Exodus 4–12

Chapter 4

Moses answered, and said: They will not believe me, nor hear my voice, but they will say: The Lord hath not appeared to thee.

²Then he said to him: What is that thou holdest in thy hand? He answered: A rod.

³And the Lord said: Cast it down upon the ground. He cast it down, and it was turned into a serpent, so that Moses fled from it.

⁴And the Lord said: Put out thy hand, and take it by the tail. He put forth his hand, and took hold of it, and it was turned into a rod.

⁵That they may believe, saith he, that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to thee.

⁶And the Lord said again: Put thy hand into thy bosom. And when he had put it into his bosom, he brought it forth leprous as snow.

⁷And he said: Put back thy hand into thy bosom. He put it back, and brought it out again, and it was like the other flesh.

⁸If they will not believe thee, saith he, nor hear the voice of the former sign, they will believe the word of the latter sign.

⁹But if they will not even believe these two signs, nor hear thy voice: take of the river water, and pour it out upon the dry land, and whatsoever thou drawest out of the river, shall be turned into blood.

¹⁰Moses said: I beseech thee, Lord, I am not eloquent from yesterday and the day before; and since thou hast spoken to thy servant, I have more impediment and slowness of tongue.

¹¹The Lord said to him: Who made man’s mouth? or who made the dumb and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? did not I?

¹²Go therefore, and I will be in thy mouth; and I will teach thee what thou shalt speak.

¹³But he said: I beseech thee, Lord, send whom thou wilt send.

¹⁴The Lord being angry at Moses, said: Aaron the Levite is thy brother, I know that he is eloquent: behold he cometh forth to meet thee, and seeing thee, shall be glad at heart.

¹⁵Speak to him, and put my words in his mouth: and I will be in thy mouth, and in his mouth, and will shew you what you must do.

¹⁶He shall speak in thy stead to the people, and shall be thy mouth: but thou shalt be to him in those things that pertain to God.

¹⁷And take this rod in thy hand. wherewith thou shalt do the signs.

¹⁸Moses went his way, and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said to him; I will go and return to my brethren into Egypt, that I may see if they be yet alive. And Jethro said to him: Go in peace.

¹⁹And the Lord said to Moses, in Madian: Go, and return into Egypt; for they are all dead that sought thy life.

²⁰Moses therefore took his wife, and his sons, and set them upon an ass; and returned into Egypt, carrying the rod of God in his hand.

²¹And the Lord said to him as he was returning into Egypt: See that thou do all the wonders before Pharao, which I have put in thy hand: I shall harden his heart, and he will not let the people go.

²²And thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Israel is my son, my firstborn.

²³I have said to thee: Let my son go, that he may serve me, and thou wouldst not let him go: behold I will kill thy son, thy firstborn.

²⁴And when he was in his journey, in the inn, the Lord met him, and would have killed him.

²⁵Immediately Sephora took a very sharp stone, and circumcised the foreskin of her son, and touched his feet, and said: A bloody spouse art thou to me.

²⁶And he let him go after she had said: A bloody spouse art thou to me, because of the circumcision.

²⁷And the Lord said to Aaron: Go into the desert to meet Moses. And he went forth to meet him in the mountain of God, and kissed him.

²⁸And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord, by which he had sent him, and the signs that he had commanded.

²⁹And they came together, and they assembled all the ancients of the children of Israel.

³⁰And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had said to Moses: and he wrought the signs before the people.

³¹And the people believed. And they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction: and falling down they adored.

Chapter 5

After these things, Moses and Aaron went in, and said to Pharao: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Let my people go, that they may sacrifice to me in the desert.

²But he answered: Who is the Lord, that I should hear his voice, and let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.

³And they said: The God of the Hebrews hath called us, to go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and to sacrifice to the Lord our God; lest a pestilence or the sword fall upon us.

⁴The king of Egypt said to them: Why do you Moses and Aaron draw off the people from their works? Get you gone to your burdens.

⁵And Pharao said: The people of the land are numerous; you see that the multitude is increased; how much more if you give them rest from their works?

