Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now hear this: I make you as God to Pharaoh [to declare My will and purpose to him]; and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.

²You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go out of his land.

³And I will make Pharaoh's heart hard, and multiply My signs and My wonders (miracles) in the land of Egypt.

⁴But Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I shall lay My hand on Egypt and bring out My hosts [like a defensive army, tribe by tribe], My people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment (the plagues).

⁵The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them."

⁶And Moses and Aaron did so; just as the LORD commanded them, so they did.

⁷Now Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.

⁸Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

⁹"When Pharaoh says to you, 'Work a miracle [to prove your authority],' then you say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, so that it may become a serpent.'"

¹⁰So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and did just as the LORD had commanded; Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.

¹¹Then 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.

¹²For every man threw down his staff and they turned into serpents; but Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.

¹³Yet Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

¹⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go.

¹⁵Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he is going out to the water, and wait for him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand the staff that was turned into a serpent.

¹⁶You shall say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, "Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened until now."

¹⁷Thus says the LORD, "By this you shall know and recognize and acknowledge that I am the LORD: look, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water in the Nile, and it shall be turned to blood.

¹⁸The fish in the Nile will die, and the Nile will become foul, and the Egyptians will not be able to drink water from the Nile."'"

¹⁹Then 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.'"

²⁰So Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded; Aaron lifted up the staff and struck the waters in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned into blood.

²¹The fish in the Nile died, and the river became foul smelling, and the Egyptians could not drink its water, and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

²²But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts and enchantments; so Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.

²³Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this [divine sign] to heart.

²⁴So all the Egyptians dug near the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the Nile.

²⁵Seven days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.

¹Then 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.

²However, if you refuse to let them go, hear this: I am going to strike your entire land with frogs.

³The Nile will swarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your home, into your bedroom and on to your bed, and into the houses of your servants and on your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls.

⁴So the frogs will come up on you and on your people and all your servants."'"

⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams and canals, over the pools [among the reeds], and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.'"

⁶So Aaron stretched out his hand [with his staff] over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.

⁷But the magicians (soothsayer-priests) did the same thing with their secret arts and enchantments, and brought up [more] frogs on the land of Egypt.

⁸Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, "Plead with the LORD that He may take away the frogs from me and my people; and I will let the people go, so that they may sacrifice to the LORD."

⁹And Moses said to Pharaoh, "I am entirely at your service: when shall I plead [with the Lord] for you and your servants and your people, so that the frogs may leave you and your houses and remain only in the Nile?"

¹⁰Then Pharaoh said, " Tomorrow." Moses replied, "May it be as you say, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that there is no one like the LORD our God.

¹¹The frogs will leave you and your houses and leave your servants and your people; they will remain only in the Nile."

¹²So Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to the LORD [as he had agreed to do] concerning the frogs which God had inflicted on Pharaoh.

¹³The LORD did as Moses asked, and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards and villages, and out of the fields.

¹⁴So they piled them up in heaps, and the land was detestable and stank.

¹⁵But when Pharaoh saw that there was [temporary] relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen or pay attention to them, just as the LORD had said.

¹⁶Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground, and it will become [biting] gnats (lice) throughout the land of Egypt.'"

¹⁷They did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were [biting] gnats on man and animal. All the dust of the land became gnats through all the land of Egypt.

¹⁸The magicians (soothsayer-priests) tried by their secret arts and enchantments to create gnats, but they could not; and there were gnats on man and animal.

¹⁹Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the [supernatural] finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

²⁰Now the LORD said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he is coming out to the water [of the Nile], and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, "Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

²¹For if you do not let My people go, hear this: I will send swarms of [bloodsucking] insects on you and on your servants and on your people and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of insects, as well as the ground on which they stand.

²²But on that day I will separate and set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of insects will be there, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that I, the LORD, am in the midst of the earth.

²³I will put a division (distinction) between My people and your people. By tomorrow this sign shall be in evidence."'"

²⁴Then the LORD did so. And there came heavy and oppressive swarms of [bloodsucking] insects into the house of Pharaoh and his servants' houses; in all the land of Egypt the land was corrupted and ruined because of the [great invasion of] insects.

²⁵Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, "Go, sacrifice to your God [here] in the land [of Egypt]."

²⁶But Moses said, "It is not right [or even possible] to do that, for we will sacrifice to the LORD our God what is repulsive and unacceptable to the Egyptians [that is, animals that the Egyptians consider sacred]. If we sacrifice what is repulsive and unacceptable to the Egyptians, will they not riot and stone us?

