God Speaks to Moses

3 One day, Moses was taking care of the sheep and goats of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and Moses decided to lead them across the desert to Sinai,^[a] the holy mountain. ^2 (A) There an angel of the Lord appeared to him from a burning bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but it was not burning up. ³ “This is strange!” he said to himself. “I'll go over and see why the bush isn't burning up.”

⁴ When the Lord saw Moses coming near, he called him by name from the bush, and Moses answered, “Here I am.”

⁵ God replied, “Don't come any closer. Take off your sandals—the ground where you are standing is holy. ⁶ I am the God who was worshiped by your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Moses was afraid to look at God, and so he hid his face.

⁷ The Lord said:

I have seen how my people are suffering as slaves in Egypt, and I have heard them beg for my help because of the way they are being mistreated. I feel sorry for them, ⁸ and I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians.

I will bring my people out of Egypt into a country where there is a lot of good land, rich with milk and honey. I will give them the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. ⁹ My people have begged for my help, and I have seen how cruel the Egyptians are to them. ¹⁰ Now go to the king! I am sending you to lead my people out of his country.

¹¹ But Moses said, “Who am I to go to the king and lead your people out of Egypt?”

¹² God replied, “I will be with you. And you will know that I am the one who sent you, when you worship me on this mountain after you have led my people out of Egypt.”^[b]

^13 (B) Moses answered, “I will tell the people of Israel that the God their ancestors worshiped has sent me to them. But what should I say, if they ask me your name?”

^14-15 (C) God said to Moses:

I am the eternal God. So tell them that the Lord,^[c] whose name is “I Am,” has sent you. This is my name forever, and it is the name that people must use from now on.

¹⁶ Call together the leaders of Israel and tell them that the God who was worshiped by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has appeared to you. Tell them I have seen how terribly they are being treated in Egypt, ¹⁷ and I promise to lead them out of their troubles. I will give them a land rich with milk and honey, where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.

¹⁸ The leaders of Israel will listen to you. Then you must take them to the king of Egypt and say, “The Lord God of the Hebrews has appeared to us. Let us walk three days into the desert, where we can offer a sacrifice to him.” ¹⁹ But I know that the king of Egypt won't let you go unless something forces him to. ²⁰ So I will use my mighty power to perform all kinds of miracles and strike down the Egyptians. Then the king will send you away.

^21 (D)(E) After I punish the Egyptians, they will be so afraid of you that they will give you anything you want. You are my people, and I will let you take many things with you when you leave the land of Egypt. ²² Every Israelite woman will go to her Egyptian neighbors or to any Egyptian woman living with them and ask them for gold and silver jewelry and for their finest clothes. The Egyptians will give them to you, and you will put these fine things on your sons and daughters. Carry all this away when you leave Egypt.

The Lord Gives Great Power to Moses

4 Moses asked the Lord, “Suppose everyone refuses to listen to my message, and no one believes that you really appeared to me?”

² The Lord answered, “What's that in your hand?”

“A walking stick,” Moses replied.

³ “Throw it down!” the Lord commanded. So Moses threw the stick on the ground. It immediately turned into a snake, and Moses jumped back.

⁴ “Pick it up by the tail!” the Lord told him. And when Moses did this, the snake turned back into a walking stick.

⁵ “Do this,” the Lord said, “and the Israelites will believe that you have seen me, the God who was worshiped by their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

⁶ Next, the Lord commanded Moses, “Put your hand inside your shirt.” Moses obeyed, and when he took it out, his hand had turned white as snow—like someone with leprosy.^[d]

⁷ “Put your hand back inside your shirt,” the Lord told him. Moses did so, and when he took it out again, it was as healthy as the rest of his body.

^8-9 Then the Lord said, “If no one believes either of these miracles, take some water from the Nile River and pour it on the ground. The water will immediately turn into blood.”

¹⁰ Moses replied, “I have never been a good speaker. I wasn't one before you spoke to me, and I'm not one now. I am slow at speaking, and I can never think of what to say.”

¹¹ But the Lord answered, “Who makes people able to speak or makes them deaf or unable to speak? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Don't you know that I am the one who does these things? ¹² Now go! When you speak, I will be with you and give you the words to say.”

¹³ Moses begged, “Lord, please send someone else to do it.”

