10:1 The Eighth Blow: Locusts
1 The Lord said 2 to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display 3 these signs of mine before him, 4 10:2 and in order that in the hearing of your son and your grandson you may tell 5 how I made fools 6 of the Egyptians 7 and about 8 my signs that I displayed 9 among them, so that you may know 10 that I am the Lord.”
10:3 So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and told him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: ‘How long do you refuse 11 to humble yourself before me? 12 Release my people so that they may serve me! 10:4 But if you refuse to release my people, I am going to bring 13 locusts 14 into your territory 15 tomorrow. 10:5 They will cover 16 the surface 17 of the earth, so that you 18 will be unable to see the ground. They will eat the remainder of what escaped 19 – what is left over 20 for you – from the hail, and they will eat every tree that grows for you from the field. 10:6 They will fill your houses, the houses of your servants, and all the houses of Egypt, such as 21 neither 22 your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen since they have been 23 in the land until this day!’” Then Moses 24 turned and went out from Pharaoh.
10:7 Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long 25 will this man be a menace 26 to us? Release the people so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not know 27 that Egypt is destroyed?”
10:8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. Exactly who is going with you?” 28 10:9 Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our sheep and our cattle we will go, because we are to hold 29 a pilgrim feast for the Lord.”
10:10 He said to them, “The Lord will need to be with you 30 if I release you and your dependents! 31 Watch out! 32 Trouble is right in front of you! 33 10:11 No! 34 Go, you men 35 only, and serve the Lord, for that 36 is what you want.” 37 Then Moses and Aaron 38 were driven 39 out of Pharaoh’s presence.
10:12 The Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand over the land of Egypt for 40 the locusts, that they may come up over the land of Egypt and eat everything that grows 41 in the ground, everything that the hail has left.” 10:13 So Moses extended his staff over the land of Egypt, and then the Lord 42 brought 43 an east wind on the land all that day and all night. 44 The morning came, 45 and the east wind had brought up 46 the locusts! 10:14 The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled down in all the territory 47 of Egypt. It was very severe; 48 there had been no locusts like them before, nor will there be such ever again. 49 10:15 They covered 50 the surface 51 of all the ground, so that the ground became dark with them, 52 and they ate all the vegetation of the ground and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green remained on the trees or on anything that grew in the fields throughout the whole land of Egypt.
10:16 53 Then Pharaoh quickly 54 summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned 55 against the Lord your God and against you! 10:17 So now, forgive my sin this time only, and pray to the Lord your God that he would only 56 take this death 57 away from me.” 10:18 Moses 58 went out 59 from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord, 10:19 and the Lord turned a very strong west wind, 60 and it picked up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. 61 Not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt. 10:20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not release the Israelites.
10:21 The Ninth Blow: Darkness
62 The Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward heaven 63 so that there may be 64 darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness so thick it can be felt.” 65
10:22 So Moses extended his hand toward heaven, and there was absolute darkness 66 throughout the land of Egypt for three days. 67 10:23 No one 68 could see 69 another person, and no one could rise from his place for three days. But the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.
10:24 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord – only your flocks and herds will be detained. Even your families 70 may go with you.”
10:25 But Moses said, “Will you also 71 provide us 72 with sacrifices and burnt offerings that we may present them 73 to the Lord our God? 10:26 Our livestock must 74 also go with us! Not a hoof is to be left behind! For we must take 75 these animals 76 to serve the Lord our God. Until we arrive there, we do not know what we must use to serve the Lord.” 77
10:27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to release them. 10:28 Pharaoh said to him, “Go from me! 78 Watch out for yourself! Do not appear before me again, 79 for when 80 you see my face you will die!” 10:29 Moses said, “As you wish! 81 I will not see your face again.” 82
11:1 The Tenth Blow: Death
83 The Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will release you from this place. When he releases you, 84 he will drive you out completely 85 from this place. 11:2 Instruct 86 the people that each man and each woman is to request 87 from his or her neighbor 88 items of silver and gold.” 89
11:3 (Now the Lord granted the people favor with 90 the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, respected by Pharaoh’s servants and by the Egyptian people.) 91
11:4 Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight 92 I will go throughout Egypt, 93 11:5 and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh 94 who sits on his throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. 11:6 There will be a great cry throughout the whole land of Egypt, such as there has never been, 95 nor ever will be again. 96 11:7 But against any of the Israelites not even a dog will bark 97 against either people or animals, 98 so that you may know that the Lord distinguishes 99 between Egypt and Israel.’ 11:8 All these your servants will come down to me and bow down 100 to me, saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow 101 you,’ and after that I will go out.” Then Moses 102 went out from Pharaoh in great anger.