²⁷We must go a three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He commands us."

²⁸So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, so that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Plead [with your God] for me."

²⁹Moses said, "I am going to leave you, and I will urgently petition (pray, entreat) the LORD that the swarms of insects may leave Pharaoh, his servants, and his people tomorrow; only do not let Pharaoh act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD."

³⁰So Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD [on behalf of Pharaoh].

³¹The LORD did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of [bloodsucking] insects from Pharaoh, from his servants and from his people; not one remained.

³²But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and tell him, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: "Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

²But if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them,

³now hear this: the hand of the LORD will fall on your livestock which are out in the field, on the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks—a horrible plague shall come.

⁴But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing that belongs to the Israelites will die."'"

⁵The LORD set a [definite] time, saying, "Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land."

⁶And the LORD did this thing the next day, and all [kinds of] the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the Israelites, not one died.

⁷Then Pharaoh sent [men to investigate], and not even one of the livestock of the Israelites had died. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened [and his mind was firmly set], and he did not let the people go.

⁸Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of soot from the brick kiln, and let Moses throw it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh.

⁹It will become fine dust over the entire land of Egypt, and it will become boils breaking out in sores on man and animal in all the land [occupied by the Egyptians]."

¹⁰So they took soot from the kiln, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses threw it toward the sky, and it became boils erupting in sores on man and animal.

¹¹The magicians (soothsayer-priests) could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians.

¹²But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen or pay attention to them, just as the LORD had told Moses.

¹³Then the LORD said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, "Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

¹⁴For this time I will send all My plagues on you [in full force,] and on your servants and on your people, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that there is no one like Me in all the earth.

¹⁵For by now I could have put out My hand and struck you and your people with a pestilence, and you would then have been cut off (obliterated) from the earth.

¹⁶But indeed for this very reason I have allowed you to live, in order to show you My power and in order that My name may be proclaimed throughout all the earth.

¹⁷Since you are still [arrogantly] exalting yourself [in defiance] against My people by not letting them go,

¹⁸hear this: tomorrow about this time I will send a very heavy and dreadful hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.

¹⁹Now therefore send [a message], bring your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. Every man and animal that is in the field and is not brought home shall be struck by the hail and shall die."'"

²⁰Then everyone among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses and shelters;

²¹but everyone who ignored and did not take seriously the word of the LORD left his servants and his livestock in the field.

²²Now the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand [with your staff] toward the sky, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and on animal and on all the vegetation of the field, throughout the land of Egypt."

²³Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning (fireballs) ran down to the earth and along the ground. And the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt.

²⁴So there was hail, and lightning (fireballs) flashing intermittently in the midst of the extremely heavy hail, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

²⁵The hail struck down everything that was in the field throughout all the land of Egypt, both man and animal; the hail struck and beat down all the plants in the field and shattered every tree in the field.

²⁶Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel lived, was there no hail.

²⁷Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "I have sinned this time; the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

²⁸Pray and entreat the LORD, for there has been enough of God's thunder and hail; I will let you go, and you shall stay here no longer."

²⁹Moses said to him, "As soon as I leave the city, I will stretch out my hands to the LORD; the thunder will cease and there will be no more hail, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that the earth is the Lord's.

³⁰But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the LORD God."

³¹(Now the flax and the barley were battered and ruined [by the hail], because the barley was in the ear (ripe, but soft) and the flax was in bud,

³²but the wheat and spelt (coarse wheat) were not battered and ruined, because they ripen late in the season.)

³³So Moses left the city and Pharaoh, and stretched out his hands to the LORD; then the thunder and hail ceased, and rain no longer poured on the earth.

³⁴But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, both he and his servants.

³⁵Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had said through Moses.

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants [making them determined and unresponsive], so that I may exhibit My signs [of divine power] among them,

²and that you may recount and explain in the hearing of your son, and your grandson, what I have done [repeatedly] to make a mockery of the Egyptians—My signs [of divine power] which I have done among them—so that you may know [without any doubt] and recognize [clearly] that I am the LORD."

³So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

⁴For if you refuse to let My people go, then hear this: tomorrow I will bring [migratory] locusts into your country.

