Exodus 5-8

1After that, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”

2But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”

3“The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they answered. “Please let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the LORD our God, or He may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”

4But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Get back to your labor!”

5Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you would be stopping them from their labor.”

6That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen:

7“You shall no longer supply the people with straw for making bricks. They must go and gather their own straw.

8But require of them the same quota of bricks as before; do not reduce it. For they are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’

9Make the work harder on the men so they will be occupied and pay no attention to these lies.”

10So the taskmasters and foremen of the people went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am no longer giving you straw.

11Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it; but your workload will in no way be reduced.’”

12So the people scattered all over the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.

13The taskmasters kept pressing them, saying, “Fulfill your quota each day, just as you did when straw was provided.”

14Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over the people, were beaten and asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”

15So the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way?

16No straw has been given to your servants, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”

17“You are slackers!” Pharaoh replied. “Slackers! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’

18Now get to work. You will be given no straw, yet you must deliver the full quota of bricks.”

19The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce your daily quota of bricks.”

20When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them.

21“May the LORD look upon you and judge you,” the foremen said, “for you have made us a stench before Pharaoh and his officials; you have placed in their hand a sword to kill us!”

22So Moses returned to the LORD and asked, “Lord, why have You brought trouble upon this people? Is this why You sent me?

23Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and You have not delivered Your people in any way.”

1But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for because of My mighty hand he will let the people go; because of My strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

2God also told Moses, “I am the LORD.

3I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name the LORD I did not make Myself known to them.

4I also established My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land where they lived as foreigners.

5Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered My covenant.

6Therefore tell the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.

7I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.

8And I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD!’”

9Moses relayed this message to the Israelites, but on account of their broken spirit and cruel bondage, they did not listen to him.

10So the LORD said to Moses,

11“Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his land.”

12But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I am unskilled in speech?”

13Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

14These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans of Reuben.

15The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.

16These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their records: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.

17The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimei, by their clans.

18The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years.

19The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites according to their records.

20And Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.

21The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.

22The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

23And Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

24The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These were the clans of the Korahites.

25Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the Levite families by their clans.

26It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their divisions.”

27Moses and Aaron were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

28Now on the day that the LORD spoke to Moses in Egypt,

29He said to him, “I am the LORD; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I say to you.”

30But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “Since I am unskilled in speech, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”

1The LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.

2You are to speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land.

3But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I will multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,

4Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay My hand on Egypt, and by mighty acts of judgment I will bring the divisions of My people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

5And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.”

6So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them.

7Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

8The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

9“When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ you are to say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a serpent.”

10So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent.

11But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts.

12Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.

13Still, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

14Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.

15Go to Pharaoh in the morning as you see him walking out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.

16Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.

17This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. Behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn to blood.

18The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water.’”

19And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers and canals and ponds and all the reservoirs—that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.”

20Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded; in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials, Aaron raised the staff and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was turned to blood.

21The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. And there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.

22But the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.

23Instead, Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and did not take any of this to heart.

24So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink the water from the river.

25And seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.

1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

2But if you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.

3The Nile will teem with frogs, and they will come into your palace and up to your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls.

4The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”

5And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers and canals and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.’”

6So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.

7But the magicians did the same thing by their magic arts, and they also brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.

8Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go, that they may sacrifice to the LORD.”

9Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor over me. When shall I pray for you and your officials and your people that the frogs (except for those in the Nile) may be taken away from you and your houses?”

10“Tomorrow,” Pharaoh answered. “May it be as you say,” Moses replied, “so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.

11The frogs will depart from you and your houses and your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.”

12After Moses and Aaron had left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the LORD for help with the frogs that He had brought against Pharaoh.

13And the LORD did as Moses requested, and the frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields died.

14They were piled into countless heaps, and there was a terrible stench in the land.

15When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, however, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.

16Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may turn into swarms of gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’”

17This they did, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, gnats came upon man and beast. All the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the land of Egypt.

18The magicians tried to produce gnats using their magic arts, but they could not. And the gnats remained on man and beast.

19“This is the finger of God,” the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

20Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, and when Pharaoh goes out to the water, stand before him and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

21But if you will not let My people go, I will send swarms of flies upon you and your officials and your people and your houses. The houses of the Egyptians and even the ground where they stand will be full of flies.

22But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people live; no swarms of flies will be found there. In this way you will know that I, the LORD, am in the land.

23I will make a distinction between My people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow.’”

24And the LORD did so. Thick swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined by swarms of flies.

25Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within this land.”

26But Moses replied, “It would not be right to do that, because the sacrifices we offer to the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. If we offer sacrifices that are detestable before the Egyptians, will they not stone us?

27We must make a three-day journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He commands us.”

28Pharaoh answered, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”

29“As soon as I leave you,” Moses said, “I will pray to the LORD, so that tomorrow the swarms of flies will depart from Pharaoh and his officials and his people. But Pharaoh must not act deceitfully again by refusing to let the people go and sacrifice to the LORD.”

30Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD,

31and the LORD did as Moses requested. He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not one fly remained.

32But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time as well, and he would not let the people go.