11:9 The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my wonders 103 may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”
11:10 So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not release the Israelites from his land.
12:1 The Institution of the Passover
104 The Lord said 105 to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 106 12:2 “This month is to be your beginning of months; it will be your first month of the year. 107 12:3 Tell the whole community of Israel, ‘In the tenth day of this month they each 108 must take a lamb 109 for themselves according to their families 110 – a lamb for each household. 111 12:4 If any household is too small 112 for a lamb, 113 the man 114 and his next-door neighbor 115 are to take 116 a lamb according to the number of people – you will make your count for the lamb according to how much each one can eat. 117 12:5 Your lamb must be 118 perfect, 119 a male, one year old; 120 you may take 121 it from the sheep or from the goats. 12:6 You must care for it 122 until the fourteenth day of this month, and then the whole community 123 of Israel will kill it around sundown. 124 12:7 They will take some of the blood and put it on the two side posts and top of the doorframe of the houses where they will eat it. 12:8 They will eat the meat the same night; 125 they will eat it roasted over the fire with bread made without yeast 126 and with bitter herbs. 12:9 Do not eat it raw 127 or boiled in water, but roast it over the fire with its head, its legs, and its entrails. 12:10 You must leave nothing until morning, but you must burn with fire whatever remains of it until morning. 12:11 This is how you are to eat it – dressed to travel, 128 your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. 129
12:12 I will pass through 130 the land of Egypt in the same 131 night, and I will attack 132 all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals, 133 and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. 134 I am the Lord. 12:13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, so that when I see 135 the blood I will pass over you, 136 and this plague 137 will not fall on you to destroy you 138 when I attack 139 the land of Egypt. 140
12:14 This day will become 141 a memorial 142 for you, and you will celebrate it as a festival 143 to the Lord – you will celebrate it perpetually as a lasting ordinance. 144 12:15 For seven days 145 you must eat 146 bread made without yeast. 147 Surely 148 on the first day you must put away yeast from your houses because anyone who eats bread made with yeast 149 from the first day to the seventh day will be cut off 150 from Israel.
12:16 On the first day there will be a holy convocation, 151 and on the seventh day there will be a holy convocation for you. You must do no work of any kind 152 on them, only what every person will eat – that alone may be prepared for you. 12:17 So you will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very 153 day I brought your regiments 154 out from the land of Egypt, and so you must keep this day perpetually as a lasting ordinance. 155 12:18 In the first month, 156 from the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, you will eat bread made without yeast until the twenty-first day of the month in the evening. 12:19 For seven days 157 yeast must not be found in your houses, for whoever eats what is made with yeast – that person 158 will be cut off from the community of Israel, whether a foreigner 159 or one born in the land. 12:20 You will not eat anything made with yeast; in all the places where you live you must eat bread made without yeast.’”