⁵They shall cover the [visible] surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the ground, and they will eat the rest of what has remained—that is, the vegetation left after the hail—and they will eat every one of your trees that grows in the field;

⁶your houses and those of all your servants and of all the Egyptians shall be filled with locusts, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from their birth until this day.'" Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.

⁷Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long shall this man be a trap to us? Let the men go, so that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not realize that Egypt is destroyed?"

⁸So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "Go, serve the LORD your God! Who specifically are the ones that are going?"

⁹Moses said, "We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds [all of us and all that we have], for we must hold a feast to the LORD."

¹⁰Pharaoh said to them, "The LORD be with you [to help you], if I ever let you go with your children [because you will never return]! Look [be forewarned], you have an evil plan in mind.

¹¹No! Go now, you who are men, [without your families] and serve the LORD, if that is what you want." So Moses and Aaron were driven from Pharaoh's presence.

¹²Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come up on the land of Egypt and eat all the plants of the land, all that the hail has left."

¹³So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night; when it was morning, the east wind had brought the [swarms of] locusts.

¹⁴The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled down in the whole territory, a very dreadful mass of them; never before were there such locusts as these, nor will there ever be again.

¹⁵For they covered the [visible] surface of the land, so that the ground was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. There remained not a green thing on the trees or the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.

¹⁶Then Pharaoh hurried to call for Moses and Aaron, and he said, "I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.

¹⁷Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once [more], and pray and entreat the LORD your God, so that He will remove this [plague of] death from me."

¹⁸Moses left Pharaoh and entreated the LORD.

¹⁹So the LORD shifted the wind to a violent west wind which lifted up the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not one locust remained within the border of Egypt.

²⁰But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart [so that it was even more resolved and obstinate], and he did not let the Israelites go.

²¹Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky, so that darkness may come over the land of Egypt, a darkness which [is so awful that it] may be felt."

²²So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and for three days a thick darkness was all over the land of Egypt [no sun, no moon, no stars].

²³The Egyptians could not see one another, nor did anyone leave his place for three days, but all the Israelites had [supernatural] light in their dwellings.

²⁴Then Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, "Go, serve the LORD; only your flocks and your herds must be left behind. Even your children may go with you."

²⁵But Moses said, "You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, so that we may sacrifice them to the LORD our God.

²⁶Therefore, our livestock must also go with us; not one hoof shall be left behind, for we must take some of them to serve the LORD our God. Even we do not know with what we will serve the LORD until we arrive there."

²⁷But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he was not willing to let them go.

²⁸Then Pharaoh said to Moses, "Get away from me! See that you never enter my presence again, for on the day that you see my face again you will die!"

²⁹Then Moses said, "You are correct; I will never see your face again!"

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will bring yet one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go. When he lets you go, he will most certainly drive you out of here completely.

²Speak so that all of the people [of Israel] may hear, and tell every man to ask from his neighbor, and every woman to ask from her neighbor, articles of silver, and articles of gold."

³The LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, [both] in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people.

⁴Then Moses said, "Thus says the LORD: 'At midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt,

⁵and all the firstborn in the land [the pride, hope, and joy] of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the hand-mill, and all the firstborn of cattle as well.

⁶There shall be a great cry [of heartache and sorrow] throughout the land of Egypt, such as has never been before and such as shall never be again.

⁷But not even a dog will threaten any of the Israelites, whether man or animal, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge how the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.'

⁸All these servants of yours will come down to me and bow down before me, saying, 'Get out, you and all the people who follow you.' After that I will leave." And he left Pharaoh in the heat of anger.

⁹Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders (miracles) may be multiplied in the land of Egypt."

¹⁰Moses and Aaron did all these wonders (miracles) before Pharaoh; yet the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the Israelites go out of his land.

¹The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,

²"This month shall be the beginning of months to you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.

³Tell all the congregation of Israel, 'On the tenth [day] of this month they are to take a lamb or young goat for themselves, according to [the size of] the household of which he is the father, a lamb or young goat for each household.

⁴Now if the household is too small for a lamb [to be consumed], let him and his next door neighbor take one according to the number of people [in the households]; according to what each man can eat, you are to divide the lamb.

⁵Your lamb or young goat shall be [perfect] without blemish or bodily defect, a male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

⁶You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it at twilight.

⁷Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel [above the door] of the houses in which they eat it.

⁸They shall eat the meat that same night, roasted in fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

⁹Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted in fire—both its head and its legs, along with its inner parts.

