God then said to Moses: [I exist and] I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE. You shall say to the sons of Israel: I WILL BE, has sent me to you.' (Hebrew: hayah, I was, I am, I will be gives evidence of God's eternal existence)

Joseph was already in Egypt. The total number of Jacob's descendants was seventy.

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

God spoke all these words:

Do not have any other god.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land Jehovah your God gives you.

Do not murder.

Do not make your own carved idols or statues that represent any creature in the sky, on the earth, or in the water.

Do not steal.

One day Moses was taking care of the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock across the desert to Sinai, the holy mountain.

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They said: Jehovah, the God of Israel, says: 'Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to me in the wilderness.'

I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt.

Do not commit adultery.

If you will obey me and are faithful to the terms of my covenant, then out of all the nations you will be my own special possession, for all the earth is mine.

When a man sells his daughter into slavery, she will not go free the way male slaves do.

Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them in six days. He rested on the seventh day. Therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Jehovah then passed in front of him and called out: I, Jehovah, am a God who is full of compassion and pity. I am not easily angered and show great love and faithfulness.

Do not worship them or serve them. I, Jehovah your God, am a God demanding exclusive devotion. (I do not tolerate rivals.) I will not share your affection with any other god. I punish children for their parents' sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.

Never use the name of Jehovah your God in a false and evil way. Jehovah will make sure that anyone who is false, evil, careless and vain with his name will be punished.

Do not covet (desire) another man's house. Do not desire his wife, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns.

He said: If you will listen carefully to Jehovah your God and do what he considers right, if you pay attention to his commands and obey all his laws, I will never make you suffer any of the diseases I made the Egyptians suffer. I am Jehovah, who heals you.

When a pregnant woman suffers a miscarriage as the result of an injury caused by someone who is fighting, if she is not badly hurt, the one who injured her must pay whatever fine her husband demands and the judges approve.

You may work for six days. The seventh day is a holy day of worship (a Sabbath). It is a day when you do not work. It is dedicated to Jehovah. Whoever does any work on this day should be put to death.

But the people continued to stand at a distance. Only Moses went near the dark cloud where God was.

Jehovah said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:

Never allow a witch to live.

Dan and Naphtali and Gad and Asher.

Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;

Do not (lie) accuse anyone falsely.

The people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain. They gathered around Aaron. They said to him: We do not know what has happened to Moses, the man who led us out of Egypt. Make gods to lead us.

Jehovah said: Do this to prove to the Israelites that Jehovah, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to you.

Who among the gods is like you Jehovah? Who is like you, wonderful in holiness? Who can work wonders and mighty acts like yours?

Moses and the Israelites sang this song to Jehovah: I will sing to Jehovah, because he has won a glorious victory. He has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea.

The children of Israel had many children. They became so numerous and strong that the land was filled with them.

Then Moses said to God: Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel. I will say to them: 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may ask me: 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?'

There the angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire coming from the middle of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire but that it was not burning up.

So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said: Why have you let the boys live?

Joseph, all his brothers, and that entire generation died.

The Amalekites fought Israel at Rephidim.

Say to Pharaoh: 'Thus says Jehovah, Israel is my son, my firstborn.

These are the names of the sons of Israel who came with their families and with Jacob to Egypt:

When she could not hide him any longer, she took a basket made of papyrus reeds and coated it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in it and set it among the papyrus reeds near the bank of the Nile River.

The Israelites arrived at the desert of Sinai in the third month after they left the land of Egypt.

You will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation. These are the words you must speak to the children of Israel.'

Moses came down from Mount Sinai. The two tablets of the testimony were in Moses' hand as he came down from the mountain. Moses did not know that the skin of his face glowed because he spoke with God.

We must outsmart them or they will increase in number. If war breaks out they will leave the country and join our enemies to fight against us.

Terror and dread fall upon them. By the greatness of your arm they are motionless as stone. Until your people pass over, O Jehovah, until the people pass over whom you have purchased.

A man from Levi's family married a Levite woman.

A new king, who knew nothing about Joseph, began to rule in Egypt.

He said to his people: There are too many Israelites! They are stronger than we are.

However the more the Israelites were oppressed, the more they increased in number and spread out. The Egyptians could not stand them any longer.

Jehovah commanded Moses to tell the Israelites: You have seen how I have spoken to you from heaven.

Jehovah said to Moses and Aaron:

I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name, Jehovah, I did not make myself known to them.

