Exodus 1 - 4 — Legacy Standard Bible

Israel Multiplies in Egypt

1Now these are the ^anames of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; they came each one ¹with his household: ²Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; ³Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; ⁴Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. ⁵And all the ¹persons who came from the loins of Jacob were ^aseventy ²in number, but Joseph was already in Egypt. ⁶^aThen Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. ⁷But the sons of Israel ^awere fruitful and ¹increased and multiplied and became exceedingly ²mighty, so that the land was filled with them.

⁸And a new ^aking arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. ⁹^aAnd he said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are ¹more and mightier than we. ¹⁰“Come, let us ^adeal wisely with them, lest they multiply and it be ¹in the event of war, that they also join themselves to those who hate us and fight against us and ^bgo up from the land.” ¹¹So they appointed ^ataskmasters over them to afflict them with ¹^,^bhard labors. And they built for Pharaoh ^cstorage cities, Pithom and ^dRaamses. ¹²But the more they afflicted them, ^athe more they multiplied and the more they ¹spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel. ¹³So the Egyptians brutally compelled the sons of Israel ^ato slave labor; ¹⁴and they made ^atheir lives bitter with ¹hard slave labor in mortar and bricks and in all kinds of slave labor in the field, all their slave labor which they brutally ²compelled them to do.

¹⁵Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom ¹was named Shiphrah and the other ²was named Puah; ¹⁶and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, ^aif it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” ¹⁷But the midwives ¹^,^afeared God and ^bdid not do as the king of Egypt had spoken to them, but let the boys live. ¹⁸So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?” ¹⁹Then the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can come to them.” ²⁰So ^aGod was good to the midwives, and ^bthe people multiplied and became very ¹mighty. ²¹Now it happened that because the midwives ¹^,^afeared God, He ^bmade ²households for them. ²²And Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “^aEvery son who is born ¹you are to cast into ^bthe Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.”

The Birth of Moses

2And a man from ^athe house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi as a wife. ²And the woman conceived and bore a son; and she saw ¹that he was ²^,^abeautiful, so she hid him for three months. ³But she could not hide him any longer. So she took for him ¹an ^aark of papyrus reeds and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and put it among the ^breeds by the bank of the Nile. ⁴^aAnd his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him.

⁵And the daughter of Pharaoh came down ^ato bathe at the Nile, with her young women walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the ¹ark among the reeds and sent her maidservant, and she took it to her. ⁶Then she opened it and ¹saw the child. And behold, the ²boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” ⁷Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call ¹a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?” ⁸And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the ¹girl went and called the child’s mother. ⁹Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. ¹⁰And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and ^ahe became her son. And she named him ¹Moses and said, “Because I ²drew him out of the water.”

Moses Flees to Midian

¹¹Now it happened in those days, ^athat Moses had grown up. And he went out to his brothers and looked on their ¹^,^bhard labors. And ^che saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his brothers. ¹²So he turned this way and that, and he saw that there was no one around. So he ^astruck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³Then he went out ^athe next day, and behold, two Hebrews were struggling with each other; and he said to the ¹wicked one, “Why are you striking your companion?” ¹⁴But he said, “^aWho made you a ¹ruler or a judge over us? Are you ²intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known.” ¹⁵And Pharaoh heard of this matter, so he sought to kill Moses. But ^aMoses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he ¹sat down ^bby a well. ¹⁶Now ^athe priest of Midian had seven daughters; and ^bthey came and drew water and filled the troughs to give water to their father’s flock to drink. ¹⁷Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but ^aMoses rose up and saved them and gave water to their flock to drink. ¹⁸Then they came to ^aReuel their father, and he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?” ¹⁹So they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he actually even drew the water for us and gave water to the flock to drink.” ²⁰And he said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Call him so that he may eat bread.” ²¹^aAnd Moses was willing to settle down with the man, and he gave his daughter ^bZipporah to Moses. ²²Then she gave birth to ^aa son, and he named him ¹Gershom, for he said, “I have been ^ba ²sojourner in a foreign land.”

God Hears Israel’s Groaning

²³Now it happened in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel ^asighed because of the slavery, and they cried out; and ^btheir cry for help because of their slavery rose up to God. ²⁴So ^aGod heard their groaning; and God remembered ^bHis covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ²⁵^aAnd God saw the sons of Israel, and God knew them.

God Calls Moses at the Burning Bush

3Now Moses was pasturing the flock of ^aJethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the ¹west side of the wilderness and came to ^bHoreb, the ^cmountain of God. ²^aAnd the angel of ¹Yahweh appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of the ^bbush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. ³So Moses said, “¹^,^aI must turn aside now and see this ²marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burned up?” ⁴And Yahweh saw that he turned aside to look, so ^aGod called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵Then He said, “Do not come near here. ^aRemove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶He said also, “^aI am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” ^bThen Moses hid his face, for he was ^cafraid to look at God.

