Then God said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet [out of respect], because the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

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.

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].”

But if they will not believe these two signs or pay attention to what you say, you are to take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take out of the river will turn into blood on the dry ground.”

You shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs [the miracles which prove I sent you].”

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.

Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which He had sent him, and all the signs that He had commanded him to do.

and Aaron said all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. Then Moses performed the signs [given to him by God] before the people.

But the number of bricks which they were making before, you shall [still] require of them; you are not to reduce it in the least. For they are idle and lazy; that is why they cry, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’

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).

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].’”

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.

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.

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.

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.

But Moses said, “It is not right [or even possible] to do that, for we will sacrifice to the Lord our God what is repulsive and unacceptable to the Egyptians [that is, animals that the Egyptians consider sacred]. If we sacrifice what is repulsive and unacceptable to the Egyptians, will they not riot and stone us?

now hear this: the hand of the Lord will fall on your livestock which are out in the field, on the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks—a horrible plague shall come.

For they covered the [visible] surface of the land, so that the ground was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. There remained not a green thing on the trees or the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.

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.

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.”

Tell all the congregation of Israel, ‘On the tenth [day] of this month they are to take a lamb or young goat for themselves, according to [the size of] the household of which he is the father, a lamb or young goat for each household.

Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel [above the door] of the houses in which they eat it.

You shall let none of the meat remain until the morning, and anything that remains left over until morning, you shall burn completely in the fire.

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.

When you enter the land which the Lord will give you, as He has promised, you shall keep and observe this service.

And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought from Egypt; it was not leavened, since they were driven [quickly] from Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any food for themselves.

Moses said to the people, “Remember [solemnly observe and commemorate] this day on which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage and slavery; for by a strong and powerful hand the Lord brought you out of this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten.

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.

Then Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid! Take your stand [be firm and confident and undismayed] and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for those Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see again.

So it happened at the early morning watch [before dawn], that the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and put them in a state of confusion.

When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord [with reverence and awe-filled respect], and they believed in the Lord, and in His servant Moses.

“You will bring them [into the land of promise] and plant them on the mountain (Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem) of Your inheritance,
The place, O Lord, You have made for Your dwelling [among them],
The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.

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,

saying, “If you will diligently listen and pay attention to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and listen to His commandments, and keep [foremost in your thoughts and actively obey] all His precepts and statutes, then I will not put on you any of the diseases which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.”

They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they left the land of Egypt.

Moses said, “This will happen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning [enough] bread to be fully satisfied, because the Lord has heard your murmurings against Him; for what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.”

When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.

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.’”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.

Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods; indeed, it was proven when they acted insolently toward Israel [and the Lord showed Himself infinitely superior to all their gods].”

So Moses called for the elders of the people, and told them all these words which the Lord commanded him.

The Lord also said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow [that is, prepare them for My sacred purpose], and have them wash their clothes

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].

But if a man acts intentionally against another and kills him by [design through] treachery, you are to take him from My altar [to which he may have fled for protection], so that he may be put to death.

If the animal that he stole is found alive in his possession, whether it is ox or donkey or sheep, he shall pay double [for it].

For every offense involving property, whether it concerns ox, donkey, sheep, clothing, or any piece of lost property, which another identifies as his, the case of both parties shall come before the judges [who act in God’s name]. Whomever the judges pronounce guilty shall pay double to his neighbor.

I will send hornets ahead of you which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite before you.

So Moses took the blood [which had been placed in the large basins] and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

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.”

and put the poles through the rings on the sides of the ark, by which to carry it.

You shall put into the ark the Testimony (Ten Commandments) which I will give you.

There I will meet with you; from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, I will speak [intimately] with you regarding every commandment that I will give you for the Israelites.

See that you make them [exactly] after their pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.

The poles shall be inserted through the rings on the two sides of the altar so that it may be carried.

In the Tent of Meeting [of God with His people], outside the veil which is in front of the [ark of the] Testimony [and sets it apart], Aaron [the high priest] and his sons shall keep the lamp burning from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a perpetual statute [to be observed] throughout their generations on behalf of the Israelites.

These are the garments which they shall make: a breastpiece and an ephod [for the breastpiece] and a robe and a tunic of checkered work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make sacred garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, so that he may serve as a priest to Me.

And the skillfully woven sash, which is on the ephod shall be made of the same material: of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and fine twisted linen.

You shall put the two twisted cords of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastpiece.

It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall take away the guilt from the holy things which the sons of Israel dedicate, with regard to all their holy gifts. It shall always be on his forehead, so that they may be accepted before the Lord.

Then bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting [out where the basin is] and wash them with water.

Then you shall cut the ram into pieces, and wash its intestines and legs, and place them with its pieces and its head,

They shall eat those things by which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration; but a layman shall not eat them, because they are holy [that is, set apart to the worship of God].

You shall make two gold rings under its molding, make them on the two side walls—on opposite sides—they shall be holders for the poles with which to carry it.

Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet.

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].

They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations.”

The incense which you shall make, you shall not make in the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for the Lord.

And he took the gold from their hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’”

So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He had said He would do to His people.

For they said to me, ‘Make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’

Yet now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out of Your book which You have written (kill me)!”

But now go, lead the people [to the place] where I have told you. Behold, My Angel shall go before you; nevertheless, in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin!”

So the Lord struck the people with a plague, because of what they had done with the calf which Aaron had made [for them].

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought from the land of Egypt, to the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel), saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’

Now Moses used to take his own tent and pitch it outside the camp, far away from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting [of God with His own people]. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the [temporary] tent of meeting which was outside the camp.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you smashed [when you learned of Israel’s idolatry].

Watch yourself so that you do not make a covenant (solemn agreement, treaty) with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a [dangerous] trap among you.

Moses gathered all the congregation of the sons of Israel together, and said to them, “These are the things which the Lord has commanded you to do:

The Israelites, all the men and women whose heart moved them to bring material for all the work which the Lord had commanded through Moses to be done, brought a freewill (voluntary) offering to the Lord.

They received from Moses all the offerings which the Israelites had brought for the construction of the sanctuary, to prepare it for service. And they continued to bring him freewill (voluntary) offerings every morning.

and they said to Moses, “The people are bringing much more than enough for the construction work which the Lord commanded us to do.”

He made fifty loops in the one curtain [of the first set] and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain which was in the second set; the loops were opposite one another.

He made the utensils which were to be on the table, its dishes and its pans [for bread], its bowls and its jars for pouring drink offerings, of pure gold.

He cast four rings for the four corners of the bronze grating as holders for the carrying poles.

He put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to carry it; he made it hollow with planks.

They made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece.

Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.