Moses & the Exodus

Exodus 1

¹ These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family:

² Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;

³ Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;

⁴ Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.

⁵ The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all, including Joseph, who was already in Egypt.

⁶ Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died,

⁷ but the Israelites were fruitful and increased rapidly; they multiplied and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.

⁸ Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt.

⁹ “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become too numerous and too powerful for us.

¹⁰ Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”

¹¹ So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.

¹² But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and flourished; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.

¹³ They worked the Israelites ruthlessly

¹⁴ and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh.

¹⁵ Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah,

¹⁶ “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.”

¹⁷ The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed; they let the boys live.

¹⁸ So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

¹⁹ The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.”

²⁰ So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became even more numerous.

²¹ And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own.

²² Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”

Exodus 2

¹ Now a man of the house of Levi married a daughter of Levi,

² and she conceived and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him for three months.

³ But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in the basket and set it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.

⁴ And his sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

⁵ Soon the daughter of Pharaoh went down to bathe in the Nile, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. And when she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maidservant to retrieve it.

⁶ When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the little boy was crying. So she had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”

⁷ Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”

⁸ “Go ahead,” Pharaoh’s daughter told her. And the girl went and called the boy’s mother.

⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the boy and nursed him.

¹⁰ When the child had grown older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses and explained, “I drew him out of the water.”

¹¹ One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people and observed their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.

¹² After looking this way and that and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.

¹³ The next day Moses went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your companion?”

¹⁴ But the man replied, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “This thing I have done has surely become known.”

¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well.

¹⁶ Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock.

¹⁷ And when some shepherds came along and drove them away, Moses rose up to help them and watered their flock.

¹⁸ When the daughters returned to their father Reuel, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”

¹⁹ “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they replied. “He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”

²⁰ “So where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.”

²¹ Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.

²² And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”

²³ After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.

²⁴ So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

²⁵ God saw the Israelites and took notice.

Exodus 3

¹ Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

² There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed.

³ So Moses thought, “I must go over and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burning up?”

⁴ When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from within the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Here I am,” he answered.

⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

⁶ Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.

⁸ I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

⁹ And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen how severely the Egyptians are oppressing them.

¹⁰ Therefore, go! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

¹¹ But Moses asked God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹² “I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain.”

¹³ Then Moses asked God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ What should I tell them?”

¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

¹⁵ God also told Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.

¹⁶ Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said: I have surely attended to you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.

¹⁷ And I have promised to bring you up out of your affliction in Egypt, into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

¹⁸ The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’

¹⁹ But I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless a mighty hand compels him.

²⁰ So I will stretch out My hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders I will perform among them. And after that, he will release you.

²¹ And I will grant this people such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that when you leave, you will not go away empty-handed.

²² Every woman shall ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians.”

Exodus 4

¹ Then Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”

² And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.

³ “Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it.

⁴ “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand.

⁵ “This is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”

⁶ Furthermore, the LORD said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, white as snow.

⁷ “Put your hand back inside your cloak,” said the LORD. So Moses put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his skin.

⁸ And the LORD said, “If they refuse to believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe that of the second.

⁹ But if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. Then the water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”

¹⁰ “Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”

¹¹ And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

¹² Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.”

¹³ But Moses replied, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”

¹⁴ Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.

¹⁵ You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do.

¹⁶ He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and it will be as if you were God to him.

¹⁷ But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.”

¹⁸ Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me return to my brothers in Egypt to see if they are still alive.” “Go in peace,” Jethro replied.

¹⁹ Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who sought to kill you are dead.”

²⁰ So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.

²¹ The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.

²² Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the LORD says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son,

²³ and I told you to let My son go so that he may worship Me. But since you have refused to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son!’”

²⁴ Now at a lodging place along the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him.

²⁵ But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched it to Moses’ feet. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said.

²⁶ So the LORD let him alone. (When she said, “bridegroom of blood,” she was referring to the circumcision.)

²⁷ Meanwhile, the LORD had said to Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him.

²⁸ And Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and all the signs He had commanded him to perform.

