Beginning
If They Will Not Believe These Signs
4 Then Moses answered and said, “What if they will not believe me and will not (A)listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘(B)Yahweh has not appeared to you.’” 2 And Yahweh said to him, “What is this in your hand?” And he said, “(C)A staff.” 3 Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and (D)it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he stretched out his hand and took hold of it, and it became a staff in his [a]hand— 5 “that (E)they may believe that (F)Yahweh, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
6 And Yahweh furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand into your bosom.” So he put his hand into his bosom; then he took it out, and behold, his hand was (G)leprous like snow. 7 Then He said, “Return your hand into your bosom.” So he returned his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, (H)it returned to being like the rest of his flesh. 8 “And so it will be, if they will not believe you or listen to the [b]witness of the first sign, they may believe the [c]witness of [d]this last sign. 9 But if it will be that they will not believe even these two signs and that they will not listen to your voice, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry land; and the water which you take from the Nile (I)will become blood on the dry land.”
Aaron to Speak for Moses
10 Then Moses said to Yahweh, “Please, Lord, (J)I have never been a man of words, neither [e]recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your slave; for I am one with a [f]hard mouth and a [g]hard tongue.” 11 And Yahweh said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or (K)who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? 12 So now, go, and (L)I, even I, will be with your mouth and will (M)instruct you what you shall speak.” 13 But he said, “Please, Lord, [h]send now the message by whomever You will.” 14 Then the anger of Yahweh burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that [i]he can certainly speak. And moreover, behold, (N)he is coming out to meet you. And he will see you and be glad in his heart. 15 And you are to speak to him and (O)put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will instruct [j]you in what you shall do. 16 Moreover, (P)he shall speak for you to the people; and he will become as a mouth for you, and you will become as God to him. 17 And you shall take in your hand (Q)this staff, (R)with which you shall do the signs.”
Moses Returns to Egypt
18 Then Moses went and returned to [k]Jethro (S)his father-in-law and said to him, “Please, let me go, that I may return to my brothers who are in Egypt and see if they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 And Yahweh said to Moses in Midian, “Go, return to Egypt, for (T)all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his (U)sons and mounted them on a donkey and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the (V)staff of God in his hand.
21 And Yahweh said to Moses, “When you go to return to Egypt, see to it that all (W)the miraculous wonders which I have put in your hand, that you do them before Pharaoh; but as for Me, (X)I will [l]harden his heart with strength so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “(Y)Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 So I said to you, ‘(Z)Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, (AA)I will kill your son, your firstborn.”’”
24 Now it happened at the lodging place on the way that Yahweh encountered him and (AB)sought to put him to death. 25 Then Zipporah took (AC)a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched [m]his feet with it, 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” with reference to the circumcision.
27 (AD)Then Yahweh said to Aaron, “Go to meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and encountered him at the (AE)mountain of God and kissed him. 28 (AF)And Moses told Aaron all the words of Yahweh with which He had sent him, and (AG)all the signs that He had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and (AH)gathered all the elders of the sons of Israel; 30 and (AI)Aaron spoke all the words which Yahweh had spoken to Moses. He then did the (AJ)signs in the sight of the people. 31 So (AK)the people believed; and they heard that Yahweh [n](AL)cared about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction. So (AM)they bowed low and worshiped.
Pharaoh Will Not Let the People Go
5 And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “(AN)Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘(AO)Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “(AP)Who is Yahweh that I should listen to His voice to let Israel go? I do not know Yahweh, and also, (AQ)I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “(AR)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 Yahweh our God, lest He confront us with pestilence or with the sword.” 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you [o]draw the people away from their [p]work? Get back to your [q](AS)hard labors!” 5 And Pharaoh said, “Look, (AT)the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their hard labors!” 6 So on that day Pharaoh commanded (AU)the taskmasters over the people and their (AV)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 set upon them; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are (AW)lazy, therefore they are crying out, ‘[r]Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let their slavery be hard on the men, and let them work at it so that they will have no regard for false words.”