¹⁴ The Lord became angry with Moses and said:

What about your brother Aaron, the Levite? I know he is a good speaker. He is already on his way here to visit you, and he will be happy to see you again. ^15-16 Aaron will speak to the people for you, and you will be like me, telling Aaron what to say. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will tell each of you what to do. ¹⁷ Now take this walking stick and use it to perform miracles.

Moses Returns to Egypt

¹⁸ Moses went to his father-in-law Jethro and asked, “Please let me return to Egypt to see if any of my people are still alive.”

“All right,” Jethro replied. “I hope all goes well.”

¹⁹ But even before this, the Lord had told Moses, “Leave the land of Midian and return to Egypt. Everyone who wanted to kill you is now dead.” ²⁰ So Moses put his wife and sons on donkeys and headed for Egypt, holding the walking stick that had the power of God.

²¹ On the way the Lord said to Moses:

When you get to Egypt, go to the king and work the miracles I have shown you. But I will make him so stubborn that he will refuse to let my people go. ²² Then tell him that I have said, “Israel is my first-born son, ^23 (F) and I commanded you to release him, so he could worship me. But you refused, and now I will kill your first-born son.”

Zipporah's Son Is Circumcised

²⁴ One night while Moses was in camp, the Lord was about to kill him. ²⁵ But Zipporah^[e] circumcised her son with a flint knife. She touched his^[f] legs with the skin she had cut off and said, “My dear son, this blood will protect you.”^{[g] 26} So the Lord did not harm Moses. Then Zipporah said, “Yes, my dear, you are safe because of this circumcision.”^[h]

Aaron Is Sent To Meet Moses

²⁷ The Lord sent Aaron to meet Moses in the desert. So Aaron met Moses at Mount Sinai^[i] and greeted him with a kiss. ²⁸ Moses told Aaron what God had sent him to say; he also told him about the miracles God had given him the power to perform.

²⁹ Later they brought together the leaders of Israel, ³⁰ and Aaron told them what the Lord had sent Moses to say. Then Moses worked the miracles for the people, ³¹ and everyone believed. They bowed down and worshiped the Lord because they knew that he had seen their suffering and was going to help them.

Moses and Aaron Go to the King of Egypt

5 Moses and Aaron went to the king^[j] of Egypt and told him, “The Lord God says, ‘Let my people go into the desert, so they can honor me with a celebration there.’ ”

² “Who is this Lord and why should I obey him?” the king replied. “I refuse to let you and your people go!”

³ They answered, “The Lord God of the Hebrews has appeared to us. Please let us walk three days into the desert where we can offer sacrifices to him. If you don't, he may strike us down with terrible troubles or with war.”

^4-5 The king said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you keeping these people from working? Look how many you are keeping from doing their work. Now everyone get back to work!”

⁶ That same day the king gave orders to his Egyptian slave bosses and to the Israelite men directly in charge of the Israelite slaves. He told them:

⁷ Don't give the slaves any more straw^[k] to put in their bricks. Force them to find their own straw wherever they can, ⁸ but they must make the same number of bricks as before. They are lazy, or else they would not beg me to let them go and sacrifice to their God. ⁹ Make them work so hard that they won't have time to listen to these lies.

¹⁰ The slave bosses and the men in charge of the slaves went out and told them, “The king says he will not give you any more straw. ¹¹ Go and find your own straw wherever you can, but you must still make as many bricks as before.”

¹² The slaves went all over Egypt, looking for straw. ¹³ But the slave bosses were hard on them and kept saying, “Each day you have to make as many bricks as you did when you were given straw.” ¹⁴ The bosses beat the men in charge of the slaves and said, “Why didn't you force the slaves to make as many bricks yesterday and today as they did before?”

¹⁵ Finally, the men in charge of the slaves went to the king and said, “Why are you treating us like this? ¹⁶ No one brings us any straw, but we are still ordered to make the same number of bricks. We are beaten with whips, and your own people are to blame.”

¹⁷ The king replied, “You are lazy—nothing but lazy! That's why you keep asking me to let you go and sacrifice to your Lord. ¹⁸ Get back to work! You won't be given straw, but you must still make the same number of bricks.”

¹⁹ The men knew they were in deep trouble when they were ordered to make the same number of bricks each day. ²⁰ After they left the king, they went to see Moses and Aaron, who had been waiting for them. ²¹ Then the men said, “We hope the Lord will punish both of you for making the king and his officials hate us. Now they even have an excuse to kill us.”