12:21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel, and told them, “Go and select 160 for yourselves a lamb or young goat 161 for your families, and kill the Passover animals. 162 12:22 Take a branch of hyssop, 163 dip it in the blood that is in the basin, 164 and apply to the top of the doorframe and the two side posts some of the blood that is in the basin. Not one of you is to go out 165 the door of his house until morning. 12:23 For the Lord will pass through to strike Egypt, and when he sees 166 the blood on the top of the doorframe and the two side posts, then the Lord will pass over the door, and he will not permit the destroyer 167 to enter your houses to strike you. 168 12:24 You must observe this event as an ordinance for you and for your children forever. 12:25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give to you, just as he said, you must observe 169 this ceremony. 12:26 When your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 170 – 12:27 then you will say, ‘It is the sacrifice 171 of the Lord’s Passover, when he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck 172 Egypt and delivered our households.’” The people bowed down low 173 to the ground, 12:28 and the Israelites went away and did exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 174
12:29 The Deliverance from Egypt
175 It happened 176 at midnight – the Lord attacked all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the prison, and all the firstborn of the cattle. 12:30 Pharaoh got up 177 in the night, 178 along with all his servants and all Egypt, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no house 179 in which there was not someone dead. 12:31 Pharaoh 180 summoned Moses and Aaron in the night and said, “Get up, get out 181 from among my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, serve the Lord as you have requested! 182 12:32 Also, take your flocks and your herds, just as you have requested, and leave. But bless me also.” 183
12:33 The Egyptians were urging 184 the people on, in order to send them out of the land quickly, 185 for they were saying, “We are all dead!” 12:34 So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, 186 with their kneading troughs bound up in their clothing on their shoulders. 12:35 Now the Israelites had done 187 as Moses told them – they had requested from the Egyptians 188 silver and gold items and clothing. 12:36 The Lord 189 gave the people favor 190 in the sight of the Egyptians, and they gave them whatever they wanted, 191 and so they plundered Egypt. 192
12:37 The Israelites journeyed 193 from Rameses 194 to Sukkoth. There were about 600,000 men 195 on foot, plus their dependants. 196 12:38 A mixed multitude 197 also went up with them, and flocks and herds – a very large number of cattle. 198 12:39 They baked cakes of bread without yeast using the dough they had brought from Egypt, for it was made without yeast – because they were thrust out 199 of Egypt and were not able to delay, they 200 could not prepare 201 food for themselves either.
12:40 Now the length of time the Israelites lived in Egypt was 430 years. 202 12:41 At the end of the 430 years, on the very day, all the regiments 203 of the Lord went out of the land of Egypt. 12:42 It was a night of vigil for the Lord to bring them out from the land of Egypt, 204 and so 205 on this night all Israel is to keep the vigil 206 to the Lord for generations to come.
12:43 Participation in the Passover
207 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover. No foreigner may 208 share in eating it. 209 12:44 But everyone’s servant who is bought for money, after you have circumcised him, may eat it. 12:45 A foreigner and a hired worker must not eat it. 12:46 It must be eaten in one house; you must not bring any of the meat outside the house, and you must not break a bone of it. 12:47 The whole community of Israel must observe it.
12:48 “When a foreigner lives 210 with you and wants to observe the Passover to the Lord, all his males must be circumcised, 211 and then he may approach and observe it, and he will be like one who is born in the land 212 – but no uncircumcised person may eat of it. 12:49 The same law will apply 213 to the person who is native-born and to the foreigner who lives among you.”
12:50 So all the Israelites did exactly as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. 214 12:51 And on this very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their regiments.
13:1 The Law of the Firstborn
215 The Lord spoke 216 to Moses: 13:2 “Set apart 217 to me every firstborn male – the first offspring of every womb 218 among the Israelites, whether human or animal; it is mine.” 219
13:3 Moses said to the people, “Remember 220 this day on which you came out from Egypt, from the place where you were enslaved, 221 for the Lord brought you out of there 222 with a mighty hand – and no bread made with yeast may be eaten. 223 13:4 On this day, 224 in the month of Abib, 225 you are going out. 226
13:5 When 227 the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, 228 then you will keep 229 this ceremony 230 in this month. 13:6 For seven days 231 you must eat 232 bread made without yeast, and on the seventh day there is to be 233 a festival to the Lord. 13:7 Bread made without yeast must be eaten 234 for seven days; 235 no bread made with yeast shall be seen 236 among you, and you must have no yeast among you within any of your borders.
13:8 You are to tell your son 237 on that day, 238 ‘It is 239 because of what 240 the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 13:9 241 It 242 will be a sign 243 for you on your hand and a memorial 244 on your forehead, 245 so that the law of the Lord may be 246 in your mouth, 247 for 248 with a mighty hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. 13:10 So you must keep 249 this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year. 250
13:11 When the Lord brings you 251 into the land of the Canaanites, 252 as he swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it 253 to you, 13:12 then you must give over 254 to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. 255 Every firstling 256 of a beast that you have 257 – the males will be the Lord’s. 258 13:13 Every firstling 259 of a donkey you must redeem 260 with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, then you must break its neck. 261 Every firstborn of 262 your sons you must redeem.
