Exo 10-15, Lev 19:36, 23:43 | ESV | STEP | Then the Lord said to Moses , Go in to Pharaoh , for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants , that I may show these signs of mine among them,

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, 2 and ^athat you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, ^bthat you may know that I am the Lord.”

3 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to ^chumble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. 4 For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring ^dlocusts into your country, 5 and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall ^eeat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, 6 and they shall fill ^fyour houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

7 Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, ^g“Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?” 9 Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for ^hwe must hold a feast to the Lord.” 10 But he said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your ⁱlittle ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind. ^{▼▼Hebrew before your face} 11 No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

12 Then the Lord said to Moses, ^k“Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and ^leat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 ^mThe locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, ⁿsuch a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. 15 They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and ^othey ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, ^p“I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. 17 Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and ^qplead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” 18 So ^rhe went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 19 And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them ^sinto the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. 20 But the Lord ^thardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

21 Then the Lord said to Moses, ^u“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be ^vdarkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but ^wall the people of Israel had light where they lived. 24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, ^x“Go, serve the Lord; ^yyour little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” 27 But the Lord ^zhardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” 29 Moses said, “As you say! ^aaI will not see your face again.”

Exodus 11

A Final Plague Threatened

1 The Lord said to Moses, “Yet ^abone plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. ^acWhen he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. 2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, that ^adthey ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” 3 ^aeAnd the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.

4 So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ^af‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, 5 and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is ^agbehind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. 6 ^ahThere shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. 7 But not a dog shall growl ^aiagainst any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord ^ajmakes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ 8 And ^akall these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. 9 Then the Lord said to Moses, ^al“Pharaoh will not listen to you, that ^ammy wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord ^anhardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.

Exodus 12

The Passover

1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 ^ao“This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb ^apaccording to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be ^aqwithout blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the ^arfourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. ^{▼▼Hebrew between the two evenings}

7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the ^attwo doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with ^auunleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but ^avroasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And ^awyou shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with ^axyour belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. ^ayIt is the Lord’s Passover. 12 For ^azI will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on ^baall the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: ^bbI am the Lord. 13 ^bcThe blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

14 “This day shall be ^bdfor you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a ^bestatute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. 15 ^bfSeven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, ^bgthat person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall hold a ^bhholy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. 17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for ^bion this very day I brought your ^bjhosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. 18 ^bkIn the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 ^blFor seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, ^bmthat person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, ^bnwhether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”

21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves ^boaccording to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of ^bphyssop and ^bqdip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch ^brthe lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. ^bsNone of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 ^btFor the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on ^buthe lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and ^bvwill not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. 24 You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. 25 And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, ^bwas he has promised, you shall keep this service. 26 And ^bxwhen your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 you shall say, ^by‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people ^bzbowed their heads and worshiped.

28 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

29 ^caAt midnight the ^cbLord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, ^ccfrom the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was ^cda great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. 31 Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, ^ceboth you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. 32 ^cfTake your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”

The Exodus

33 ^cgThe Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. 35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had ^chasked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 ^ciAnd the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that ^cjthey let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

37 And the ^ckpeople of Israel journeyed from ^clRameses to Succoth, ^cmabout six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 A ^cnmixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because ^cothey were thrust out of Egypt and ^cpcould not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

40 The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of ^cq430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a ^crnight of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.

Institution of the Passover

43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, 44 but every slave ^{▼▼Or servant; the Hebrew term ‘ebed designates a range of social and economic roles (see Preface)} that is ^ctbought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. 45 ^cuNo foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. 46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and ^cvyou shall not break any of its bones. 47 ^cwAll the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 ^cxIf a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he ^cyshall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 49 There shall be ^czone law for the native and for the ^dastranger who sojourns among you.”

50 All the people of Israel did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the ^dbLord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their ^dchosts.

Exodus 13

Consecration of the Firstborn

1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 ^dd“Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

3 Then Moses said to the people, ^de“Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, ^dffor by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. ^dgNo leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of ^dhAbib, you are going out. 5 And when the Lord brings you into ^dithe land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which ^djhe swore to your fathers to give you, a land ^dkflowing with milk and honey, ^dlyou shall keep this service in this month. 6 ^dmSeven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. 8 ^dnYou shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 And it shall ^dobe to you as a sign on your hand and as ^dpa memorial ^dqbetween your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. 10 ^drYou shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.