The Lord's Promise to Moses

²² Moses left them and prayed, “Our Lord, why have you brought so much trouble on your people? Is that why you sent me here? ²³ Ever since you told me to speak to the king,^[l] he has caused nothing but trouble for these people. And you haven't done a thing to help.”

6 The Lord God told Moses:

Soon you will see what I will do to the king. Because of my mighty power, he will let my people go, and he will even chase them out of his country.

^2 (G) My name is the Lord.^{[m] 3} But when I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I came as God All-Powerful and did not use my name. ⁴ I made an agreement and promised them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners. ⁵ Now I have seen how the people of Israel are suffering because of the Egyptians, and I will keep my promise.

⁶ Here is my message for Israel: “I am the Lord! And with my mighty power I will punish the Egyptians and free you from slavery. ⁷ I will accept you as my people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I was the one who rescued you from the Egyptians. ⁸ I will bring you into the land that I solemnly promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and it will be yours. I am the Lord!”

⁹ When Moses told this to the Israelites, they were too discouraged and mistreated to believe him.

¹⁰ Then the Lord told Moses ¹¹ to demand that the king of Egypt let the Israelites leave. ¹² But Moses replied, “I'm not a powerful speaker. If the Israelites won't listen to me, why should the king of Egypt?” ¹³ But the Lord sent Aaron and Moses with a message for the Israelites and for the king. He also ordered Aaron and Moses to free the people from Egypt.

Family Record of Aaron and Moses

¹⁴ The following men were the heads of their ancestral clans:

The sons of Reuben, Jacob's^[n] oldest son, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

¹⁵ The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.

^16 (H) Levi lived to be 137; his sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁷ Gershon's sons were Libni and Shimei.

¹⁸ Kohath lived to be 133; his sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

¹⁹ Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi. All of the above were from the Levi tribe.

²⁰ Amram lived to be 137. He married his father's sister Jochebed, and they had two sons, Aaron and Moses.

²¹ Izhar's sons were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.

²² Uzziel's sons were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

²³ Aaron married Elisheba. She was the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon; they had four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

²⁴ Korah's sons were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph.

²⁵ Aaron's son Eleazar married one of Putiel's daughters, and their son was Phinehas. This ends the list of those who were the heads of clans in the Levi tribe.

²⁶ The Lord had commanded Aaron and Moses to lead every family and tribe of Israel out of Egypt, ²⁷ and so they told the king of Egypt to set the people of Israel free.

The Lord Commands Moses and Aaron To Speak to the King

²⁸ When the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹ he said, “I am the Lord. Tell the king^[o] of Egypt everything I say to you.”

³⁰ But Moses answered, “You know I am a very poor speaker, and the king will never listen to me.”

7 The Lord said:

I am going to let your brother Aaron speak for you. He will tell your message to the king, just as a prophet speaks my message to the people. ² Tell Aaron everything I say to you, and he will order the king to let my people leave his country. ^3-4 (I) But I will make the king so stubborn that he won't listen to you. He won't listen even when I do many terrible things to him and his nation. Then I will bring a final punishment on Egypt, and the king will let Israel's families and tribes go. ⁵ When this happens, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.

⁶ Moses and Aaron obeyed the Lord ⁷ and spoke to the king. At the time, Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron was 83.

A Stick Turns into a Snake

^8-9 The Lord said, “Moses, when the king^[p] asks you and Aaron to perform a miracle, command Aaron to throw his walking stick down in front of the king, and it will turn into a snake.”

¹⁰ Moses and Aaron went to the king and his officials and did exactly as the Lord had commanded—Aaron threw the stick down, and it turned into a snake. ¹¹ Then the king called in the wise men and the magicians, who used their secret powers to do the same thing— ¹² they threw down sticks that turned into snakes. But Aaron's snake swallowed theirs. ¹³ The king behaved just as the Lord had said and stubbornly refused to listen.

The Nile River Turns into Blood

^14 (J) The Lord said to Moses:

The Egyptian king^[q] stubbornly refuses to change his mind and let the people go. ¹⁵ Tomorrow morning take the stick that turned into a snake, then wait beside the Nile River for the king. ¹⁶ Tell him, “The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to order you to release his people, so they can worship him in the desert. But until now, you have paid no attention.

^17 (K) “The Lord is going to do something to show you that he really is the Lord. I will strike the Nile with this stick, and the water will turn into blood. ¹⁸ The fish will die, the river will stink, and none of you Egyptians will be able to drink the water.”