Do not worship any other god but Jehovah for his reputation is filled with zeal, and he is a God who demands exclusive devotion.

He said: When you help the Hebrew women give birth on the birth stool, if it is a son you shall put him to death. If it is a daughter, then she shall live.

They made their lives bitter with backbreaking work in mortar and bricks and every kind of work in the fields. All the jobs the Egyptians gave them were brutally hard work.

Do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gold to be worshiped in addition to me.

They forced the Israelites to work hard as slaves.

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: Every son who is born must be thrown into the Nile River. However, keep every daughter alive.

God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty.

Because the midwives respected God, He established households for them.

Jehovah spoke to Moses again: Put your hand inside your robe. Moses obeyed. When he took his hand out, it was diseased, covered with white spots, like snow.

The midwives replied to Pharaoh: Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women. They are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.

The midwives respected God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them. They let the boys live.

They got some ashes and stood before the king. Moses threw them into the air. They produced boils that became open sores on the people and the animals.

Pharaoh gave these orders to the slave drivers and foremen:

The sons of Israel did this. Some gathered much and some little.

I will make you my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am Jehovah your God. I brought you out from under the forced labor of the Egyptians.

Do not worship or serve their gods or follow their practices. You must destroy their gods and crush their sacred stones.

In the future when your children ask you, 'What does this mean?' tell them: 'Jehovah used his mighty hand to bring us out of slavery in Egypt.''

You must instruct them in the laws and the teachings. Show them how to live and tell them what to do.

There shall be no leaven found in your houses for seven days. Whoever eats what is leavened shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land.

Pharaoh will say: 'Give me a sign to prove that God has sent you.' Tell Aaron: 'Take your shepherd's staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh. It will become a large snake.'

Jehovah spoke to Moses: Go down and warn the people. They should not break through to gaze at Jehovah. Many of them would perish.

The magicians were not able to appear before Moses, because they were covered with boils, like all the other Egyptians.

Not so! You men go now and serve Jehovah. It is you who desired it. So they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

You will bring them and plant them on your own mountain, the place where you live, O Jehovah, the holy place that you built with your own hands, O Jehovah.

Pharaoh was too stubborn to let us go. Because of this every firstborn male in Egypt-human and animal was killed. This is why we sacrifice every firstborn male to Jehovah and buy every firstborn son back from Jehovah.

If you do, I, Jehovah, will answer them when they cry out to me for help,

Make an altar of earth for me. Sacrifice your sheep and your cattle as offerings to be completely burned and as peace offerings. In every place that I set-aside for you to worship me, I will come to you and bless you.

You shall have a holy assembly on the first day. There should be another holy assembly on the seventh day. No work at all will be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person that alone may be prepared by you.

If you do this, as God commands, you will not wear yourself out. All these people can go home with their disputes settled.

The baby's sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

Let the priests who come near to Jehovah consecrate (purify) themselves, or else Jehovah will destroy them.

I will bring you to the land I solemnly swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your own possession. I am Jehovah!'

Jehovah said: Put your hand inside your robe again. He did so, and when he took it out this time, it was healthy, just like the rest of his body.

Jehovah said: If they will not believe you or be convinced by the first sign, then this one will convince them.

Moses answered: You choose the time when I am to pray for the frogs to stop bothering you, your officials, and your people, and for them to leave your houses and be found only in the river.

You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. That was the day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Observe this day throughout your generations as a long lasting ordinance.

But Moses said: Who am I to go to Pharaoh and lead your people out of Egypt?

Jehovah said to Moses: Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts. Let them come up upon the land of Egypt and eat every herb of the land, all that the hail has left.

As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. The sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.

My people have begged for my help. I have seen how cruel the Egyptians are to them.

Do not give the people any more straw to make bricks as you have been doing. Let them gather their own straw.

Make four gold rings for it. Fasten them to the four corners where the four legs are.

Jehovah replied to him: You and Aaron come up to me. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to Jehovah, or he will destroy some of them.

Each of them threw his staff down. They all became large snakes. But Aaron's staff swallowed theirs.

and I will become angry and kill you in war. Your wives will become widows, and your children will be fatherless.

This festival will be like a mark on your hand and like a band on your forehead, because Jehovah used his mighty hand to bring us out of Egypt.

Jehovah hardened the heart of Pharaoh and he did not listen to Moses and Aaron. Everything happened just as Jehovah had told Moses.

When your children ask you: What does this rite mean to you?

