Exodus 5-12
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 5
1And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, 'This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Let My people go so that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’?' 2But Pharaoh said, 'Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.' 3Then they said, 'The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, otherwise He will strike us with plague or with the sword.' 4But the king of Egypt said to them, 'Moses and Aaron, why do you let the people neglect their work? Get back to your labors!' 5Again Pharaoh said, 'Look, the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!' 6So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters over the people and their foremen, saying, 7You are no longer to give the people straw to make bricks as previously; have them go and gather straw for themselves. 8But you shall impose on them the quota of bricks which they were making before; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are lazy, for that reason they cry out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9Let the labor be heavier on the men, and have them work at it so that they will pay no attention to false words.'
10So the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, 'This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am not going to give you any straw.
11You go, get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it; but none of your labor will be reduced.’?'
12So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.
13And the taskmasters pressed them, saying, 'Complete your work quota, your daily amount, just as when you had straw.'
14Moreover, the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and asked, 'Why have you not completed your required task of making bricks either yesterday or today, as before?'
15Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, 'Why do you deal this way with your servants?
16There is no straw given to your servants, yet they keep saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are being beaten; but it is the fault of your own people.'
17But he said, 'You are lazy, very lazy; for that reason you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’
18So go now and work; for you will be given no straw, but you must deliver the quota of bricks.'
19The foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble, since they were told, 'You must not reduce your daily amount of bricks.'
20When they left Pharaoh’s presence, they met Moses and Aaron as they were waiting for them.
21And they said to them, 'May the Lord look upon you and judge you, because you have made us repulsive in Pharaoh’s sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us!'
22Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, 'Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me?
23Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, and You have not rescued Your people at all.'
2God spoke further to Moses and said to him, 'I am the Lord;
3and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name, Lord, I did not make Myself known to them.
4I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as strangers.
5Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.
6Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the labors of the Egyptians, and I will rescue you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments.
7Then I will take you as My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the labors of the Egyptians.
8I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession; I am the Lord.’?'
9So Moses said this to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage.
10Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
11Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the sons of Israel go out of his land.'
12But Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, 'Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me, as I am unskilled in speech?'
13Nevertheless, the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron and gave them a command concerning the sons of Israel and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
14These are the heads of their fathers’ households. The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben.
15And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon.
16And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and the length of Levi’s life was 137 years.
17The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families.
18And the sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; and the length of Kohath’s life was 133 years.
19And the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations.
20Now Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the length of Amram’s life was 137 years.
21And the sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.
22And the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
23Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
24And the sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites.
25Now Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites according to their families.
26It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, 'Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their multitudes.'
27They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the sons of Israel from Egypt; it was the same Moses and Aaron.
28Now it came about on the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,
29that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'I am the Lord; say to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.'
30But Moses said before the Lord, 'Behold, I am unskilled in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?'
Chapter 7
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 'See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2As for you, you shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land. 3But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. 4When Pharaoh does not listen to you, I will lay My hand on Egypt and bring out My armies, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by great judgments. 5Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I extend My hand over Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.' 6So Moses and Aaron did this; as the Lord commanded them, so they did. 7And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
9When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘ Work a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, so that it may turn into a serpent.’?'
10So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and so they did, just as the Lord had commanded; and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his servants, and it turned into a serpent.
11Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they too, the soothsayer priests of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts.
12For each one threw down his staff, and they turned into serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs.
13Yet Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
14Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn; he refuses to let the people go.
15Go to Pharaoh in the morning just as he is going out to the water, and position yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand the staff that was turned into a serpent.
16And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, 'Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened up to now.'
17This is what the Lord says: 'By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, I am going to strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned into blood.
18Then the fish that are in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will no longer be able to drink water from the Nile.'?’?'
19Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and extend your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, so that they may become blood; and there will be blood through all the land of Egypt, both in containers of wood and in containers of stone.’?'
20So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants; and all the water that was in the Nile was turned into blood.
21Then the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt.
22But the soothsayer priests of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
23Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house with no concern even for this.
24So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink from the water of the Nile.
25Seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.
Chapter 8
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: 'Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. 2But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I am going to strike your entire territory with frogs. 3The Nile will swarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your house, and into your bedroom and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants, and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls. 4So the frogs will come up on you, your people, and on all your servants.'?’?' 5Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, ‘Extend your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams, and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’?' 6So Aaron extended his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7However, the soothsayer priests did the same with their secret arts, making frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
8Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, 'Plead with the Lord to remove the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, so that they may sacrifice to the Lord.'
9And Moses said to Pharaoh, 'The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I plead for you and your servants and your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, that they be left only in the Nile?'
10Then he said, 'Tomorrow.' So he said, 'May it be according to your word, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.
11The frogs will depart from you and your houses, and from your servants and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.'
12Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had inflicted upon Pharaoh.
13The Lord did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, the courtyards, and the fields.
14So they piled them in heaps, and the land stank.
15But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
16Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, ‘Extend your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may turn into gnats through all the land of Egypt.’?'
17They did so; and Aaron extended his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on every person and animal. All the dust of the earth turned into gnats through all the land of Egypt.
18The soothsayer priests tried with their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not; so there were gnats on every person and animal.
19Then the soothsayer priests said to Pharaoh, 'This is the finger of God.' But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
20Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he comes out to the water; and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: 'Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.
21For if you are not going to let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people, and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they live.
22But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that I, the Lord, am in the midst of the land.
23I will put a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will occur.'?’?'
24Then the Lord did so. And thick swarms of flies entered the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants, and the land was laid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt.
25Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, 'Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.'
26But Moses said, 'It is not permissible for us to do so, because we will sacrifice to the Lord our God that which is an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice that which is an abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us?
27We must go a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God, just as He commands us.'
28Pharaoh said, 'I will let you go, so that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Plead for me.'
29Then Moses said, 'Behold, I am going to leave you, and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow; only do not let Pharaoh deal deceitfully again in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.'
30So Moses left Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord.
31The Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained.
32But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.
Chapter 9
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Go to Pharaoh and speak to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: 'Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. 2For if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them, 3behold, the hand of the Lord will come with a very severe plague on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks. 4But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.'?’?' 5And the Lord set a definite time, saying, 'Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.' 6So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but not one of the livestock of the sons of Israel died. 7And Pharaoh sent men, and they learned that, behold, not even one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
8Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'Take for yourselves handfuls of soot from a kiln, and Moses shall toss it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh.
9Then it will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and will turn into boils breaking out with sores on every person and animal through all the land of Egypt.'
10So they took soot from a kiln, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses tossed it toward the sky, and it became boils breaking out with sores on every person and animal.
11The soothsayer priests could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the soothsayer priests as well as on all the Egyptians.
12But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
13Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: 'Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.
14For this time I am going to send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.
15For had I now put out My hand and struck you and your people with plague, you would then have been eliminated from the earth.
16But indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name throughout the earth.
17Still you exalt yourself against My people by not letting them go.
18Behold, about this time tomorrow, I will send a very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.
19So now, send word, bring your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. Every person and animal that is found in the field and is not brought home, when the hail comes down on them, will die.'?’?'
20Everyone among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring his servants and his livestock into the houses;
21but everyone who did not pay regard to the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.
22Now the Lord said to Moses, 'Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that hail may fall on all the land of Egypt, on every person and animal, and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.'
23So Moses reached out with his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt.
24So there was hail, and fire flashing intermittently in the midst of the hail, which was very heavy, such as had not occurred in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
25The hail struck everything that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, from people to animals; the hail also struck every plant of the field, and shattered every tree of the field.
26Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, was there no hail.
27Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, 'I have sinned this time; the Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones.
28Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail; and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.'
