Study Desk

Now it happened after a long time [about forty years] that the king of Egypt died. And the children of Israel (Jacob) groaned and sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out. And their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God.

Then Moses said to God, "Behold, when I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers (ancestors) has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?"

Then Moses answered [the LORD] and said, "What if they will not believe me or take seriously what I say? For they may say, 'The LORD has not appeared to you.'"

"But if they will not believe these two signs or pay attention to what you say, you are to take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take out of the river will turn into blood on the dry ground."

Then Moses went away and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, "Please, let me go back so that I may return to my relatives in Egypt, and see if they are still alive." And Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace."

So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD was concerned about the Israelites and that He had looked [with compassion] on their suffering, then they bowed their heads and worshiped [the LORD].

Afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Let My people go, so that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.'"

Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go on a three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God, so that He does not discipline us with pestilence or with the sword."

"But the number of bricks which they were making before, you shall [still] require of them; you are not to reduce it in the least. For they are idle and lazy; that is why they cry, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.'

"Let labor be heavier on the men, and let them work [hard] at it so that they will pay no attention to [their God's] lying words."

"No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, 'Make bricks!' And look, your servants are being beaten, but it is the fault of your own people."

When they left Pharaoh's presence, the foremen met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them.

Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their impatience and despondency, and because of their forced labor.

They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt; these are [the same] Moses and Aaron.

And Moses and Aaron did so; just as the LORD commanded them, so they did.

Now Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Then Pharaoh called for the wise men [skilled in magic and omens] and the sorcerers [skilled in witchcraft], and they also, these magicians (soothsayer-priests) of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts and enchantments.

For every man threw down his staff and they turned into serpents; but Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and stretch out 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 shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, in containers both of wood and of stone.'"

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, "Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.