And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel and said, "God will not fail but visit you: see therefore that ye carry my bones hence."

And all the souls that had come out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls; and Joseph was in Egypt.

And Joseph died and all of his brothers and all of that generation.

But the sons of Israel, were fruitful and swarmed and multiplied and waxed mighty, with exceeding vigour, - so that the land was filled with them.

And he said to his people, "Look, the people of the {Israelites} [are] greater and more numerous than us.

Come on, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass that, if war occur, they take side with our enemies and fight against us, and go up out of the land.

But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more they multiplied and expanded, so that the Egyptians dreaded and were exasperated by the Israelites.

"When ye midwife the women of the Hebrews and see in the birth time that it is a boy, kill it. But if it be a maid, let it live."

Then called the king of Egypt for the midwives, and said to them - Wherefore have ye done this thing, that ye should let the male children live?

"Hebrew women aren't like Egyptian women," the midwives replied to Pharaoh. "They're so healthy that they give birth before the midwives arrive to help them."

And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.

Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, but every daughter ye shall save alive.

And the woman conceived, and she gave birth to a son, and she saw him, that he was a fine baby, and she hid him three months.

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 it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren.

And he turned this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

And he went out on the second day, and behold, two Hebrew men were quarrelling; and he said to him that was in the wrong, Why art thou smiting thy neighbour?

And he said, Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? are you going to put me to death as you did the Egyptian? And Moses was in fear, and said, It is clear that the thing has come to light.

And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?

And they answered, "There was an Egyptian that delivered us from the shepherds, and so drew us water and watered the sheep."

And he said to his daughters, "Where [is] he? {Why then} have you left the man? {Call him so that he can eat some food}."

And it came to pass during those many days, that the king of Egypt died. And the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and cried; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage;

Meanwhile, Moses continued tending the sheep that belonged to his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the sheep to the western desert and came to Horeb, God's mountain, where

Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed.

Then Moses said, "I will go hence and see this great sight, how it cometh that the bush burneth not."

And Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, and God called to him from the midst of the bush, and he said, "Moses, Moses." And he said, "Here I [am]."

And Jehovah said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people that are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good and spacious land, unto a land flowing with milk and honey, unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

And now come, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth 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 {Israelites} out from Egypt?"

And he said, "Because I am with you, and this [will be] the sign for you that I myself have sent you: When you bring the people out from Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain."

And God said to Moses, "I am that I am." And he said, "So you must say to the {Israelites}, 'I am sent me to you.'"

Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, Jehovah the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, hath appeared to me, saying, I have indeed visited you, and seen that which is done unto you in Egypt;

So I said I will bring you up out of the suffering and oppression of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’

And they shall hearken to thy voice. And thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, hath met with us; and now, let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God.

But I myself know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go {unless compelled by a strong hand}.

And I will stretch out my hand, and I will strike Egypt with all of my wonders that I will do in its midst, and {afterward} he will release you.

And I will give this people favour in the eyes of the Egyptians, and it shall come to pass, when ye go out, that ye shall not go out empty;

but every woman shall ask of her neighbour, and of her that is the inmate of her house, utensils of silver, and utensils of gold, and clothing; and ye shall put them on your sons and on your daughters, and shall spoil the Egyptians.

And Moses, answering, said, It is certain that they will not have faith in me or give ear to my voice; for they will say, You have not seen the Lord.

And Jehovah said to him, What is that in thy hand? And he said, A staff.

"so that they may believe that Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, appeared to you, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."

And he said, Put your hand inside your robe again. (And he put his hand into his robe again, and when he took it out he saw that it had become like his other flesh.)

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the other sign.

{And} if they also do not believe the second of these signs and they will not listen to your voice, [then] you must take water from the Nile and pour [it] onto the dry ground, and the water that you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground."

and now, go, and I -- I am with thy mouth, and have directed thee that which thou speakest;'

{And Yahweh was angry with} Moses and said, "[Is there] not Aaron your brother the Levite? I know that he certainly can speak, and also there he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will rejoice in his heart.

and thou hast spoken unto him, and hast set the words in his mouth, and I -- I am with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and have directed you that which ye do;

And he shall speak for thee unto the people; and it shall come to pass that he shall be to thee for a mouth, and thou shalt be to him for God.