²⁹ Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites,

³⁰ and Aaron relayed everything the LORD had said to Moses. And Moses performed the signs before the people,

³¹ and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.

Exodus 5

¹ After that, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”

² But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”

³ “The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they answered. “Please let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the LORD our God, or He may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”

⁴ But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Get back to your labor!”

⁵ Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you would be stopping them from their labor.”

⁶ That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen:

⁷ “You shall no longer supply the people with straw for making bricks. They must go and gather their own straw.

⁸ But require of them the same quota of bricks as before; do not reduce it. For they are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’

⁹ Make the work harder on the men so they will be occupied and pay no attention to these lies.”

¹⁰ So the taskmasters and foremen of the people went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am no longer giving you straw.

¹¹ Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it; but your workload will in no way be reduced.’”

¹² So the people scattered all over the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.

¹³ The taskmasters kept pressing them, saying, “Fulfill your quota each day, just as you did when straw was provided.”

¹⁴ Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over the people, were beaten and asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”

¹⁵ So the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way?

¹⁶ No straw has been given to your servants, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”

¹⁷ “You are slackers!” Pharaoh replied. “Slackers! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’

¹⁸ Now get to work. You will be given no straw, yet you must deliver the full quota of bricks.”

¹⁹ The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce your daily quota of bricks.”

²⁰ When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them.

²¹ “May the LORD look upon you and judge you,” the foremen said, “for you have made us a stench before Pharaoh and his officials; you have placed in their hand a sword to kill us!”

²² So Moses returned to the LORD and asked, “Lord, why have You brought trouble upon this people? Is this why You sent me?

²³ Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and You have not delivered Your people in any way.”

Exodus 6

¹ But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for because of My mighty hand he will let the people go; because of My strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

² God also told Moses, “I am the LORD.

³ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name the LORD I did not make Myself known to them.

⁴ I also established My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land where they lived as foreigners.

⁵ Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered My covenant.

⁶ Therefore tell the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.

⁷ I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.

⁸ And I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD!’”

⁹ Moses relayed this message to the Israelites, but on account of their broken spirit and cruel bondage, they did not listen to him.

¹⁰ So the LORD said to Moses,

¹¹ “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his land.”

¹² But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I am unskilled in speech?”

¹³ Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans of Reuben.

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

¹⁶ These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their records: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.

¹⁷ The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimei, by their clans.

¹⁸ The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years.

¹⁹ The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites according to their records.

²⁰ And Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.

²¹ The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.

²² The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

²³ And Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

²⁴ The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These were the clans of the Korahites.

²⁵ Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the Levite families by their clans.

²⁶ It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their divisions.”

²⁷ Moses and Aaron were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

²⁸ Now on the day that the LORD spoke to Moses in Egypt,

²⁹ He said to him, “I am the LORD; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I say to you.”

³⁰ But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “Since I am unskilled in speech, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”

Exodus 7

¹ The LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.

² You are to speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land.

³ But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I will multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,

⁴ Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay My hand on Egypt, and by mighty acts of judgment I will bring the divisions of My people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

⁵ And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.”

⁶ So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them.

⁷ Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

⁸ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

⁹ “When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ you are to say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a serpent.”

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent.

¹¹ But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts.

¹² Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.

¹³ Still, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

¹⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.

¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning as you see him walking out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.

¹⁶ Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness. But you have not listened until now.

¹⁷ This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. Behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn to blood.

¹⁸ The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water.’”

¹⁹ And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers and canals and ponds and reservoirs—that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.”

²⁰ Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded; in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials, Aaron raised the staff and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was turned to blood.

²¹ The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. And there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.

²² But the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.

²³ Instead, Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and did not take any of this to heart.

²⁴ So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink the water from the river.

²⁵ And seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.

Exodus 8

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

² But if you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.

³ The Nile will teem with frogs, and they will come into your palace and up to your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls.

⁴ The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”

⁵ And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers and canals and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.’”

⁶ So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.