¹⁹ Moses, then command Aaron to hold his stick over the water. And when he does, every drop of water in Egypt will turn into blood, including rivers, canals, ponds, and even the water in buckets and jars.

²⁰ Moses and Aaron obeyed the Lord. Aaron held out his stick, then struck the Nile, as the king and his officials watched. The river turned into blood, ²¹ the fish died, and the water smelled so bad that none of the Egyptians could drink it. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

²² But the Egyptian magicians used their secret powers to do the same thing. The king did just as the Lord had said—he stubbornly refused to listen. ²³ Then he went back to his palace and never gave it a second thought. ²⁴ The Egyptians had to dig holes along the banks of the Nile for drinking water, because water from the river was unfit to drink.

Frogs

²⁵ Seven days after the Lord had struck the Nile, 8 ¹ he said to Moses:

Go to the palace and tell the king^[r] of Egypt that I order him to let my people go, so they can worship me. ² If he refuses, I will cover his entire country with frogs. ³ Warn the king that the Nile will be full of frogs, and from there they will spread into the royal palace, including the king's bedroom and even his bed. Frogs will enter the homes of his officials and will find their way into ovens and into the bowls of bread dough. ⁴ Frogs will be crawling on everyone—the king, his officials, and every citizen of Egypt.

⁵ Moses, now command Aaron to hold his stick over the water. Then frogs will come from all rivers, canals, and ponds in Egypt, and they will cover the land.

⁶ Aaron obeyed, and suddenly frogs were everywhere in Egypt. ⁷ But the magicians used their secret powers to do the same thing.

⁸ The king sent for Moses and Aaron and told them, “If you ask the Lord to take these frogs away from me and my people, I will let your people go and offer sacrifices to him.”

⁹ “All right,” Moses answered. “You choose the time when I am to pray for the frogs to stop bothering you, your officials, and your people, and for them to leave your houses and be found only in the river.”

¹⁰ “Do it tomorrow!” the king replied.

“As you wish,” Moses agreed. “Then everyone will discover that there is no god like the Lord, ¹¹ and frogs will no longer be found anywhere, except in the Nile.”

¹² After Moses and Aaron left the palace, Moses begged the Lord to do something about the frogs he had sent as punishment for the king. ¹³ The Lord listened to Moses, and the frogs died everywhere—in houses, yards, and fields. ¹⁴ The dead frogs were placed in piles, and the whole country began to stink. ¹⁵ But when the king saw that things were now better, he again did just as the Lord had said he would and stubbornly refused to listen to Moses and Aaron.

Gnats

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, “Command Aaron to strike the ground with his walking stick, and everywhere in Egypt the dust will turn into gnats.” ¹⁷ They obeyed, and when Aaron struck the ground with the stick, gnats started swarming on people and animals. In fact, every speck of dust in Egypt turned into a gnat. ¹⁸ When the magicians tried to use their secret powers to do this,^[s] they failed, and gnats stayed on people and animals.

^19 (L) The magicians told the king,^[t] “God has done this.”

But, as the Lord had said, the king was too stubborn to listen.

Flies

²⁰ The Lord said to Moses:

Early tomorrow morning, while the king^[u] is on his way to the river, go and say to him, “The Lord commands you to let his people go, so they can worship him. ²¹ If you don't, he will send swarms of flies to attack you, your officials, and every citizen of your country. Your houses will be full of flies, and the ground will crawl with them.

^22-23 “The Lord's people in Goshen won't be bothered by flies, but your people in the rest of the country will be tormented by them. That's how you will know that the Lord is here in Egypt. This miracle will happen tomorrow.”

²⁴ The Lord kept his promise—the palace and the homes of the royal officials swarmed with flies, and the rest of the country was infested with them as well. ²⁵ Then the king sent for Moses and Aaron and told them, “Go ahead and sacrifice to your God, but stay here in Egypt.”

²⁶ “That's impossible!” Moses replied. “Any sacrifices we offer to the Lord our God would disgust the Egyptians, and they would stone us to death. ²⁷ No indeed! The Lord has ordered us to walk three days into the desert before offering sacrifices to him, and that's what we have to do.”

²⁸ Then the king told him, “I'll let you go into the desert to offer sacrifices, if you don't go very far. But in the meantime, pray for me.”