11 “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, ^dsas he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, 12 ^dtyou shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord’s. 13 ^duEvery firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every ^dvfirstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 ^dwAnd when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ^dx‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of ^dyslavery. 15 For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the ^dzLord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but ^eaall the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 ^ebIt shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for ^ecby a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

Pillars of Cloud and Fire

17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did ^ednot lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people ^eechange their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” 18 But God ^efled the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. 19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph ^{▼▼Samaritan, Septuagint; Hebrew he} had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, ^eh“God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” 20 And ^eithey moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 21 And ^ejthe Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

Exodus 14

Crossing the Red Sea

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people of Israel to ^ekturn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between ^elMigdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ 4 And ^emI will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will ^enget glory over Pharaoh and all his host, ^eoand the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the ^epmind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, 7 and took ^eqsix hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. 8 And ^erthe Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while ^esthe people of Israel were going out defiantly. 9 The ^etEgyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them ^euencamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel ^evcried out to the Lord. 11 They ^ewsaid to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what ^exwe said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, ^ey“Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For ^ezthe Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 ^faThe Lord will fight for you, and you have only ^fbto be silent.”

15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 ^fcLift up your staff, and ^fdstretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And ^feI will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and ^ffI will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians ^fgshall know that I am the Lord, ^fhwhen I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

19 ^fiThen the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night ^{▼▼Septuagint and the night passed} without one coming near the other all night.

21 Then Moses ^fkstretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by ^fla strong east wind all night and ^fmmade the sea dry land, and the waters were ^fndivided. 22 And ^fothe people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being ^fpa wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, 25 clogging ^{▼▼Or binding (compare Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac); Hebrew removing} their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the ^frLord fights for them against the Egyptians.”

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, ^fs“Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” 27 ^ftSo Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea ^fureturned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord ^fvthrew ^{▼▼Hebrew shook off} the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The ^fxwaters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, ^fynot one of them remained. 29 But the ^fzpeople of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

30 Thus the Lord ^gasaved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 ^gbIsrael saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they ^gcbelieved in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Exodus 15

The Song of Moses

1 Then Moses and the people of Israel ^gdsang this song to the Lord, saying,

^ge“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider ^{▼▼Or its chariot; also verse 21} he has thrown into the sea.
2 ^ggThe Lord is my strength and my ^ghsong,
and he has become ^gimy salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
^gjmy father’s God, and ^gkI will exalt him.
3 The Lord is ^gla man of war;
^gmthe Lord is his name.
4 ^gn“Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
and his chosen ^goofficers were sunk in the Red Sea.
5 The ^gpfloods covered them;
they ^gqwent down into the depths like a stone.
6 ^grYour right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,
your right hand, O Lord, ^gsshatters the enemy.
7 In the ^gtgreatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
you send out your fury; it ^guconsumes them like stubble.
8 At the ^gvblast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
the ^gwfloods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said, ^gx‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
I ^gywill divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’
10 You ^gzblew with your wind; the ^hasea covered them;
they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 ^hb“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in ^hcglorious deeds, ^hddoing wonders?
12 You stretched out ^heyour right hand;
the earth swallowed them.
13 “You have ^hfled in your steadfast love the people whom ^hgyou have redeemed;
you have ^hhguided them by your strength to your holy abode.
14 ^hiThe peoples have heard; they tremble;
pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Now are the chiefs of Edom ^hjdismayed;
trembling seizes the leaders of ^hkMoab;
^hlall the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
16 Terror and ^hmdread fall upon them;
because of the greatness of your arm, they are still ^hnas a stone,
till your people, O Lord, pass by,
till the people pass by whom ^hoyou have purchased.
17 You will bring them in and ^hpplant them on your own mountain,
the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,
^hqthe sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.
18 ^hrThe Lord will reign forever and ever.”
19 For when ^hsthe horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, ^htthe Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. 20 Then ^huMiriam ^hvthe prophetess, the ^hwsister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and ^hxall the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them:

^hy“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Bitter Water Made Sweet

22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of ^hzShur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to ^iaMarah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. ^{▼▼ Marah means bitterness} 24 And the people ^icgrumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 And he ^idcried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, ^{▼▼Or tree} and he ^ifthrew it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord ^{▼▼Hebrew he} made for them a statute and a rule, and there he ^ihtested them, 26 saying, ⁱⁱ“If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the ^ijdiseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, ^ikyour healer.”

27 Then ^ilthey came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.

Leviticus 19:36

36 ^imYou shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: ^{▼▼An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters; a hin was about 4 quarts or 3.5 liters} I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 23:43

43 that ^ioyour generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”