⁷ But the magicians did the same thing by their magic arts, and they also brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.

⁸ Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go, that they may sacrifice to the LORD.”

⁹ Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor over me. When shall I pray for you and your officials and your people that the frogs (except for those in the Nile) may be taken away from you and your houses?”

¹⁰ “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh answered. “May it be as you say,” Moses replied, “so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.

¹¹ The frogs will depart from you and your houses and your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.”

¹² After Moses and Aaron had left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the LORD for help with the frogs that He had brought against Pharaoh.

¹³ And the LORD did as Moses requested, and the frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields died.

¹⁴ They were piled into countless heaps, and there was a terrible stench in the land.

¹⁵ When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, however, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.

¹⁶ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may turn into swarms of gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’”

¹⁷ This they did, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, gnats came upon man and beast. All the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the land of Egypt.

¹⁸ The magicians tried to produce gnats using their magic arts, but they could not. And the gnats remained on man and beast.

¹⁹ “This is the finger of God,” the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

²⁰ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, and when Pharaoh goes out to the water, stand before him and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

²¹ But if you will not let My people go, I will send swarms of flies upon you and your officials and your people and your houses. The houses of the Egyptians and even the ground where they stand will be full of flies.

²² But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people live; no swarms of flies will be found there. In this way you will know that I, the LORD, am in the land.

²³ I will make a distinction between My people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow.’”

²⁴ And the LORD did so. Thick swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined by swarms of flies.

²⁵ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within this land.”

²⁶ But Moses replied, “It would not be right to do that, because the sacrifices we offer to the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. If we offer sacrifices that are detestable before the Egyptians, will they not stone us?

²⁷ We must make a three-day journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He commands us.”

²⁸ Pharaoh answered, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”

²⁹ “As soon as I leave you,” Moses said, “I will pray to the LORD, so that tomorrow the swarms of flies will depart from Pharaoh and his officials and his people. But Pharaoh must not act deceitfully again by refusing to let the people go and sacrifice to the LORD.”

³⁰ Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD,

³¹ and the LORD did as Moses requested. He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not one fly remained.

³² But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time as well, and he would not let the people go.

Exodus 9

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

² But if you continue to restrain them and refuse to let them go,

³ then the hand of the LORD will bring a severe plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.

⁴ But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’”

⁵ The LORD set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this in the land.”

⁶ And the next day the LORD did just that. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died.

⁷ Pharaoh sent officials and found that none of the livestock of the Israelites had died. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not let the people go.

⁸ Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the furnace; in the sight of Pharaoh, Moses is to toss it into the air.

⁹ It will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on man and beast throughout the land.”

¹⁰ So they took soot from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on man and beast.

¹¹ The magicians could not stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and on all the Egyptians.

¹² But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said to Moses.

¹³ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

¹⁴ Otherwise, I will send all My plagues against you and your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.

¹⁵ For by this time I could have stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with a plague to wipe you off the earth.

¹⁶ But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power to you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

¹⁷ Still, you lord it over My people and do not allow them to go.

¹⁸ Behold, at this time tomorrow I will rain down the worst hail that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded until now.

¹⁹ So give orders now to shelter your livestock and everything you have in the field. Every man or beast that remains in the field and is not brought inside will die when the hail comes down upon them.’”

²⁰ Those among Pharaoh’s officials who feared the word of the LORD hurried to bring their servants and livestock to shelter,

²¹ but those who disregarded the word of the LORD left their servants and livestock in the field.

²² Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that hail may fall on all the land of Egypt—on man and beast and every plant of the field throughout the land of Egypt.”

²³ So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. So the LORD rained down hail upon the land of Egypt.

²⁴ The hail fell and the lightning continued flashing through it. The hail was so severe that nothing like it had ever been seen in all the land of Egypt from the time it became a nation.

²⁵ Throughout the land of Egypt, the hail struck down everything in the field, both man and beast; it beat down every plant of the field and stripped every tree.

²⁶ The only place where it did not hail was in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived.

