He told his people, "Look, the Israeli people are more numerous and more powerful than we are.

"Go and gather the elders of Israel. Tell them, "The LORD God of your ancestors, appeared to me the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and he said, "I have paid close attention to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt.

"The elders of Israel will listen to you, and then you and they are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, "The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now, let us take a three-day journey into the desert to sacrifice to the LORD our God.'

You are to say to Pharaoh, "This is what the LORD says: "Israel is my firstborn son.

Later, Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of Israel.

After Moses and Aaron arrived, they told Pharaoh, "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: "Let my people go so they may make a pilgrimage for me in the desert.'"

Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD that I should listen to him and let Israel go? I don't know about the LORD, nor will I let Israel go!"

The Israeli supervisors whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had appointed over them were beaten and told, "Why didn't you, both yesterday and today, fulfill your quota for making bricks as before?"

The Israeli supervisors came and cried out to Pharaoh, "Why are you doing this to us?

The Israeli supervisors realized they were in trouble when he said, "You won't reduce each day's quota of bricks!"

These are the heads of their ancestors' households: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch and Pallu; Hezron and Carmi.

The LORD will distinguish between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of the Egyptians, so that nothing that belongs to the Israelis will die."'"

Then Pharaoh inquired and discovered that not a single one of the livestock of Israel had died, but Pharaoh's heart was stubborn and he would not let the people go.

Tell the entire congregation of Israel, "On the tenth of this month they're each to take a lamb for themselves, according to their ancestors' households, one lamb for each household.

It is to remain under your care until the fourteenth day of this month, and then the entire assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it at twilight.

You are to eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day be sure to remove all the leaven from your houses, because any person who eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh will be cut off from Israel.

For seven days leaven is not to be found in your houses. Indeed, any person who eats anything leavened, is to be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether an alien or a native of the land.

Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and told them, "Choose sheep for your families, and slaughter the Passover lamb.

About 600,000 Israeli men traveled from Rameses to Succoth on foot, not counting children.

The whole congregation of Israel is to observe it.

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the minds of Pharaoh and his officials changed toward the people, and they said, "What have we done in releasing Israel from serving us?"

Then the angel of God, who was going in front of the camp of Israel, moved behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front of them and stood behind them,

coming between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. The cloud remained there even in the darkness, illuminating the night, so that the one side did not come near the other all night.

He made the wheels of their chariots wobble so that they drove them with difficulty. The Egyptians said, "Let's flee from Israel because the LORD is fighting for them and against us."

On that day the LORD delivered Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead along the seashore.

When Israel saw the great force by which the LORD had acted against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD, and they believed the LORD and Moses his servant.

Then Moses led Israel from the Reed Sea and they went to the desert of Shur. They traveled into the desert for three days and did not find water.

Then the LORD told Moses, "Go over in front of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.

I'll be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. You are to strike the rock and water will come out of it, so the people can drink." Moses did this in front of the elders of Israel.

Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.

Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians on Israel's behalf, all the hardships that they had encountered along the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.

Jethro rejoiced over all the good that the LORD had done for Israel in delivering them from the hand of the Egyptians.

Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, because of what happened to the Egyptians when they acted arrogantly against Israel."

Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to dine with Moses' father-in-law in the presence of God.

Moses chose capable men from all Israel and appointed them as heads over the people, as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.

They had set out from Rephidim and arrived at the desert of Sinai where they camped in the desert. Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain: "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and declare to the sons of Israel,

The LORD told Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and 70 of the elders of Israel, and worship at a distance.

So Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He got up early in the morning and built an altar with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel at the base of the mountain.

He sent young Israeli men to offer up burnt offerings and sacrifice bulls as peace offerings to the LORD.

Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and 70 of the elders of Israel went up

and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, as clear as the sky.

Because God did not punish the Israeli leaders, they looked at God, yet lived to eat and drink.

You are to take two onyx stones and engrave the names of the sons of Israel on them,

With work like a jeweler engraves on a signet, you are to inscribe the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel, and you are to mount them in settings of gold filigree.

You are to put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as stones of remembrance representing the sons of Israel, and Aaron is to carry their names into the LORD's presence on his two shoulders as a memorial.

The stones are to correspond to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve stones corresponding to their names. They are to be engraved like a signet, each with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

"Aaron is to carry the names of Israel's sons on his heart on the breast piece to be worn by the high priest when he makes legal decisions, that is, whenever he goes into the Holy Place in order to remember them continuously in the LORD's presence.

You are to put the Urim and Thummim into the breast piece of judgment, and they are to be on Aaron's heart when he goes into the LORD's presence. He is to carry the breast piece of decision that depicts Israel's sons on his heart in the LORD's presence continuously."

He took them from them and, using a tool, fashioned them into a molten calf. The people said, "This, Israel, is your god who brought you out of the land of Egypt."

They have been quick to turn aside from the way I commanded them, and they have made for themselves a molten calf. They have bowed down to it in worship, they have offered sacrifices to it, and they have said, "This, Israel, is your god who brought you out of the land of Egypt.'"

Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants to whom you swore by yourself as you told them, "I'll increase the number of your descendants like the stars of the heavens, I'll give your descendants all of this land about which I have spoken, and they are to possess it forever.'"

He told them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says, "Every man put his sword on his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and each of you kill his brother and friend and neighbor.'"

Three times during the year all your males are to appear in the presence of the LORD God of Israel,

Then the LORD told Moses, "Write down these words, because I'm making a covenant with you and with Israel according to these words."

Each Israeli man and woman whose heart was prompted brought something as a freewill offering to the LORD for all the work that the LORD had commanded them to do through Moses.

They prepared the onyx stones, engraved with the names of the sons of Israel like the engraving on a signet, and mounted them in settings of gold filigree.

He put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel, just as the LORD commanded Moses.

The stones corresponded to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve stones corresponding to their names, with the engraving of a signet, each with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

since the cloud of the LORD was over the tent by day, and the fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel in all their journeys.