13:14 263 In the future, 264 when your son asks you 265 ‘What is this?’ 266 you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand 267 the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the land of slavery. 268 13:15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused 269 to release us, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of people to the firstborn of animals. 270 That is why I am sacrificing 271 to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb, but all my firstborn sons I redeem.’ 13:16 It will be for a sign on your hand and for frontlets 272 on your forehead, for with a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.” 273
13:17 The Leading of God
274 When Pharaoh released 275 the people, God did not lead them 276 by the way to the land 277 of the Philistines, 278 although 279 that was nearby, for God said, 280 “Lest 281 the people change their minds 282 and return to Egypt when they experience 283 war.” 13:18 So God brought the people around by the way of the desert to the Red Sea, 284 and the Israelites went up from the land of Egypt prepared for battle. 285
13:19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph 286 had made the Israelites solemnly swear, 287 “God will surely attend 288 to you, and you will carry 289 my bones up from this place with you.”
13:20 They journeyed from Sukkoth and camped in Etham, on the edge of the desert. 13:21 Now the Lord was going before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, 290 so that they could 291 travel day or night. 292 13:22 He did not remove the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people. 293
14:1 The Victory at the Red Sea
294 The Lord spoke to Moses: 14:2 “Tell the Israelites that they must turn and camp 295 before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you are to camp by the sea before Baal Zephon opposite it. 296 14:3 Pharaoh will think 297 regarding the Israelites, ‘They are wandering around confused 298 in the land – the desert has closed in on them.’ 299 14:4 I will harden 300 Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them. I will gain honor 301 because of Pharaoh and because of all his army, and the Egyptians will know 302 that I am the Lord.” So this is what they did. 303
14:5 When it was reported 304 to the king of Egypt that the people had fled, 305 the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people, and the king and his servants said, 306 “What in the world have we done? 307 For we have released the people of Israel 308 from serving us!” 14:6 Then he prepared 309 his chariots and took his army 310 with him. 14:7 He took six hundred select 311 chariots, and all the rest of the chariots of Egypt, 312 and officers 313 on all of them.
14:8 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he chased after the Israelites. Now the Israelites were going out defiantly. 314 14:9 The Egyptians chased after them, and all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh and his horsemen and his army overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-Zephon. 14:10 When 315 Pharaoh got closer, 316 the Israelites looked up, 317 and there were the Egyptians marching after them, 318 and they were terrified. 319 The Israelites cried out to the Lord, 320 14:11 and they said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the desert? 321 What in the world 322 have you done to us by bringing 323 us out of Egypt? 14:12 Isn’t this what we told you 324 in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians, 325 because it is better for us to serve 326 the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’” 327
14:13 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! 328 Stand firm 329 and see 330 the salvation 331 of the Lord that he will provide 332 for you today; for the Egyptians that you see today you will never, ever see again. 333 14:14 The Lord 334 will fight for you, and you can be still.” 335
14:15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 336 14:16 And as for you, 337 lift up your staff and extend your hand toward the sea and divide it, so that 338 the Israelites may go through the middle of the sea on dry ground. 14:17 And as for me, I am going to harden 339 the hearts of the Egyptians so that 340 they will come after them, that I may be honored 341 because 342 of Pharaoh and his army and his chariots and his horsemen. 14:18 And the Egyptians will know 343 that I am the Lord when I have gained my honor 344 because of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
14:19 The angel of God, who was going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar 345 of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. 14:20 It came between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp; it was a dark cloud 346 and it lit up the night so that one camp did not come near the other 347 the whole night. 348 14:21 Moses stretched out his hand toward the sea, and the Lord drove the sea apart 349 by a strong east wind all that night, and he made the sea into dry land, and the water was divided. 14:22 So the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground, the water forming a wall 350 for them on their right and on their left.
14:23 The Egyptians chased them and followed them into the middle of the sea – all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen. 14:24 In the morning watch 351 the Lord looked down 352 on the Egyptian army 353 through the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw the Egyptian army 354 into a panic. 355 14:25 He jammed 356 the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving, 357 and the Egyptians said, “Let’s flee 358 from Israel, for the Lord fights 359 for them against Egypt!”