29Moses said to him, 'As soon as I go out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease and there will no longer be hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’S.
30But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.'
31(Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud.
32But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they ripen late.)
33So Moses left the city from his meeting with Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to the Lord; and the thunder and the hail stopped, and rain no longer poured on the earth.
34But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had stopped, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his servants.
35So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.
Chapter 10
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, so that I may perform these signs of Mine among them, 2and that you may tell in the presence of your son, and of your grandson, how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I performed My signs among them, so that you may know that I am the Lord.'
3So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to 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 serve Me.
4For if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory.
5And they will cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. They will also eat the rest of what has survived—what is left to you from the hail—and they will eat every tree of yours which grows in the field.
6Then your houses will be filled with them, together with the houses of all your servants and the houses of all the Egyptians, something which neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day that they came upon the earth until this day.’?' And he turned and left Pharaoh.
7Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, 'How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is destroyed?'
8So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, 'Go, serve the Lord your God! Who specifically are the ones who are going?'
9Moses said, 'We shall go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we shall go, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.'
10Then he said to them, 'So may the Lord be with you, when I let you and your little ones go! Watch out, for evil is on your mind!
11Not so! Go now, but only the men among you, and serve the Lord, since that is what you desire.' So they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
12Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Reach out with your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come up on the land of Egypt and eat every plant of the land, everything that the hail has left.'
13So Moses reached out with his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord directed an east wind on the land all that day and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.
14The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled in all the territory of Egypt; they were very numerous. There had never been so many locusts, nor would there be so many again.
15For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Therefore nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field throughout the land of Egypt.
16Then Pharaoh hurriedly called for Moses and Aaron, and he said, 'I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you.
17So now, please forgive my sin only this once, and plead with the Lord your God, that He would only remove this death from me.'
18Then he left Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord.
19So the Lord shifted the wind to a very strong west wind, which picked up the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not one locust was left in all the territory of Egypt.
20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go.
21Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt.'
22So Moses reached out with his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.
23They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings.
24Then Pharaoh called for Moses, and said, 'Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be left behind. Even your little ones may go with you.'
25But Moses said, 'You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, so that we may sacrifice them to the Lord our God.
26Therefore, our livestock too shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we shall take some of them to serve the Lord our God. And until we arrive there, we ourselves do not know with what we shall serve the Lord.'
27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go.
28Then Pharaoh said to him, 'Get away from me! Be careful, do not see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you shall die!'
29Moses said, 'You have spoken correctly; I shall never see your face again!'
Chapter 11
1Now the Lord said to Moses, 'One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will assuredly drive you out from here completely. 2Speak now so that the people hear, that each man is to ask of his neighbor, and each woman of her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold.' 3And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Furthermore, the man Moses himself was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.
4Then Moses said, 'This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt,
5and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well.
6So there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again.
7But not even a dog will threaten any of the sons of Israel, nor anything from person to animal, so that you may learn how the Lord distinguishes between Egypt and Israel.’
8And all these servants of yours will come down to me and bow themselves before me, saying, ‘Go out, you and all the people who follow you,’ and after that I will go out.' And he left Pharaoh in the heat of anger.
9Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders will be multiplied in the land of Egypt.'
10So Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh; yet the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go out of his land.
Chapter 12
1Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year for you. 3Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are, each one, to take a lamb for themselves, according to the fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. 4Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; in proportion to what each one should eat, you are to divide the lamb. 5Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it at twilight. 7Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. 10And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall completely burn with fire. 11Now you shall eat it in this way: with your garment belted around your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in a hurry—it is the Lord’S Passover. 12For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and fatally strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the human firstborn to animals; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord. 13The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will come upon you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14‘Now this day shall be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.
15For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove dough with yeast from your houses; for whoever eats anything with yeast from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.
16And on the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except for what must be eaten by every person—that alone may be prepared by you.
17You shall also keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your multitudes out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall keep this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance.
18In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.
19For seven days there shall be no dough with yeast found in your houses; for whoever eats anything with yeast, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land.
20You shall not eat anything with yeast; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’?'
21Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, 'Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slaughter the Passover lamb.
22And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.
23For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; but when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to strike you.
24And you shall keep this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever.
25When you enter the land which the Lord will give you, as He has promised, you shall keep this rite.
26And when your children say to you, ‘ What does this rite mean to you?’
27then you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord because He passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians, but spared our homes.’?' And the people bowed low and worshiped.
29Now it came about at midnight that the Lord struck 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 dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle.
30And Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead.
31Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, 'Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the Lord, as you have said.
32Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.'
33The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in a hurry, for they said, 'We will all be dead.'
34So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders.
35Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing;
36and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Therefore they plundered the Egyptians.
37Now the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children.
38A mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock.
39And they baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread. For it had no yeast, since they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.
40Now the time that the sons of Israel had lived in Egypt was 430 years.
41And at the end of 430 years, on this very day, all the multitudes of the Lord departed from the land of Egypt.
43And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'This is the ordinance of the Passover: no foreigner is to eat it;
44but as for every slave that someone has purchased with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.
45A stranger or a hired worker shall not eat it.
46It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to bring any of the meat outside of the house, nor are you to break any bone of it.
47All the congregation of Israel are to celebrate this.
48But if a stranger resides with you and celebrates the Passover to the Lord, all of his males are to be circumcised, and then he shall come near to celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised male may eat it.
49The same law shall apply to the native as to the stranger who resides among you.'
King James Version
Chapter 5
1And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. 2And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. 3And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. 4And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens. 5And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.
6And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,
7Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.
8And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
9Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.
10And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.
11Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.
12So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.
13And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.
14And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?
15Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?
16There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.
17But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord.
18Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.
19And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.
20And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:
21And they said unto them, The Lord look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.
22And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?
23For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.
Chapter 6
1Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.
2And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
3And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
4And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.
5And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.
6Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
7And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the Lord.
9And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
10And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
11Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
12And Moses spake before the Lord, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?
13And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
14These be the heads of their fathers' houses: The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi: these be the families of Reuben.
26These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom the Lord said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies.
27These are they which spake to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron.
28And it came to pass on the day when the Lord spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt,
29That the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, I am the Lord: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee.
30And Moses said before the Lord, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?
Chapter 7
1And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. 2Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land. 3And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. 4But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. 5And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.
6And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them, so did they.
7And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.
8And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
9When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
10And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
12For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
13And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.
14And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.
15Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.
16And thou shalt say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.
17Thus saith the Lord, In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
18And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.
19And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.
20And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
21And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
22And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the Lord had said.
23And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.
24And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.
25And seven days were fulfilled, after that the Lord had smitten the river.
Chapter 8
1And the Lord spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: 3And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs: 4And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.
5And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.
6And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.
8Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord.
9And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?
10And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God.
11And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only.
12And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the Lord because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh.
13And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields.
14And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.
15But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.
16And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
17And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
18And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.
19Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.
20And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
21Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.
22And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.
23And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.
24And the Lord did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.
25And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.
26And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?
27We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us.
29And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.
30And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord.
31And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.
32And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.
Chapter 9
1Then the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, 3Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain. 4And the Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel.
5And the Lord appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the Lord shall do this thing in the land.
6And the Lord did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.
7And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
8And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.
9And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.
10And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.
11And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.
12And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had spoken unto Moses.
13And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
14For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.
15For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.
16And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
17As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?
18Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.
19Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.
20He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:
21And he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field.
22And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.
23And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
24So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
25And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.
26Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
27And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
28Intreat the Lord (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.
29And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the Lord; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the Lord'S.
30But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord God.
31And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.
32But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up.
33And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the Lord: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.
34And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.
35And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the Lord had spoken by Moses.
