And they appointed commanders of forced labor over them in order to oppress them with their {forced labor}, and they built storage cities for Pharaoh--Pithom and Rameses.

And the midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew [women are] not like the Egyptian women, because they [are] vigorous; before the midwife comes to them, they have given birth."

And Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, "Every son who is born you will throw into the Nile, and every daughter you will let live."

And the daughter of Pharaoh went down to wash at the Nile, [while] her maidservants were walking alongside the Nile, and she saw the basket in the midst of the reeds, and she sent her slave woman [for it] and took it

And his sister said to the daughter of Pharaoh, "Shall I go and call for you a woman from the Hebrews [who is] nursing [so that] she will nurse the boy for you?"

And the daughter of Pharaoh said to her, "Go." And the girl went, and she called the mother of the boy.

And the daughter of Pharaoh said, "Take this boy and nurse him for me, and I myself will give you wages, and the woman took the boy, and she nursed him.

And the boy grew, and she brought him to the daughter of Pharaoh, and he became her son, and she called his name Moses, and she said, "Because I drew him out from the water."

And Pharaoh heard this matter, and he sought to kill Moses, and Moses fled from Pharaoh, and he lived in the land of Midian, and he lived at {a certain well}.

and he called him Gershom: for he said, "I have been a stranger in a strange land." And she bare yet another son, whom he called Eliezer saying, "The God of my father is mine helper, and hath rid me out of the hands of Pharaoh."

And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and [you must] bring my people, the {Israelites}, out from Egypt."

But Moses said to God, "Who [am] I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the {Israelites} out from Egypt?"

And they will give ear to your voice: and you, with the chiefs of Israel, will go to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and say to him, The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has come to us: let us then go three days' journey into the waste land to make an offering to the Lord our God.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "When you go to return to Egypt, see all of the wonders that I have put in your hand, and do them before Pharaoh, and I myself will harden his heart, and he will not release the people.

And you must say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Israel [is] my son, my firstborn."

And afterward, Moses and Aaron went, and they said to Pharaoh, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, 'Release my people so that they may hold a festival for me in the desert.'"

And Pharaoh said, "Who is Yahweh that I should listen to his voice to release Israel? I do not know Yahweh, and also I will not release Israel."

And Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land [are] now many, and you want to stop them from their {forced labor}."

And on that day Pharaoh commanded the slave drivers over the people and his foremen, saying,

And the slave drivers of the people and their foremen went out, and they spoke to the people, saying, "Thus says Pharaoh, 'I [am] not giving you straw.

And the foremen of the {Israelites}, whom Pharaoh's slave drivers had appointed over them, were beaten [by men who were] saying, "Why have you not completed your portion of brickmaking {as before, both yesterday and today}?"

And the foremen of the {Israelites} came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, "Why do you treat your servants like this?

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

And they met Moses and Aaron, [who were] waiting to meet them when they [were] going out from Pharaoh.

And they said to them, "May Yahweh look upon you and judge because you have caused our fragrance to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants [so as] to put a sword into their hand to kill us."

And from the time I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble to this people, and you have certainly not delivered your people."

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, because with a strong hand he will release them, and with a strong hand he will drive them out from his land."

"Go, speak to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and let him release the {Israelites} from his land."

And Moses spoke before Yahweh, saying, "Look, the {Israelites} do not listen to me, and how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I [am] {a poor speaker}?"

And Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and he commanded them [to go] to the {Israelites} and to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to bring the {Israelites} out from the land of Egypt.

They [were] those who spoke to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, in order to bring the {Israelites} out from Egypt. [It was] that Moses and Aaron.

And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, "I [am] Yahweh. Speak to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, all that I [am] speaking to you."

And Moses said before Yahweh, "Look, I [am] {a poor speaker}. And how will Pharaoh listen to me?"

And Yahweh said to Moses, "See, I have made you [as] a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet.

You will speak all that I will command you, and Aaron your brother will speak to Pharaoh, and he will release the {Israelites} from his land.

And I myself will harden the heart of Pharaoh, and I will make my signs and my wonders numerous in the land of Egypt.

And Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I will put my hand into Egypt and bring out my divisions, my people, the {Israelites}, from the land of Egypt with great punishments.

(And Moses [was] {eighty years old}, and Aaron [was] {eighty-three years old} when they spoke to Pharaoh.)

"When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Do a wonder for yourselves,' you will say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake.'"

And Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and they did so, as Yahweh had commanded. And Aaron threw his staff before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a snake.

And Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did likewise with their secret arts.

And Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had said.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart [is] {insensitive}; he refuses to release the people.

Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Look, [he is] going out to the water, and you must wait to meet him on the bank of the Nile, and you must take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.

And Moses and Aaron did so, as Yahweh had commanded, and he raised the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile before the eyes of Pharaoh and before the eyes of his servants, and all of the water that was in the Nile was changed to blood.

And the magicians of Egypt did likewise with their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

And Pharaoh turned and went to his house, and {he did not take also this to heart}.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Release my people so that they may serve me."