Then Pharaoh sent for his wise men and sorcerers. These Egyptian magicians did the same thing using their magic spells.

Now go to Pharaoh! I am sending you to lead my people out of his country.

In 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.

The king's daughter came to the river to bathe. Her servants walked along the bank. Suddenly she noticed the basket in the papyrus reeds and sent a slave woman to get it.

Jehovah will rule as king forever and ever.

Say this to the people of Israel: 'This oil must always be used in the ordination service of a priest. It is holy because it is dedicated to Jehovah.

So I said: 'I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.'

When Aaron goes into the holy place, he will carry the names of the sons of Israel over his heart as a continual reminder in Jehovah's presence. He must do this by wearing the breast piece for decision-making.

God said: I will be with you! This shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.

Moses called all the elders of Israel and said: Take lambs according to your families and slay the Passover lamb.

They invaded all of Egypt and landed all over the country in great swarms. Never before had there been so many locusts, nor would there ever be that many again.

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They did as Jehovah commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials. It became a large snake.

If in spite of these two signs they still will not believe you, and if they refuse to listen to what you say, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the ground. The water will turn into blood.

The king replied: Do it tomorrow! As you wish: Moses agreed. Then everyone will discover that there is no god like Jehovah!

Listen to the advice I give you. May God be with you! You must be the people's representative to God and bring their disagreements to him.

Moses said to Jehovah: The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai for you warned us. You said: 'Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.'

I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.

For seven days the one of his sons who is priest in his stead shall put them on when he enters the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place.

I will grant this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. When you go you will not go empty handed.

Insist that they make the same number of bricks they were making before. Making fewer bricks will not be acceptable. They are lazy! That is why they are crying: Let us go offer sacrifices to our God.

She opened it and saw a baby boy. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. This is one of the Hebrew babies, she said.

Every morning each one gathered as much as he needed. When the sun grew hot, what was left on the ground melted.

Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin. Apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts. No one shall go outside the door of his house until morning.

Jehovah then said to Moses: Raise your hand toward the sky. Darkness thick enough to be felt will cover the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh continued to be stubborn. Just as Jehovah had predicted, he would not listen to them.

Moses reported this to the Israelites. But they would not listen to him. For they were so discouraged by their backbreaking work.

He led them by way of the desert by the Red Sea. The Israelites were armed for battle.

Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron during the night. He said: You and the Israelites must leave my people at once. Go serve Jehovah just as you requested.

Pharaoh quickly called for Moses and Aaron and said: I have sinned against Jehovah your God and against you.

Please forgive my sin one more time. Pray to Jehovah your God to take this deadly plague away from me.

You shall not eat anything leavened. Eat unleavened bread in all your dwellings.

If you make an altar of stone for me, do not build it out of cut stones. This is because when you use a chisel on stones, you make them unfit for my use.

But Jehovah made the king stubborn. He did not let the Israelites go.

The king called Moses. He said: You may go and worship Jehovah. Even your women and children may go with you. But your sheep, goats, and cattle must stay here.

Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to Jehovah.

Moses held his staff over the land of Egypt. Jehovah made a wind from the east blow over the land all that day and all that night. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts.

When he was old enough, she took him to the king's daughter, who adopted him. She named him Moses because she said: I pulled him out of the water.

When Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and cavalry went into the sea, Jehovah made the water of the sea flow back over them. The Israelites had gone through the sea on dry ground.

Please do, she answered. So the girl went and brought the baby's own mother.

Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them: JEHOVAH, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me. He said: I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt.

Moses said: No one is to keep any of it for tomorrow.

Make the work harder for these people so that they will be too busy to listen to lies.

When you enter the land Jehovah will give you, as he has promised, you shall observe this rite.

The frogs will no longer be found anywhere, except in the Nile.

You shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children from generation to generation.

But Moses said: Please, Jehovah, send the message by whomever you will.

Put the Urim and Thummim into the breast piece for decision-making. They, too, will be over Aaron's heart when he comes into Jehovah's presence. In this way when he is in Jehovah's presence, Aaron will always be carrying over his heart the means for determining Jehovah's decisions for the Israelites.

Moses said: Jehovah has commanded that tomorrow is a holy day of rest, dedicated to God. Bake today what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Whatever is left should be put aside and kept for tomorrow.

Jehovah will pass through to strike the Egyptians. When he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, Jehovah will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to kill you.

Jehovah said: That night I will go through the land of Egypt. I will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt! I am Jehovah!

