Exodus 7:8-12:32

Contemporary English Version

A Stick Turns into a Snake

^8-9 The Lord said, “Moses, when the king^[a] 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 (A) The Lord said to Moses:

The Egyptian king^[b] 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 (B) “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^[c] 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,^[d] they failed, and gnats stayed on people and animals.

^19 (C) The magicians told the king,^[e] “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^[f] 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^[g] 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 (D) So they took a few handfuls of ashes and went to the king.^[h] 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:^[i]

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 (E) 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 (F) 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^[j] 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.^[k] 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^{[l] 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 (G) 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^[m] that swept the locusts into the Red Sea.^[n] 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 (H) The Lord said to Moses, “Stretch your arm toward the sky, and everything will be covered with darkness thick enough to touch.” ^22 (I) 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^[o] 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^[p] 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 ^(J) Some time later the Lord said to Moses and Aaron:

² This month^[q] 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 (K) 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 (L) 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 (M) At midnight the Lord killed the first-born son of every Egyptian family, from the son of the king^[r] 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^[s] 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.”