And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to Yahweh, and let him remove the frogs from me and from my people, and let me release the people so that they can sacrifice to Yahweh."

And Moses said to Pharaoh, "{I leave to you the honor} over me. When shall I pray for you and for your servants and for your people to cut off the frogs from you and from your houses? They will be left 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.

And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to Yahweh over the matter of the frogs that he had brought on Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh saw that there was relief, and he made his heart {insensitive}, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

And the magicians said to Pharaoh, "It is the finger of God." But the heart of Pharaoh was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Start early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Look, [he is] going out to the water, and you must say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Release my people so that they may serve me."

And Yahweh did so, and a {severe} [swarm of] flies came to the house of Pharaoh and the house of his servants and in all the land of Egypt; the land was ruined because of the flies.

And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and he said, "Go, sacrifice to your God in the land."

And Pharaoh said, "I myself will release you, and you will sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the desert. Only surely you must not go far. Pray for me."

And Moses said, "Look, I [am] going out from you, and I will pray to Yahweh so that the flies depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh again deceive [us] by not releasing the people to sacrifice to Yahweh."

And Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to Yahweh.

And Yahweh did according to the word of Moses and removed the flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one was left.

And Pharaoh made his heart {insensitive} also this time, and he did not release the people.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, "Release my people so that they may serve me."

And Pharaoh sent [to check], and {it turned out} not even one from the livestock of Israel had died, but Pharaoh's heart was {insensitive}, and he did not release the people.

And Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron, "Take for yourselves full handfuls of soot from a smelting furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heavens before the eyes of Pharaoh.

And they took the soot of the smelting furnace, and they stood before Pharaoh, and Moses sprinkled it toward the heavens, and it became skin sores sprouting blisters on humans and on animals.

And Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken to Moses.

Then the LORD told Moses, "Get up early in the morning, present yourself to Pharaoh, and say to him, "This is what the LORD God of the Hebrews says: "Let my people go so they may serve me.

Whoever feared the message from the LORD among Pharaoh's officials made his servants and livestock flee into shelters.

Pharaoh sent word and called for Moses and Aaron. "I've sinned this time," he told them. "The LORD is righteous, but I and my people are wicked.

Then Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to the LORD. The thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured out on the land.

When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he continued to sin. He, along with his officials,hardened his heart.

Pharaoh's heart was stubborn, and he did not let the Israelis go, just as the LORD had said through Moses.

Then the LORD told Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I've hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials in order to perform these signs of mine among them,

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, "This is what the LORD God of the Hebrews says: "How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so they may serveme.

Your houses will be filled, along with the houses of all your officials and the houses of all the Egyptians something that neither your fathers nor your ancestors ever saw from the time they were on earth until now.'" Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh's presence.

Then the officials of Pharaoh told him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go so they may serve the LORD their God! Don't you realize yet that Egypt is about to be destroyed?"

Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh and he told them, "Go, serve the LORD your God. But exactly who will go?"

Then Pharaoh told them, "The LORD will certainly be with you if I let you and your little ones go. I know some evil plan is in your mind.

No! Let the men go and serve the LORD, for that is what you were seeking." Then they were driven out from the presence of Pharaoh.

Pharaoh quickly called Moses and Aaron and said, "I've sinned against the LORD your God and against you.

Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD.

But the LORD made Pharaoh's heart stubborn and he would not let the Israelis go.

Pharaoh called Moses and said, "Go serve the LORD, but your flocks and your cattle are to remain. Even your little ones can go with you!"

The LORD made Pharaoh's heart stubborn, and he did not want to let them go.

Then Pharaoh told him, "Get away from me! Watch out that you never see my face again, because on the day you see my face, you will die!"

Then the LORD told Moses, "I'll bring one more plague on Pharaoh and Egypt. After that he'll let you leave from here, and when he lets you go, he will certainly drive you out from here.

The LORD made the Egyptians look on the people with favor. Also the man Moses was highly regarded in the land of Egypt, both in the opinion of Pharaoh's officials and in the opinion of the people.

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

and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the slave girl who operatesthe hand mill, along with the firstborn of the animals.

All these officials of yours will come down to me, prostrate themselves to me, and say, "Get out, you and all the people following you!' After that I'll go out." Then Moses angrily left Pharaoh.

The LORD told Moses, "Pharaoh won't listen to you. As a result, my wonders will increase throughout the land of Egypt."

Moses and Aaron did all these wonders in front of Pharaoh, but the LORD made Pharaoh's heart stubborn, and he would not let the Israelis go out from his land.

And so at midnight the LORD struck down 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 livestock.

Pharaoh got up during the night, he, all his officials, and all the Egyptians, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, because there was not a house without someone dead in it.

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

And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of humans to the firstborn of animals. Therefore, I sacrifice to the LORD every male that first opens the womb, but I redeem every firstborn of my sons.

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearer, because God had said, "If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt."

Pharaoh will say about the Israelis, "They're wandering aimlessly in the land, and the desert has closed in on them.'

I've made Pharaoh's heart stubborn so he will pursue them. But I'll receive honor by means of Pharaoh and his army, so that the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So this is what the Israelis did.