Jehovah told Moses to get up early the next morning and say to the king: God of the Hebrews commands you to let his people go, so they can serve him!

At 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.

Then the anger of Jehovah burned against Moses, and He said: Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he speaks fluently. He is coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.

Then the sons of Israel did just as Jehovah had commanded Moses and Aaron.

Pharaoh's daughter told her: Take care of this child, and I will pay you. The baby's mother carried him home and took care of him.

Then Jehovah told Moses:

His sister asked her: Shall I go and call a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for you?

Moses and Aaron left the palace. Moses begged Jehovah to do something about the frogs he had sent as punishment for the king.

Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the other Egyptians got up during the night. There was loud crying throughout Egypt because in every house someone had died.

The slave drivers and the Israelite foremen went out and said to the Israelites: The king has said that he will not supply you with any more straw.

Jehovah said to Moses: Pharaoh is being stubborn. He will not let my people go.

Moses looked around to see if anyone was watching. Then he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.

They will listen to what you say. You with the elders of Israel will approach the king of Egypt. You will say to him: 'Jehovah the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, please, let us go a three days journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God.'

But Moses replied: I am not a powerful speaker. If the sons of Israel will not listen to me, why should the king of Egypt?

The bosses beat the men in charge of the slaves and said: Why did you not force the slaves to make as many bricks yesterday and today as they did before?

He says that you must go and get it for yourselves wherever you can find it. You must still make the same number of bricks.

The rings are to be close to the rim. They are to hold the poles for carrying the table.

The fish in the Nile died. The river smelled bad. The Egyptians could not drink any water from the river. There was blood everywhere in Egypt.

Finally, the men in charge of the slaves went to the king and asked: Why are you treating us like this?

The slave bosses were hard on them. They kept saying: Each day you have to make as many bricks as you did when you were given straw.

They kept what was left until the next day as Moses commanded. It did not spoil or get worms in it.

The sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts for each person. All the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses about it. (Mark 15:42)

The Israelites left Sukkoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.

Eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste. It is Jehovah's Passover.'

Jehovah said to Moses:

Moses departed and returned to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him: Please, let me go, that I may return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive. Jethro said to Moses: Go in peace.

Do not build an altar for me with steps leading up to it. If you do, you will expose yourselves as you go up the steps.

If you do not, he will send his worst plagues to strike you, your officials, and everyone else in your country. Then you will find out that no one can oppose Jehovah.

Jehovah says: 'This is the way you will recognize that I am Jehovah: I will strike the Nile with this staff in my hand. The water will turn into blood.

So the people went all over Egypt looking for straw.

You shall say: 'It is a Passover sacrifice to Jehovah who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He killed the Egyptians, but spared our homes. The people bowed low and worshiped.'

You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will be with your mouth and his mouth. I will teach you what you are to do.

This month shall be the beginning of months for you. It is to be the first month of the year to you.

Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth. I will teach you what you are to say.

Miriam sang to them: Sing to Jehovah. He has won a glorious victory. He has thrown horses and their riders into the sea.

The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.

Jehovah said to Moses: When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put in your power. I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.

They covered all the ground until it was black with them. They ate all the plants and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant anywhere in Egypt.

When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian by a well.

So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will do in it's midst. After that he will let you go.

Take your staff in your hand with which you shall perform the signs.

Eat what you want that night, and the next morning burn whatever is left.

Jehovah asked him: What is that in your hand? He answered: A shepherd's staff.

The house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white in color. It tasted like wafers made with honey.

Jehovah sent Aaron and Moses with a message for the sons of Israel and for the king. He also ordered Aaron and Moses to free the people from Egypt.

Also prepare five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the far end of the inner tent, the west side.

Jehovah did as Moses asked. The frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields died.

Moses said: Eat this today, because today is the Sabbath, a day of rest dedicated to Jehovah. You will not find any food outside the camp.

Demand that Pharaoh king of Egypt let the sons of Israel go.

They said: May Jehovah see what you have done and judge you! You have made Pharaoh and his officials hate us. You have given them an excuse to kill us.

So I said to you: 'Let My son go that he may serve me. But you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.'

Jehovah changed the wind to a very strong west wind. It picked up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not one locust was left anywhere in Egypt.

Leaving the Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting for them.

Do not spread false rumors. Do not help a guilty person by offering false testimony.

That night the animals are to be roasted and eaten, together with bitter herbs (greens) and unleavened bread made without yeast.