14:26 The Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward the sea, so that the waters may flow 360 back on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen!” 14:27 So Moses extended his hand toward the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state 361 when the sun began to rise. 362 Now the Egyptians were fleeing 363 before it, but the Lord overthrew 364 the Egyptians in the middle of the sea. 14:28 The water returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the army of Pharaoh that was coming after the Israelites into the sea 365 – not so much as one of them survived! 366 14:29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground in the middle of the sea, the water forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 14:30 So the Lord saved 367 Israel on that day from the power 368 of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead 369 on the shore of the sea. 14:31 When Israel saw 370 the great power 371 that the Lord had exercised 372 over the Egyptians, they 373 feared the Lord, and they believed in 374 the Lord and in his servant Moses. 375
15:1 The Song of Triumph
376 Then Moses and the Israelites sang 377 this song to the Lord. They said, 378
“I will sing 379 to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, 380
the horse and its rider 381 he has thrown into the sea.
15:2 The Lord 382 is my strength and my song, 383
and he has become my salvation.
This is my God, and I will praise him, 384
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
15:3 The Lord is a warrior, 385
the Lord is his name. 386
15:4 The chariots of Pharaoh 387 and his army he has thrown into the sea,
and his chosen 388 officers were drowned 389 in the Red Sea.
15:5 The depths have covered them, 390
they went down to the bottom 391 like a stone.
15:6 Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic 392 in power,
your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.
15:7 In the abundance of your majesty 393 you have overthrown 394
those who rise up against you. 395
You sent forth 396 your wrath; 397
it consumed them 398 like stubble.
15:8 By the blast of your nostrils 399 the waters were piled up,
the flowing water stood upright like a heap, 400
and the deep waters were solidified in the heart of the sea.
15:9 The enemy said, ‘I will chase, 401 I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil;
my desire 402 will be satisfied on them.
I will draw 403 my sword, my hand will destroy them.’ 404
15:10 But 405 you blew with your breath, and 406 the sea covered them.
They sank 407 like lead in the mighty waters.
15:11 Who is like you, 408 O Lord, among the gods? 409
Who is like you? – majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, 410 working wonders?
15:12 You stretched out your right hand,
the earth swallowed them. 411
15:13 By your loyal love you will lead 412 the people whom 413 you have redeemed;
you will guide 414 them by your strength to your holy dwelling place.
15:14 The nations will hear 415 and tremble;
anguish 416 will seize 417 the inhabitants of Philistia.
15:15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified, 418
trembling will seize 419 the leaders of Moab,
and the inhabitants of Canaan will shake.
15:16 Fear and dread 420 will fall 421 on them;
by the greatness 422 of your arm they will be as still as stone 423
until 424 your people pass by, O Lord,
until the people whom you have bought 425 pass by.
15:17 You will bring them in 426 and plant them in the mountain 427 of your inheritance,
in the place you made 428 for your residence, O Lord,
the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.
15:18 The Lord will reign forever and ever!
15:19 For the horses of Pharaoh came with his chariots and his footmen into the sea,
and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them,
but the Israelites walked on dry land in the middle of the sea.”
15:20 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a hand-drum in her hand, and all the women went out after her with hand-drums and with dances. 429 15:21 Miriam sang in response 430 to them, “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.” 431
15:22 The Bitter Water
432 Then Moses led Israel to journey 433 away from the Red Sea. They went out to the Desert of Shur, walked for three days 434 into the desert, and found no water. 15:23 Then they came to Marah, 435 but they were not able to drink 436 the waters of Marah, because 437 they were bitter. 438 (That is 439 why its name was 440 Marah.)
15:24 So the people murmured 441 against Moses, saying, “What can 442 we drink?” 15:25 He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him 443 a tree. 444 When Moses 445 threw it into the water, the water became safe to drink. There the Lord 446 made for them 447 a binding ordinance, 448 and there he tested 449 them. 15:26 He said, “If you will diligently obey 450 the Lord your God, and do what is right 451 in his sight, and pay attention 452 to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, then all 453 the diseases 454 that I brought on the Egyptians I will not bring on you, for I, the Lord, am your healer.” 455
15:27 Then they came to Elim, 456 where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the water.
16:1 The Provision of Manna
457 When 458 they journeyed from Elim, the entire company 459 of Israelites came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their exodus 460 from the land of Egypt. 16:2 The entire company 461 of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron in the desert. 16:3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died 462 by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by 463 the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full, 464 for you have brought us out into this desert to kill 465 this whole assembly with hunger!”
16:4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain 466 bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out 467 and gather the amount for each day, so that I may test them. 468 Will they walk in my law 469 or not? 16:5 On the sixth day 470 they will prepare what they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather every other day.” 471
16:6 Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening 472 you will know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt, 16:7 and in the morning you will see 473 the glory of the Lord, because he has heard 474 your murmurings against the Lord. As for us, what are we, 475 that you should murmur against us?”
