Jan 13 - Exodus 9-15

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: "Let my people go, so that they may worship me."²If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back,³the hand of the LORD will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field-on your horses and donkeys and camels and on your cattle and sheep and goats.⁴But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.'"⁵The LORD set a time and said, "Tomorrow the LORD will do this in the land."⁶And the next day the LORD did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died.⁷Pharaoh sent men to investigate and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go.⁸Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh.⁹It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on men and animals throughout the land."¹⁰So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on men and animals.¹¹The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians.¹²But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses.¹³Then the LORD said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me,¹⁴or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.¹⁵For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth.¹⁶But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.¹⁷You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go.¹⁸Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now.¹⁹Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every man and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.'"²⁰Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside.²¹But those who ignored the word of the LORD left their slaves and livestock in the field.²²Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt-on men and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt."²³When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt;²⁴hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.²⁵Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields-both men and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree.²⁶The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.²⁷Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. "This time I have sinned," he said to them. "The LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.²⁸Pray to the LORD, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don't have to stay any longer."²⁹Moses replied, "When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the LORD. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the LORD's.³⁰But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the LORD God."³¹(The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom.³²The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)³³Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the LORD; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land.³⁴When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts.³⁵So Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had said through Moses.

Chapter 10

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them²that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the LORD."³So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me.⁴If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow.⁵They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields.⁶They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians-something neither your fathers nor your forefathers have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.'" Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.⁷Pharaoh's officials said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?"⁸Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. "Go, worship the LORD your God," he said. "But just who will be going?"⁹Moses answered, "We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the LORD."¹⁰Pharaoh said, "The LORD be with you-if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil.¹¹No! Have only the men go; and worship the LORD, since that's what you have been asking for." Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh's presence.¹²And the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts will swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail."¹³So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the LORD made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts;¹⁴they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again.¹⁵They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail-everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.¹⁶Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.¹⁷Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the LORD your God to take this deadly plague away from me."¹⁸Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD.¹⁹And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea. Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt.²⁰But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.²¹Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt-darkness that can be felt."²²So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days.²³No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.²⁴Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, "Go, worship the LORD. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind."²⁵But Moses said, "You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the LORD our God.²⁶Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the LORD our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the LORD."²⁷But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he was not willing to let them go.²⁸Pharaoh said to Moses, "Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die."²⁹"Just as you say," Moses replied, "I will never appear before you again."

Chapter 11

¹Now the LORD had said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely.²Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold."³(The LORD made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh's officials and by the people.)⁴So Moses said, "This is what the LORD says: 'About midnight I will go throughout Egypt.⁵Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.⁶There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt-worse than there has ever been or ever will be again.⁷But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any man or animal.' Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.⁸All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, 'Go, you and all the people who follow you!' After that I will leave." Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.⁹The LORD had said to Moses, "Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you-so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt."¹⁰Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.

Chapter 12

¹The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt,²"This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.³Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.⁴If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat.⁵The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.⁶Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.⁷Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.⁸That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.⁹Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire-head, legs and inner parts.¹⁰Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.¹¹This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover.¹²"On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn-both men and animals-and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.¹³The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.¹⁴"This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD -a lasting ordinance.¹⁵For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.¹⁶On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat-that is all you may do.¹⁷"Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.¹⁸In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day.¹⁹For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is an alien or native-born.²⁰Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread."²¹Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb.²²Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning.²³When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.²⁴"Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.²⁵When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony.²⁶And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?'²⁷then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.'" Then the people bowed down and worshiped.²⁸The Israelites did just what the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron.²⁹At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well.³⁰Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.³¹During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested.³²Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me."³³The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. "For otherwise," they said, "we will all die!"³⁴So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing.³⁵The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing.³⁶The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.³⁷The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.³⁸Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.³⁹With the dough they had brought from Egypt, they baked cakes of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.⁴⁰Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years.⁴¹At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD's divisions left Egypt.⁴²Because the LORD kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the LORD for the generations to come.⁴³The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the regulations for the Passover: "No foreigner is to eat of it.⁴⁴Any slave you have bought may eat of it after you have circumcised him,⁴⁵but a temporary resident and a hired worker may not eat of it.⁴⁶"It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.⁴⁷The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.⁴⁸"An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the LORD's Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat of it.⁴⁹The same law applies to the native-born and to the alien living among you."⁵⁰All the Israelites did just what the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.⁵¹And on that very day the LORD brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.

Chapter 13

¹The LORD said to Moses,²"Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal."³Then Moses said to the people, "Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the LORD brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast.⁴Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving.⁵When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites-the land he swore to your forefathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey-you are to observe this ceremony in this month:⁶For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the LORD.⁷Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders.⁸On that day tell your son, 'I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'⁹This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For the LORD brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand.¹⁰You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.¹¹"After the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your forefathers,¹²you are to give over to the LORD the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD.¹³Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.¹⁴"In days to come, when your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' say to him, 'With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.¹⁵When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.'¹⁶And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand."¹⁷When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt."¹⁸So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.¹⁹Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He had said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place."²⁰After leaving Succoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.²¹By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.²²Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

Chapter 14

¹Then the LORD said to Moses,²"Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon.³Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.'⁴And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the Israelites did this.⁵When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!"⁶So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him.⁷He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.⁸The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.⁹The Egyptians-all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops-pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.¹⁰As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD.¹¹They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?¹²Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"¹³Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.¹⁴The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."¹⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.¹⁶Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.¹⁷I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.¹⁸The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen."¹⁹Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them,²⁰coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.²¹Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided,²²and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.²³The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.²⁴During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.²⁵He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."²⁶Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen."²⁷Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea.²⁸The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen-the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.²⁹But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.³⁰That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.³¹And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Chapter 15

¹Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: "I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.²The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.³The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.⁴Pharaoh's chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh's officers are drowned in the Red Sea.⁵The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone.⁶"Your right hand, O LORD, was majestic in power. Your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy.⁷In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble.⁸By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood firm like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.⁹"The enemy boasted, 'I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.'¹⁰But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.¹¹"Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?¹²You stretched out your right hand and the earth swallowed them.¹³"In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.¹⁴The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia.¹⁵The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away;¹⁶terror and dread will fall upon them. By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone- until your people pass by, O LORD, until the people you bought pass by.¹⁷You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance- the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established.¹⁸The LORD will reign for ever and ever."¹⁹When Pharaoh's horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.²⁰Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing.²¹Miriam sang to them: "Sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea."²²Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.²³When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah. )²⁴So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?"²⁵Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them.²⁶He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you."²⁷Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.