So they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with hard labor. And the sons of Israel built Pithom and Raamses as storage cities for Pharaoh.

The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth quickly and their babies are born before the midwife can get to them.”

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.”

Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, and [she, together with] her maidens walked along the river’s bank; she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid [to get it], and she brought it to her.

Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a wet-nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”

And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother.

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.

And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. Then Moses fled from Pharaoh’s presence and took refuge in the land of Midian, where he sat down by a well.

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

But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

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.

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

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.’”

But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.”

Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now many, and you would have them stop their work!”

The very same day Pharaoh gave orders to the [Egyptian] taskmasters in charge of the people and their [Hebrew] foremen, saying,

Then the [Egyptian] taskmasters [in charge] of the people and their [Hebrew] foremen went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you any straw.

And the Hebrew foremen, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your required quota of making bricks yesterday and today, as before?”

Then the Hebrew foremen came to Pharaoh and cried, “Why do you deal like this with your servants?

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’s presence, the foremen met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them.

And the foremen said to them, “May the Lord look upon you and judge you, because you have made us odious (something hated) in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and you have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed and oppressed this people, and You have done nothing at all to rescue Your people.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he will [not only] let them go, but under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.”

“Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land.”

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?”

Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a command concerning the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt; these are [the same] Moses and Aaron.

that He said, “I am the Lord; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything that I say to you.”

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.

You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go out of his land.

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).

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

“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.’”

So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and did just as the Lord had commanded; Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.

Then Pharaoh called for the wise men [skilled in magic and omens] and the sorcerers [skilled in witchcraft], and they also, these magicians (soothsayer-priests) of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts and enchantments.

Yet Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he would not listen to them, just 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 as he is going out to the water, and wait for him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand the staff that was turned into a serpent.

So Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded; Aaron lifted up the staff and struck the waters in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned into blood.

But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts and enchantments; so Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

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

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.

So Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to the Lord [as he had agreed to do] concerning the frogs which God had inflicted on Pharaoh.

But when Pharaoh saw that there was [temporary] relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen or pay attention to them, just as the Lord had said.

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

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.

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.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God [here] in the land [of Egypt].”

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.”

So Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord [on behalf of Pharaoh].

The Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of [bloodsucking] insects from Pharaoh, from his servants and from his people; not one remained.

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

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 Pharaoh sent [men to investigate], and not even one of the livestock of the Israelites had died. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened [and his mind was firmly set], and he did not let the people go.

Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the brick kiln, and let Moses throw it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh.

So they took soot from the kiln, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses threw it toward the sky, and it became boils erupting in sores on man and animal.

But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen or pay attention to them, just as the Lord had told Moses.

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.

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;

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.

So Moses left the city and Pharaoh, and stretched out his hands to the Lord; then the thunder and hail ceased, and rain no longer poured on the earth.

But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, both he and his servants.

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

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,

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.

your houses and those of all your servants and of all the Egyptians shall be filled with locusts, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from their birth until this day.’” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.

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?”

So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God! Who specifically are the ones that are 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! Go now, you who are men, [without your families] and serve the Lord, if that is what you want.” So Moses and Aaron were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.

Then Pharaoh hurried to call for Moses and Aaron, and he said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you.

Moses left Pharaoh and entreated the Lord.

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart [so that it was even more resolved and obstinate], and he did not let the Israelites go.

Then Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, “Go, serve the Lord; only your flocks and your herds must be left behind. Even your children may go with you.”

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go.

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!”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring yet one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go. When he lets you go, he will most certainly drive you out of here completely.

The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, [both] in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.

and all the firstborn in the land [the pride, hope, and joy] of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the hand-mill, and all the firstborn of cattle as well.

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.”

Moses and Aaron did all these wonders (miracles) before Pharaoh; yet the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the Israelites go out of his land.

Now it happened at midnight that the Lord struck every firstborn 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 all the firstborn of the cattle.

Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry [of heartache and sorrow] in Egypt, for there was no house where there was not someone dead.

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.’

So it happened, when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearer; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war [that is, that there will be war], and return to Egypt.”

For Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’

I will harden (make stubborn, defiant) Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will be glorified and honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians shall know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this that we have done? We have let Israel go from serving us!”

The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, as they were leaving confidently and defiantly.

The Egyptians chased them with all the horses and war-chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook 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 marching after them, and they were very frightened; so the Israelites cried out to the Lord.