Study Desk

So Aaron raised his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs began coming out of the water and covered the land of Egypt.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron to raise his stick and hit the dust on the ground, and everywhere in Egypt dust will become lice."

They did this. Aaron raised the stick in his hand and hit the dust on the ground, and everywhere in Egypt the dust became lice. The lice got on the animals and the people.

So the Lord did just what he said. Millions of flies came into Egypt. The flies were in Pharaoh's house, and they were in all his officials' houses. They were all over Egypt. The flies were ruining the country.

And the Lord did what Moses asked. He removed the flies from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. None of the flies remained.

then the Lord will use his power against your animals in the fields. He will cause all of your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, and sheep to get sick with a terrible disease.

So Moses raised his walking stick into the air, and the Lord sent hail with thunder and lightning down on the earth. The Lord caused hail to fall all over Egypt.

Moses left Pharaoh and went outside the city. He lifted his hands in prayer to the Lord . And the thunder and hail stopped, and then even the rain stopped.

When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he again did wrong. He and his officials became stubborn again.

The Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh. I have made him and his officials stubborn. I did this so that I could show them my powerful miracles.

So Pharaoh told his officials to bring Moses and Aaron back to him. Pharaoh said to them, "Go and worship the Lord your God. But tell me, just who is going?"

So Moses raised his walking stick over the land of Egypt, and the Lord caused a strong wind to blow from the east. The wind blew all that day and night. When morning came, the wind had brought the locusts to the land of Egypt.

So Moses raised his hand into the air and a cloud of darkness covered Egypt. The darkness stayed in Egypt for three days.

That is why Moses and Aaron did all these great miracles in front of Pharaoh. And that is why the Lord made Pharaoh so stubborn that he would not let the Israelites leave his country.

This command is for the whole community of Israel: On the tenth day of this month each man must get one lamb for the people in his house.

If there are not enough people in his house to eat a whole lamb, then he should invite some of his neighbors to share the meal. There must be enough lamb for everyone to eat.

That night someone died in every house in Egypt. Pharaoh, his officials, and all the people of Egypt began to cry loudly.

"You must give me every male in Israel who is his mother's first child. That means that every firstborn baby boy and every firstborn male animal will be mine."

Moses said to the people, "Remember this day. You were slaves in Egypt, but on this day the Lord used his great power and made you free. You must not eat bread with yeast.

"This festival will help you remember; it will be like a string tied on your hand. It will be like a sign before your eyes. This festival will help you remember the Lord 's teachings. It will help you remember that the Lord used his great power to take you out of Egypt.