A household may be too small to eat a whole animal. That household and the one next-door can share one animal. Choose your animal based on the number of people and what each person can eat.

Then the Egyptians will know that I am Jehovah, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen.

Moses went back to Jehovah and asked: Why have you brought this trouble on your people? Why did you send me?

Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people. He will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him.

Your animal must be a one-year-old male that has no defects. You may choose a lamb or a young goat.

Take care of it until the fourteenth day of this month. Then at dusk, all the assembled people from the community of Israel must slaughter their animals.

Jehovah said to Moses: Tell Aaron, Strike the ground with your stick. The dust will change into gnats in all of Egypt.'

I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion.

No woman in your land will miscarry or be unable to have children. I will let you live a normal life span.

Some of them did not listen to Moses and saved part of it. The next morning it was full of worms and smelled rotten. Moses was angry with them.

The next day when Moses went out, he saw two Hebrews fighting. So he went to the man who started the fight and asked: Why are you beating up one of your own people?

So Moses took his wife and his sons and mounted them on a donkey and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the staff of God in his hand.

Make the poles out of acacia wood. Cover them with gold and use them to carry the table.

But Pharaoh responded: Who is Jehovah, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I do not know Jehovah, and besides, I will not let Israel go.

But every woman shall ask of her neighbor and the woman who lives in her house, articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing. You will put them on your sons and daughters. Thus you will plunder the Egyptians.

Moses raised his hand toward the sky. Total darkness fell throughout Egypt for three days.

The woman became pregnant and bore a son. She saw how beautiful he was and hid him for three months.

Jehovah said to Moses: Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. I will show him my power. He will let my people go! I will show him my power, and he will throw them out of his country.

This is strange, he thought. Why is the bush not burning up? I will go closer and see.

I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you my power and in order to proclaim my name through all the earth.

Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and threw it at Moses' feet. She said: You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me.

The sons of Simeon: Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon.

These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. Levi lived one hundred and thirty-seven years.

The king saw that the frogs were dead. He became stubborn again and, just as Jehovah had said, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron.

Some of the blood must be put on the two doorposts and above the door of each house where the animals are to be eaten.

The Egyptians piled them up in large mounds, until the land began to stink with them.

The pillar of cloud was always in front of the people during the day, and the pillar of fire at night.

When they returned to Reuel their father, he said, Why have you come back so soon today?

Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak for you, he has treated your people cruelly, and you have done nothing at all to rescue your people.

If one man's ox hurts another's so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide its price equally. They should divide the dead ox.

No one brings us any straw. Yet we are still ordered to make the same number of bricks. We are beaten with whips, and your own people are to blame.

The man replied: Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? Moses was afraid and said: Surely the matter has become known.

Jehovah said to Moses in Midian: Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.

Moses was content to live with the man. He gave Moses his daughter Zipporah.

She bore a son, and he called his name Gershom. For he said: I have been a stranger in a strange land.

Moses said to Aaron: Take a jar, and put two quarts of manna in it. Place it before Jehovah, to be kept throughout your generations.

I will throw your enemies into panic! I will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites as you advance.

When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water because it tasted bitter. That is why the place was called Marah (Bitter Place).

Then Moses and Aaron went to Egypt and assembled all the elders of the people of Israel.

The Egyptians could not see each other. No one left his house during that time. The Israelites, however, had light where they were living.

Whether it gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule.

In the morning meet Pharaoh when he is on his way to the Nile. Wait for him on the bank of the river. Take the staff that turned into a snake.

If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner shall give his or her master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

If a ransom is demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded of him.

The sons of Kohath: Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel. Kohath lived one hundred and thirty-three years.

Aaron told them everything Jehovah had said to Moses. He also did the miraculous signs for the people.

The following men were the heads of their father's households: The sons of Reuben, Jacob's oldest son, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. There was the cloud along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night. Thus the one did not come near the other all night.

Jehovah said to Moses: I will send only one more punishment (plague) on the king of Egypt and his people. After that he will let you leave. In fact, he will drive all of you out of here.

I will send my terror ahead of you and throw any nation you meet into a panic. I will make all your enemies flee from you.

If you do, you will no longer belong to Jehovah's people.'

Moses said: This is what Jehovah has commanded: 'Let two quarts of it be kept throughout your generations. Then they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.'

He could already have sent a terrible disease and wiped you from the face of the earth.

Jehovah made the king stubborn. He would not let them go.

Jehovah said to Aaron: Go to meet Moses in the wilderness. So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him.