²⁹ “Your Majesty,” Moses replied, “I'll pray for you as soon as I leave, and by tomorrow the flies will stop bothering you, your officials, and the citizens of your country. Only make sure that you're telling the truth this time and that you really intend to let our people offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

³⁰ After leaving the palace, Moses prayed, ³¹ and the Lord answered his prayer. Not a fly was left to pester the king, his officials, or anyone else in Egypt. ³² But the king turned stubborn again and would not let the people go.

Dead Animals

9 The Lord sent Moses with this message for the king^[v] of Egypt:

The Lord God of the Hebrews commands you to let his people go, so they can worship him. ² If you keep refusing, ³ he will bring a terrible disease on your horses and donkeys, your camels and cattle, and your sheep and goats. ⁴ But the Lord will protect the animals that belong to the people of Israel, and none of theirs will die. ⁵ Tomorrow is the day the Lord has set to do this.

⁶ It happened the next day—all of the animals belonging to the Egyptians died, but the Israelites did not lose even one. ⁷ When the king found out, he was still too stubborn to let the people go.

Sores

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron:

Take a few handfuls of ashes from a stove and you, Moses, throw them into the air. Be sure the king is watching. ⁹ The ashes will blow across the land of Egypt, causing sores to break out on people and animals.

^10 (M) So they took a few handfuls of ashes and went to the king.^[w] Moses threw them into the air, and sores immediately broke out on the Egyptians and their animals. ¹¹ The magicians were suffering so much from the sores, that they could not even come to Moses. ¹² Everything happened just as the Lord had told Moses—he made the king too stubborn to listen to Moses and Aaron.

Hailstones

¹³ The Lord told Moses to get up early the next morning and say to the king:^[x]

The Lord God of the Hebrews commands you to let his people go, so they can worship him! ¹⁴ If you don't, he will send his worst plagues to strike you, your officials, and everyone else in your country. Then you will find out that no one can oppose the Lord. ¹⁵ In fact, he could already have sent a terrible disease and wiped you from the face of the earth. ^16 (N) But he has kept you alive, just to show you his power and to bring honor to himself everywhere in the world.

¹⁷ You are still determined not to let the Lord's people go. ¹⁸ All right. At this time tomorrow, he will bring on Egypt the worst hailstorm in its history. ¹⁹ You had better give orders for every person and every animal in Egypt to take shelter. If they don't, they will die.

²⁰ Some of the king's officials were frightened by what the Lord had said, and they hurried off to make sure their slaves and animals were safe. ²¹ But others paid no attention to his threats and left their slaves and animals out in the open.

²² Then the Lord told Moses, “Stretch your arm toward the sky, so that hailstones will fall on people, animals, and crops in the land of Egypt.” ^23-24 (O) Moses pointed his walking stick toward the sky, and hailstones started falling everywhere. Thunder roared, and lightning flashed back and forth, striking the ground. This was the worst storm in the history of Egypt. ²⁵ People, animals, and crops were pounded by the hailstones, and bark was stripped from trees. ²⁶ Only Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was safe from the storm.

²⁷ The king sent for Moses and Aaron and told them, “Now I have really sinned! My people and I are guilty, and the Lord is right. ²⁸ We can't stand any more of this thunder and hail. Please ask the Lord to make it stop. Your people can go—you don't have to stay in Egypt any longer.”

²⁹ Moses answered, “As soon as I leave the city, I will lift my arms in prayer. When the thunder and hail stop, you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord. ³⁰ But I am certain that neither you nor your officials really fear the Lord God.”

³¹ Meanwhile, the flax and barley crops had been destroyed by the storm because they were ready to ripen. ³² But the wheat crops^[y] ripen later, and they were not damaged.

³³ After Moses left the royal palace and the city, he lifted his arms in prayer to the Lord, and the thunder, hail, and drenching rain stopped. ³⁴ When the king realized that the storm was over, he disobeyed once more. He and his officials were so stubborn ³⁵ that he refused to let the Israelites go. This was exactly what the Lord had said would happen.

Locusts

10 The Lord said to Moses:

Go back to the king.^[z] I have made him and his officials stubborn, so that I could work these miracles. ² I did this because I want you to tell your children and your grandchildren about my miracles and about my harsh treatment of the Egyptians. Then all of you will know that I am the Lord.

