EXODUS 7 thru 11
WHEN THE LORD SPOKE TO MOSES in Egypt he said, 'I am the LORD.
Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.' Moses made answer in the
presence of the LORD, 'I am a halting speaker; how will Pharaoh listen to
me?' The LORD answered Moses, 'See now, I have made you like a god for 7
Pharaoh, with your brother Aaron as your spokesman. You must tell you
brother Aaron all I bid you say, and he will tell Pharaoh, and Pharaoh will
let the Israelites go out of his country; but I will make him stubborn. Then
will I show sign after sign and portent after portent in the land of Egypt.
But Pharaoh will not listen to you, so I will assert my power in Egypt, and
with mighty acts of judgement I will bring my people, the Israelites, out
of Egypt in their tribal hosts. When I put forth my power against the
Egyptians and bring the Israelites out from them, then Egypt will know
that I am the LORD.' So Moses and Aaron did exactly as the LORD had
commanded. At the time when they spoke to Pharaoh, Moses was eighty
years old and Aaron eighty-three.
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 'If Pharaoh demands some portent
from you, then you, Moses, must say to Aaron, "Take your staff and throw
it down in from of Pharaoh, and it will turn into a serpent." ' When Moses
and Aaron came to Pharaoh, they did as the LORD had told them. Aaron
threw down his staff in front of Pharaoh and his courtiers, and it turned into
a serpent. At this, Pharaoh summoned the wise men and sorcerer, and
the Egyptian magicians too did the same thing by their spells. Every man
threw his staff down and every staff turned into a serpent; but Aaron's
staff swallowed up theirs. Pharaoh, however, was obstinate; as the LORD
had foretold, he would not listen to Moses and Aaron.
Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Pharaoh is obdurate: he has refused to set
the people free. Go to him in the morning on his way out to the river. Stand
and wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take with you the staff
that turned into a snake. Say this to him: "The LORD the God of the
Hebrews sent me to bid you let his people go in order to worship him in the
wilderness. So far you have not listened to his words; so now the LORD
says, 'By this you shall know that I am the LORD.' With this rod that I have
in my hand, I shall now strike the water in the Nile and it will be changed
into blood. The fish will die and the river will stink, and the Egyptians will
be unable to drink water from the Nile." ' The LORD then told Moses to
say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and stretch your hand out over the waters of
Egypt, its rivers and its streams, and over every pool and cistern, to turn
them into blood. There shall be blood throughout the whole of Egypt,
blood even in their wooden bowls and jars of stone.' So Moses and Aaron
did as the LORD had commanded. He lifted up his staff and struck the
water of the Nile in the sight of Pharaoh and his courtiers, and all the water
was changed into blood. The fish died and the river stank, and the Egyp-
tians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood everywhere in
Egypt. But the Egyptian magicians did the same thing by their spells; and
still Pharaoh remained obstinate, as the LORD had foretold, and did not
Listen to Moses and Aaron. He turned away, went into his house and dis-
missed the matter from his mind. Then the Egyptians all dug for drinking
water round about the river, because they could not drink from the waters
of the Nile itself. This lasted for seven days from the time when the LORD
struck the Nile.
The LORD then told Moses to go into Pharaoh's presence and say to him, 8
'These are the words of the LORD: "Let my people go in order to worship
me. If you refuse to let them go, I will plague the whole of your territory
with frogs. The Nile shall swarm with them. They shall come up from
the river into your house, into your bedroom and on to your bed, into
the houses of your courtiers and your people, into your ovens and your
kneading-troughs. The frogs shall clamber over you, your people, and your
courtiers." ' Then the LORD told Moses to say to Aaron, 'Take your staff
in your hand and stretch it out over the rivers, streams, and pools, to bring
up frogs upon the land of Egypt.' So Aaron stretched out his hand over the
waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered all the land. The
magicians did the same thing by their spells: they too brought up frogs
upon the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. 'Pray
to the LORD', he said, 'to take the frogs away from me and my people, and
I will let the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.' Moses said, 'Of your royal
favour, appoint a time when I may intercede for you and your courtiers
and people, so that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, and none
be left except in the Nile.' 'Tomorrow', Pharaoh said. 'It shall be as you
say,' replied Moses, 'so that you may know there is no one like our God,
the LORD. The frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, your
courtiers, and your people: none shall be left but in the Nile.' Moses and
Aaron left Pharaoh's presence, and Moses appealed to the LORD to remove
the frogs which he had brought on Pharaoh. The LORD did as Moses had
asked, and in house and courtyard and in the open the frogs all perished.
They piled them into countless heaps and the land stank; but when
Pharaoh found that he was given relief he became obdurate; as the LORD
had foretold, he did not listen to Moses and Aaron.
The LORD then told Moses and Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and
strike the dust on the ground, and it will turn into maggots throughout the
land of Egypt', and they obeyed. Aaron stretched out his staff and struck
the dust, and it turned into maggots on man and beast. All the dust turned
into maggots throughout the land of Egypt. The magicians tried to produce
maggots in the same way by their spells, but they failed. The maggots were
everywhere, on man and beast. 'It is the finger of God', said the magicians
to Pharaoh, but Pharaoh remained obstinate; as the LORD had foretold, he
did not listen to them.
The LORD told Moses to rise early in the morning and stand in Pharaoh's
path as he went out to the river and to say to him, 'These are the words of
the LORD: "Let my people go in order to worship me. If you do not let my
people go, I will send swarms of flies upon you, your courtiers, your
people, and your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with
the swarms and so shall all the land they live in, but on that day I will make
an exception of Goshen, the land where my people live: there shall be no
swarms there. Thus you shall know that I, the LORD, am here in the land.