²⁷ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said. “The LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

²⁸ Pray to the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you do not need to stay any longer.”

²⁹ Moses said to him, “When I have left the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s.

³⁰ But as for you and your officials, I know that you still do not fear the LORD our God.”

³¹ (Now the flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley was ripe and the flax was in bloom;

³² but the wheat and spelt were not destroyed, because they are late crops.)

³³ Then Moses departed from Pharaoh, went out of the city, and spread out his hands to the LORD. The thunder and hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured down on the land.

³⁴ When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart—he and his officials.

³⁵ So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had said through Moses.

Exodus 10

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials, that I may perform these miraculous signs of Mine among them,

² and that you may tell your children and grandchildren how severely I dealt with the Egyptians when I performed miraculous signs among them, so that all of you may know that I am the LORD.”

³ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

⁴ But if you refuse to let My people go, I will bring locusts into your territory tomorrow.

⁵ They will cover the face of the land so that no one can see it. They will devour whatever is left after the hail and eat every tree that grows in your fields.

⁶ They will fill your houses and the houses of all your officials and every Egyptian—something neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen since the day they came into this land.’” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh’s presence.

⁷ Pharaoh’s officials asked him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is in ruins?”

⁸ So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the LORD your God,” he said. “But who exactly will be going?”

⁹ “We will go with our young and old,” Moses replied. “We will go with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.”

¹⁰ Then Pharaoh told them, “May the LORD be with you if I ever let you go with your little ones. Clearly you are bent on evil.

¹¹ No, only the men may go and worship the LORD, since that is what you have been requesting.” And Moses and Aaron were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.

¹² Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that the locusts may swarm over it and devour every plant in the land—everything that the hail has left behind.”

¹³ So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and throughout that day and night the LORD sent an east wind across the land. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts.

¹⁴ The locusts swarmed across the land and settled over the entire territory of Egypt. Never before had there been so many locusts, and never again will there be.

¹⁵ They covered the face of all the land until it was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left behind. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.

¹⁶ Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.

¹⁷ Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.”

¹⁸ So Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the LORD.

¹⁹ And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind that carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained anywhere in Egypt.

²⁰ But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.

²¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that darkness may spread over the land of Egypt—a palpable darkness.”

²² So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and total darkness covered all the land of Egypt for three days.

²³ No one could see anyone else, and for three days no one left his place. Yet all the Israelites had light in their dwellings.

²⁴ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the LORD. Even your little ones may go with you; only your flocks and herds must stay behind.”

²⁵ But Moses replied, “You must also provide us with sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the LORD our God.

²⁶ Even our livestock must go with us; not a hoof will be left behind, for we will need some of them to worship the LORD our God, and we will not know how we are to worship the LORD until we arrive.”

²⁷ But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them go.

²⁸ “Depart from me!” Pharaoh said to Moses. “Make sure you never see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you will die.”

²⁹ “As you say,” Moses replied, “I will never see your face again.”

Exodus 11

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will bring upon Pharaoh and Egypt one more plague. After that, he will allow you to leave this place. And when he lets you go, he will drive you out completely.

² Now announce to the people that men and women alike should ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.”

³ And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.

⁴ So Moses declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt,

⁵ and every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the servant girl behind the hand mill, as well as the firstborn of all the cattle.

⁶ Then a great cry will go out over all the land of Egypt. Such an outcry has never been heard before and will never be heard again.

⁷ But among all the Israelites, not even a dog will snarl at man or beast.’ Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

⁸ And all these officials of yours will come and bow before me, saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that, I will depart.” And hot with anger, Moses left Pharaoh’s presence.

⁹ The LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

¹⁰ Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not let the Israelites go out of his land.

Exodus 12

¹ Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,

² “This month is the beginning of months for you; it shall be the first month of your year.

³ Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man must select a lamb for his family, one per household.

⁴ If the household is too small for a whole lamb, they are to share with the nearest neighbor based on the number of people, and apportion the lamb accordingly.

