do this? Because he wanted you to know that it is not just bread that keeps people alive. People’s lives depend on what the Lord says.

What the Lord Really Wants

“Now, Israelites, listen! What does the Lord your God really want from you? The Lord your God wants you to respect him and do what he says. He wants you to love him and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

“The Lord says, ‘You must listen carefully to the commands I give you today: You must love the Lord your God, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul. If you do that,

So don’t eat blood. You must do what the Lord says is right, and good things will happen to you and to your descendants.

This will happen if you listen to the Lord your God—if you obey all his commands that I give you today. You must do what the Lord your God says is right.

You might be thinking, ‘How can we know if something a prophet says is not from the Lord?’

If a prophet says he is speaking for the Lord, but what he says does not happen, you will know that the Lord did not say it. You will know that this prophet was speaking his own ideas. You don’t need to be afraid of him.