¹⁰You shall let none of the meat remain until the morning, and anything that remains left over until morning, you shall burn completely in the fire.

¹¹Now you are to eat it in this manner: [be prepared for a journey] with your loins girded [that is, with the outer garment tucked into the band], your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; you shall eat it quickly—it is the Lord's Passover.

¹²For I [the LORD] will pass through the land of Egypt on this night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and animal; against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments [exhibiting their worthlessness]. I am the LORD.

¹³The blood shall be a sign for you on [the doorposts of] the houses where you live; when I see the blood I shall pass over you, and no affliction shall happen to you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

¹⁴'Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as an ordinance forever.

¹⁵[In the celebration of the Passover in future years,] seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove the leaven from your houses [because it represents the spread of sin]; for whoever eats leavened bread on the first day through the seventh day, that person shall be cut off and excluded from [the atonement made for] Israel.

¹⁶On the first day [of the feast] you shall have a holy and solemn assembly, and on the seventh day there shall be another holy and solemn assembly; no work of any kind shall be done on those days, except for the preparation of food which every person must eat—only that may be done by you.

¹⁷You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought your hosts [grouped according to tribal armies] out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an ordinance forever.

¹⁸In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, [and continue] until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.

¹⁹Seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses; whoever eats what is leavened shall be cut off and excluded from [the atonement made for] the congregation of Israel, whether a stranger or native-born.

²⁰You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.'"

²¹Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and take a lamb for yourselves according to [the size of] your families and slaughter the Passover lamb.

²²You shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and touch some of the blood to the lintel [above the doorway] and to the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.

²³For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel [above the entry way] and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to slay you.

²⁴You shall observe this event [concerning Passover] as an ordinance for you and for your children forever.

²⁵When you enter the land which the LORD will give you, as He has promised, you shall keep and observe this service.

²⁶When your children say to you, 'What does this service mean to you?'

²⁷you shall say, 'It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians, but spared our houses.'" And the people bowed [their heads] low and worshiped [God].

²⁸Then the Israelites went and did [as they had been told]: just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

²⁹Now it happened at midnight that the LORD struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the cattle.

³⁰Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry [of heartache and sorrow] in Egypt, for there was no house where there was not someone dead.

³¹Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, "Get up, get out from among my people, both you and the Israelites; and go, serve the LORD, as you said.

³²Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and [ask your God to] bless me also."

³³The Egyptians [anxiously] urged the people [to leave], to send them out of the land quickly, for they said, "We will all be dead."

³⁴So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their clothes on their shoulders.

³⁵Now the Israelites had acted in accordance with the word of Moses; and they had asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing.

³⁶The LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they gave them what they asked. And so they plundered the Egyptians [of those things].

³⁷Now the Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides [the women and] the children.

³⁸A mixed multitude [of non-Israelites from foreign nations] also went with them, along with both flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock.

³⁹And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought from Egypt; it was not leavened, since they were driven [quickly] from Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any food for themselves.

⁴⁰Now the period of time the children of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.

⁴¹At the end of the four hundred and thirty years, to that very day, all the hosts of the LORD [gathered into tribal armies] left the land of Egypt.

⁴²It is a night of watching to be observed for the LORD for having brought them out of the land of Egypt; this [same] night is for the LORD, to be observed and celebrated by all the Israelites throughout their generations.

⁴³The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "This is the ordinance of the Passover: no foreigner is to eat it;

⁴⁴but every man's slave who is bought with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.

⁴⁵No stranger (temporary resident, foreigner) or hired servant shall eat it.

⁴⁶It is to be eaten inside one house; you shall not take any of the meat outside the house, nor shall you break any of its bones.

⁴⁷The entire congregation of Israel shall keep and celebrate it.

⁴⁸If a stranger living temporarily among you wishes to celebrate the Passover to the LORD, all his males must be circumcised, and then he may participate and celebrate it like one that is born in the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat it.

⁴⁹The same law shall apply to the native-born and to the stranger who lives temporarily among you."

⁵⁰Then all the Israelites did so; they did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.

⁵¹And on that very same day the LORD brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their hosts (tribal armies).

¹The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Sanctify to Me [that is, set apart for My purpose] every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal; it is Mine."

³Moses said to the people, "Remember [solemnly observe and commemorate] this day on which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage and slavery; for by a strong and powerful hand the LORD brought you out of this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten.

⁴On this day in the month Abib, you are about to go onward.