³ Moses and Aaron went to the king and told him that the Lord God of the Hebrews had said:

How long will you stubbornly refuse to obey? Release my people so they can worship me. ⁴ Do this by tomorrow, or I will cover your country with so many locusts^{[aa] 5} that you won't be able to see the ground. Most of your crops were ruined by the hailstones, but these locusts will destroy what little is left, including the trees. ⁶ Your palace, the homes of your officials, and all the other houses in Egypt will overflow with more locusts than have ever been seen in this country.

After Moses left the palace, ⁷ the king's officials asked, “Your Majesty, how much longer is this man going to be a troublemaker? Why don't you let the people leave, so they can worship the Lord their God? Don't you know that Egypt is a disaster?”

⁸ The king had Moses and Aaron brought back, and he said, “All right, you may go and worship the Lord your God. But first tell me who will be going.”

⁹ “Everyone, young and old,” Moses answered. “We will even take our sheep, goats, and cattle, because we want to hold a celebration in honor of the Lord.”

¹⁰ The king replied, “The Lord had better watch over you on the day I let you leave with your families! You're up to no good. ¹¹ Do you want to worship the Lord? All right, take only the men and go.” Then Moses and Aaron were chased out of the palace.

¹² The Lord told Moses, “Stretch your arm toward Egypt. Swarms of locusts will come and eat everything left by the hail.”

¹³ Moses held out his walking stick, and the Lord sent an east wind that blew across Egypt the rest of the day and all that night. By morning, locusts ^14 (P) were swarming everywhere. Never before had there been so many locusts in Egypt, and never again will there be so many. ¹⁵ The ground was black with locusts, and they ate everything left on the trees and in the fields. Nothing green remained in Egypt—not a tree or a plant.

¹⁶ At once the king sent for Moses and Aaron. He told them, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. ¹⁷ Forgive me one more time and ask the Lord to stop these insects from killing every living plant.”

¹⁸ Moses left the palace and prayed. ¹⁹ Then the Lord sent a strong west wind^[ab] that swept the locusts into the Red Sea.^[ac] Not one locust was left anywhere in Egypt, ²⁰ but the Lord made the king so stubborn that he still refused to let the Israelites go.

Darkness

^21 (Q) The Lord said to Moses, “Stretch your arm toward the sky, and everything will be covered with darkness thick enough to touch.” ^22 (R) Moses stretched his arm toward the sky, and Egypt was covered with darkness for three days. ²³ During that time, the Egyptians could not see each other or leave their homes, but there was light where the Israelites lived.

²⁴ The king^[ad] sent for Moses and told him, “Go worship the Lord! And take your families with you. Just leave your sheep, goats, and cattle.”

²⁵ “No!” Moses replied. “You must let us offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, ²⁶ and we won't know which animals we will need until we get there. That's why we can't leave even one of them here.”

²⁷ This time the Lord made the king so stubborn ²⁸ that he said to Moses, “Get out and stay out! If you ever come back, you're dead!”

²⁹ “Have it your way,” Moses answered. “You won't see me again.”

Moses Warns the Egyptians That the Lord Will Kill Their First-Born Sons

11 The Lord said to Moses:

I am going to punish the king^[ae] of Egypt and his people one more time. Then the king will gladly let you leave his land. In fact, he will even chase you out. ² Now go and tell my people to ask their Egyptian neighbors for gold and silver jewelry.

³ So the Lord made the Egyptians greatly respect the Israelites, and everyone, including the king's officials, considered Moses an important leader.

⁴ Moses went to the king and said:

I have come to let you know what the Lord is going to do. About midnight he will go through the land of Egypt, ⁵ and wherever he goes, the first-born son in every family will die. Your own son will die, and so will the son of the lowest slave woman. Even the first-born males of your cattle will die. ⁶ Everywhere in Egypt there will be loud crying. Nothing like this has ever happened before or will ever happen again.

⁷ But there won't be any need for the Israelites to cry. Things will be so quiet that not even a dog will be heard barking. Then you Egyptians will know that the Lord is good to the Israelites, even while he punishes you. ⁸ Your leaders will come and bow down, begging me to take my people and leave your country. Then we will leave.

Moses was very angry; he turned and left the king.

⁹ What the Lord had earlier said to Moses came true. He had said, “The king of Egypt won't listen. Then I will perform even more miracles.” ¹⁰ So the king of Egypt saw Moses and Aaron work miracles, but the Lord made him stubbornly refuse to let the Israelites leave his country.

