Exodus 7:1-12:51
Then the Lord said to Moses,“ See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.As for you, you shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land.But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.When Pharaoh does not listen to you, I will lay My hand on Egypt and bring out My armies, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by great judgments.Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I extend My hand over Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.”So Moses and Aaron did this; as the Lord commanded them, so they did.And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty three, when they spoke to Pharaoh.Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,“ When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying,‘ Work a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron,‘ Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, so that it may turn into a serpent.’ ”So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and so they did, just as the Lord had commanded; and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his servants, and it turned into a serpent.Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they too, the soothsayer priests of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts.For each one threw down his staff, and they turned into serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs.Yet Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.Then the Lord said to Moses,“ Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn; he refuses to let the people go.Go to Pharaoh in the morning just as he is going out to the water, and position yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand the staff that was turned into a serpent.And you shall say to him,‘ The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying,“ Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened up to now.”This is what the Lord says:“ By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, I am going to strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned into blood.Then the fish that are in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will no longer be able to drink water from the Nile.” ’ ”Then the Lord said to Moses,“ Say to Aaron,‘ Take your staff and extend your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, so that they may become blood; and there will be blood through all the land of Egypt, both in containers of wood and in containers of stone.’ ”So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants; and all the water that was in the Nile was turned into blood.Then the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt.But the soothsayer priests of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house with no concern even for this.So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink from the water of the Nile.Seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.Then the Lord said to Moses,“ Go to Pharaoh and say to him,‘ This is what the Lord says:“ Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I am going to strike your entire territory with frogs.The Nile will swarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your house, and into your bedroom and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants, and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls.So the frogs will come up on you, your people, and on all your servants.” ’ ”Then the Lord said to Moses,“ Say to Aaron,‘ Extend your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams, and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’ ”So Aaron extended his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.However, the soothsayer priests did the same with their secret arts, making frogs come up on the land of Egypt.Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said,“ Plead with the Lord to remove the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, so that they may sacrifice to the Lord.”And Moses said to Pharaoh,“ The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I plead for you and your servants and your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, that they be left only in the Nile?”Then he said,“ Tomorrow.” So he said,“ May it be according to your word, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.The frogs will depart from you and your houses, and from your servants and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.”Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had inflicted upon Pharaoh.The Lord did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, the courtyards, and the fields.So they piled them in heaps, and the land stank.But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.Then the Lord said to Moses,“ Say to Aaron,‘ Extend your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may turn into gnats through all the land of Egypt.’ ”They did so; and Aaron extended his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on every person and animal. All the dust of the earth turned into gnats through all the land of Egypt.The soothsayer priests tried with their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not; so there were gnats on every person and animal.Then the soothsayer priests said to Pharaoh,“ This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.Then the Lord said to Moses,“ Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he comes out to the water; and say to him,‘ This is what the Lord says:“ Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.For if you are not going to let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people, and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they live.But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that I, the Lord, am in the midst of the land.I will put a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will occur.” ’ ”Then the Lord did so. And thick swarms of flies entered the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants, and the land was laid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt.Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said,“ Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.”But Moses said,“ It is not permissible for us to do so, because we will sacrifice to the Lord our God that which is an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice that which is an abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us?We must go a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God, just as He commands us.”Pharaoh said,“ I will let you go, so that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Plead for me.”Then Moses said,“ Behold, I am going to leave you, and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow; only do not let Pharaoh deal deceitfully again in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”So Moses left Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord.The Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained.But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.Then the Lord said to Moses,“ Go to Pharaoh and speak to him,‘ This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says:“ Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.For if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them,behold, the hand of the Lord will come with a very severe plague on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks.But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.” ’ ”And the Lord set a definite time, saying,“ Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but not one of the livestock of the sons of Israel died.And Pharaoh sent men, and they learned that, behold, not even one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,“ Take for yourselves handfuls of soot from a kiln, and Moses shall toss it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh.Then it will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and will turn into boils breaking out with sores on every person and animal through all the land of Egypt.”So they took soot from a kiln, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses tossed it toward the sky, and it became boils breaking out with sores on every person and animal.The soothsayer priests could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the soothsayer priests as well as on all the Egyptians.But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.Then the Lord said to Moses,“ Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him,‘ This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says:“ Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.For this time I am going to send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.For had I now put out My hand and struck you and your people with plague, you would then have been eliminated from the earth.But indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name throughout the earth.Still you exalt yourself against My people by not letting them go.Behold, about this time tomorrow, I will send a very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.So now, send word, bring your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. Every person and animal that is found in the field and is not brought home, when the hail comes down on them, will die.” ’ ”Everyone among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring his servants and his livestock into the houses;but everyone who did not pay regard to the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.Now the Lord said to Moses,“ Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that hail may fall on all the land of Egypt, on every person and animal, and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.”So Moses reached out with his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt.So there was hail, and fire flashing intermittently in the midst of the hail, which was very heavy, such as had not occurred in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.The hail struck everything that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, from people to animals; the hail also struck every plant of the field, and shattered every tree of the field.Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, was there no hail.Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them,“ I have sinned this time; the Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones.Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail; and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”Moses said to him,“ As soon as I go out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease and there will no longer be hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s.But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.”( Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud.But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they ripen late.)So Moses left the city from his meeting with Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to the Lord; and the thunder and the hail stopped, and rain no longer poured on the earth.But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had stopped, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his servants.So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.Then the Lord said to Moses,“ Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, so that I may perform these signs of Mine among them,and that you may tell in the presence of your son, and of your grandson, how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I performed My signs among them, so that you may know that I am the Lord.”So 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 serve Me.For if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory.And they will cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. They will also eat the rest of what has survived— what is left to you from the hail— and they will eat every tree of yours which grows in the field.Then your houses will be filled with them, together with the houses of all your servants and the houses of all the Egyptians, something which neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day that they came upon the earth until this day.’ ” And he turned and left Pharaoh.Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him,“ How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is destroyed?”So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them,“ Go, serve the Lord your God! Who specifically are the ones who are going?”
