Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.

But the man said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Certainly this incident is known.”

Then he said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why have you left the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.”

The Lord said, “I have in fact seen the affliction (suffering, desolation) of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters (oppressors); for I know their pain and suffering.

Now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me; and I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them.

Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and then bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

Then Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers (ancestors) has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”

God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am”; and He said, “You shall say this to the Israelites, ‘I Am has sent me to you.’”

Then God also said to Moses, “This is what you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Israel), has sent me to you.’ This is My Name forever, and this is My memorial [name] to all generations.

Go, gather the elders (tribal leaders) of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt.

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.’

So I will reach out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go.

But every woman shall [insistently] ask her neighbor and any woman who lives in her house, for articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and daughters. In this way you are to plunder the Egyptians [leaving bondage with great possessions that are rightfully yours].”

Then Moses answered [the Lord] and said, “What if they will not believe me or take seriously what I say? For they may say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’”

[“You shall do this,” said the Lord,] “so that the elders may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has [most certainly] appeared to you.”

“If they will not believe you or pay attention to the evidence of the first sign, they may believe the evidence of the second sign.

But he said, “Please my Lord, send the message [of rescue to Israel] by [someone else,] whomever else You will [choose].”

Then Moses went away and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, “Please, let me go back so that I may return to my relatives in Egypt, and see if they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”

Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Israel is My son, My firstborn.

So I say to you, ‘Let My son go so that he may serve Me’; and if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.”’”

Then Zipporah took a flint knife and cut off the foreskin of her son and threw it at Moses’ feet, and said, “Indeed you are a husband of blood to me!”

Afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go, so that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”

Let labor be heavier on the men, and let them work [hard] at it so that they will pay no attention to [their God’s] lying words.”

Then Moses turned again to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have You brought harm and oppression to this people? Why did You ever send me? [I cannot understand Your purpose!]

I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob (Israel) as God Almighty [El Shaddai], but by My name, Lord, I did not make Myself known to them [in acts and great miracles].

I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as strangers (temporary residents, foreigners).

And I have also heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, whom the Egyptians have enslaved, and I have [faithfully] remembered My covenant [with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob].

Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who redeemed you and brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

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].’”

But Moses said to the Lord, “Look, [my own people] the Israelites have not listened to me; so how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled and inept in speech?”

But Moses said before the Lord, “Look, I am unskilled and inept in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me and pay attention to what I say?”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now hear this: I make you as God to Pharaoh [to declare My will and purpose to him]; and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.

And I will make Pharaoh’s heart hard, and multiply My signs and My wonders (miracles) in the land of Egypt.

But Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I shall lay My hand on Egypt and bring out My hosts [like a defensive army, tribe by tribe], My people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment (the plagues).

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.”

“When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Work a miracle [to prove your authority],’ then you say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, so that it may become a serpent.’”

You shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened until now.”

Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know and recognize and acknowledge that I am the Lord: look, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water in the Nile, and it shall be turned to blood.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out 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 shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, in containers both of wood and of stone.’”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord that He may take away the frogs from me and my people; and I will let the people go, so that they may sacrifice to the Lord.”

And Moses said to Pharaoh, “I am entirely at your service: when shall I plead [with the Lord] for you and your servants and your people, so that the frogs may leave 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.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground, and it will become [biting] gnats (lice) throughout the land of Egypt.’”

Now the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he is coming out to the water [of the Nile], and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

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.

But on that day I will separate and set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of insects will be there, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that I, the Lord, am in the midst of the earth.

I will put a division (distinction) between My people and your people. By tomorrow this sign shall be in evidence.”’”

So Pharaoh 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 [with your God] for me.”

Moses said, “I am going to leave you, and I will urgently petition (pray, entreat) the Lord that the swarms of insects may leave Pharaoh, his servants, and his people tomorrow; only do not let Pharaoh act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

For this time I will send all My plagues on you [in full force,] and on your servants and on your people, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that there is no one like Me in all the earth.

For by now I could have put out My hand and struck you and your people with a pestilence, and you would then have been cut off (obliterated) from the earth.

But indeed for this very reason I have allowed you to live, in order to show you My power and in order that My name may be proclaimed throughout all the earth.

Since you are still [arrogantly] exalting yourself [in defiance] against My people by not letting them go,

Now the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand [with your staff] toward the sky, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and on animal and on all the vegetation of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.”

Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time; the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

Moses said to him, “As soon as I leave 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 [without any doubt] and acknowledge that the earth is the Lord’s.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants [making them determined and unresponsive], so that I may exhibit My signs [of divine power] among them,

and that you may recount and explain in the hearing of your son, and your grandson, what I have done [repeatedly] to make a mockery of the Egyptians—My signs [of divine power] which I have done among them—so that you may know [without any doubt] and recognize [clearly] that I am the Lord.”

So Moses and Aaron went 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, so that they may serve Me.

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

Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a trap to us? Let the men go, so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not realize that Egypt is destroyed?”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come up on the land of Egypt and eat all the plants of the land, all that the hail has left.”

Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once [more], and pray and entreat the Lord your God, so that He will remove this [plague of] death from me.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, so that darkness may come over the land of Egypt, a darkness which [is so awful that it] may be felt.”

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 Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get away from me! See that you never enter my presence again, for on the day that you see my face again you will die!”

But not even a dog will threaten any of the Israelites, whether man or animal, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge how the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’

All these servants of yours will come down to me and bow down before me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ After that I will leave.” And he left Pharaoh in the heat of anger.

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

On the first day [of the feast] you shall have a holy and solemn assembly, and on the seventh day there shall be another holy and solemn assembly; no work of any kind shall be done on those days, except for the preparation of food which every person must eat—only that may be done by you.

Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Get up, get out from among my people, both you and the Israelites; and go, serve the Lord, as you said.

Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and [ask your God to] bless me also.”

but every man’s slave who is bought with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.

“Sanctify to Me [that is, set apart for My purpose] every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal; it is Mine.”

You shall explain this to your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’

It shall serve as a sign to you on your hand (arm), and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the instruction (law) of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a strong and powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.

For it happened, when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, that the Lord struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animal. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord all the males, the first [to be born] of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had solemnly ordered (placed under an oath) the Israelites, saying, “God will assuredly take care of you, and you must carry my bones away from here with you.”

The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to move forward [toward the sea].

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, on their war-chariots and their charioteers.”

“The Lord is my strength and my song,
And He has become my salvation;
This is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

“The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;
My desire shall be satisfied against them;
I will draw my sword, my hand shall dispossess them and drive them out.’

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will cause bread to rain from heaven for you; the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, so that I may test them [to determine] whether or not they will walk [obediently] in My instruction (law).

Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you [people] refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions (laws)?

Then Moses said, “This is the word which the Lord commands, ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water so we may [have something to] drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you tempt the Lord and try His patience?”

So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; there you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may [have something to] drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek [and his people]. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”

And Moses built an altar and named it The Lord Is My Banner;

The other [son] was named Eliezer (my God is help), for Moses said, “The God of my father was my help, and He rescued me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to ask [about the will] of God.

When they have a dispute they come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

Now listen to me; I will advise you, and may God be with you [to confirm my advice]. You shall represent the people before God. You shall bring their disputes and causes to Him.

Now therefore, if you will in fact obey My voice and keep My covenant (agreement), then you shall be My own special possession and treasure from among all peoples [of the world], for all the earth is Mine;

and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation [set apart for My purpose].’ These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”

The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may believe and trust in you forever.” Then Moses repeated the words of the people to the Lord.