Chapter 10
1And the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him: 2And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the Lord.
3And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.
4Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast:
5And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field:
6And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh.
8And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the Lord your God: but who are they that shall go?
9And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord.
10And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you.
11Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.
12And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left.
13And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.
14And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.
15For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
16Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you.
17Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only.
18And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord.
19And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.
20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.
21And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.
22And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:
23They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
25And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God.
26Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither.
27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go.
28And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die.
29And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.
Chapter 11
1And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. 2Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.
4And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:
5And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.
6And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.
7But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.
8And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.
Chapter 12
1And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 10And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord'S passover.
12For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.
13And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
14And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
15Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
16And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
17And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.
18In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.
19Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.
20Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.
21Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.
22And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
23For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
24And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.
25And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.
26And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
27That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
28And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
29And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
30And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
31And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.
32Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.
33And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.
34And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.
35And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:
36And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
37And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.
38And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.
39And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.
40Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
41And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
42It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.
43And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:
44But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
45A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.
46In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.
47All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
48And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
49One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.
Christian Standard Bible
4The king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why are you causing the people to neglect their work? Get to your labor!"
5Pharaoh also said, "Look, the people of the land are so numerous, and you would stop them from their labor."
6That day Pharaoh commanded the overseers of the people as well as their foremen:
7"Don’t continue to supply the people with straw for making bricks, as before. They must go and gather straw for themselves.
8But require the same quota of bricks from them as they were making before; do not reduce it. For they are slackers—that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’
9Impose heavier work on the men. Then they will be occupied with it and not pay attention to deceptive words."
10So the overseers and foremen of the people went out and said to them, "This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am not giving you straw.
11Go get straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but there will be no reduction at all in your workload.’"
12So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.
13The overseers insisted, "Finish your assigned work each day, just as you did when straw was provided."
14Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s slave drivers had set over the people, were beaten and asked, "Why haven’t you finished making your prescribed number of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?"
15So the Israelite foremen went in and cried for help to Pharaoh: "Why are you treating your servants this way?
16No straw has been given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but it is your own people who are at fault."
17But he said, "You are slackers. Slackers! That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’
18Now get to work. No straw will be given to you, but you must produce the same quantity of bricks."
19The Israelite foremen saw that they were in trouble when they were told, "You cannot reduce your daily quota of bricks."
20When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them.
22So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, "Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? And why did you ever send me?
23Ever since I went in to Pharaoh to speak in your name he has caused trouble for this people, and you haven’t rescued your people at all."
2Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, "I am the Lord.
3I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’
4I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens.
5Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.
6"Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment.
7I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians.
8I will bring you to the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord."
9Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.
10Then the Lord spoke to Moses,
11"Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go from his land."
12But Moses said in the Lord’s presence: "If the Israelites will not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am such a poor speaker?"
13Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them commands concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.
26It was this Aaron and Moses whom the Lord told, "Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt according to their military divisions."
27Moses and Aaron were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.
28On the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,
29he said to him, "I am the Lord; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I am telling you."
Chapter 7
1The Lord answered Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. 2You must say whatever I command you; then Aaron your brother must declare it to Pharaoh so that he will let the Israelites go from his land. 3But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. 4Pharaoh will not listen to you, but I will put my hand into Egypt and bring the military divisions of my people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. 5The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the Israelites from among them."
6So Moses and Aaron did this; they did just as the Lord commanded them.
7Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
9"When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh. It will become a serpent.’"
10So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent.
11But then Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers—the magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same thing by their occult practices.
12Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs.
13However, Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
14Then the Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh’s heart is hard: He refuses to let the people go.
15Go to Pharaoh in the morning. When you see him walking out to the water, stand ready to meet him by the bank of the Nile. Take in your hand the staff that turned into a snake.
16Tell 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 so far you have not listened.
17This is what the Lord says: Here is how you will know that I am the Lord. Watch. I am about to strike the water in the Nile with the staff in my hand, and it will turn to blood.
18The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from it."
20Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded; in the sight of Pharaoh and his officials, he raised the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile was turned to blood.
21The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad the Egyptians could not drink water from it. There was blood throughout the land of Egypt.
22But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their occult practices. So Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
23Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and didn’t take even this to heart.
24All the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink because they could not drink the water from the river.
25Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.
Chapter 8
1Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh and tell him: This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 2But if you refuse to let them go, then I will plague all your territory with frogs. 3The Nile will swarm with frogs; they will come up and go into your palace, into your bedroom and on your bed, into the houses of your officials and your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls. 4The frogs will come up on you, your people, and all your officials."
5The Lord then said to Moses, "Tell Aaron: Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, canals, and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt."
6When Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.
7But the magicians did the same thing by their occult practices and brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.
10"Tomorrow," he answered. Moses replied, "As you have said, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God,
11the frogs will go away from you, your houses, your officials, and your people. The frogs will remain only in the Nile."
12After Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord for help concerning the frogs that he had brought against Pharaoh.
13The Lord did as Moses had said: the frogs in the houses, courtyards, and fields died.
14They piled them in countless heaps, and there was a terrible odor in the land.
15But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
16Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land, and it will become gnats throughout the land of Egypt."
17And they did this. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and when he struck the dust of the land, gnats were on people and animals. All the dust of the land became gnats throughout the land of Egypt.
18The magicians tried to produce gnats using their occult practices, but they could not. The gnats remained on people and animals.
20The Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh when you see him going out to the water. Tell him: This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.
21But if you will not let my people go, then I will send swarms of flies against you, your officials, your people, and your houses. The Egyptians’ houses will swarm with flies, and so will the land where they live.
22But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where my people are living; no flies will be there. This way you will know that I, the Lord, am in the land.
23I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow."
24And the Lord did this. Thick swarms of flies went into Pharaoh’s palace and his officials’ houses. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined because of the swarms of flies.
25Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Go sacrifice to your God within the country."
26But Moses said, "It would not be right to do that, because what we will sacrifice to the Lord our God is detestable to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice what the Egyptians detest in front of them, won’t they stone us?
27We must go a distance of three days into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he instructs us."
29"As soon as I leave you," Moses said, "I will appeal to the Lord, and tomorrow the swarms of flies will depart from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. But Pharaoh must not act deceptively again by refusing to let the people go and sacrifice to the Lord."
30Then Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the Lord.
31The Lord did as Moses had said: He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people; not one was left.
32But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and did not let the people go.
Chapter 9
1Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh and say to him: This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 2But if you refuse to let them go and keep holding them, 3then the Lord’s hand will bring a severe plague against your livestock in the field—the horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks. 4But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that the Israelites own will die." 5And the Lord set a time, saying, "Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land." 6The Lord did this the next day. All the Egyptian livestock died, but none among the Israelite livestock died. 7Pharaoh sent messengers who saw that not a single one of the Israelite livestock was dead. But Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not let the people go.
8Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of furnace soot, and Moses is to throw it toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.
9It will become fine dust over the entire land of Egypt. It will become festering boils on people and animals throughout the land of Egypt."
10So they took furnace soot and stood before Pharaoh. Moses threw it toward heaven, and it became festering boils on people and animals.
11The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians.
12But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had told Moses.
13Then the Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh. Tell him: This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.
14For this time I am about to send all my plagues against you, your officials, and your people. Then you will know there is no one like me on the whole earth.
15By now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague, and you would have been obliterated from the earth.
16However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you my power and to make my name known on the whole earth.
17You are still acting arrogantly against my people by not letting them go.
18Tomorrow at this time I will rain down the worst hail that has ever occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.
19Therefore give orders to bring your livestock and all that you have in the field into shelters. Every person and animal that is in the field and not brought inside will die when the hail falls on them."
