Exodus 4:18–6:12
18 Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.”
Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.”
19 Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to killn you are dead.o” 20 So Moses took his wife and sons,p put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staffq of God in his hand.
21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wondersr I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his hearts so that he will not let the people go.t 22 Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son,u 23 and I told you, “Let my son go,v so he may worshipw me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”x
24 At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Mosesb and was about to killy him. 25 But Zipporahz took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskina and touched Moses’ feet with it.c “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. 26 So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)
27 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountainb of God and kissedc him. 28 Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform.
29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the eldersd of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signse before the people, 31 and they believed.f And when they heard that the Lord was concernedg about them and had seen their misery,h they bowed down and worshiped.i
5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go,j so that they may hold a festivalk to me in the wilderness.’ ”
2 Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord,l that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”m
3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journeyn into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagueso or with the sword.”
4 But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor?p Get back to your work!” 5 Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous,q and you are stopping them from working.”
6 That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave driversr and overseers in charge of the people: 7 “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks;s let them go and gather their own straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota.t They are lazy;u that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’v 9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
10 Then the slave driversw and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. 11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reducedx at all.’ ” 12 So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. 13 The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” 14 And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed,y demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”
15 Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? 16 Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”
17 Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy!z That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Now get to work.a You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”
19 The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” 20 When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, 21 and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judgeb you! You have made us obnoxiousc to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a swordd in their hand to kill us.”e
22 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people?f Is this why you sent me? 23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescuedg your people at all.”
6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty handh he will let them go;i because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”j
2 God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.k 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,a l but by my namem the Lordb n I did not make myself fully known to them. 4 I also established my covenanto with them to give them the landp of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.q 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaningr of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.s
6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.t I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeemu you with an outstretched armv and with mighty acts of judgment.w 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.x Then you will knowy that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the landz I sworea with uplifted handb to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.c I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’ ”d
9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.e
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go, tellf Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”g
12 But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listenh to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lipsc?”i