The Passover

12 ^(S) Some time later the Lord said to Moses and Aaron:

² This month^[af] is to be the first month of the year for you. ³ Tell the people of Israel that on the tenth day of this month the head of each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for his family to eat. ^4-5 If any family is too small to eat the whole animal, they must share it with their next-door neighbors. Choose either a sheep or a goat, but it must be a one-year-old male that has nothing wrong with it. And it must be large enough for everyone to have some of the meat.

⁶ Each family must take care of its animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, when the animals are to be killed. ⁷ Some of the blood must be put on the two doorposts and above the door of each house where the animals are to be eaten. ⁸ That night the animals are to be roasted and eaten, together with bitter herbs and thin bread made without yeast. ⁹ Don't eat the meat raw or boiled. The entire animal, including its head, legs, and insides, must be roasted. ¹⁰ Eat what you want that night, and the next morning burn whatever is left. ¹¹ When you eat the meal, be dressed and ready to travel. Have your sandals on, carry your walking stick in your hand, and eat quickly. This is the Passover Festival in honor of me, your Lord.

¹² That same night I will pass through Egypt and kill the first-born son in every family and the first-born male of all animals. I am the Lord, and I will punish the gods of Egypt. ¹³ The blood on the houses will show me where you live, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Then you won't be bothered by the terrible disasters I will bring on Egypt.

^14 (T) Remember this day and celebrate it each year as a festival in my honor. ¹⁵ For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. And on the first of these seven days, you must remove all yeast from your homes. If you eat anything made with yeast during this festival, you will no longer be part of Israel. ¹⁶ Meet together for worship on the first and seventh days of the festival. The only work you are allowed to do on either of these two days is that of preparing the bread.

¹⁷ Celebrate this Festival of Thin Bread as a way of remembering the day that I brought your families and tribes out of Egypt. And do this each year. ¹⁸ Begin on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month by eating bread made without yeast. Then continue this celebration until the evening of the twenty-first day. ¹⁹ During these seven days no yeast is allowed in anyone's home, whether they are native Israelites or not. If you are caught eating anything made with yeast, you will no longer be part of Israel. ²⁰ Stay away from yeast, no matter where you live. No one is allowed to eat anything made with yeast!

²¹ Moses called the leaders of Israel together and said:

Each family is to pick out a sheep and kill it for Passover. ²² Make a brush from a few small branches of a hyssop plant and dip the brush in the bowl that has the blood of the animal in it. Then brush some of the blood above the door and on the posts at each side of the door of your house. After this, everyone is to stay inside until morning.

^23 (U) During that night the Lord will go through the country of Egypt and kill the first-born son in every Egyptian family. He will see where you have put the blood, and he will not come into your house. His angel that brings death will pass over and not kill your first-born sons.

^24-25 After you have entered the country promised to you by the Lord, you and your children must continue to celebrate Passover each year. ²⁶ Your children will ask you, “What are we celebrating?” ²⁷ And you will answer, “The Passover animal is killed to honor the Lord. We do these things because on that night long ago the Lord passed over the homes of our people in Egypt. He killed the first-born sons of the Egyptians, but he spared our children from death.”

After Moses finished speaking, the people of Israel knelt down and worshiped the Lord. ²⁸ Then they left and did what Moses and Aaron had told them to do.

Death for the First-Born Sons

^29 (V) At midnight the Lord killed the first-born son of every Egyptian family, from the son of the king^[ag] to the son of every prisoner in jail. He also killed the first-born male of every animal that belonged to the Egyptians.

³⁰ That night the king, his officials, and everyone else in Egypt got up and started crying bitterly. In every Egyptian home, someone was dead.

The People of Israel Escape from Egypt

³¹ During the night the king^[ah] sent for Moses and Aaron and told them, “Get your people out of my country and leave us alone! Go and worship the Lord, as you have asked. ³² Take your sheep, goats, and cattle, and get out. But ask your God to be kind to me.”

³³ The Egyptians did everything they could to get the Israelites to leave their country as quickly as possible. They said, “Please hurry and leave. If you don't, we will all be dead.” ³⁴ So the Israelites quickly made some bread dough and put it in pans. But they did not mix any yeast in the dough to make it rise. They wrapped cloth around the pans and carried them on their shoulders.