16:8 Moses said, “You will know this 476 when the Lord gives you 477 meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning to satisfy you, because the Lord has heard your murmurings that you are murmuring against him. As for us, what are we? 478 Your murmurings are not against us, 479 but against the Lord.”
16:9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community 480 of the Israelites, ‘Come 481 before the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings.’”
16:10 As Aaron spoke 482 to the whole community of the Israelites and they looked toward the desert, there the glory of the Lord 483 appeared 484 in the cloud, 16:11 and the Lord spoke to Moses: 16:12 “I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘During the evening 485 you will eat meat, 486 and in the morning you will be satisfied 487 with bread, so that you may know 488 that I am the Lord your God.’” 489
16:13 In the evening the quail 490 came up and covered the camp, and in the morning a layer of dew was all around the camp. 16:14 When 491 the layer of dew had evaporated, 492 there on the surface of the desert was a thin flaky substance, 493 thin like frost on the earth. 16:15 When 494 the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, 495 “What is it?” because they did not know what it was. 496 Moses said to them, “It is the bread 497 that the Lord has given you for food. 498
16:16 “This is what 499 the Lord has commanded: 500 ‘Each person is to gather 501 from it what he can eat, an omer 502 per person 503 according to the number 504 of your people; 505 each one will pick it up 506 for whoever lives 507 in his tent.’” 16:17 The Israelites did so, and they gathered – some more, some less. 16:18 When 508 they measured with an omer, the one who gathered much had nothing left over, and the one who gathered little lacked nothing; each one had gathered what he could eat.
16:19 Moses said to them, “No one 509 is to keep any of it 510 until morning.” 16:20 But they did not listen to Moses; some 511 kept part of it until morning, and it was full 512 of worms and began to stink, and Moses was angry with them. 16:21 So they gathered it each morning, 513 each person according to what he could eat, and when the sun got hot, it would melt. 514 16:22 And 515 on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers 516 per person; 517 and all the leaders 518 of the community 519 came and told 520 Moses. 16:23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a time of cessation from work, 521 a holy Sabbath 522 to the Lord. Whatever you want to 523 bake, bake today; 524 whatever you want to boil, boil today; whatever is left put aside for yourselves to be kept until morning.’”
16:24 So they put it aside until the morning, just as Moses had commanded, and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. 16:25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the area. 525 16:26 Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
16:27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather it, but they found nothing. 16:28 So the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse 526 to obey my commandments and my instructions? 16:29 See, because the Lord has given you the Sabbath, that is why 527 he is giving you food for two days on the sixth day. Each of you stay where you are; 528 let no one 529 go out of his place on the seventh day.” 16:30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
16:31 The house of Israel 530 called its name “manna.” 531 It was like coriander seed and was white, and it tasted 532 like wafers with honey.
16:32 Moses said, “This is what 533 the Lord has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it to be kept 534 for generations to come, 535 so that they may see 536 the food I fed you in the desert when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.’” 16:33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put in it an omer full of manna, and place it before the Lord to be kept for generations to come.” 16:34 Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the Testimony 537 for safekeeping. 538
16:35 Now the Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was inhabited; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 16:36 (Now an omer is one tenth of an ephah.) 539
17:1 Water at Massa and Meribah
540 The whole community 541 of the Israelites traveled on their journey 542 from the Desert of Sin according to the Lord’s instruction, and they pitched camp in Rephidim. 543 Now 544 there was no water for the people to drink. 545 17:2 So the people contended 546 with Moses, and they said, “Give us water to drink!” 547 Moses said to them, “Why do you contend 548 with me? Why do you test 549 the Lord?” 17:3 But the people were very thirsty 550 there for water, and they murmured against Moses and said, “Why in the world 551 did you bring us up out of Egypt – to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” 552
17:4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What will I do with 553 this people? – a little more 554 and they will stone me!” 555 17:5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go over before the people; 556 take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile and go. 17:6 I will be standing 557 before you there on 558 the rock in Horeb, and you will strike 559 the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink.” 560 And Moses did so in plain view 561 of the elders of Israel.