⁵And it shall be when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land [of abundance] flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep and observe this rite (service) in this month.

⁶For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD.

⁷Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, nor shall there be leaven within the borders of your territory.

⁸You shall explain this to your son on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'

⁹It shall serve as a sign to you on your hand (arm), and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the instruction (law) of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a strong and powerful hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.

¹⁰Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at this time from year to year.

¹¹"Now it shall be when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you,

¹²you shall set apart and dedicate to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock shall be the Lord's.

¹³Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem by [substituting] a lamb [as a sacrifice for it], but if you do not [wish to] redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn among your sons you shall redeem [that is, "buy back" from God with a suitable sacrifice].

¹⁴And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What does this mean?' you shall say to him, 'With a strong and powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondage and slavery.

¹⁵For it happened, when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, that the LORD struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animal. Therefore, I sacrifice to the LORD all the males, the first [to be born] of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.'

¹⁶So it shall serve as a sign and a reminder on your [left] hand (arm) and as frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong and powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt."

¹⁷So it happened, when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearer; for God said, "The people might change their minds when they see war [that is, that there will be war], and return to Egypt."

¹⁸But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea; the sons of Israel went up in battle array (orderly ranks, marching formation) out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁹Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had solemnly ordered (placed under an oath) the Israelites, saying, "God will assuredly take care of you, and you must carry my bones away from here with you."

²⁰They journeyed from Succoth [in Goshen] and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.

²¹The [presence of the] LORD was going before them by day in a pillar (column) of cloud to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they could travel by day and by night.

²²He did not withdraw the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from going before the people.

¹Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea.

³For Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, 'They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.'

⁴I will harden (make stubborn, defiant) Pharaoh's heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will be glorified and honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians shall know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that I am the LORD." And they did so.

⁵When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, "What is this that we have done? We have let Israel go from serving us!"

⁶So Pharaoh harnessed horses to his war-chariots [for battle] and took his army with him;

⁷and he took six hundred chosen war-chariots, and all the other war-chariots of Egypt with fighting charioteers over all of them.

⁸The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, as they were leaving confidently and defiantly.

⁹The Egyptians chased them with all the horses and war-chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them as they camped by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

¹⁰As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were very frightened; so the Israelites cried out to the LORD.

¹¹Then they said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What is this that you have done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?

¹²Did we not say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians?' For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians [as slaves] than to die in the wilderness."

¹³Then Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid! Take your stand [be firm and confident and undismayed] and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for those Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see again.

¹⁴The LORD will fight for you while you [only need to] keep silent and remain calm."

¹⁵The LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to move forward [toward the sea].

¹⁶As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the sons of Israel may go through the middle of the sea on dry land.

¹⁷As for Me, hear this: I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will go in [the sea] after them; and I will be glorified and honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and his war-chariots and his horsemen.

¹⁸And the Egyptians shall know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that I am the LORD, when I am glorified and honored through Pharaoh, through his war-chariots and his charioteers."

¹⁹The angel of God, who had been going in front of the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them. The pillar of the cloud moved from in front and stood behind them.

²⁰So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. It was a cloud along with darkness [even by day to the Egyptians], but it gave light by night [to the Israelites]; so one [army] did not come near the other all night.

²¹Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD swept the sea back by a strong east wind all that night and turned the seabed into dry land, and the waters were divided.

²²The Israelites went into the middle of the sea on dry land, and the waters formed a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

²³Then the Egyptians pursued them into the middle of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his war-chariots and his charioteers.

²⁴So it happened at the early morning watch [before dawn], that the LORD looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and put them in a state of confusion.

²⁵He made their chariot wheels hard to turn, and the chariots difficult to drive; so the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from Israel, for the LORD is fighting for them against the Egyptians."

²⁶Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, on their war-chariots and their charioteers."

²⁷So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal flow at sunrise; and the Egyptians retreated right into it [being met by the returning water]; so the LORD overthrew the Egyptians and tossed them into the midst of the sea.

²⁸The waters returned and covered the chariots and the charioteers, and all the army of Pharaoh that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them survived.

²⁹But the Israelites walked on dry land in the middle of the sea, and the waters formed a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

³⁰The LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians [lying] dead on the seashore.

³¹When Israel saw the great power which the LORD had used against the Egyptians, they feared the LORD [with reverence and awe-filled respect], and they believed in the LORD, and in His servant Moses.

