Study Desk

Then Zipporah, his wife, took a sharp stone, cut off the foreskin of her son, and touched Moses' feet with it. Because of the rite of circumcision she said to Moses, "You are a husband of blood to me." And so the Lord spared Moses' life.

Moses told this to the Israelites, but they would not listen to him, because their spirit had been broken by their cruel slavery.

All the Egyptians dug along the bank of the river for drinking water, because they were not able to drink water from the river.

"It would not be right to do that," Moses answered, "because the Egyptians would be offended by our sacrificing the animals that we offer to the Lord our God. If we use these animals and offend the Egyptians by sacrificing them where they can see us, they will stone us to death.

The magicians were not able to appear before Moses, because they were covered with boils, like all the other Egyptians.

Some of the king's officials were afraid because of what the Lord had said, and they brought their slaves and animals indoors for shelter.

The flax and the barley were ruined, because the barley was ripe, and the flax was budding.

But none of the wheat was ruined, because it ripens later.

Moses answered, "We will all go, including our children and our old people. We will take our sons and daughters, our sheep and goats, and our cattle, because we must hold a festival to honor the Lord ."

Keep this festival, because it was on this day that I brought your tribes out of Egypt. For all time to come you must celebrate this day as a festival.

you will answer, ‘It is the sacrifice of Passover to honor the Lord , because he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. He killed the Egyptians, but spared us.'" The Israelites knelt down and worshiped.

That night, the king, his officials, and all the other Egyptians were awakened. There was loud crying throughout Egypt, because there was not one home in which there was not a dead son.

When the festival begins, explain to your sons that you do all this because of what the Lord did for you when you left Egypt.

This observance will be a reminder, like something tied on your hand or on your forehead; it will remind you to continue to recite and study the Law of the Lord , because the Lord brought you out of Egypt by his great power.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord : "I will sing to the Lord , because he has won a glorious victory; he has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea.

Miriam sang for them: "Sing to the Lord , because he has won a glorious victory; he has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea."

In the morning you will see the dazzling light of the Lord 's presence. He has heard your complaints against him—yes, against him, because we are only carrying out his instructions."

Then Moses said, "It is the Lord who will give you meat to eat in the evening and as much bread as you want in the morning, because he has heard how much you have complained against him. When you complain against us, you are really complaining against the Lord ."

Moses said to Aaron, "Tell the whole community to come and stand before the Lord , because he has heard their complaints."

Moses said, "Eat this today, because today is the Sabbath, a day of rest dedicated to the Lord , and you will not find any food outside the camp.