Jehovah said: Throw it on the ground. When Moses threw it on the ground, it became a snake, and he ran away from it.

Then Jehovah said to Moses: Approach Pharaoh and say to him, 'Jehovah says: Let My people go, that they may serve me.

So the people rested on the seventh day.

Amram married his father's sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived one hundred and thirty-seven years.

The king replied: You are lazy. You are just lazy! That is why you keep asking me to let you go and sacrifice to Jehovah.

Say to Pharaoh: 'Jehovah the God of the Hebrews sent me to tell you, Let my people go to worship me in the wilderness. So far you have not listened.'

See that you make them like the pattern for them that were shown to you on the mountain.

No, we will take our animals with us! Not one will be left behind. We must select the animals with which to worship Jehovah our God. We will not know what animals to sacrifice to him until we get there.

Moses answered: Then you would have to provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to offer to Jehovah our God.

Jehovah said to Moses: Reach down and pick it up by the tail. So Moses reached down and caught it. Suddenly it became a walking stick again.

Get back to work! You will not be given straw, but you must still make the same number of bricks.

Aaron placed it before the Testimony, to be kept just as Jehovah commanded Moses.

Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will use my power to punish (lay my hand upon) Egypt severely. I will bring my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt in organized family groups.

I did this because I want you to tell your children and your grandchildren about the mighty things and the signs I have done in Egypt. Then all of you will know that I am Jehovah.

God heard their groaning. He remembered his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Moses approached the king. He said: I have come to let you know what Jehovah is going to do. About midnight he will go through the land of Egypt,

The magicians tried to use their magic to make gnats appear, but they failed. There were gnats everywhere!

So treat it as holy! Do not use it for everyday purposes or mix any for yourselves.

The fish in the Nile will die. The river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.'

Jehovah said to Moses: Early tomorrow morning, go and meet the king as he goes to the river. Tell him that Jehovah says: 'Let my people go, so that they can serve me.

You have spoken it! Moses answered. You will never see me again.

Then the shepherds came and drove them away. Moses stood up and helped them water their flock.

Pharaoh said: I will let you go, but do not go far. You may offer sacrifices to Jehovah your God in the desert and pray for me.

The region of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was the only place where there was no hail.

He said to Moses: Get out of my sight! Do not let me ever see you again! On the day I do, you will die!

Do not eat the meat raw or boiled. The entire animal, including its head, legs, and insides, must be roasted.

The magicians said to the king: It is the finger of God! (God has done this!) But the king was stubborn. Just as Jehovah predicted, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron.

If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall surely be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished.

The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when they were told: Do not make fewer bricks each day than you are supposed to.

Did we not say in Egypt: Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert.

Jehovah answered Moses: I will wipe out of my book whoever sins against me.

So Aaron struck the ground with his stick. The dust in Egypt was turned into gnats. They swarmed over the people and the animals.

The king of Egypt replied: Moses and Aaron, why do you distract the people from their work? Get back to work!

They said: An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds. He drew water for us and watered the flock.

Jehovah then spoke to Moses: Tell Aaron, Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt; its rivers, canals, ponds, and all its reservoirs. They will turn into blood. There will be blood everywhere in Egypt, even in the buckets of wood and stone pitchers.

and wherever he goes, the first-born son in every family will die. Your own son will die. So will the son of the lowest slave woman. Even the first-born males of cattle will die.

But against any of the sons of Israel a dog will not even bark, whether against man or beast. This is so you may understand how Jehovah makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

He asked his daughters: Where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.

Then Jehovah said to Moses: Go to Pharaoh, and tell him, this is what Jehovah the God of the Hebrews says: Let my people go to serve me.

Moses and Aaron did as Jehovah commanded. Aaron raised his staff and struck the Nile in front of Pharaoh and his officials. All the water in the river turned into blood.

At that same time I will cut off the land of Goshen where my people live. No swarms of flies shall be there. / Then you will know that I am Jehovah in the midst of the earth.

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him: Thus says Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.

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

If you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory.

But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will afflict your whole territory with frogs.

The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations.

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;

Your houses shall be filled and the houses of all your servants and the houses of all the Egyptians. This is something neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day that they came upon the earth until this day. He turned and went out from Pharaoh.'

Then Jehovah said to Moses: Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my signs will be multiplied in the land of Egypt.

You shall take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place.

Moses took the body of Joseph with him. Joseph made the Israelites solemnly promise to do so. Joseph said: When God rescues you, you must carry my body with you from this place.

