Exodus 5

Moses and Aaron Go to the King of Egypt

1 Moses and Aaron went to the kingt of Egypt and told him, “The Lord God says, ‘Let my people go into the desert, so they can honor me with a celebration there.’ ”

2 “Who is this Lord and why should I obey him?” the king replied. “I refuse to let you and your people go!”

3 They answered, “The Lord God of the Hebrews, has appeared to us. Please let us walk three days into the desert where we can offer sacrifices to him. If you don’t, he may strike us down with terrible troubles or with war.”

4-5 The king said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you keeping these people from working? Look how many you are keeping from doing their work. Now everyone get back to work!”

6 That same day the king gave orders to his slave bosses and to the men directly in charge of the Israelite slaves. He told them:
7 Don’t give the slaves any more strawt to put in their bricks. Force them to find their own straw wherever they can,8 but they must make the same number of bricks as before. They are lazy, or else they would not beg me to let them go and sacrifice to their God.

9 Make them work so hard that they won’t have time to listen to these lies.
10 The slave bosses and the men in charge of the slaves went out and told them, “The king says he will not give you any more straw.

11 Go and find your own straw wherever you can, but you must still make as many bricks as before.”
12 The slaves went all over Egypt, looking for straw.13 But the slave bosses were hard on them and kept saying, “Each day you have to make as many bricks as you did when you were given straw.”

14 The bosses beat the men in charge of the slaves and said, “Why didn’t you force the slaves to make as many bricks yesterday and today as they did before?”
15 Finally, the men in charge of the slaves went to the king and said, “Why are you treating us like this?

16 No one brings us any straw, but we are still ordered to make the same number of bricks. We are beaten with whips, and your own people are to blame.”
17 The king replied, “You are lazy—nothing but lazy! That’s why you keep asking me to let you go and sacrifice to your Lord.

18 Get back to work! You won’t be given straw, but you must still make the same number of bricks.”
19 The men knew they were in deep trouble when they were ordered to make the same number of bricks each day.20 After they left the king, they went to see Moses and Aaron, who had been waiting for them.21 Then the men said, “We hope the Lord will punish both of you for making the king and his officials hate us. Now they even have an excuse to kill us.”

The Lord’s Promise to Moses

22 Moses left them and prayed, “Our Lord, why have you brought so much trouble on your people? Is that why you sent me here?

23 Ever since you told me to speak to the king,t he has caused nothing but trouble for these people. And you haven’t done a thing to help.”

Exodus 6

1 The Lord God told Moses: Soon you will see what I will do to the king. Because of my mighty power, he will let my people go, and he will even chase them out of his country.

2 t My name is the Lord.t3 But when I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I came as God All-Powerful and did not use my name.4 I made an agreement and promised them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners.

5 Now I have seen how the people of Israel are suffering because of the Egyptians, and I will keep my promise.
6 Here is my message for Israel: “I am the Lord! And with my mighty power I will punish the Egyptians and free you from slavery.7 I will accept you as my people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I was the one who rescued you from the Egyptians.

8 I will bring you into the land that I solemnly promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and it will be yours. I am the Lord!”

9 When Moses told this to the Israelites, they were too discouraged and mistreated to believe him.
10 Then the Lord told Moses11 to demand that the king of Egypt let the Israelites leave.12 But Moses replied, “I’m not a powerful speaker. If the Israelites won’t listen to me, why should the king of Egypt?”13 But the Lord sent Aaron and Moses with a message for the Israelites and for the king; he also ordered Aaron and Moses to free the people from Egypt.

Family Record of Aaron and Moses

14 The following men were the heads of their ancestral clans:
The sons of Reuben, Jacob’st oldest son, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

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

16 t Levi lived to be one hundred thirty-seven; his sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

17 Gershon’s sons were Libni and Shimei.

18 Kohath lived to be one hundred thirty-three; his sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

19 Merari’s sons were Mahli and Mushi. All of the above were from the Levi tribe.

20 Amram lived to be one hundred thirty-seven. He married his father’s sister Jochebed, and they had two sons, Aaron and Moses.

21 Izhar’s sons were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.

22 Uzziel’s sons were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

23 Aaron married Elisheba. She was the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon; they had four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

24 Korah’s sons were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph.

25 Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of Putiel’s daughters, and their son was Phinehas. This ends the list of those who were the heads of clans in the Levi tribe.
26 The Lord had commanded Aaron and Moses to lead every family and tribe of Israel out of Egypt,27 and so they ordered the king of Egypt to set the people of Israel free.

The Lord Commands Moses and Aaron to Speak to the King

28 When the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,

29 he said, “I am the Lord. Tell the kingt of Egypt everything I say to you.”

30 But Moses answered, “You know I am a very poor speaker, and the king will never listen to me.”

Exodus 7

1 The Lord said: I am going to let your brother Aaron speak for you. He will tell your message to the king, just as a prophet speaks my message to the people.2 Tell Aaron everything I say to you, and he will order the king to let my people leave his country.3-4 t3-4 But I will make the king so stubborn that he won’t listen to you. He won’t listen even when I do many terrible things to him and his nation. Then I will bring a final punishment on Egypt, and the king will let Israel’s families and tribes go.

5 When this happens, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.
6 Moses and Aaron obeyed the Lord7 and spoke to the king. At the time, Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three.

A Stick Turns into a Snake

8-9 8-9 The Lord said, “Moses, when the kingt asks you and Aaron to perform a miracle, command Aaron to throw his walking stick down in front of the king, and it will turn into a snake.”
10 Moses and Aaron went to the king and his officials and did exactly as the Lord had commanded—Aaron threw the stick down, and it turned into a snake.11 Then the king called in the wise men and the magicians, who used their secret powers to do the same thing—12 they threw down sticks that turned into snakes. But Aaron’s snake swallowed theirs.13 The king behaved just as the Lord had said and stubbornly refused to listen.

The Nile River Turns into Blood

14 The Lord said to Moses: The Egyptian kingt stubbornly refuses to change his mind and let the people go.15 Tomorrow morning take the stick that turned into a snake, then wait beside the Nile River for the king.

16 Tell him, “The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to order you to release his people, so they can worship him in the desert. But until now, you have paid no attention.
17 t “The Lord is going to do something to show you that he really is the Lord. I will strike the Nile with this stick, and the water will turn into blood.

18 The fish will die, the river will stink, and none of you Egyptians will be able to drink the water.”

19 Moses, then command Aaron to hold his stick over the water. And when he does, every drop of water in Egypt will turn into blood, including rivers, canals, ponds, and even the water in buckets and jars.
20 Moses and Aaron obeyed the Lord. Aaron held out his stick, then struck the Nile, as the king and his officials watched. The river turned into blood,

21 the fish died, and the water smelled so bad that none of the Egyptians could drink it. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.
22 But the Egyptian magicians used their secret powers to do the same thing. The king did just as the Lord had said—he stubbornly refused to listen.23 Then he went back to his palace and never gave it a second thought.24 The Egyptians had to dig holes along the banks of the Nile for drinking water, because water from the river was unfit to drink.

Frogs

25 Seven days after the Lord had struck the Nile,