Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; each came with his household:

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born [to the Hebrews] must be thrown into the Nile, but every daughter you shall keep alive.”

The elders [of the tribes] will listen and pay attention to what you say; and you, with the elders of Israel, shall go to the king of Egypt and you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; so now, please, [we ask and plead with you,] let us go on a three days’ journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’

The Lord also said to him, “Put your hand into your robe [where it covers your chest].” So he put his hand into his robe, and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, as white as snow.

Then God said, “Put your hand into your robe again.” So he put his hand back into his robe, and when he took it out, it was restored [and was] like the rest of his body.

The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders (miracles) which I have put in your hand, but I will harden his heart and make him stubborn so that he will not let the people go.

The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God (Sinai) and kissed him.

Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go on a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God, so that He does not discipline us with pestilence or with the sword.”

I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel); and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord [you have the promise of My changeless omnipotence and faithfulness].’”

Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this [divine sign] to heart.

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

For if you do not let My people go, hear this: I will send swarms of [bloodsucking] insects 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 insects, as well as the ground on which they stand.

Then the Lord did so. And there came heavy and oppressive swarms of [bloodsucking] insects into the house of Pharaoh and his servants’ houses; in all the land of Egypt the land was corrupted and ruined because of the [great invasion of] insects.

We must go a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He commands us.”

Then everyone among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses and shelters;

For if you refuse to let My people go, then hear this: tomorrow I will bring [migratory] locusts into your country.

So the Lord shifted the wind to a violent west wind which lifted up the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not one locust remained within the border of Egypt.

But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, so that we may sacrifice them to the Lord our God.

Then Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘At midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt,

For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel [above the entry way] and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to slay you.

And it shall be when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land [of abundance] flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep and observe this rite (service) in this month.

“Now it shall be when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you,

As for Me, hear this: I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will go in [the sea] after them; and I will be glorified and honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and his war-chariots and his horsemen.

The Israelites went into the middle of the sea on dry land, and the waters formed a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

Then the Egyptians pursued them into the middle of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his war-chariots and his charioteers.

So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal flow at sunrise; and the Egyptians retreated right into it [being met by the returning water]; so the Lord overthrew the Egyptians and tossed them into the midst of the sea.

Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, singing,

“I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously;
The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea.

“Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has thrown into the sea;
His chosen captains are drowned in the Red Sea.

Terror and dread fall on them;
Because of the greatness of Your arm they are as still as a stone;
Until Your people pass by and [into Canaan], O Lord,
Until the people pass by whom You have purchased.

For the horses of Pharaoh went with his war-chariots and his charioteers into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the sons of Israel walked on dry land in the middle of the sea.

Miriam answered them,

“Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously and is highly exalted;
The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.”

Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went into the Wilderness of Shur; they went [a distance of] three days (about thirty-three miles) in the wilderness and found no water.

Then he cried to the Lord [for help], and the Lord showed him a tree, [a branch of] which he threw into the waters, and the waters became sweet.

There the Lord made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them,

and the Israelites said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate bread until we were full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this entire assembly with hunger.”

So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down [in respect] and kissed him. They asked each other about their well-being and went into the tent.

Then Moses said goodbye to his father-in-law, and Jethro went back to his own land (Midian).

In the third month after the children of Israel had left the land of Egypt, the very same day, they came into the Wilderness of Sinai.

You shall set barriers for the people all around [the mountain], saying, ‘Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch its border; whoever touches the mountain must be put to death.

However, if he did not lie in wait [for him], but God allowed him to fall into his hand, then I will establish for you a place to which he may escape [for protection until duly tried].

“If a man leaves a pit open, or digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,

“You shall bring the choice first fruits of your ground into the house of the Lord your God.

“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

I will send My terror ahead of you, and I will throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you [in flight].

I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines (the Mediterranean), and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; for I will hand over the residents of the land to you, and you shall drive them out before you.

Now the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandments which I have written for their instruction.”

So Moses arose with Joshua his attendant, and he went up to the mountain of God.

Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.

Moses entered the midst of the cloud and went up the mountain; and he was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

“You shall make fifty bronze hooks and put the hooks into the loops and join the tent together so that it may be one unit.

You shall hang the veil from the hooks [that connect the curtains together], and you shall bring the ark of the Testimony there within the veil. The veil shall separate for you the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.

So Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob) in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he enters the Holy Place, to bring them in continual remembrance before the Lord.

Aaron shall wear the robe when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes [alone] into the Holy Place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he will not die there.

The various articles of clothing shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they enter the Tent of Meeting, or when they approach the altar [of incense] to minister in the Holy Place, so that they do not incur guilt and die. It shall be a statute forever to Aaron and to his descendants after him.

That son who is [high] priest in his place shall put them on [each day for] seven days when he comes into the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place.

When they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister, to burn an offering in the fire to the Lord [they shall do the same].

I said to them, ‘Let whoever has gold [jewelry], take it off.’ So they gave it to me; then I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise and stand, each at his tent door, and look at Moses until he entered the tent.

He made fifty bronze hooks to join the tent together into a unit.

Each board had two tenons (dovetails), fitted to one another; he did this for all the boards of the tabernacle.

Then Bezalel and Oholiab hammered the gold [into thin sheets] and cut it into threads to work into the blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, and into the fine linen, the work of a skilled craftsman.

He took the Testimony [the stones inscribed with the Ten Commandments] and put it into the ark [of the covenant], and placed the poles [through the rings] on the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark.

Moses brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up a veil (partition) for the screen (curtain), and screened off the ark of the Testimony, just as the Lord had commanded him.

When they entered the Tent of Meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as the Lord commanded Moses.