⁵ Your lamb must be an unblemished year-old male, and you may take it from the sheep or the goats.

⁶ You must keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.

⁷ They are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.

⁸ They are to eat the meat that night, roasted over the fire, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

⁹ Do not eat any of the meat raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over the fire—its head and legs and inner parts.

¹⁰ Do not leave any of it until morning; before the morning you must burn up any part that is left over.

¹¹ This is how you are to eat it: You must be fully dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. You are to eat in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover.

¹² On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.

¹³ The blood on the houses where you are staying will distinguish them; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ And this day will be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD, as a permanent statute for the generations to come.

¹⁵ For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.

¹⁶ On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly, and another on the seventh day. You must not do any work on those days, except to prepare the meals—that is all you may do.

¹⁷ So you are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. You must keep this day as a permanent statute for the generations to come.

¹⁸ In the first month you are to eat unleavened bread, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day.

¹⁹ For seven days there must be no leaven found in your houses. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a foreigner or native of the land, must be cut off from the congregation of Israel.

²⁰ You are not to eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes.”

²¹ Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and told them, “Go at once and select for yourselves a lamb for each family, and slaughter the Passover lamb.

²² Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin, and brush the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out the door of his house until morning.

²³ When the LORD passes through to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway; so He will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

²⁴ And you are to keep this command as a permanent statute for you and your descendants.

²⁵ When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as He promised, you are to keep this service.

²⁶ When your children ask you, ‘What does this service mean to you?’

²⁷ you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck down the Egyptians and spared our homes.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped.

²⁸ And the Israelites went and did just what the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.

²⁹ Now at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the firstborn among the livestock.

³⁰ During the night Pharaoh got up—he and all his officials and all the Egyptians—and there was loud wailing in Egypt; for there was no house without someone dead.

³¹ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Get up, leave my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested.

³² Take your flocks and herds as well, just as you have said, and depart! And bless me also.”

³³ And in order to send them out of the land quickly, the Egyptians urged the people on. “For otherwise,” they said, “we are all going to die!”

³⁴ So the people took their dough before it was leavened, carrying it on their shoulders in kneading bowls wrapped in clothing.

³⁵ Furthermore, the Israelites acted on Moses’ word and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold, and for clothing.

³⁶ And the LORD gave the people such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that they granted their request. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.

³⁷ The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth with about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children.

³⁸ And a mixed multitude also went up with them, along with great droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.

³⁹ Since their dough had no leaven, the people baked what they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves. For when they had been driven out of Egypt, they could not delay and had not prepared any provisions for themselves.

⁴⁰ Now the duration of the Israelites’ stay in Egypt was 430 years.

⁴¹ At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD’s divisions went out of the land of Egypt.

⁴² Because the LORD kept a vigil that night to bring them out of the land of Egypt, this same night is to be a vigil to the LORD, to be observed by all the Israelites for the generations to come.

⁴³ And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: No foreigner is to eat of it.

⁴⁴ But any slave who has been purchased may eat of it, after you have circumcised him.

⁴⁵ A temporary resident or hired hand shall not eat the Passover.

⁴⁶ It must be eaten inside one house. You are not to take any of the meat outside the house, and you may not break any of the bones.

⁴⁷ The whole congregation of Israel must celebrate it.

⁴⁸ If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover, all the males in the household must be circumcised; then he may come near to celebrate it, and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised man may eat of it.

⁴⁹ The same law shall apply to both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.”

⁵⁰ Then all the Israelites did this—they did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.

⁵¹ And on that very day the LORD brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their divisions.

Exodus 13

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses,

² “Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The firstborn from every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, both of man and beast.”

³ So Moses told the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD brought you out of it by the strength of His hand. And nothing leavened shall be eaten.

⁴ Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving.

⁵ And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites—the land He swore to your fathers that He would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you shall keep this service in this month.

⁶ For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD.