20Those among Pharaoh’s officials who feared the word of the Lord made their servants and livestock flee to shelters,
21but those who didn’t take to heart the Lord’s word left their servants and livestock in the field.
22Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven and let there be hail throughout the land of Egypt—on people and animals and every plant of the field in the land of Egypt."
23So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail. Lightning struck the land, and the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt.
24The hail, with lightning flashing through it, was so severe that nothing like it had occurred in the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.
25Throughout the land of Egypt, the hail struck down everything in the field, both people and animals. The hail beat down every plant of the field and shattered every tree in the field.
26The only place it didn’t hail was in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.
27Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. "I have sinned this time," he said to them. "The Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the guilty ones.
28Make an appeal to the Lord. There has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t need to stay any longer."
29Moses 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 the earth belongs to the Lord.
30But as for you and your officials, I know that you still do not fear the Lord God."
31The flax and the barley were destroyed because the barley was ripe and the flax was budding,
32but the wheat and the spelt were not destroyed since they are later crops.
33Moses left Pharaoh and the city, and spread out his hands to the Lord. Then the thunder and hail ceased, and rain no longer poured down on the land.
34When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his officials.
35So Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not let the Israelites go, as the Lord had said through Moses.
Chapter 10
1Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may do these miraculous signs of mine among them, 2and so that you may tell your son and grandson how severely I dealt with the Egyptians and performed miraculous signs among them, and you will know that I am the Lord."
3So Moses and Aaron went in 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, that they may worship me.
4But if you refuse to let my people go, then tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory.
5They will cover the surface of the land so that no one will be able to see the land. They will eat the remainder left to you that escaped the hail; they will eat every tree you have growing in the fields.
6They will fill your houses, all your officials’ houses, and the houses of all the Egyptians—something your fathers and grandfathers never saw since the time they occupied the land until today." Then he turned and left Pharaoh’s presence.
10He said to them, "The Lord would have to be with you if I would ever let you and your families go! Look out—you’re heading for trouble.
11No, go—just able-bodied men—worship the Lord, since that’s what you want." And they were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.
12The Lord then said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, and the locusts will come up over it and eat every plant in the land, everything that the hail left."
13So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord sent an east wind over the land all that day and through the night. By morning the east wind had brought in the locusts.
14The locusts went up over the entire land of Egypt and settled on the whole territory of Egypt. Never before had there been such a large number of locusts, and there never will be again.
15They covered the surface of the whole land so that the land was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on the trees or the plants in the field throughout the land of Egypt.
16Pharaoh urgently sent for Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you.
17Please forgive my sin once more and make an appeal to the Lord your God, so that he will just take this death away from me."
18Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the Lord.
19Then the Lord changed the wind to a strong west wind, and it carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the territory of Egypt.
20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the Israelites go.
21Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt."
22So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days.
23One person could not see another, and for three days they did not move from where they were. Yet all the Israelites had light where they lived.
25Moses responded, "You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings to prepare for the Lord our God.
26Even our livestock must go with us; not a hoof will be left behind because we will take some of them to worship the Lord our God. We will not know what we will use to worship the Lord until we get there."
27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them go.
28Pharaoh said to him, "Leave me! Make sure you never see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you will die."
Chapter 11
1The Lord said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you out of here. 2Now announce to the people that both men and women should ask their neighbors for silver and gold items." 3The Lord gave the people favor with the Egyptians. In addition, Moses himself was very highly regarded in the land of Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and the people.
4So Moses said, "This is what the Lord says: About midnight I will go throughout Egypt,
5and every firstborn male in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is at the grindstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock.
6Then there will be a great cry of anguish through all the land of Egypt such as never was before or ever will be again.
7But against all the Israelites, whether people or animals, not even a dog will snarl, so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.
8All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Get out, you and all the people who follow you. After that, I will get out." And he went out from Pharaoh’s presence fiercely angry.
9The Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt."
10Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his land.
Chapter 12
1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 2"This month is to be the beginning of months for you; it is the first month of your year. 3Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they must each select an animal of the flock according to their fathers’ families, one animal per family. 4If the household is too small for a whole animal, that person and the neighbor nearest his house are to select one based on the combined number of people; you should apportion the animal according to what each will eat. 5You must have an unblemished animal, a year-old male; you may take it from either the sheep or the goats. 6You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight. 7They must take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they eat them. 8They are to eat the meat that night; they should eat it, roasted over the fire along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9Do not eat any of it raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over fire—its head as well as its legs and inner organs. 10You must not leave any of it until morning; any part of it left until morning you must burn. 11Here is how you must eat it: You must be dressed for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord’s Passover.
12"I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the Lord; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt.
13The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14"This day is to be a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. You are to celebrate it throughout your generations as a permanent statute.
15You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you must remove yeast from your houses. Whoever eats what is leavened from the first day through the seventh day must be cut off from Israel.
16You are to hold a sacred assembly on the first day and another sacred assembly on the seventh day. No work may be done on those days except for preparing what people need to eat—you may do only that.
17"You are to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread because on this very day I brought your military divisions out of the land of Egypt. You must observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent statute.
18You are to eat unleavened bread in the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day of the month until the evening of the twenty-first day.
19Yeast must not be found in your houses for seven days. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a resident alien or native of the land, must be cut off from the community of Israel.
20Do not eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes."
21Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go, select an animal from the flock according to your families, and slaughter the Passover animal.
22Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning.
23When the Lord passes through to strike Egypt and sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, he will pass over the door and not let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you.
24"Keep this command permanently as a statute for you and your descendants.
25When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, you are to observe this ceremony.
26When your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’
27you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians and spared our homes.’" So the people knelt low and worshiped.
28Then the Israelites went and did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.
29Now at midnight the Lord struck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock.
30During the night Pharaoh got up, he along with all his officials and all the Egyptians, and there was a loud wailing throughout Egypt because there wasn’t a house without someone dead.
31He summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, "Get out immediately from among my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship the Lord as you have said.
32Take even your flocks and your herds as you asked and leave, and also bless me."
33Now the Egyptians pressured the people in order to send them quickly out of the country, for they said, "We’re all going to die!"
34So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their clothes on their shoulders.
35The Israelites acted on Moses’s word and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold items and for clothing.
36And the Lord gave the people such favor with the Egyptians that they gave them what they requested. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.
37The Israelites traveled from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand able-bodied men on foot, besides their families.
38A mixed crowd also went up with them, along with a huge number of livestock, both flocks and herds.
39The people baked the dough they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves, since it had no yeast; for when they were driven out of Egypt, they could not delay and had not prepared provisions for themselves.
40The time that the Israelites lived in Egypt was 430 years.
41At the end of 430 years, on that same day, all the Lord’s military divisions went out from the land of Egypt.
42It was a night of vigil in honor of the Lord, because he would bring them out of the land of Egypt. This same night is in honor of the Lord, a night vigil for all the Israelites throughout their generations.
43The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner may eat it.
44But any slave a man has purchased may eat it, after you have circumcised him.
45A temporary resident or hired worker may not eat the Passover.
46It is to be eaten in one house. You may not take any of the meat outside the house, and you may not break any of its bones.
47The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.
48If an alien resides among you and wants to observe the Lord’s Passover, every male in his household must be circumcised, and then he may participate; he will become like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat it.
49The same law will apply to both the native and the alien who resides among you."
New Living Translation
4Pharaoh replied, 'Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their tasks? Get back to work!
5Look, there are many of your people in the land, and you are stopping them from their work.'
6That same day Pharaoh sent this order to the Egyptian slave drivers and the Israelite foremen:
7Do not supply any more straw for making bricks. Make the people get it themselves!
