Reading of Exodus 1-12

The Oppression of Israel and the Midwives’ Fear of God

Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land. Therefore they set taskmasters over them, to afflict them with their burdens, and they built for Pharaohs supply cities, Python, and Ramses.

But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew, and they were in dread of the children of Israel. So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor, and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field.

All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor. Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Ziphrah, and the name of the other, Puah. And he said, When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them in the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.

But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but save the male children alive. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said to them, Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?

And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them. Therefore, God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied, and grew very mighty.

And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that he provided households for them. So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.

You may be seated.

Moses’ Birth, Flight to Midian, and the Burning Bush

Exodus chapter 2. And a man of the house of Levi went and took his wife, a daughter of Levi. So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.

And when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank. And his sister stood afar off to know what would be done to him.

Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, and her maidens walked along the riverside. And when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept.

So she had compassion on him and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew woman, that she may nurse the child for you?

And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. So the maiden went and called the child's mother. Then Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.

So the woman took the child and nursed him. And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, Because I drew him out of the water.

Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting. And he said to one who did the wrong, Why are you striking your companion? Then he said, Who made you a prince and a judge over us?

Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? So Moses feared and said, Surely this thing is known. When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.

Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father's flock. Then the shepherds came and drove them away. But Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock.

When they came to Reuel, their father, he said, How is it that you have come so soon today? And they said, An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.

So he said to his daughters, And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread. Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses, and she bore him a son.

He called his name Gershom, for he said, I have been a stranger in a foreign land. Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out, and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.

So God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them. Then Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.

So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here I am. Then he said, Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.

Moreover, he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

Now, therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring 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 children of Israel out of Egypt? So he said, I will certainly be with you, and this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you.

When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. Then Moses said to God, Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, What is his name?

What shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I am has sent me to you. Moreover, God said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.

This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt.

And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt and to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.

Then they will heed your voice, and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt. And you shall say to him, The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us, and now, please, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice the Lord our God.

But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders, which I will do in its midst. And after that, he will let you go.

And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. And it shall be when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing, and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters.

So you shall plunder the Egyptians.

Then Moses answered and said, But suppose they will not believe me, or listen to my voice. Suppose they say, The Lord has not appeared to you. So the Lord said to him, What is that in your hand? He said, A rod.

And he said, Cast it on the ground. So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from it. Then the Lord said to Moses, Reach out your hand and take it by the tail. And he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand, that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.

Furthermore, the Lord said to him, Now put your hand in your bosom. And he put his hand in his bosom. And when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. And he said, Put your hand in your bosom again.

So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom. And behold, it was restored, like his other flesh. Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign.

And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.

Then Moses said to the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue. So the Lord said to him, Who has made man's mouth, or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind?

Have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall say. But he said, O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else you may send. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite your brother?

I know that he can speak well, and look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do.

So he shall be your spokesman to the people, and he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the sign. So Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, Please, let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.

And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. Now the Lord said to Moses in Midian, Go, return to Egypt, for all the men who sought your life are dead. Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt.

And Moses took the rod of God in his hand. And the Lord said to Moses, When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders for Pharaoh, which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.

Then you shall say to Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord, Israel is my son, my firstborn. So I say to you, Let my son go, that he may serve me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed, I will kill your son, your firstborn.

And it came to pass on the way at the encampment that the Lord met him and sought to kill him. Then Sapphora took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses' feet and said, Surely you are a husband of blood to me.

So he let him go. Then she said, You are a husband of blood, because of the circumcision. And the Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. So he went and met him on the mountain of God and kissed him.

So Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel, and Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses.

Then he did the signs in the sight of the people, so the people believed. And when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel and that he had looked on their affliction, then he bowed their heads and worshipped.

Pharaoh’s Refusal and the Increase of Oppression

Chapter 5. Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?

I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go. So they said, The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go three days' journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.

And the king of Egypt said to them, Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your labor. And Pharaoh said, Look, the people of the land are many now, and you make them rest from their labor.

So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and the officers, saying, You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves.

And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry out, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.

And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, Thus says Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. Go, get yourself straw where you can find it. Yet none of your work will be reduced.

So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there was straw.

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

And the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, Why are you dealing thus with your servants? There is no straw given to your servants. And they say to us, Make brick.

And indeed your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your own people. And he said, You are idle, idle. Therefore you say, Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord. Therefore go now and work, for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the quota of bricks.

And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble. After it was said, You shall not reduce any bricks from your daily quota. Then as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron, who stood there to meet them.

And they said to them, Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us. So Moses returned to the Lord and said, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people?

Why is it you have sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people. Neither have you delivered your people at all.

The Lord Reaffirms His Covenant and His Name

Chapter 6. Then the Lord said to Moses, Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land. And God spoke to Moses and said to him, I am the Lord.

I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name, Lord, I was not known to them. I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers.

And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant. Therefore say to the children of Israel, I am the Lord. I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, with great judgments. I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, your God, who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

And I will bring you into the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a heritage. I am the Lord. So Moses spoke to the children of Israel, but they did not heed Moses because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Go in, tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the children of Israel go out of his land. And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, The children of Israel have not heeded me.

How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips? Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a command for the children of Israel, and for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

These are the heads of their fathers' houses. The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanak, Paliu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben. And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shal, the son of a Canaanite woman.

These are the families of Simeon. These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations, Gershon, Korath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were 137. The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shemi according to their families.

And the sons of Korath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Korath were 133. The sons of Merari were Mali and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations.

Now Amram took for himself Jacobed, his father's sister, as wife, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were 137. The sons of Izhar were Korath, Napheg, and Zichri. And the sons of Uzziel were Michal, Elzaphan, and Zithri.

Aaron took to himself Elisheba, daughter of Ammedad, a sister of Nishan, as wife, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. And the sons of Korath were Asir, Elkanah, and Abasath. These are the families of the Koraths.

Eleazar, Aaron's son, took for himself one of the daughters of Petul as wife, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites according to their families. These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies.

These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are the same Moses and Aaron. And it came to pass on the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, I am the Lord.

Speak to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, all that I say to you. But Moses said before the Lord, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?

The First Plagues: Signs, Blood, Frogs, Lice, and Flies

Chapter 7. So the Lord said to Moses, See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you, and Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land.

And I will harden Pharaoh's heart and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay my hand on Egypt and bring my armies and my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.

And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them. Then Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded them, so they did.

And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, Show a miracle for yourselves, then you shall say to Aaron, Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.

So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers, so the magicians of Egypt also did in like manner with their enchantments.

For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. And Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said. So the Lord said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hard, he refuses to let the people go.

Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river bank to meet him. And the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. And you shall say to him, The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.

But indeed, until now, you would not hear. Thus says the Lord, By this you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood.

And the fish that are in the river shall die. The river shall stink, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, Say to Aaron, Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood.

And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone. And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

The fish that were in the river died. The river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river, so there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments, and Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.

And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither was his heart moved by this. So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, Go to Pharaoh and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with frogs.

So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls.

And the frog shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, over the ponds, and cause the frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.

So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, Entreat the Lord that he may take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord. And Moses said to Pharaoh, Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.

So he said, Tomorrow. And he said, Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God, and the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people.

They shall remain in the river only. Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. So the Lord did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, out of the fields.

They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said. So the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch out your rod and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there was lice on man and beast. Then the magician said to Pharaoh, This is the finger of God. But Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.

And the Lord said to Moses, Rise early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, Thus says the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people, and into your houses.

The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell. There no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land.

I will make a difference between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be. And the Lord did so. Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt.

The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, Go, sacrifice to your God in the land. And Moses said, It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God.

If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he will command us.