⁷ Unleavened bread shall be eaten during those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, nor shall leaven be found anywhere within your borders.

⁸ And on that day you are to explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’

⁹ It shall be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the Law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For with a mighty hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.

¹⁰ Therefore you shall keep this statute at the appointed time year after year.

¹¹ And after the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as He swore to you and your fathers,

¹² you are to present to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD.

¹³ You must redeem every firstborn donkey with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. And every firstborn of your sons you must redeem.

¹⁴ In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

¹⁵ And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of man and beast. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’

¹⁶ So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead, for with a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”

¹⁷ When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, though it was shorter. For God said, “If the people face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”

¹⁸ So God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt arrayed for battle.

¹⁹ Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear a solemn oath when he said, “God will surely attend to you, and then you must carry my bones with you from this place.”

²⁰ They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.

²¹ And the LORD went before them in a pillar of cloud to guide their way by day, and in a pillar of fire to give them light by night, so that they could travel by day or night.

²² Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place before the people.

Exodus 14

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses,

² “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal-zephon.

³ For Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, ‘They are wandering the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in.’

⁴ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. But I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So this is what the Israelites did.

⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.”

⁶ So Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his army with him.

⁷ He took 600 of the best chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.

⁸ And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out defiantly.

⁹ The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon.

¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified and cried out to the LORD.

¹¹ They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us into the wilderness to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?

¹² Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

¹³ But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.

¹⁴ The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

¹⁵ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.

¹⁶ And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.

¹⁷ And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. Then I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army and chariots and horsemen.

¹⁸ The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I am honored through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

¹⁹ And the angel of God, who had gone before the camp of Israel, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from before them and stood behind them,

²⁰ so that it came between the camps of Egypt and Israel. The cloud was there in the darkness, but it lit up the night. So all night long neither camp went near the other.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,

²² and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.

²³ And the Egyptians chased after them—all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen—and followed them into the sea.

²⁴ At morning watch, however, the LORD looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud, and He threw their camp into confusion.

²⁵ He caused their chariot wheels to wobble, so that they had difficulty driving. “Let us flee from the Israelites,” said the Egyptians, “for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!”

²⁶ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.”

²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state. As the Egyptians were retreating, the LORD swept them into the sea.

²⁸ The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

²⁹ But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.

³⁰ That day the LORD saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore.

³¹ When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.

Exodus 15

¹ Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted. The horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.

² The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

³ The LORD is a warrior, the LORD is His name.

⁴ Pharaoh’s chariots and army He has cast into the sea; the finest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea.

⁵ The depths have covered them; they sank there like a stone.

⁶ Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power; Your right hand, O LORD, has shattered the enemy.

⁷ You overthrew Your adversaries by Your great majesty. You unleashed Your burning wrath; it consumed them like stubble.

⁸ At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up; like a wall the currents stood firm; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

⁹ The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’

¹⁰ But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

¹¹ Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?

¹² You stretched out Your right hand, and the earth swallowed them up.

¹³ With loving devotion You will lead the people You have redeemed; with Your strength You will guide them to Your holy dwelling.

¹⁴ The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the dwellers of Philistia.

¹⁵ Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; those who dwell in Canaan will melt away,

¹⁶ and terror and dread will fall on them. By the power of Your arm they will be as still as a stone until Your people pass by, O LORD, until the people You have bought pass by.

¹⁷ You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of Your inheritance— the place, O LORD, You have prepared for Your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, Your hands have established.

¹⁸ The LORD will reign forever and ever!”

¹⁹ For when Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

²⁰ Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.

²¹ And Miriam sang back to them: “Sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; the horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.”

²² Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the Desert of Shur. For three days they walked in the desert without finding water.

²³ And when they came to Marah, they could not drink the water there because it was bitter. (That is why it was named Marah.)

²⁴ So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”

²⁵ And Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log. And when he cast it into the waters, they were sweetened. There the LORD made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them,

²⁶ saying, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His eyes, and pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, then I will not bring on you any of the diseases I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”

²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the waters.