^35 (W) The Israelites had already done what Moses had told them to do. They had gone to their Egyptian neighbors and asked for gold and silver and for clothes. ³⁶ The Lord had made the Egyptians friendly toward the people of Israel, and they gave them whatever they asked for. In this way they carried away the wealth of the Egyptians when they left Egypt.

³⁷ The Israelites walked from the city of Rameses to the city of Succoth. There were about 600,000 of them, not counting women and children. ³⁸ Many other people went with them as well, and there were also a lot of sheep, goats, and cattle. ³⁹ They left Egypt in such a hurry that they did not have time to prepare any food except the bread dough made without yeast. So they baked it and made thin bread.

^40-41 (X) The Lord's people left Egypt exactly 430 years after they had arrived. ⁴² On that night the Lord kept watch for them, and on this same night each year Israel will always keep watch in honor of the Lord.

The Israelites Cross the Red Sea

14 At Etham the Lord said to Moses:

² Tell the people of Israel to turn back and camp across from Pi-Hahiroth near Baal-Zephon, between Migdol and the Red Sea.^{[a] 3} The king^[b] will think you were afraid to cross the desert and that you are wandering around, trying to find another way to leave the country. ⁴ I will make the king stubborn again, and he will try to catch you. Then I will destroy him and his army. People everywhere will praise me for my victory, and the Egyptians will know that I really am the Lord.

The Israelites obeyed the Lord and camped where he told them.

⁵ When the king of Egypt heard that the Israelites had finally left, he and his officials changed their minds and said, “Look what we have done! We let them get away, and they will no longer be our slaves.”

⁶ The king got his war chariot and army ready. ⁷ He commanded his officers in charge of his 600 best chariots and all his other chariots to start after the Israelites. ⁸ The Lord made the king so stubborn that he went after them, while the Israelites proudly^[c] went on their way. ⁹ But the king's horses and chariots and soldiers caught up with them while they were camping by the Red Sea near Pi-Hahiroth and Baal-Zephon.

¹⁰ When the Israelites saw the king coming with his army, they were frightened and begged the Lord for help. ¹¹ They also complained to Moses, “Wasn't there enough room in Egypt to bury us? Is that why you brought us out here to die in the desert? Why did you bring us out of Egypt anyway? ¹² While we were there, didn't we tell you to leave us alone? We'd rather be slaves in Egypt than die in this desert!”

¹³ But Moses answered, “Don't be afraid! Be brave, and you will see the Lord save you today. These Egyptians will never bother you again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you, and you won't have to do a thing.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you keep calling out to me for help? Tell the Israelites to move forward. ¹⁶ Then hold your walking stick over the sea. The water will open up and make a road where they can walk through on dry ground. ¹⁷ I will make the Egyptians so stubborn that they will go after you. Then I will be praised because of what happens to the king and his chariots and cavalry. ¹⁸ The Egyptians will know for sure that I am the Lord.”

¹⁹ All this time God's angel had gone ahead of Israel's army, but now he moved behind them. A large cloud had also gone ahead of them, ²⁰ but now it moved between the Egyptians and the Israelites. The cloud gave light to the Israelites, but made it dark for the Egyptians, and during the night they could not come any closer.

^21 (A) Moses stretched his arm over the sea, and the Lord sent a strong east wind that blew all night until there was dry land where the water had been. The sea opened up, ^22 (B) and the Israelites walked through on dry land with a wall of water on each side.

²³ The Egyptian chariots and cavalry went after them. ²⁴ But before daylight the Lord looked down at the Egyptian army from the fiery cloud and made them panic. ²⁵ Their chariot wheels got stuck,^[d] and it was hard for them to move. So the Egyptians said to one another, “Let's leave these people alone! The Lord is on their side and is fighting against us.”

²⁶ The Lord told Moses, “Stretch your arm toward the sea—the water will cover the Egyptians and their cavalry and chariots.” ²⁷ Moses stretched out his arm, and at daybreak the water rushed toward the Egyptians. They tried to run away, but the Lord drowned them in the sea. ²⁸ The water came and covered the chariots, the cavalry, and the whole Egyptian army that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them was left alive. ²⁹ But the sea had made a wall of water on each side of the Israelites, so they walked through on dry land.

³⁰ On that day, when the Israelites saw the bodies of the Egyptians washed up on the shore, they knew that the Lord had saved them. ³¹ Because of the mighty power he had used against the Egyptians, the Israelites worshiped him and trusted him and his servant Moses.

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