Pharaoh in the Bible

Then 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?”

So the Israelite foremen went in and cried for help to Pharaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way?

But Pharaoh said, “You are lazy, very lazy and idle! That is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’

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

“May the Lord take note of you and judge,” they said to them, “because you have made us reek in front of Pharaoh and his officials—putting a sword in their hand to kill us!”

Ever since I went in to Pharaoh to speak in Your name he has caused trouble for this people, and You haven’t delivered Your people at all.”

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But the Lord replied to Moses, “Now you are going to see what I will do to Pharaoh: he will let them go because of My strong hand; he will drive them out of his land because of My strong hand.”

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

But 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?”

Then 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.

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

He said to him, “I am Yahweh; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I am telling you.”

But Moses replied in the Lord’s presence, “Since I am such a poor speaker, how will Pharaoh listen to me?”

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

You 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.

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

Pharaoh will not listen to you, but I will put My hand on Egypt and bring the divisions of My people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.

Moses was 80 years old and Aaron 83 when they spoke to Pharaoh.

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

So 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.

But then Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers—the magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same thing by their occult practices.

However, Pharaoh’s heart hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hard: he refuses to let the people go.

Go 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.

Moses 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.

But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their occult practices. So Pharaoh’s heart hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and didn’t even take this to heart.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him: This is what Yahweh says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Ask Yahweh to remove the frogs from me and my people. Then I will let the people go and they can sacrifice to Yahweh.”

Moses said to Pharaoh, “You make the choice rather than me. When should I ask on behalf of you, your officials, and your people, that the frogs be taken away from you and your houses, and remain only in the Nile?”

Then Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow.” Moses replied, “May it be as you say, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that there is no one like the Lord our God.

After Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord for help concerning the frogs that He had brought against Pharaoh.

But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

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

The 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 Yahweh says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

And 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.

Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go sacrifice to your God within the country.”

Pharaoh responded, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but don’t go very far. Make an appeal for me.”

“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.”

Then Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the Lord.

The Lord did as Moses had said: He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people; not one was left.

But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and did not let the people go.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him: This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

Pharaoh sent messengers who saw that not a single one of the Israelite livestock was dead. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

Then 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.

So they took furnace soot and stood before Pharaoh. Moses threw it toward heaven, and it became festering boils on man and beast.

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had told Moses.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh. Tell him: This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

Those among Pharaoh’s officials who feared the word of the Lord made their servants and livestock flee to shelters,

Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned this time,” he said to them. “Yahweh is the Righteous One, and I and my people are the guilty ones.

Moses went out from Pharaoh and the city, and extended his hands to the Lord. Then the thunder and hail ceased, and rain no longer poured down on the land.

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

So Pharaoh’s heart hardened, and he did not let the Israelites go, as the Lord had said through Moses.

Then 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,

So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and told him, “This is what Yahweh, 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.

They will fill your houses, all your officials’ houses, and the houses of all the Egyptians—something your fathers and ancestors never saw since the time they occupied the land until today.” Then he turned and left Pharaoh’s presence.

Pharaoh’s officials asked him, “How long must this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, so that they may worship Yahweh their God. Don’t you realize yet that Egypt is devastated?”

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

Pharaoh said to them, “The Lord be with you [to help you], if I ever let you go with your children [because you will never return]! Look [be forewarned], you have an evil plan in mind.

No, only the men may go and worship Yahweh, for that is what you have been asking for.” And they were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.

Pharaoh urgently sent for Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against Yahweh your God and against you.

Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the Lord.

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the Israelites go.

Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship Yahweh. Even your families may go with you; only your flocks and herds must stay behind.”

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

Pharaoh said to him, “Leave me! Make sure you never see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you will die.”

The 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.

The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. And the man Moses was highly regarded in the land of Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and the people.

So Moses announced to Pharaoh, "This is what the LORD says: "About midnight I'm going throughout Egypt,

and 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 behind the millstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock.

All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Leave, you and all the people who follow you. After that, I will leave.’” And he left Pharaoh’s presence in fierce anger.

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

Moses 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.

Now 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.

During 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.

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron in the night and said, "Get up, get out from among my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, serve the Lord as you have requested!

When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man to the firstborn of livestock. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord all the firstborn of the womb that are males, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby; for God said, “The people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war.”

Pharaoh will say of the Israelites: They are wandering around the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in.

I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” So the Israelites did this.

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

So Pharaoh had his chariot prepared and took his troops with him.

The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out triumphantly.

The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen, and his army—chased after them and caught up with them as they camped by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians coming after them. Then the Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help.

I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen.

The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

The Egyptians set out in pursuit—all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen—and went into the sea after them.

The waters came back and covered the chariots and horsemen, the entire army of Pharaoh, that had gone after them into the sea. None of them survived.

He threw Pharaoh’s chariots
and his army into the sea;
the elite of his officers
were drowned in the Red Sea.

When Pharaoh’s horses with his chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

and the other Eliezer (because he had said, “The God of my father was my helper and delivered me from Pharaoh’s sword”).

And Moses will recount to his father-in-law all which Jehovah did to Pharaoh, and to Egypt on account of Israel, all the distress which found them in the way; and Jehovah will deliver them.

And Jethro will say, Praised be Jehovah who took you away out of the hand of Egypt, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who took away the people from under the hand of Egypt.

tell him, ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand.

Before our eyes the Lord inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household,

But because the Lord loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

do not be afraid of them. Be sure to remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt:

His signs and the works He did in Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt and all his land;

Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to all his land;