⁷And Yahweh said, “I have surely ^aseen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sufferings. ⁸“So I have come down ^ato deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a ^bgood and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of ^cthe Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. ⁹“So now, behold, ^athe cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰“So now, come and I will send you to Pharaoh, ^aand so you shall bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” ¹¹But Moses said to God, “^aWho am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹²And He said, “Certainly ^aI will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: ^bwhen you have brought the people out of Egypt, ^cyou shall ¹serve God at this mountain.”

¹³Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am about to come to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ And they will say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” ¹⁴And God said to Moses, “¹^,^aI AM WHO ²I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘³I AM has sent me to you.’” ¹⁵And God furthermore said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘^aYahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My ^bmemorial-name from generation to generation. ¹⁶“Go and ^agather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘^bYahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “¹^,^cI indeed care about you and what has been done to you in Egypt. ¹⁷“So ^aI said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of ^bthe Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land ^cflowing with milk and honey.”’ ¹⁸“^aAnd they will listen to your voice; and ^byou with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt, and you all will say to him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, please, let us go a ^cthree days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God.’ ¹⁹“But I know that the king of Egypt ^awill not give you permission to go, ^bexcept by a strong hand. ²⁰“So I will stretch out ^aMy hand and strike Egypt with all My ^bwondrous deeds which I shall do in the midst of it; and ^cafter that he will let you go. ²¹“And I will give this people ^afavor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty. ²²“But every woman ^ashall ask of her neighbor and of the woman who lives in her house, for articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters. Thus you will ^bplunder the Egyptians.”

If They Will Not Believe These Signs

4Then Moses answered and said, “What if they will not believe me and will not ^alisten to my voice? For they may say, ‘^bYahweh has not appeared to you.’” ²And Yahweh said to him, “What is this in your hand?” And he said, “^aA staff.” ³Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and ^ait became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. ⁴And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he stretched out his hand and took hold of it, and it became a staff in his ¹hand— ⁵“that ^athey may believe that ^bYahweh, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

⁶And Yahweh furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand into your bosom.” So he put his hand into his bosom; then he took it out, and behold, his hand was ^aleprous like snow. ⁷Then He said, “Return your hand into your bosom.” So he returned his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, ^ait returned to being like the rest of his flesh. ⁸“And so it will be, if they will not believe you or listen to the ¹witness of the first sign, they may believe the ²witness of ³this last sign. ⁹“But if it will be that they will not believe even these two signs and that they will not listen to your voice, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry land; and the water which you take from the Nile ^awill become blood on the dry land.”

Aaron to Speak for Moses

¹⁰Then Moses said to Yahweh, “Please, Lord, ^aI have never been a man of words, neither ¹recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your slave; for I am one with a ²hard mouth and a ³hard tongue.” ¹¹And Yahweh said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or ^awho makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? ¹²“So now, go, and ^aI, even I, will be with your mouth and will ^binstruct you what you shall speak.” ¹³But he said, “Please, Lord, ¹send now the message by whomever You will.” ¹⁴Then the anger of Yahweh burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that ¹he can certainly speak. And moreover, behold, ^ahe is coming out to meet you. And he will see you and be glad in his heart. ¹⁵“And you are to speak to him and ^aput the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will instruct ¹you in what you shall do. ¹⁶“Moreover, ^ahe shall speak for you to the people; and he will become as a mouth for you, and you will become as God to him. ¹⁷“And you shall take in your hand ^athis staff, ^bwith which you shall do the signs.”

Moses Returns to Egypt

¹⁸Then Moses went and returned to ¹Jethro ^ahis father-in-law and said to him, “Please, let me go, that I may return to my brothers who are in Egypt and see if they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” ¹⁹And Yahweh said to Moses in Midian, “Go, return to Egypt, for ^aall the men who were seeking your life are dead.” ²⁰So Moses took his wife and his ^asons and mounted them on a donkey and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the ^bstaff of God in his hand.

²¹And Yahweh said to Moses, “When you go to return to Egypt, see to it that all ^athe miraculous wonders which I have put in your hand, that you do them before Pharaoh; but as for Me, ^bI will ¹harden his heart with strength so that he will not let the people go. ²²“Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “^aIsrael is My son, My firstborn. ²³“So I said to you, ‘^aLet My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, ^bI will kill your son, your firstborn.”’”

²⁴Now it happened at the lodging place on the way that Yahweh encountered him and ^asought to put him to death. ²⁵Then Zipporah took ^aa flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched ¹his feet with it, and she said, “You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me!” ²⁶So He let him alone. At that time she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood” with reference to the circumcision.

²⁷^aThen Yahweh said to Aaron, “Go to meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and encountered him at the ^bmountain of God and kissed him. ²⁸^aAnd Moses told Aaron all the words of Yahweh with which He had sent him, and ^ball the signs that He had commanded him to do. ²⁹Then Moses and Aaron went and ^agathered all the elders of the sons of Israel; ³⁰and ^aAaron spoke all the words which Yahweh had spoken to Moses. He then did the ^bsigns in the sight of the people. ³¹So ^athe people believed; and they heard that Yahweh ¹^,^bcared about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction. So ^cthey bowed low and worshiped.