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Exodus 1
Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: and Joseph was in Egypt already. 6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. 7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and became very mighty; and the land was filled with them.
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10 come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when any war breaks out, they will join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get up out of the land. 11 Therefore they set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithorm and Rameses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. 13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor: 14 and they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field, all their service, in which they made them serve with rigor.
15 And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: 16 and he said, When you do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the birth-stool; if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live. 17 But the midwives feared Elohim, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men-children alive. 18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said to them, Why have you done this thing, and have saved the men-children alive? 19 And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered before the midwife comes to them. 20 And Elohim dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and became very mighty. 21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared Elohim, that he made them households. 22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.
Exodus 2
And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. 2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a good child, she hid him three months. 3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch; and she put the child in it, and laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. 4 And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. 5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river; and her maidens walked along by the riverside; and she saw the ark among the flags, and sent her handmaid to fetch it. 6 And she opened it, and saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children. 7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call you a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you? 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maiden went and called the child’s mother. 9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. 10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses, and said, Because I drew him out of the water.
11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown up, that he went out to his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he killed the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. 13 And he went out the second day, and, behold, two men of the Hebrews were fighting together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Why are you hitting your fellow? 14 And he said, Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Are you thinking to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely the thing is known. 15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, 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.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. 18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that you are come so soon today? 19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and watered the flock. 20 And 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. 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. 22 And she bare a son, and he called his name Gershom; for he said, I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.
23 And it came to pass in the course of those many days, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to Elohim by reason of the bondage. 24 And Elohim heard their groaning, and Elohim remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And Elohim saw the children of Israel, and Elohim took knowledge of them.
Exodus 3
Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of Elohim, to Horeb. 2 And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the middle of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4 And when Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, Elohim called to him out of the middle of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here I am. 5 And he said, Do not come any closer: take off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. 6 Moreover he said, I am the Elohim of your father, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon Elohim. 7 And Yahweh said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people that are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Armorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me: moreover I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. 11 And Moses said to Elohim, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 12 And he said, Certainly I will be with you; and this shall be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve Elohim upon this mountain.
13 And Moses said to Elohim, Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and shall say to them, The Elohim of your fathers has sent me to you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say to them? 14 and Elohim said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, In this manner shall you say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. 15 And Elohim said moreover to Moses, In this manner shall you say to the children of Israel, Yahweh, the Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, has sent me to you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations. 16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, Yahweh, the Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: 17 and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey. 18 And they shall listen to your voice: and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him, Yahweh, the Elohim of the Hebrews, has met with us: and now let us go, we pray you, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our Elohim. 19 And I know that the king of Egypt will not give you leave to go, no, not by a mighty hand. 20 And I will put forth my hand, and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the middle of it: and after that he will let you go.21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when you go, you shall not go empty: 22 but every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of her that sojourns in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and you shall put them on your sons, and on your daughters; and you shall plunder the Egyptians.
Exodus 4
And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor listen to my voice: for they will say, Yahweh has not appeared to you. 2 And Yahweh said to him, What is that in your hand? And he said, A rod. 3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. 4 And Yahweh said to Moses, Put forth your hand, and take it by the tail: (and he put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand:) 5 that they may believe that Yahweh, the Elohim of their fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac and the Elohim of Jacob, has appeared to you. 6 And Yahweh said furthermore to him, Put now your hand into your bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow. 7 And he said, Put your hand into your bosom again. (And he put his hand into his bosom again; and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.) 8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe you, neither listen to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. 9 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe even these two signs, neither listen to your voice, that you shall take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which you take out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.
10 And Moses said to Yahweh, Oh Sovereign, I am not eloquent, neither before this time, nor since you have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. 11 And Yahweh said to him, Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes a man dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak. 13 And he said, Oh, Sovereign, send, I pray you, by the hand of him whom you will send. 14 And the anger of Yahweh was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is there not Aaron your brother the Levite? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he comes forth to meet you: and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 And you shall speak unto him, and put the words in his mouth: and I will be with your mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do. 16 And he shall be your spokesman to the people; and it shall come to pass, that he shall be to you a mouth, and you shall be to him as Elohim. 17 And you shall take in your hand this rod, with which you shall do the signs.
18 And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, Let me go, I pray you, and return to my brethren that are in Egypt, and see whether they are yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. 19 And Yahweh said to Moses in Midian, Go, return to Egypt; for all the men are dead that sought your life. 20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them on an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of Elohim in his hand. 21 And Yahweh said to Moses, When you go back into Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your hand: but I will harden his heart, and he will not let the people go. 22 And you shall say to Pharaoh, In this manner says Yahweh, Israel is my son, my first-born: 23 and I have said to you, Let my son go, that he may serve me; and you have refused to let him go: behold, I will kill your son, your first-born. 24 And it came to pass on the way at the lodging-place, that Yahweh met him, and sought to kill him. 25 Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet; and she said, Surely a bridegroom of blood are you to me. 26 So he let him alone. Then she said, A bridegroom of blood are you, because of the circumcision.
27 And Yahweh said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mountain of Elohim, and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of Yahweh with which he had sent him, and all the signs with which he had charged him. 29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: 30 and Aaron spoke all the words which Yahweh had spoken to Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed: and when they heard that Yahweh had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.