¹Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, singing, "I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously; The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea.

²"The LORD is my strength and my song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him.

³"The LORD is a warrior; The LORD is His name.

⁴"Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has thrown into the sea; His chosen captains are drowned in the Red Sea.

⁵"The deep [water] covers them; [Clad in armor] they sank into the depths like a stone.

⁶"Your right hand, O LORD, is glorious in power; Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.

⁷"In the greatness of Your majesty You overthrow and annihilate those [adversaries] who rise [in rebellion] against You; You send out Your fury, and it consumes them like chaff.

⁸"With the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up, The flowing waters stood up like a mound; The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.

⁹"The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be satisfied against them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall dispossess them and drive them out.'

¹⁰"You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; [Clad in armor] they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

¹¹"Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in splendor, working wonders?

¹²"You stretched out Your right hand, The sea swallowed them.

¹³"You in Your lovingkindness and goodness have led the people whom You have redeemed; In Your strength You have guided them with care to Your holy habitation.

¹⁴"The peoples have heard [about You], they tremble; Anguish and fear has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia.

¹⁵"Then the [tribal] chiefs of Edom were dismayed and horrified; The [mighty] leaders of Moab, trembling grips them; All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away [in despair]—

¹⁶Terror and dread fall on them; Because of the greatness of Your arm they are as still as a stone; Until Your people pass by and [into Canaan], O LORD, Until the people pass by whom You have purchased.

¹⁷"You will bring them [into the land of promise] and plant them on the mountain (Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem) of Your inheritance, The place, O LORD, You have made for Your dwelling [among them], The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.

¹⁸"The LORD shall reign to eternity and beyond."

¹⁹For the horses of Pharaoh went with his war-chariots and his charioteers into the sea, and the LORD brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the sons of Israel walked on dry land in the middle of the sea.

²⁰Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron [and Moses], took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her with timbrels and dancing.

²¹Miriam answered them, "Sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously and is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea."

²²Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went into the Wilderness of Shur; they went [a distance of] three days (about thirty-three miles) in the wilderness and found no water.

²³Then they came to Marah, but they could not drink its waters because they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah (bitter).

²⁴The people [grew discontented and] grumbled at Moses, saying, "What are we going to drink?"

²⁵Then he cried to the LORD [for help], and the LORD showed him a tree, [a branch of] which he threw into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There the LORD made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them,

²⁶saying, "If you will diligently listen and pay attention to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and listen to His commandments, and keep [foremost in your thoughts and actively obey] all His precepts and statutes, then I will not put on you any of the diseases which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you."

²⁷Then the children of Israel came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy date palms, and they camped there beside the waters.

¹They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they left the land of Egypt.

²The whole congregation of the Israelites [grew discontented and] murmured and rebelled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness,

³and the Israelites said to them, " Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate bread until we were full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this entire assembly with hunger."

⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will cause bread to rain from heaven for you; the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, so that I may test them [to determine] whether or not they will walk [obediently] in My instruction (law).

⁵And it shall be that on the sixth day, they shall prepare to bring in twice as much as they gather daily [so that they will not need to gather on the seventh day]."

⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all Israel, "At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt,

⁷and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, for He hears your murmurings against the LORD. What are we, that you murmur and rebel against us?"

⁸Moses said, "This will happen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning [enough] bread to be fully satisfied, because the LORD has heard your murmurings against Him; for what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD."

⁹Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to all the congregation of Israel, 'Approach the LORD, because He has heard your murmurings.'"

¹⁰So it happened that as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory and brilliance of the LORD appeared in the cloud!

¹¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

¹²"I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites; speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"

¹³So in the evening the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a blanket of dew around the camp.

¹⁴When the layer of dew evaporated, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine, flake-like thing, as fine as frost on the ground.

¹⁵When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, " What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.

¹⁶This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Let every man gather as much of it as he needs. Take an omer for each person, according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.'"

¹⁷The Israelites did so, and some gathered much [of it] and some [only a] little.

¹⁸When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered a large amount had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered according to his need (family size).

¹⁹Moses said, "Let none of it be left [overnight] until [the next] morning."

²⁰But they did not listen to Moses, and some left a supply of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul and rotten; and Moses was angry with them.

²¹So they gathered it every morning, each as much as he needed, because when the sun was hot it melted.

²²Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each person; and all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses.