8But still require them to make the same number of bricks as before. Don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy. That’s why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to our God.’
9Load them down with more work. Make them sweat! That will teach them to listen to lies!'
10So the slave drivers and foremen went out and told the people: 'This is what Pharaoh says: I will not provide any more straw for you.
11Go and get it yourselves. Find it wherever you can. But you must produce just as many bricks as before!'
12So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt in search of stubble to use as straw.
13Meanwhile, the Egyptian slave drivers continued to push hard. 'Meet your daily quota of bricks, just as you did when we provided you with straw!' they demanded.
14Then they whipped the Israelite foremen they had put in charge of the work crews. 'Why haven’t you met your quotas either yesterday or today?' they demanded.
15So the Israelite foremen went to Pharaoh and pleaded with him. 'Please don’t treat your servants like this,' they begged.
16We are given no straw, but the slave drivers still demand, ‘Make bricks!’ We are being beaten, but it isn’t our fault! Your own people are to blame!'
17But Pharaoh shouted, 'You’re just lazy! Lazy! That’s why you’re saying, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to the Lord.’
18Now get back to work! No straw will be given to you, but you must still produce the full quota of bricks.'
19The Israelite foremen could see that they were in serious trouble when they were told, 'You must not reduce the number of bricks you make each day.'
20As they left Pharaoh’s court, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who were waiting outside for them.
21The foremen said to them, 'May the Lord judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword into their hands, an excuse to kill us!'
22Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested, 'Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me?
23Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!'
2And God said to Moses, 'I am Yahweh — ‘the Lord.’
3I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai — ‘God Almighty’ — but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them.
4And I reaffirmed my covenant with them. Under its terms, I promised to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners.
5You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. And I am well aware of my covenant with them.
6Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment.
7I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt.
8I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your very own possession. I am the Lord!’'
10Then the Lord said to Moses,
11Go back to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and tell him to let the people of Israel leave his country.'
26The Aaron and Moses named in this list are the same ones to whom the Lord said, 'Lead the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt like an army.'
27It was Moses and Aaron who spoke to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, about leading the people of Israel out of Egypt.
28When the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,
29he said to him, 'I am the Lord! Tell Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, everything I am telling you.'
30But Moses argued with the Lord, saying, 'I can’t do it! I’m such a clumsy speaker! Why should Pharaoh listen to me?'
Chapter 7
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet. 2Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country. 3But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. 4Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces — my people, the Israelites — from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. 5When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.'
6So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them.
7Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh.
8Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
9Pharaoh will demand, ‘Show me a miracle.’ When he does this, say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent. ’'
10So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what the Lord had commanded them. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent!
11Then Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their magic.
12They threw down their staffs, which also became serpents! But then Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.
13Pharaoh’s heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the Lord had predicted.
14Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn, and he still refuses to let the people go.
15So go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes down to the river. Stand on the bank of the Nile and meet him there. Be sure to take along the staff that turned into a snake.
16Then announce to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you, 'Let my people go, so they can worship me in the wilderness.' Until now, you have refused to listen to him.
17So this is what the Lord says: 'I will show you that I am the Lord.' Look! I will strike the water of the Nile with this staff in my hand, and the river will turn to blood.
18The fish in it will die, and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.’'
20So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. As Pharaoh and all of his officials watched, Aaron raised his staff and struck the water of the Nile. Suddenly, the whole river turned to blood!
21The fish in the river died, and the water became so foul that the Egyptians couldn’t drink it. There was blood everywhere throughout the land of Egypt.
22But again the magicians of Egypt used their magic, and they, too, turned water into blood. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hard. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had predicted.
23Pharaoh returned to his palace and put the whole thing out of his mind.
24Then all the Egyptians dug along the riverbank to find drinking water, for they couldn’t drink the water from the Nile.
Chapter 8
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Go back to Pharaoh and announce to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. 2If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs across your entire land. 3The Nile River will swarm with frogs. They will come up out of the river and into your palace, even into your bedroom and onto your bed! They will enter the houses of your officials and your people. They will even jump into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 4Frogs will jump on you, your people, and all your officials.’'
5Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Tell Aaron, ‘Raise the staff in your hand over all the rivers, canals, and ponds of Egypt, and bring up frogs over all the land.’'
6So Aaron raised his hand over the waters of Egypt, and frogs came up and covered the whole land!
7But the magicians were able to do the same thing with their magic. They, too, caused frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.
10Do it tomorrow,' Pharaoh said. 'All right,' Moses replied, 'it will be as you have said. Then you will know that there is no one like the Lord our God.
11The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials, and your people. They will remain only in the Nile River.'
12So Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh’s palace, and Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had inflicted on Pharaoh.
13And the Lord did just what Moses had predicted. The frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields all died.
14The Egyptians piled them into great heaps, and a terrible stench filled the land.
15But when Pharaoh saw that relief had come, he became stubborn. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had predicted.
16So the Lord said to Moses, 'Tell Aaron, ‘Raise your staff and strike the ground. The dust will turn into swarms of gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’'
17So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them. When Aaron raised his hand and struck the ground with his staff, gnats infested the entire land, covering the Egyptians and their animals. All the dust in the land of Egypt turned into gnats.
18Pharaoh’s magicians tried to do the same thing with their secret arts, but this time they failed. And the gnats covered everyone, people and animals alike.
20Then the Lord told Moses, 'Get up early in the morning and stand in Pharaoh’s way as he goes down to the river. Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.
21If you refuse, then I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, your people, and all the houses. The Egyptian homes will be filled with flies, and the ground will be covered with them.
22But this time I will spare the region of Goshen, where my people live. No flies will be found there. Then you will know that I am the Lord and that I am present even in the heart of your land.
23I will make a clear distinction between my people and your people. This miraculous sign will happen tomorrow.’'
26But Moses replied, 'That wouldn’t be right. The Egyptians detest the sacrifices that we offer to the Lord our God. Look, if we offer our sacrifices here where the Egyptians can see us, they will stone us.
27We must take a three-day trip into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, just as he has commanded us.'
30So Moses left Pharaoh’s palace and pleaded with the Lord to remove all the flies.
31And the Lord did as Moses asked and caused the swarms of flies to disappear from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Not a single fly remained.
32But Pharaoh again became stubborn and refused to let the people go.
Chapter 9
1Go back to Pharaoh,' the Lord commanded Moses. 'Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. 2If you continue to hold them and refuse to let them go, 3the hand of the Lord will strike all your livestock — your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats — with a deadly plague. 4But the Lord will again make a distinction between the livestock of the Israelites and that of the Egyptians. Not a single one of Israel’s animals will die! 5The Lord has already set the time for the plague to begin. He has declared that he will strike the land tomorrow.’'
6And the Lord did just as he had said. The next morning all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but the Israelites didn’t lose a single animal.
7Pharaoh sent his officials to investigate, and they discovered that the Israelites had not lost a single animal! But even so, Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn, and he still refused to let the people go.
8Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'Take handfuls of soot from a brick kiln, and have Moses toss it into the air while Pharaoh watches.
9The ashes will spread like fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, causing festering boils to break out on people and animals throughout the land.'
10So they took soot from a brick kiln and went and stood before Pharaoh. As Pharaoh watched, Moses threw the soot into the air, and boils broke out on people and animals alike.
11Even the magicians were unable to stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and all the Egyptians.
12But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and just as the Lord had predicted to Moses, Pharaoh refused to listen.
13Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.
14If you don’t, I will send more plagues on you and your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
15By now I could have lifted my hand and struck you and your people with a plague to wipe you off the face of the earth.