⁶Therefore he commanded the same day the overseers of the works, and the task-masters of the people, saying:

⁷You shall give straw no more to the people to make brick, as before; but let them go and gather straw.

⁸And you shall lay upon them the task of bricks, which they did before; neither shall you diminish any thing thereof, for they are idle, and therefore they cry. saying: Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

⁹Let them be oppressed with works, and let them fulfil them; that they may not regard lying words.

¹⁰And the overseers of the works, and the taskmasters, went out and said to the people: Thus saith Pharao: I allow you no straw;

¹¹Go, and gather it where you can find it; neither shall any thing of your work be diminished.

¹²And the people was scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather straw.

¹³And the overseers of the works pressed them, saying: Fulfil your work every day, as before ye were wont to do, when straw was given you.

¹⁴And they that were over the works of the children of Israel, were scourged by Pharao’s taskmasters, saying: Why have you not made up the task of bricks, both yesterday and to day, as before?

¹⁵And the officers of the children of Israel came, and cried out to Pharao, saying: Why dealest thou so with thy servants?

¹⁶Straw is not given us, and bricks are required of us as before; behold we, thy servants, are beaten with whips, and thy people is unjustly dealt withal.

¹⁷And he said: You are idle, and therefore you say: Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.

¹⁸Go therefore and work: straw shall not be given you, and you shall deliver the accustomed number of bricks.

¹⁹And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in evil case, because it was said to them: There shall not a whit be diminished of the bricks for every day.

²⁰And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood over against them as they came out from Pharao:

²¹And they said to them: The Lord see and judge, because you have made our savour to stink before Pharao and his servants, and you have given him a sword, to kill us.

²²And Moses returned to the Lord, and said: Lord, why hast thou afflicted this people? wherefore hast thou sent me?

²³For since the time that I went in to Pharao to speak in thy name, he hath afflicted thy people: and thou hast not delivered them.

Chapter 6

And the Lord said to Moses: Now thou shalt see what I will do to Pharao: for by a mighty hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he cast them out of his land.

²And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: I am the Lord

³That appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by the name of God Almighty: and my name ADONAI I did not shew them.

⁴And I made a covenant with them, to give them the land of Chanaan, the land of their pilgrimage wherein they were strangers.

⁵I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, wherewith the Egyptians have oppressed them: and I have remembered my covenant.

⁶Therefore say to the children of Israel: I am the Lord who will bring you out from the work-prison of the Egyptians, and will deliver you from bondage: and redeem you with a high arm, and great judgments.

⁷And I will take you to myself for my people, I will be your God: and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the work-prison of the Egyptians:

⁸And brought you into the land, concerning which I lifted up my hand to give it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: and I will give it you to possess: I am the Lord.

⁹And Moses told all this to the children of Israel: but they did not hearken to him, for anguish of spirit, and most painful work.

¹⁰And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

¹¹Go in, and speak to Pharao king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

¹²Moses answered before the Lord: Behold the children of Israel do not hearken to me: and how will Pharao hear me, especially as I am of uncircumcised lips?

¹³And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and he gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharao the king of Egypt, that they should bring forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁴These are the heads of their houses by their families. The sons of Ruben the firstborn of Israel: Henoch and Phallu, Hesron and Charmi.

¹⁵These are the kindreds of Ruben. The sons of Simeon, Jamuel and Jamin, and Ahod, and Jachin, and Soar, and Saul the son of a Chanaanitess: these are the families of Simeon.

¹⁶And these are the names of the sons of Levi by their kindreds: Gerson, and Caath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were a hundred and thirty-seven.

¹⁷The sons of Gerson: Lobni and Semei, by their kindreds.

¹⁸The sons of Caath: Amram, and Isaar, and Hebron and Oziel. And the years of Caath’s life, were a hundred and thirty-three.

¹⁹The sons of Merari: Moholi and Musi. These are the kindreds of Levi by their families.

²⁰And Amram took to wife Jochabed his aunt by the father’s side: and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of Amram’s life, were a hundred and thirty-seven.

²¹The sons also of Isaar: Core, and Nepheg, and Zechri.

²²The sons also of Oziel: Mizael, and Elizaphan, and Sethri.

²³And Aaron took to wife…