²³He said to them, "This is what the LORD has said: 'Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD'; bake and boil what you will bake and boil [today], and all that remains left over put aside for yourselves to keep until morning."

²⁴They put it aside until morning, as Moses told them, and it did not become foul nor was it wormy.

²⁵Then Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field.

²⁶Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none [in the field]."

²⁷Now on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.

²⁸Then the LORD said to Moses, "How long do you [people] refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions (laws)?

²⁹See, the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you the bread for two days on the sixth day. Let every man stay in his place; no man is to leave his place on the seventh day."

³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹The house of Israel called the bread manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and it tasted like flat pastry (wafers) made with honey.

³²Then Moses said, "This is the word which the LORD commands, 'Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.'"

³³So Moses said to Aaron, "Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations."

³⁴As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron [eventually] placed it in the presence of the Testimony, to be kept.

³⁵The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they reached an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

³⁶(Now an omer is the tenth of an ephah.)

¹Then all the congregation of the children of Israel moved on from the Wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.

²Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water so we may [have something to] drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you tempt the LORD and try His patience?"

³But the people were thirsty for water; and the people murmured against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us up from Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"

⁴So Moses cried out to the LORD for help, saying, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me."

⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.

⁶Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; there you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may [have something to] drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

⁷He named the place [where this miracle occurred] Massah (test) and Meribah (contention) because of the quarreling of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the [patience of the] LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us, or not?"

⁸Then Amalek [and his people] came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.

⁹So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek [and his people]. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand."

¹⁰So Joshua did as Moses said, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the hilltop.

¹¹Now when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and when he lowered his hand [due to fatigue], Amalek prevailed.

¹²But Moses' hands were heavy and he grew tired. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side; so it was that his hands were steady until the sun set.

¹³So Joshua overwhelmed and defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

¹⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this in the book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek [and his people] from under heaven."

¹⁵And Moses built an altar and named it The LORD Is My Banner;

¹⁶saying, "The LORD has sworn [an oath]; the LORD will have war against [the people of] Amalek from generation to generation."

¹Now Jethro (Reuel), the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.

²Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Moses' wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away [from Egypt],

³along with her two sons, of whom one was named Gershom (stranger), for Moses said, "I have been a stranger in a foreign land."

⁴The other [son] was named Eliezer (my God is help), for Moses said, "The God of my father was my help, and He rescued me from the sword of Pharaoh."

⁵Then Jethro, his father-in-law, came with Moses' sons and his wife to [join] Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at the mountain of God [that is, Mt. Sinai in Horeb].

⁶He sent a message to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons [who are] with her."

⁷So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down [in respect] and kissed him. They asked each other about their well-being and went into the tent.

⁸Moses told his father-in-law about all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and about all the hardship that had happened during the journey, and how the LORD had rescued them.

⁹Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the LORD had done to Israel, in that He had rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians.

¹⁰Jethro said, "Blessed be the LORD, who has rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who has rescued the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

¹¹Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods; indeed, it was proven when they acted insolently toward Israel [and the LORD showed Himself infinitely superior to all their gods]."

¹²Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and [other] sacrifices [to offer] to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses' father-in-law before God.

¹³Now the next day Moses sat to judge [the disputes] the people [had with one another], and the people stood around Moses from dawn to dusk.

¹⁴When Moses' father-in-law saw everything that he was doing for the people, he said, "What is this that you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting alone [as a judge] with all the people standing around you from dawn to dusk?"

¹⁵Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to ask [about the will] of God.

¹⁶When they have a dispute they come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and I make known the statutes of God and His laws."

¹⁷Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you are doing is not good.

¹⁸You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you [to bear]; you cannot do it alone.

¹⁹Now listen to me; I will advise you, and may God be with you [to confirm my advice]. You shall represent the people before God. You shall bring their disputes and causes to Him.

²⁰You shall teach them the decrees and laws. You shall show them the way they are to live and the work they are to do.

²¹Furthermore, you shall select from all the people competent men who [reverently] fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; you shall place these over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.

²²They shall judge the people at all times; have them bring every major dispute to you, but let them judge every minor dispute themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.

²³If you will do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure [the responsibility], and all these people will also go [back] to their tents in peace."

²⁴So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything that he had said.

²⁵Moses chose able men from all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens [from the highest to the lowest judicial levels].

²⁶And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but every minor dispute they judged and decided themselves.

²⁷Then Moses said goodbye to his father-in-law, and Jethro went back to his own land (Midian).

