Psalm 105:17–43

¹⁷He sent a man ahead of them into Egypt.

That man was Joseph. He had been sold as a slave.

¹⁸The Egyptians put his feet in chains.

They put an iron collar around his neck.

¹⁹He was in prison until what he said would happen came true.

The word of the Lord proved that he was right.

²⁰The king of Egypt sent for Joseph and let him out of prison.

The ruler of many nations set him free.

²¹He put Joseph in charge of his palace.

He made him ruler over everything he owned.

²²Joseph was in charge of teaching the princes.

He taught the elders how to think and live wisely.

²³Then the rest of Jacob’s family went to Egypt.

The people of Israel lived as outsiders in the land of Ham.

²⁴The Lord gave his people so many children

that there were too many of them for their enemies.

²⁵He made the Egyptians hate his people.

The Egyptians made evil plans against them.

²⁶The Lord sent his servant Moses to the king of Egypt.

He sent Aaron, his chosen one, along with him.

²⁷The Lord gave them the power to do miraculous signs among the Egyptians.

They did his wonders in the land of Ham.

²⁸He sent darkness over the land.

He did it because the Egyptians had refused to obey his words.

²⁹He turned their rivers and streams into blood.

He caused the fish in them to die.

³⁰Their land was covered with frogs.

Frogs even went into the bedrooms of the rulers.

³¹The Lord spoke, and large numbers of flies came.

Gnats filled the whole country.

³²He turned their rain into hail.

Lightning flashed all through their land.

³³He destroyed their vines and fig trees.

He broke down the trees in Egypt.

³⁴He spoke, and the locusts came.

There were so many of them they couldn’t be counted.

³⁵They ate up every green thing in the land.

They ate up what the land produced.

³⁶Then he killed the oldest son of every family in Egypt.

He struck down the oldest of all of their sons.

³⁷He brought the people of Israel out of Egypt.

The Egyptians loaded them down with silver and gold.

From among the tribes of Israel no one got tired or fell down.

³⁸The Egyptians were glad when the people of Israel left.

They were terrified because of Israel.

³⁹The Lord spread out a cloud to cover his people.

He gave them a fire to light up the night.

⁴⁰They asked for meat, and he brought them quail.

He satisfied them with manna, the bread of heaven.

⁴¹He broke open a rock, and streams of water poured out.

They flowed like a river in the desert.

⁴²He remembered the holy promise

he had made to his servant Abraham.

⁴³His chosen people shouted for joy

as he brought them out of Egypt.