God saw the Israelites being oppressed and was concerned about them.

Jehovah did what he said. Dense swarms of flies came into Pharaoh's palace and into the houses of his officials. All over Egypt the flies ruined everything.

Jehovah made the Egyptians respect the Israelites. Indeed, the officials and all the people considered Moses to be a very great man.

Speak to the people of Israel and tell all of them to ask their neighbors for gold and silver jewelry.

I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place that I have prepared.

I will put a dividing line between my people and your people. This sign will happen tomorrow.'

Moses said: We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters. We will go with our flocks and with our herds. We must hold a feast to Jehovah.

the owner of the pit shall make restitution. He will give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall become his.

Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh. Yet Jehovah hardened Pharaoh's heart. He did not let the sons of Israel go out of his land.

These are the ordinances you should set before them.

Pharaoh's servants said to him: How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go so that they may serve Jehovah their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?

The sons of Izhar: Korah and Nepheg and Zichri.

Then they said: The God of the Hebrews met with us. Please, let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness. Then we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God. Otherwise he will fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.

Moses told Aaron all the words Jehovah sent him to tell Moses, and all the signs that he had commanded him to do.

So He let him alone. At that time she said: You are a bridegroom of blood, because of the circumcision.

Still you exalt yourself against my people by not letting them go.

The sons of Korah: Assir and Elkanah and Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites.

They shall cover the surface of the land. No one will be able to see the land. They will also eat the rest of what has escaped and is left to you from the hail. They will eat every tree that sprouts for you out of the field.

Pharaoh added: Look how many people there are in the land! Do you want them to quit working?

The payment will be for life if she is seriously injured,

I warn you that if you refuse, I will punish you by sending flies on you, your officials, and your people. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies. The ground will be covered with them.

the curtains for the courtyard, the posts, bases, and screen for the entrance to the courtyard, the ropes and pegs, all the equipment needed for the service of the inner tent for tent of meeting;

I will not drive them out within a year's time. If I did, the land would become deserted. There would be too many wild animals for you.

The sons of Uzziel: Mishael and Elzaphan and Sithri.

Do not curse God. Do not curse a ruler of your people.

I will harden Pharaoh's heart that I may multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.

Everywhere in Egypt there will be loud crying. Nothing like this has ever happened before or will ever happen again.

I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as foreigners.

The ones among the servants of Pharaoh who respected the word of Jehovah made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses.

Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. He said: Go, sacrifice to your God here in this country.

The Egyptians will know that I am Jehovah when I use my power against Egypt and bring the sons of Israel out of there.

Moses responded: Do not be afraid. God has only come to test you and to inspire you to obey him, so that you will not sin.

Make the robe that is worn with the ephod entirely of violet material.

Bring your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. Every man and beast that is found in the field and is not brought home will die from the hail.

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

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.

But he said: You cannot see my face, because no one may see me and live.

All these your servants will come down to me and bow themselves before me. They will say: Go out, you and all the people who follow you. Then I will go out. He went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.

burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

If you take someone's cloak as a pledge that he will pay you, you must give it back to him before the sunsets,

When the king of Egypt let the people go God did not take them on the road that goes up the coast to Philistia, although it was the shortest way. God thought: I do not want the people to change their minds and return to Egypt when they see that they are going to have to fight.

But the Egyptian magicians did the same thing using their magic spells. So Pharaoh continued to be stubborn. He would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as Jehovah predicted.

The king sent for Moses and Aaron and told them: If you ask Jehovah to take these frogs away from me and my people, I will let your people go and offer sacrifices to him.

Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel. This is because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage. I have remembered my covenant.

The Nile will swarm with frogs. They will come up and go into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed. They will go into the houses of your servants and on your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls.

He said to them: May Jehovah be with you, as I send you and your little ones away. Watch out for evil is before you.

Jehovah went in front of them in a pillar of cloud to show them the way during the day. He went in front of them in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel at night.

The entire congregation of Israelites left the desert of Sin and traveled from place to place as Jehovah commanded them. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.

On the day when Jehovah spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,

They 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.

and chose capable men from among all the Israelites. He appointed them as leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.

Do not delay the offering from your harvest and your vintage. Give the firstborn of your sons to me.

He made the wheels of their chariots come off. They could hardly move. Then the Egyptians shouted: Let us get out of here! Jehovah is fighting for Israel! He is against us!

Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh. He said to them: Go! Serve Jehovah your God. Who are the ones that shall go?

Jehovah would speak with Moses in person (intimately) (face to face) just as someone speaks with a friend. Moses would then return to the camp. But the young man who was his helper, Joshua son of Nun, stayed in the Tent.

If a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave, and destroys it, he shall let him go free because of his eye.

But the magicians used their secret powers to do the same thing.

We need to travel three days into the desert to offer sacrifices to Jehovah our God, as he told us to do.

they would see that Moses' face was glowing. Moses would put the veil back on until he went in again to speak with Jehovah.

Then Jehovah said to Moses and Aaron: Take a few handfuls of ashes from a furnace. Moses is to throw them into the air in front of the king.

Moses answered: As soon as I leave you, I will pray to Jehovah. Tomorrow the swarms of flies will go away from you, your officials, and your people. But you must stop tricking us by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to Jehovah.

It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom Jehovah said: Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their hosts.

He who paid no regard to the word of Jehovah left his servants and his livestock in the field.

Moses replied: It is not right to do that. The sacrifices we offer to Jehovah our God are disgusting to Egyptians. If they see us offer sacrifices that they consider disgusting, will they not stone us to death?

Jehovah killed people because they had Aaron make the calf.

They made a screen out of fine linen yarn for the entrance to the outer tent. It was embroidered with violet, purple, and bright red yarn.

The table should be placed in front of the Covenant Box. There is always to be the sacred bread offered to me for the table.

All the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink because they could not drink any of the water from the river.

You shall speak all that I command you. Your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land.

Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky. Then Jehovah sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. Jehovah rained hail on the land of Egypt.

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

Jehovah also said to Moses: Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams and over the pools. Make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.'

Seven days passed after Jehovah struck the Nile.

The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families.

That day Jehovah saved the people of Israel from the Egyptians. The Israelites saw them lying dead on the seashore.

Jehovah said to Moses: Stretch out your hand toward the sky. Hail will fall on all the land of Egypt, on man and on beast and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh turned and went back to his palace. This did not change his mind and heart.

Jehovah descended on the top of Mount Sinai. Jehovah called Moses to the top of the mountain. Moses climbed to the peak of Mount Sinai.

After Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people (his brothers) were hard at work. He saw an Egyptian beating one of them.

The Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground. The water stood like a wall on their right and on their left.

The Israelites had been living in Egypt for four hundred and thirty years.

Jehovah did what Moses asked. The swarms of flies left Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Not a single fly was left.

Jehovah said to Moses: I am Jehovah! Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I speak to you.

Speak to the people of Israel. Say: 'You must observe my Sabbaths. This is a sign between you and me throughout your generations that you may know that I am Jehovah, the one who sanctifies you.

All over Egypt the hail knocked down everything that was out in the open. It struck down people, animals, and every plant in the fields and destroyed every tree in the fields.

Jehovah said to Moses: Take one part fragrant spices and two kinds of gum resin and aromatic mollusk shells, and mix them with one part pure frankincense.

But Moses protested to Jehovah: I am unskilled in speech. How then will Pharaoh listen to me?

But Moses said to the people: Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of Jehovah. He will accomplish this for you today. The Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.

The king sent for Moses and Aaron and said: This time I have sinned. Jehovah is in the right. My people and I are in the wrong.

The middle crossbar will run from one end to the other. It should be halfway up the frames.

The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives. Shiphrah and Puah were among them.

The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your servants.'

Jethro was the priest of Midian and the father-in-law of Moses. He heard what Jehovah God had done for Moses and his people, after rescuing them from Egypt.

God spoke further to Moses and said to him: I am Jehovah.

The prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women, danced with tambourines, and followed her.

Moses said to him: As soon as I go out of the city, I will lift up my hands in prayer to Jehovah. The thunder will stop. There will be no more hail. Thus you may know that the earth belongs to Jehovah.

Jehovah will bring a terrible plague on your livestock, including your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats.

Moses and Aaron did as Jehovah commanded them.

Now, go and lead the people to the place I told you about. My angel will go ahead of you. But on the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.

Jehovah continued: Bring your brother Aaron and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar to you from all the Israelites. They will serve me as priests.

for it is the only covering he has to keep him warm. What else can he sleep in? When he cries out to me for help, I will answer him because I am merciful.

When God finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.

The Egyptians pursued them. Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and cavalry followed them into the sea.

Jehovah is His name, and he is a warrior!

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. Jehovah swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land. The waters were divided.