Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Then He asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

but He did not have regard for Cain and his offering. Cain was furious, and he looked despondent.

And Noah did this. He did everything that God had commanded him.

And Noah did everything that the Lord commanded him.

After he had waited another seven days, he sent out the dove, but she did not return to him again.

Then Shem and Japheth took a cloak and placed it over both their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father naked.

So Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?

Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and go!”

So he brought all these to Him, split them down the middle, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut up the birds.

But the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I’m old?’

Sarah denied it. “I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid.

But He replied, “No, you did laugh.”

So they got their father to drink wine that night, and the firstborn came and slept with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

That night they again got their father to drink wine, and the younger went and slept with him; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

Didn’t he himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I did this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”

Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience. I have also kept you from sinning against Me. Therefore I have not let you touch her.

Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said to him, “What have you done to us? How did I sin against you that you have brought such enormous guilt on me and on my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.”

Abimelech also said to Abraham, “What did you intend when you did this thing?”

The Lord came to Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised.

Abimelech replied, “I don’t know who did this thing. You didn’t report anything to me, so I hadn’t heard about it until today.”

He moved from there and dug another, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Open Spaces and said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

But Isaac said to his son, “How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?”

He replied, “Because the Lord your God worked it out for me.”

He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”

And Jacob did just that. He finished the week of celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife.

Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face the streaked and the completely dark sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and didn’t put them with Laban’s sheep.

As for the weaklings of the flocks, he did not put out the branches. So it turned out that the weak sheep belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob.

Why did you secretly flee from me, deceive me, and not tell me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and lyres,

but you didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters. You have acted foolishly.

If you find your gods with anyone here, he will not live! Before our relatives, point out anything that is yours and take it.” Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.

I did not bring you any of the flock torn by wild beasts; I myself bore the loss. You demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or by night.

The young man did not delay doing this, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most important in all his father’s house.

When they set out, a terror from God came over the cities around them, and they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.

What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so He put him to death also.

He went over to her and said, “Come, let me sleep with you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.

She said, “What will you give me for sleeping with me?”

Judah replied, “Let her keep the items for herself; otherwise we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”

Judah recognized them and said, “She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her intimately again.

When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he did successful,

He left all that he owned under Joseph’s authority; he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome.

When his master heard the story his wife told him—“These are the things your slave did to me”—he was furious

The warden did not bother with anything under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him, and the Lord made everything that he did successful.

Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought, “Something might happen to him.”

Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.

Then they said to each other, “Obviously, we are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his deep distress when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this trouble has come to us.”

But Reuben replied: “Didn’t I tell you not to harm the boy? But you wouldn’t listen. Now we must account for his blood!”

They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them.

“Why did you cause me so much trouble?” Israel asked. “Why did you tell the man that you had another brother?”

The man did as Joseph had said and brought them to Joseph’s house.

They said, “Sir, we really did come down here the first time only to buy food.

Put my cup, the silver one, at the top of the youngest one’s bag, along with his grain money.” So he did as Joseph told him.

“What is this you have done?” Joseph said to them. “Didn’t you know that a man like me could uncover the truth by divination?”

The sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had commanded, and he gave them provisions for the journey.

They said, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them.

The only land he didn’t acquire was the priests’ portion, for it was given to them by Pharaoh. They lived off the rations Pharaoh had given them; therefore they did not sell their land.

So Jacob’s sons did for him what he had commanded them.

The Hebrew midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live.

“Who made you a leader and judge over us?” the man replied. “Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”

Then Moses became afraid and thought: What I did is certainly known.

“So where is he?” he asked his daughters. “Why then did you leave the man behind? Invite him to eat dinner.”

Then Moses answered, “What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

The overseers insisted, “Finish your assigned work each day, just as you did when straw was provided.”

Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s slave drivers had set over the people, were beaten and asked, “Why haven’t you finished making your prescribed number of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”

So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, “Lord, why have You caused trouble for this people? And why did You ever send me?

I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I did not reveal My name Yahweh to them.

Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.

So Moses and Aaron did this; they did just as the Lord commanded them.

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

But then Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers—the magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same thing by their occult practices.

However, Pharaoh’s heart hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded; in the sight of Pharaoh and his officials, he raised the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile was turned to blood.

But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their occult practices. So Pharaoh’s heart hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and didn’t even take this to heart.

But the magicians did the same thing by their occult practices and brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.

The Lord did as Moses had said: the frogs in the houses, courtyards, and fields died.

And they did this. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and when he struck the dust of the earth, gnats were on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats throughout the land of Egypt.

And the Lord did this. Thick swarms of flies went into Pharaoh’s palace and his officials’ houses. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined because of the swarms of flies.

The Lord did as Moses had said: He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people; not one was left.

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

The Lord did this the next day. All the Egyptian livestock died, but none among the Israelite livestock died.

Pharaoh sent messengers who saw that not a single one of the Israelite livestock was dead. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had told Moses.

but those who didn’t take the Lord’s word seriously left their servants and livestock in the field.

The only place it didn’t hail was in the land of Goshen where the Israelites were.

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

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the Israelites go.

One person could not see another, and for three days they did not move from where they were. Yet all the Israelites had light where they lived.

Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his land.

Then the Israelites went and did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

Then all the Israelites did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

On that day explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby; for God said, “The people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war.”

I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” So the Israelites did this.

When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?” because they didn’t know what it was.

Moses told them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.

So the Israelites did this. Some gathered a lot, some a little.

But they didn’t listen to Moses; some people left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and smelled. Therefore Moses was angry with them.

So they set it aside until morning as Moses commanded, and it didn’t smell or have any maggots in it.

Yet on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they did not find any.

But the people thirsted there for water, and grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you ever bring us out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

I am going to stand there in front of you on the rock at Horeb; when you hit the rock, water will come out of it and the people will drink.” Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.

Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought against Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.