10 So (AX)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 no amount of your slave labor will be reduced.’” 12 So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 And the taskmasters were pressing them, saying, “Complete your [s]work quota, [t]the daily amount, just as when there was straw.” 14 Moreover, (AY)the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, (AZ)were beaten [u]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 slaves? 16 There is no straw given to your slaves, yet they keep saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your slaves are being beaten; but it is the [v]sin of your own people.” 17 But he said, “You are (BA)lazy—lazy! Therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to Yahweh.’ 18 So now, go and labor; but straw will not be given to you, yet you must deliver the quota of bricks.” 19 Then the foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble [w]because they were told, “You must not reduce [x]your daily amount of bricks.” 20 When they left Pharaoh’s presence, they confronted Moses and Aaron, [y]standing there to meet them. 21 (BB)And they said to them, “(BC)May Yahweh look upon you and judge, for you have (BD)made [z]us a foul smell 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 Yahweh and said, “(BE)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, (BF)and You have not delivered Your people at all.”
Yahweh Remembers His Covenant
6 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for (BG)by a strong hand he will let them go, and by a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”
2 God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am (BH)Yahweh; 3 and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as [aa](BI)God Almighty, but by (BJ)My name, Yahweh, I was not known to them. 4 And I also established (BK)My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the [ab]land in which they sojourned. 5 Furthermore I have (BL)heard the groaning of the sons of Israel because the Egyptians are holding them in slavery, and I have remembered My covenant. 6 Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘(BM)I am Yahweh, and (BN)I will bring you out from under the hard labors of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their slavery. I will also (BO)redeem you with (BP)an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 Then I will take you [ac](BQ)for My people, and (BR)I will be [ad]your God; and (BS)you shall know that I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out from under the hard labors of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land which (BT)I [ae]swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and (BU)I will give it to you for a possession; (BV)I am Yahweh.’” 9 So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on (BW)account of their weakness of spirit and [af]hard slavery.
10 Now Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 11 “(BX)Come, [ag]tell Pharaoh king of Egypt [ah]to let the sons of Israel go out of his land.” 12 But Moses spoke before Yahweh, saying, “Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; (BY)how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of (BZ)uncircumcised lips?” 13 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron and gave them a command for the sons of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
The Heads of Israel’s Households
14 These are the heads of their fathers’ households.
(CA)The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn:
Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben.
15 The (CB)sons of Simeon:
Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon.
16 These are the names of (CC)the sons of Levi according to their generations:
Gershon and Kohath and Merari; and the years of Levi’s life were 137 years.
17 (CD)The sons of Gershon:
[ai]Libni and Shimei, according to their families.
18 (CE)The sons of Kohath:
Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel; and the years of Kohath’s life were 133 years.
19 (CF)The sons of Merari:
Mahli and Mushi.
These are the families of the Levites according to their generations.
20 (CG)And Amram took his father’s sister Jochebed as a wife, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the years of Amram’s life were 137 years.
21 (CH)The sons of Izhar:
Korah and Nepheg and Zichri.
22 (CI)The sons of Uzziel:
Mishael and [aj]Elzaphan and Sithri.
23 And Aaron took Elisheba, the daughter of (CJ)Amminadab, the sister of (CK)Nahshon, as a wife, and she bore him (CL)Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
24 The (CM)sons of Korah:
Assir and Elkanah and [ak]Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites.
25 And Aaron’s son (CN)Eleazar took one of the daughters of Putiel as a wife, and she bore him (CO)Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites according to their families. 26 It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom Yahweh said, “(CP)Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their (CQ)hosts.” 27 They were the ones (CR)who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring out the sons of Israel from Egypt; it was the same Moses and Aaron.
Aaron Will Speak for Moses
28 Now it happened on the day when Yahweh spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 that Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “(CS)I am Yahweh; (CT)speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I am speaking to you.” 30 But Moses said before Yahweh, “Behold, I am of (CU)uncircumcised lips; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?”
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