17:7 He called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contending of the Israelites and because of their testing the Lord, 562 saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
17:8 Victory over the Amalekites
563 Amalek came 564 and attacked 565 Israel in Rephidim. 17:9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our 566 men and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”
17:10 So Joshua fought against Amalek just as Moses had instructed him; 567 and Moses and Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 17:11 Whenever Moses would raise his hands, 568 then Israel prevailed, but whenever he would rest 569 his hands, then Amalek prevailed. 17:12 When 570 the hands of Moses became heavy, 571 they took a stone and put it under him, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other, 572 and so his hands were steady 573 until the sun went down. 17:13 So Joshua destroyed 574 Amalek and his army 575 with the sword. 576
17:14 The Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in the 577 book, and rehearse 578 it in Joshua’s hearing; 579 for I will surely wipe out 580 the remembrance 581 of Amalek from under heaven. 17:15 Moses built an altar, and he called it “The Lord is my Banner,” 582 17:16 for he said, “For a hand was lifted up to the throne of the Lord 583 – that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” 584
18:1 The Advice of Jethro
585 Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard about all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, that 586 the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 587
18:2 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife Zipporah after he had sent her back, 18:3 and her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom (for Moses 588 had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land”), 18:4 and the other Eliezer (for Moses had said, 589 “The God of my father has been my help 590 and delivered 591 me from the sword of Pharaoh”).
18:5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ 592 sons and his wife, came to Moses in the desert where he was camping by 593 the mountain of God. 594 18:6 He said 595 to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you, along with your wife and her two sons with her.” 18:7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him; 596 they each asked about the other’s welfare, and then they went into the tent. 18:8 Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to Egypt for Israel’s sake, and all the hardship 597 that had come on them 598 along the way, and how 599 the Lord had delivered them.
18:9 Jethro rejoiced 600 because of all the good that the Lord had done for Israel, whom he had delivered from the hand of Egypt. 18:10 Jethro said, “Blessed 601 be the Lord who has delivered you from the hand of Egypt, and from the hand of Pharaoh, who has delivered the people from the Egyptians’ control! 602 18:11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods, for in the thing in which they dealt proudly against them he has destroyed them.” 603 18:12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought 604 a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, 605 and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat food 606 with the father-in-law of Moses before God.
18:13 On the next day 607 Moses sat to judge 608 the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning until evening. 18:14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this 609 that you are doing for the people? 610 Why are you sitting by yourself, and all the people stand around you from morning until evening?”
18:15 Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire 611 of God. 18:16 When they have a dispute, 612 it comes to me and I decide 613 between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the decrees of God and his laws.” 614
18:17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What 615 you are doing is not good! 18:18 You will surely wear out, 616 both you and these people who are with you, for this is too 617 heavy a burden 618 for you; you are not able to do it by yourself. 18:19 Now listen to me, 619 I will give you advice, and may God be with you: You be a representative for the people to God, 620 and you bring 621 their disputes 622 to God; 18:20 warn 623 them of the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they must walk 624 and the work they must do. 625 18:21 But you choose 626 from the people capable men, 627 God-fearing, 628 men of truth, 629 those who hate bribes, 630 and put them over the people 631 as rulers 632 of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 18:22 They will judge 633 the people under normal circumstances, 634 and every difficult case 635 they will bring to you, but every small case 636 they themselves will judge, so that 637 you may make it easier for yourself, 638 and they will bear the burden 639 with you. 18:23 If you do this thing, and God so commands you, 640 then you will be able 641 to endure, 642 and all these people 643 will be able to go 644 home 645 satisfied.” 646
18:24 Moses listened to 647 his father-in-law and did everything he had said. 18:25 Moses chose capable men from all Israel, and he made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 18:26 They judged the people under normal circumstances; the difficult cases they would bring 648 to Moses, but every small case they would judge themselves.
18:27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, 649 and so Jethro 650 went 651 to his own land. 652
19:1 Israel at Sinai
653 In the third month after the Israelites went out 654 from the land of Egypt, on the very day, 655 they came to the Desert of Sinai. 19:2 After they journeyed 656 from Rephidim, they came to the Desert of Sinai, and they camped in the desert; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. 657
19:3 Moses 658 went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, “Thus you will tell the house of Jacob, and declare to the people 659 of Israel: 19:4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I lifted you on eagles’ wings 660 and brought you to myself. 661 19:5 And now, if you will diligently listen to me 662 and keep 663 my covenant, then you will be my 664 special possession 665 out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine, 19:6 and you will be to me 666 a kingdom of priests 667 and a holy nation.’ 668 These are the words that you will speak to the Israelites.”