16But I have spared you for a purpose — to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth.
17But you still lord it over my people and refuse to let them go.
18So tomorrow at this time I will send a hailstorm more devastating than any in all the history of Egypt.
19Quick! Order your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter. Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail falls.’'
20Some of Pharaoh’s officials were afraid because of what the Lord had said. They quickly brought their servants and livestock in from the fields.
21But those who paid no attention to the word of the Lord left theirs out in the open.
23So Moses lifted his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed toward the earth. The Lord sent a tremendous hailstorm against all the land of Egypt.
24Never in all the history of Egypt had there been a storm like that, with such devastating hail and continuous lightning.
25It left all of Egypt in ruins. The hail struck down everything in the open field — people, animals, and plants alike. Even the trees were destroyed.
26The only place without hail was the region of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived.
27Then Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. 'This time I have sinned,' he confessed. 'The Lord is the righteous one, and my people and I are wrong.
28Please beg the Lord to end this terrifying thunder and hail. We’ve had enough. I will let you go; you don’t need to stay any longer.'
29All right,' Moses replied. 'As soon as I leave the city, I will lift my hands and pray to the Lord. Then the thunder and hail will stop, and you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord.
30But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God.'
31(All the flax and barley were ruined by the hail, because the barley had formed heads and the flax was budding.
32But the wheat and the emmer wheat were spared, because they had not yet sprouted from the ground.)
33So Moses left Pharaoh’s court and went out of the city. When he lifted his hands to the Lord, the thunder and hail stopped, and the downpour ceased.
34But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he and his officials sinned again, and Pharaoh again became stubborn.
35Because his heart was hard, Pharaoh refused to let the people leave, just as the Lord had predicted through Moses.
Chapter 10
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again. I have made him and his officials stubborn so I can display my miraculous signs among them. 2I’ve also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them — and so you will know that I am the Lord.'
3So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, 'This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so they can worship me.
4If you refuse, watch out! For tomorrow I will bring a swarm of locusts on your country.
5They will cover the land so that you won’t be able to see the ground. They will devour what little is left of your crops after the hailstorm, including all the trees growing in the fields.
6They will overrun your palaces and the homes of your officials and all the houses in Egypt. Never in the history of Egypt have your ancestors seen a plague like this one!' And with that, Moses turned and left Pharaoh.
10Pharaoh retorted, 'The Lord will certainly need to be with you if I let you take your little ones! I can see through your evil plan.
11Never! Only the men may go and worship the Lord, since that is what you requested.' And Pharaoh threw them out of the palace.
13So Moses raised his staff over Egypt, and the Lord caused an east wind to blow over the land all that day and through the night. When morning arrived, the east wind had brought the locusts.
14And the locusts swarmed over the whole land of Egypt, settling in dense swarms from one end of the country to the other. It was the worst locust plague in Egyptian history, and there has never been another one like it.
15For the locusts covered the whole country and darkened the land. They devoured every plant in the fields and all the fruit on the trees that had survived the hailstorm. Not a single leaf was left on the trees and plants throughout the land of Egypt.
16Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. 'I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you,' he confessed.
17Forgive my sin, just this once, and plead with the Lord your God to take away this death from me.'
18So Moses left Pharaoh’s court and pleaded with the Lord.
19The Lord responded by shifting the wind, and the strong west wind blew the locusts into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained in all the land of Egypt.
20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart again, so he refused to let the people go.
21Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Lift your hand toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it.'
22So Moses lifted his hand to the sky, and a deep darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days.
23During all that time the people could not see each other, and no one moved. But there was light as usual where the people of Israel lived.
25No,' Moses said, 'you must provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord our God.
26All our livestock must go with us, too; not a hoof can be left behind. We must choose our sacrifices for the Lord our God from among these animals. And we won’t know how we are to worship the Lord until we get there.'
27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart once more, and he would not let them go.
28Get out of here!' Pharaoh shouted at Moses. 'I’m warning you. Never come back to see me again! The day you see my face, you will die!'
Chapter 11
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 'I will strike Pharaoh and the land of Egypt with one more blow. After that, Pharaoh will let you leave this country. In fact, he will be so eager to get rid of you that he will force you all to leave. 2Tell all the Israelite men and women to ask their Egyptian neighbors for articles of silver and gold.' 3(Now the Lord had caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the people of Israel. And Moses was considered a very great man in the land of Egypt, respected by Pharaoh’s officials and the Egyptian people alike.)
4Moses had announced to Pharaoh, 'This is what the Lord says: At midnight tonight I will pass through the heart of Egypt.
5All the firstborn sons will die in every family in Egypt, from the oldest son of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, to the oldest son of his lowliest servant girl who grinds the flour. Even the firstborn of all the livestock will die.
6Then a loud wail will rise throughout the land of Egypt, a wail like no one has heard before or will ever hear again.
7But among the Israelites it will be so peaceful that not even a dog will bark. Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites.
8All the officials of Egypt will run to me and fall to the ground before me. ‘Please leave!’ they will beg. ‘Hurry! And take all your followers with you.’ Only then will I go!' Then, burning with anger, Moses left Pharaoh.
9Now the Lord had told Moses earlier, 'Pharaoh will not listen to you, but then I will do even more mighty miracles in the land of Egypt.'
10Moses and Aaron performed these miracles in Pharaoh’s presence, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he wouldn’t let the Israelites leave the country.
Chapter 12
1While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the Lord gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: 2From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you. 3Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household. 4If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat. 5The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects.
6Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight.
7They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal.
8That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast.
9Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal — including the head, legs, and internal organs — must be roasted over a fire.
10Do not leave any of it until the next morning. Burn whatever is not eaten before morning.
11These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover.
12On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord!
13But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the Lord. This is a law for all time.
15For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. On the first day of the festival, remove every trace of yeast from your homes. Anyone who eats bread made with yeast during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel.
16On the first day of the festival and again on the seventh day, all the people must observe an official day for holy assembly. No work of any kind may be done on these days except in the preparation of food.
17Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. This festival will be a permanent law for you; celebrate this day from generation to generation.
18The bread you eat must be made without yeast from the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day of that month.
19During those seven days, there must be no trace of yeast in your homes. Anyone who eats anything made with yeast during this week will be cut off from the community of Israel. These regulations apply both to the foreigners living among you and to the native-born Israelites.
20During those days you must not eat anything made with yeast. Wherever you live, eat only bread made without yeast.'
21Then Moses called all the elders of Israel together and said to them, 'Go, pick out a lamb or young goat for each of your families, and slaughter the Passover animal.
22Drain the blood into a basin. Then take a bundle of hyssop branches and dip it into the blood. Brush the hyssop across the top and sides of the doorframes of your houses. And no one may go out through the door until morning.
23For the Lord will pass through the land to strike down the Egyptians. But when he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the Lord will pass over your home. He will not permit his death angel to enter your house and strike you down.
24Remember, these instructions are a permanent law that you and your descendants must observe forever.
25When you enter the land the Lord has promised to give you, you will continue to observe this ceremony.
26Then your children will ask, ‘What does this ceremony mean?’
27And you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. And though he struck the Egyptians, he spared our families.’' When Moses had finished speaking, all the people bowed down to the ground and worshiped.
28So the people of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded through Moses and Aaron.
29And that night at midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn son of the prisoner in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed.
30Pharaoh and all his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died.
31Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron during the night. 'Get out!' he ordered. 'Leave my people — and take the rest of the Israelites with you! Go and worship the Lord as you have requested.
32Take your flocks and herds, as you said, and be gone. Go, but bless me as you leave.'