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

And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, that I may see whether they are yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

And Jehovah said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt; for all the men are dead that sought thy life.

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 I say to thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me. And if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill thy son, thy firstborn.

And it came to pass on the way, in the inn, that Jehovah came upon him, and sought to slay him.

And he left him alone. At that time she said, "A bridegroom of blood," because of the circumcision.

And Moses told Aaron all the words of Yahweh, who had sent him--and all the signs that he had commanded him.

And Aaron spoke all the words that Yahweh had spoken to Moses, and he did the signs before the eyes of the people.

And the people believed when they heard that Yahweh had attended to the {Israelites} and that he had seen their misery, and they knelt down and they worshiped.

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."

Then they answered, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God, or else He may strike us with plague or sword.”

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

"See that ye give the people no more straw to make brick withal, as ye did in time past: let them go and gather them straw themselves.

But the quota of the bricks that they [were] making {before} {you must require of them}. You must not reduce from it, because they [are] lazy. Therefore they [are] crying out, saying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.'

Let the work be heavier on the men so that they will do it and not pay attention to words of deception."

And the officers of the children of Israel, that Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and asked, Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?

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

Go therefore and work, for there shall no straw be given you, and yet see that ye deliver the whole tale of brick."

And the officers of the children of Israel saw that it stood ill with them, because it was said, Ye shall not diminish anything from your bricks, the daily work.

And they said to them, Jehovah look upon you and judge, that ye have made our odour to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his bondmen, putting a sword into their hand to kill us!

And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?

seeing that from what time I came in unto Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done harm to this people, and thou hast not delivered, thy people,

And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Now dost thou see that which I do to Pharaoh, for with a strong hand he doth send them away, yea, with a strong hand he doth cast them out of his land.'

And I will take you {as my people}, and I will be {your God}, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh your God, who brought you out from under the {forced labor} of Egypt.

And I will bring you to the land {that I swore} to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it to you [as] a possession. I [am] Yahweh."

Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

And Moses spoke before Jehovah, saying, Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh hear me, since I have lips that are not circumcised?

Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, issuing orders to them regarding the Israelis for delivery to Pharaoh, king of Egypt; that is, to bring the Israelis out of the land of Egypt.

[It was] that Aaron and Moses to whom Yahweh said, "Bring the {Israelites} out from the land of Egypt according to their divisions."

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.

Thus came it to pass, that on a certain day, Yahweh spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt.

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 to the Lord, My lips are unclean; how is it possible that Pharaoh will give me a hearing?

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.

But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that I may multiply my miracles and my wonders in the land of Egypt.

But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.

And [the] Egyptians will know that I [am] Yahweh when I stretch out my hand over Egypt and bring the {Israelites} out from their midst."

"When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Perform a miracle.' then you shall tell Aaron, 'Take your rod, and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it become a serpent.'"

And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

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 you must say to him, 'Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, "Release my people that they may serve me in the desert, and, look, you have not listened until now."

Thus says Yahweh, "By this you will know that I [am] Yahweh. Look, I [am about to] strike with the staff that is in my hand the water that is in the Nile, and it will be changed to blood.

And the fish that [are] in the Nile will die, and the Nile will stink, and [the] Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile." '"

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and stretch your hand out over the waters of Egypt and over their rivers, over their canals, and over their pools and over all of their reservoirs of water, so that they become blood,' and blood will be in all the land of Egypt and in [vessels of] wood and of stone."

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 fish that [were] in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, and [the] Egyptians were not able to drink water from the Nile, and the blood was in all the land of Egypt.

And the enchanters of Egypt did likewise with their enchantments, so that Pharaoh's heart was hardened and did not regard them, as the LORD had said.

And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.

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