¹In the third month after the children of Israel had left the land of Egypt, the very same day, they came into the Wilderness of Sinai.

²When they moved out from Rephidim, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai and they camped there; Israel camped at the base of the mountain [of Sinai].

³Moses went up to God [on the mountain], and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Say this to the house of Jacob and tell the Israelites:

⁴'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself.

⁵Now therefore, if you will in fact obey My voice and keep My covenant (agreement), then you shall be My own special possession and treasure from among all peoples [of the world], for all the earth is Mine;

⁶and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation [set apart for My purpose].' These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites."

⁷So Moses called for the elders of the people, and told them all these words which the LORD commanded him.

⁸All the people answered together and said, "We will do everything that the LORD has spoken." And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.

⁹The LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may believe and trust in you forever." Then Moses repeated the words of the people to the LORD.

¹⁰The LORD also said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow [that is, prepare them for My sacred purpose], and have them wash their clothes

¹¹and be ready by the third day, because on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai [in the cloud] in the sight of all the people.

¹²You shall set barriers for the people all around [the mountain], saying, 'Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch its border; whoever touches the mountain must be put to death.

¹³No hand shall touch him [that is, no one shall try to save the guilty party], but the offender must be stoned or shot through [with arrows]; whether man or animal [that touches the mountain], he shall not live.' When the ram's horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain."

¹⁴So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified them [for God's sacred purpose], and they washed their clothes.

¹⁵He said to the people, "Be prepared for the third day; do not be intimate with a woman."

¹⁶So it happened on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and flashes of lightning, and a thick cloud was on the mountain, and a very loud blast was sounded on a ram's horn, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

¹⁷Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood and presented themselves at the foot of the mountain.

¹⁸Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.

¹⁹And it happened, as the blast of the ram's horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with [a voice of] thunder.

²⁰The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and he went up.

²¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through [the barriers around the mountain] to the LORD to see [Me], and many of them perish [as a result].

²²Also have the priests who approach the LORD consecrate (sanctify, set apart) themselves [for My sacred purpose], or else the LORD will break forth [in judgment] against them [and destroy them]."

²³Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, because You warned us, saying, 'Set barriers around the mountain and consecrate it.'"

²⁴Then the LORD said to him, "Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through [the barriers] to come up to the LORD, or He will break forth [in judgment] against them [and destroy them]."

²⁵So Moses went down to the people and told them [again about God's warning].

¹Then God spoke all these words:

²"I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

³"You shall have no other gods before Me.

⁴"You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship].

⁵You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous (impassioned) God [ demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers on the children [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers], to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

⁶but showing graciousness and steadfast lovingkindness to thousands [of generations] of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

⁷"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain [that is, irreverently, in false affirmations or in ways that impugn the character of God]; for the LORD will not hold guiltless nor leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain [disregarding its reverence and its power].

⁸"Remember the Sabbath (seventh) day to keep it holy (set apart, dedicated to God).

⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath [a day of rest dedicated] to the LORD your God; on that day you shall not do any work, you or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock or the temporary resident (foreigner) who stays within your [city] gates.

¹¹For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy [that is, set it apart for His purposes].

¹²"Honor (respect, obey, care for) your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land the LORD your God gives you.

¹³"You shall not commit murder (unjustified, deliberate homicide).

¹⁴"You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵"You shall not steal [secretly, openly, fraudulently, or through carelessness].

¹⁶"You shall not testify falsely [that is, lie, withhold, or manipulate the truth] against your neighbor (any person).

¹⁷"You shall not covet [that is, selfishly desire and attempt to acquire] your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

¹⁸Now all the people witnessed the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the smoking mountain; and as they looked, the people were afraid, and they trembled [and moved backward] and stood at a [safe] distance.

¹⁹Then they said to Moses, "You speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us or we will die."

²⁰Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him [that is, a profound reverence for Him] will remain with you, so that you do not sin."

²¹So the people stood at a [safe] distance, but Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.

²²Then the LORD said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven.

²³You shall not make other gods [to worship] besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make [these lifeless idols] for yourselves.

²⁴You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause My Name to be recorded and remembered [through revelation of My divine nature] I will come to you and bless you.

²⁵If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you use a chisel on it, you will profane it.

²⁶Nor shall you go up to My altar on steps, so that your nakedness will not be exposed on it.'