33All the Egyptians urged the people of Israel to get out of the land as quickly as possible, for they thought, 'We will all die!'
34The Israelites took their bread dough before yeast was added. They wrapped their kneading boards in their cloaks and carried them on their shoulders.
35And the people of Israel did as Moses had instructed; they asked the Egyptians for clothing and articles of silver and gold.
36The Lord caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. So they stripped the Egyptians of their wealth!
37That night the people of Israel left Rameses and started for Succoth. There were about 600,000 men, plus all the women and children.
38A rabble of non-Israelites went with them, along with great flocks and herds of livestock.
39For bread they baked flat cakes from the dough without yeast they had brought from Egypt. It was made without yeast because the people were driven out of Egypt in such a hurry that they had no time to prepare the bread or other food.
40The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years.
41In fact, it was on the last day of the 430th year that all the Lord’s forces left the land.
42On this night the Lord kept his promise to bring his people out of the land of Egypt. So this night belongs to him, and it must be commemorated every year by all the Israelites, from generation to generation.
43Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'These are the instructions for the festival of Passover. No outsiders are allowed to eat the Passover meal.
44But any slave who has been purchased may eat it if he has been circumcised.
45Temporary residents and hired servants may not eat it.
46Each Passover lamb must be eaten in one house. Do not carry any of its meat outside, and do not break any of its bones.
47The whole community of Israel must celebrate this Passover festival.
48If there are foreigners living among you who want to celebrate the Lord’s Passover, let all their males be circumcised. Only then may they celebrate the Passover with you like any native-born Israelite. But no uncircumcised male may ever eat the Passover meal.
49This instruction applies to everyone, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner living among you.'
English Standard Version
Chapter 5
1Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’" 2But Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go." 3Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days ' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword." 4But the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens." 5And Pharaoh said, "Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!" 6The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, 7"You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ 9Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words."
10So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, "Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw.
11Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’"
12So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.
13The taskmasters were urgent, saying, "Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw."
14And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh 's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, "Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?"
15Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, "Why do you treat your servants like this?
16No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people."
17But he said, "You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’
18Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks."
19The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, "You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day."
20They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh;
21and they said to them, "The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."
22Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, "O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me?
23For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all."
2God spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am the Lord.
3I 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.
4I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners.
5Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.
6Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.
7I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’"
9Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
10So the Lord said to Moses,
11"Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land."
12But Moses said to the Lord, "Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?"
13But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
14These are the heads of their fathers ' houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben.
15The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon.
16These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the years of the life of Levi being 137 years.
17The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their clans.
18The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, the years of the life of Kohath being 133 years.
19The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their generations.
20Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father 's sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years.
21The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.
22The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
23Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
24The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the clans of the Korahites.
25Eleazar, Aaron 's son, took as his wife one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers ' houses of the Levites by their clans.
26These are the Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said: "Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts."
27It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the people of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron.
28On the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,
29the Lord said to Moses, "I am the Lord; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you."
30But Moses said to the Lord, "Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?"
Chapter 7
1And the Lord said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. 3But I will harden Pharaoh 's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, 4Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. 5The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them." 6Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them. 7Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
9"When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’"
10So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.
11Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts.
12For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron 's staff swallowed up their staffs.
13Still Pharaoh 's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
14Then the Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh 's heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.
15Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent.
16And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, "Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness." But so far, you have not obeyed.
17Thus says the Lord, "By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.
18The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile."’"
19And the Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’"
20Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood.
21And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
22But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh 's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
23Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart.
24And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.
Chapter 8
1Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, "Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs. 3The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 4The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants."’" 5And the Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt!’" 6So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7But the magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
8Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, "Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord."
9Moses said to Pharaoh, "Be pleased to command me when I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile."
10And he said, "Tomorrow." Moses said, "Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.
11The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile."
12So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh.
13And the Lord did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields.
14And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.
15But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
16Then the Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’"
17And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt.
18The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast.
19Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh 's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
20Then the Lord said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, "Let my people go, that they may serve me.
21Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand.
22But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.
23Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen."’"
24And the Lord did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants ' houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.
25Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, "Go, sacrifice to your God within the land."
26But Moses said, "It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us?
27We must go three days ' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he tells us."
28So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me."
29Then Moses said, "Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord."
30So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord.
31And the Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained.
32But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go.
Chapter 9
1Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, "Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, 3behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. 4But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die."’" 5And the Lord set a time, saying, "Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land." 6And the next day the Lord did this thing. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died. 7And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
8And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh.
9It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt."
10So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast.
11And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians.
12But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
13Then the Lord said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, "Let my people go, that they may serve me.
14For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth.
15For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth.
16But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.
17You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go.
18Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.
19Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them."’"
20Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses,
21but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field.
22Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt."
23Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
24There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
25The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field.
26Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.
27Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, "This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.
28Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God 's thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer."
29Moses said to him, "As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch 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.
30But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God."
31(The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud.
32But the wheat and the emmer were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.)
33So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth.
34But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants.
35So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.
Chapter 10
1Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, 2and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord."
3So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, "Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.
4For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country,
5and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field,
6and they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’" Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.
7Then Pharaoh 's servants said to him, "How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?"
8So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, "Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?"
9Moses said, "We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the Lord."
10But he said to them, "The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind.
11No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking." And they were driven out from Pharaoh 's presence.
12Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left."
13So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts.
14The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again.
15They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
16Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you.
17Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me."
18So he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord.
19And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt.
20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh 's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.
21Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt."
22So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.
23They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived.
24Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, "Go, serve the Lord; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind."
25But Moses said, "You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.
26Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there."
27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh 's heart, and he would not let them go.
28Then Pharaoh said to him, "Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die."
29Moses said, "As you say! I will not see your face again."
Chapter 11
1The Lord said to Moses, "Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. 2Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry." 3And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh 's servants and in the sight of the people.
4So Moses said, "Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt,
5and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle.
6There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again.
7But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’
8And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out." And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.
9Then the Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt."
Chapter 12
1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2"This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers ' houses, a lamb for a household. 4And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
7"Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.
8They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.
9Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts.
10And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.
11In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord 's Passover.
12For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord.
13The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
14"This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.
15Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.
16On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you.
17And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever.
18In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.
19For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land.
20You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread."
21Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb.
22Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.
23For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.
24You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever.
25And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service.
26And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’
27you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord 's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’" And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
28Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
29At midnight the Lord struck down 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 dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.
30And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead.
31Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, "Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said.
32Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!"
33The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, "We shall all be dead."
34So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders.
35The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing.
36And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
37And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.
38A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds.
39And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.
40The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years.
41At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
42It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.
43And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it,
44but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him.
45No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it.
46It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones.
47All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
48If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.
49There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you."
New International Version
4But the king of Egypt said, "Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!"
5Then Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working."
6That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people:
7"You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw.
8But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’
9Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies."
10Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, "This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw.
11Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’ "
12So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw.
13The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, "Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw."
14And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, "Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?"
15Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: "Why have you treated your servants this way?
16Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people."
17Pharaoh said, "Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’
18Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks."
19The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, "You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day."
20When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them,
21and they said, "May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."
22Moses returned to the Lord and said, "Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me?
23Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all."
2God also said to Moses, "I am the Lord.
3I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to them.
4I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.
5Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.
6"Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.
7I 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.
8And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’ "
10Then the Lord said to Moses,
11"Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country."
26It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, "Bring the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions."
27They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—this same Moses and Aaron.
28Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt,
29he said to him, "I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you."
Chapter 7
1Then the Lord said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. 2You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. 3But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, 4he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 5And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it."
6Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them.
7Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
9"When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake."
10So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake.
11Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts:
12Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.
13Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
14Then the Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.
15Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river. Confront him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.
16Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.
17This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.
18The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’ "
20Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood.