19:7 So Moses came and summoned the elders of Israel. He set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him, 19:8 and all the people answered together, “All that the Lord has commanded we will do!” 669 So Moses brought the words of the people back to the Lord.
19:9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come 670 to you in a dense cloud, 671 so that the people may hear when I speak with you and so that they will always believe in you.” 672 And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
19:10 The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and sanctify them 673 today and tomorrow, and make them wash 674 their clothes 19:11 and be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 19:12 You must set boundaries 675 for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed 676 to yourselves not to go up on the mountain nor touch its edge. Whoever touches the mountain will surely be put to death! 19:13 No hand will touch him 677 – but he will surely be stoned or shot through, whether a beast or a human being; 678 he must not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast they may 679 go up on the mountain.”
19:14 Then Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. 19:15 He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not go near your wives.” 680
19:16 On 681 the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense 682 cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud 683 horn; 684 all the people who were in the camp trembled. 19:17 Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain. 19:18 Now Mount Sinai was completely covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a great furnace, 685 and the whole mountain shook 686 violently. 19:19 When the sound of the horn grew louder and louder, 687 Moses was speaking 688 and God was answering him with a voice. 689
19:20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 19:21 The Lord said to Moses, “Go down and solemnly warn 690 the people, lest they force their way through to the Lord to look, and many of them perish. 691 19:22 Let the priests also, who approach the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break through 692 against them.”
19:23 Moses said to the Lord, “The people are not able to come up to Mount Sinai, because you solemnly warned us, 693 ‘Set boundaries for the mountain and set it apart.’” 694 19:24 The Lord said to him, “Go, get down, and come up, and Aaron with you, but do not let the priests and the people force their way through to come up to the Lord, lest he break through against them.” 19:25 So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them. 695
20:1 The Decalogue
696 God spoke all these words: 697
20:2 “I, 698 the Lord, am your God, 699 who brought you 700 from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 701
20:3 “You shall have no 702 other gods before me. 703
20:4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image 704 or any likeness 705 of anything 706 that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below. 707 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, 708 for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous 709 God, responding to 710 the transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the third and fourth generations 711 of those who reject me, 712 20:6 and showing covenant faithfulness 713 to a thousand generations 714 of those who love me and keep my commandments.
20:7 “You shall not take 715 the name of the Lord your God in vain, 716 for the Lord will not hold guiltless 717 anyone who takes his name in vain.
20:8 “Remember 718 the Sabbath 719 day to set it apart as holy. 720 20:9 For six days 721 you may labor 722 and do all your work, 723 20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it 724 you shall not do any work, you, 725 or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates. 726 20:11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
20:12 “Honor 727 your father and your mother, that you may live a long time 728 in the land 729 the Lord your God is giving to you.
20:13 “You shall not murder. 730
20:14 “You shall not commit adultery. 731
20:15 “You shall not steal. 732
20:16 “You shall not give 733 false testimony 734 against your neighbor.
20:17 “You shall not covet 735 your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.” 736
20:18 All the people were seeing 737 the thundering and the lightning, and heard 738 the sound of the horn, and saw 739 the mountain smoking – and when 740 the people saw it they trembled with fear 741 and kept their distance. 742 20:19 They said to Moses, “You speak 743 to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.” 20:20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, 744 that the fear of him 745 may be before you so that you do not 746 sin.” 20:21 The people kept 747 their distance, but Moses drew near the thick darkness 748 where God was. 749
20:22 The Altar
750 The Lord said 751 to Moses: “Thus you will tell the Israelites: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken with you from heaven. 20:23 You must not make gods of silver alongside me, 752 nor make gods of gold for yourselves. 753
20:24 ‘You must make for me an altar made of earth, 754 and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, 755 your sheep and your cattle. In every place 756 where I cause my name to be honored 757 I will come to you and I will bless you. 20:25 If you make me an altar of stone, you must not build it 758 of stones shaped with tools, 759 for if you use your tool on it you have defiled it. 760 20:26 And you must not go up by steps to my altar, so that your nakedness is not exposed.’ 761