21The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.
22But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.
23Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart.
24And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river.
Chapter 8
1Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 2If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs on your whole country. 3The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. 4The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’ "
6So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land.
7But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts; they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
10"Tomorrow," Pharaoh said. Moses replied, "It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God.
11The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile."
12After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh.
13And the Lord did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields.
14They were piled into heaps, and the land reeked of them.
15But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.
16Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,’ and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats."
17They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats came on people and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats.
18But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. Since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere,
19the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said.
20Then the Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.
21If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them.
22" ‘But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land.
23I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.’ "
26But Moses said, "That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us?
27We must take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, as he commands us."
30Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord,
31and the Lord did what Moses asked. The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained.
32But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.
Chapter 9
1Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: "Let my people go, so that they may worship me." 2If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, 3the hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats. 4But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’ "
5The Lord set a time and said, "Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land."
6And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died.
7Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go.
8Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh.
9It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on people and animals throughout the land."
10So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on people and animals.
11The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians.
12But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.
13Then the Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me,
14or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
15For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth.
16But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
17You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go.
18Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now.
19Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’ "
20Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside.
21But those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.
22Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt."
23When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt;
24hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.
25Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree.
26The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.
27Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. "This time I have sinned," he said to them. "The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.
28Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t have to stay any longer."
29Moses replied, "When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the Lord’s.
30But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God."
31(The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom.
32The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)
33Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the Lord; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land.
34When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts.
35So Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.
Chapter 10
1Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them 2that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord."
3So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to 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.
4If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow.
5They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields.
6They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians—something neither your parents nor your ancestors have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.’ " Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.
10Pharaoh said, "The Lord be with you—if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil.
11No! Have only the men go and worship the Lord, since that’s what you have been asking for." Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.
13So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts;
14they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again.
15They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
16Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you.
17Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me."
18Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord.
19And the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea. Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt.
20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
21Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt."
22So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days.
23No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.
25But Moses said, "You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God.
26Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord."
27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go.
28Pharaoh said to Moses, "Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die."
Chapter 11
1Now the Lord had said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. 2Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold." 3(The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.)
4So Moses said, "This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt.
5Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.
6There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again.
7But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.
8All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave." Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.
9The Lord had said to Moses, "Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt."
10Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.
Chapter 12
1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2"This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7Then 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. 8That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.
12"On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.
13The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
14"This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.
15For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.
16On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.
17"Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.
18In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day.
19For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel.
20Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread."
21Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb.
22Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning.
23When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.
24"Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.
25When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony.
26And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’
27then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’ " Then the people bowed down and worshiped.
28The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.
29At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well.
30Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.
31During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested.
32Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me."
33The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. "For otherwise," they said, "we will all die!"
34So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing.
35The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing.
36The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.
37The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Sukkoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.
38Many other people went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.
39With the dough the Israelites had brought from Egypt, they baked loaves of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.
40Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years.
41At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt.
42Because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the Lord for the generations to come.
43The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the regulations for the Passover meal: "No foreigner may eat it.
44Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised him,
45but a temporary resident or a hired worker may not eat it.
46"It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.
47The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.
48"A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat it.
49The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you."
New King James Version
4Then the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your labor.”
5And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are many now, and you make them rest from their labor!”
6So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying,
7“You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves.
8And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’
9Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.”
10And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, “Thus says Pharaoh: ‘I will not give you straw.
11Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it; yet none of your work will be reduced.’ ”
12So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.
13And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, “Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there was straw.”
14Also the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?”
15Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why are you dealing thus with your servants?
16There is no straw given to your servants, and they say to us, ‘Make brick!’ And indeed your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your own people.”
17But he said, “You are idle! Idle! Therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’
18Therefore go now and work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the quota of bricks.”
19And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble after it was said, “You shall not reduce any bricks from your daily quota.”
20Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them.
21And they said to them, “Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
22So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me?
23For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.”
2And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the Lord.
3I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name Lord I was not known to them.
4I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers.
5And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.
6Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.
7I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.’ ”
9So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage.
10And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
11“Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land.”
14These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben.
15And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These are the families of Simeon.
16These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven.
17The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimi according to their families.
18And the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three.
19The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations.
20Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven.
21The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.
22And the sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri.
23Aaron took to himself Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
24And the sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites.
25Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites according to their families.
26These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies.”
27These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are the same Moses and Aaron.
28And it came to pass, on the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,
29that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “I am the Lord. Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.”
Chapter 7
1So the Lord said to Moses: “See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. 2You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land. 3And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. 4But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. 5And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”
6Then Moses and Aaron did so; just as the Lord commanded them, so they did.
7And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
9“When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.’ ”
10So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
12For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.
13And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.
14So the Lord said to Moses: “Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go.
15Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand.
16And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness”; but indeed, until now you would not hear!
17Thus says the Lord: “By this you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood.
18And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river.” ’ ”
19Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.’ ”
20And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
21The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
22Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.
23And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this.
24So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river.
25And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river.
Chapter 8
1And the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 2But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with frogs. 3So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. 4And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants.” ’ ”
5Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’ ”
6So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.
7And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.
10So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “ Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.
11And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.”
12Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh.
13So the Lord did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields.
14They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.
15But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said.
16So the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’ ”
17And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
18Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there were lice on man and beast.
19Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.
20And the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
21Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand.
22And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land.
23I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be.” ’ ”
24And the Lord did so. Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.
26And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us?
27We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He will command us.”
30So Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord.
31And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained.
32But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.
Chapter 9
1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 2For if you refuse to let them go, and still hold them, 3behold, the hand of the Lord will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep—a very severe pestilence. 4And the Lord will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.” ’ ” 5Then the Lord appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”
6So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died.
7Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go.
8So the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh.
9And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.”
10Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused boils that break out in sores on man and beast.
11And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.
12But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
13Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me,
14for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth.
15Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth.
16But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.
17As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go.
18Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now.
19Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die.” ’ ”
20He who feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses.
21But he who did not regard the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.
22Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt—on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.”
23And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt.
24So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
25And the hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field.
26Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.
27And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time. The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked.
28Entreat the Lord, that there may be no more mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”
29So Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s.
30But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear the Lord God.”
31Now the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud.
32But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are late crops.
33So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to the Lord; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth.
34And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants.
35So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had spoken by Moses.
Chapter 10
1Now the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, 2and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.”
3So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
4Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory.
5And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field.
6They shall fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians—which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’ ” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh.
10Then he said to them, “The Lord had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you.
11Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the Lord, for that is what you desired.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
12Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land—all that the hail has left.”
13So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.
14And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them.
15For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.
16Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you.
17Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat the Lord your God, that He may take away from me this death only.”
18So he went out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord.
19And the Lord turned a very strong west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt.
20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.
21Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.”
22So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.
23They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
25But Moses said, “You must also give us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.
26Our livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the Lord our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.”
27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go.
28Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!”
Chapter 11
1And the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether. 2Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold.” 3And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.
4Then Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt;
5and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals.
6Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again.
7But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.’
8And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will go out.” Then he went out from Pharaoh in great anger.
9But the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not heed you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”
10So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land.
Chapter 12
1Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2“This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. 10You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.
12‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.
13Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.
15Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.
16On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you.
17So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.
18In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.
19For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land.
20You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ”
21Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb.
22And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.
23For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.
24And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever.
25It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service.
26And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’
27that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ ” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
28Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
29And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck 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 dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock.
30So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
31Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the Lord as you have said.
32Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.”
33And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.”
34So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders.
35Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing.
36And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
37Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children.
38A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock.
39And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.
40Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.
41And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
42It is a night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.
43And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it.
44But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.
45A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it.
46In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones.
47All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
48And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it.
49One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.”