I will make a distinction between my people and yours. Tomorrow this
sign shall appear." ' The LORD did this; dense swarms of flies infested
Pharaoh's house and those of his courtiers; throughout Egypt the land was
threatened with ruin by the swarms. Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron
and said to them, 'Go and sacrifice to your God, but in this country.' 'That
we cannot do,' replied Moses, 'because the victim we shall sacrifice to the
LORD our God is an abomination to the Egyptians. If the Egyptians see us
offer such an animal, will they not stone us to death? We must go a three
days' journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he
commands us.' 'I will let you go,' said Pharaoh, 'and you shall sacrifice to
your God in the wilderness; only do not go far. Now intercede for me.'
Moses answered, 'As soon as I leave you I will intercede with the LORD.
Tomorrow the swarms will depart from Pharaoh, his courtiers, and his
people. Only let not Pharaoh trifle any more with the people by preventing
them from going to sacrifice to the LORD.' Then Moses left Pharaoh and
interceded with the LORD. The LORD did as Moses had said; he removed
the swarms from Pharaoh, his courtiers, and his people; not one was left.
But once again Pharaoh became obdurate and did not let the people go.
The LORD said to Moses, 'Go into Pharaoh's presence and say to him, 9
"These are the words of the LORD the God of the Hebrews: 'Let my people
go in order to worship me.' If you refuse to let them go and still keep
your hold on them, the LORD will strike your grazing herds, your horses
and asses, your camels, cattle, and sheep with terrible pestilence. But
the LORD will make distinction between Israel's herds and those of the
Egyptians. Of all that belong to Israel not a single one shall die." ' The
LORD fixed a time and said, 'Tomorrow I will do this throughout the land.'
The next day the LORD struck. All the herds of Egypt died, but from the
herds of the Israelites not one single beast died. Pharaoh inquired and was
told that not a beast from the herds of Israel had died, and yet he remained
obdurate and did not let the people go.
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 'Take handfuls of soot from a kiln.
Moses shall toss it into the air in Pharaoh's sight, and it will turn into a fine
dust over the whole of Egypt. All over Egypt it will become festering boils
on man and beast.' They took the soot from the kiln and stood before
Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air and it produced festering boils on
man and beast. The magicians were no match for Moses because of the
boils, which attacked them and all the Egyptians. But the LORD made
Pharaoh obstinate; as the LORD had foretold to Moses, he did not listen to
Moses and Aaron.
The LORD then told Moses to rise early in the morning, present himself
before Pharaoh, and say to him, 'These are the words of the LORD the God
of the Hebrews: "Let my people go in order to worship me. This time I
will strike home with all my plagues against you, your courtiers, and your
people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. By
now I have stretched out my hand, and struck you and your people
with pestilence, and you would have vanished from the earth. I have let
you live only to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the
land. Since you still obstruct my people and will not let them go, tomorrow
at this time I will send a violent hailstorm, such as has never been in Egypt
from its beginning until now. Send now and bring your herds under
cover, and everything you have out in the open field. If anything, whether
man or beast, which happens to be in the open, is not brought in, the hail
will fall on it and it will die." ' Those of Pharaoh's subjects who feared the
word of the LORD hurried their slaves and cattle into their houses. But those
who did not take to heart the word of the LORD left their slaves and cattle
in the open.
The LORD said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand toward the sky to
bring down hail on the whole land of Egypt, on man and beast and every
growing thing throughout the land.' Moses stretched out his staff towards
the sky, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, with fire flashing down to the
ground. The LORD rained down hail on the land of Egypt, hail and fiery
flashes through the hail, so heavy that there had been nothing like it in all
Egypt from the time that Egypt became a nation. Throughout Egypt the
hail struck everything in the fields, both man and beast; it beat down every
growing thing and shattered every tree. Only in the land of Goshen, where
the Israelites lived, was there no hail.
Pharaoh sent and summoned Moses and Aaron. 'This time I have
sinned; 'the LORD is in the right; I and my people are in the wrong.
Intercede with the LORD, for we can bear no more of this thunder and hail.
I will let you go; you need wait no longer.' Moses said, 'When I leave the
city I will spread out my hands in prayer to the LORD. The thunder shall
cease, and there shall be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth
is the LORD's. But you and your subjects - I know that you do not yet fear
the LORD God.' (The flax and barley were destroyed because the barley was
in the ear and the flax in bud, but the wheat and spelt were not destroyed
because they come later.) Moses left Pharaoh's presence, went out of the
city and lifted up his hands to the LORD in prayer: the thunder and hail
ceased, and no more rain fell. When Pharaoh saw that the downpour, the
hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned again, he and his courtiers, and
became obdurate. So Pharaoh remained obstinate; as the LORD had fore-
told through Moses, he did not let the people go.
10 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Go into Pharaoh's presence. I have made
him and his courtiers obdurate, so that I may show these my signs among
them, and so that you can tell your children and your grandchildren the story:
how I made sport of the Egyptians, and what signs I showed among them.
Thus you will know that I am the LORD.' Moses and Aaron went in to
Pharaoh and said to him, 'These are the words of the LORD the God of the
Hebrews: "How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let
my people go in order to worship me. If you refuse to let my people go,
tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country. They shall cover the face
of the land so that it cannot be seen. They shall eat up the last remnant left
you by the hail. They shall devour every tree that grows in your country-
side. Your houses and your courtiers' houses, every house in Egypt, shall
be full of them; your fathers never saw the like nor their fathers before
them; such a thing has not happened from their time until now." ' He turned
and left Pharaoh's presence. Pharaoh's courtiers said to him, 'How long
must we be caught in this man's toils? Let their menfolk go and worship
the LORD their God. Do you not know by now that Egypt is ruined?' So
Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, 'You
may go and worship the LORD your God; but who exactly is to go?' 'All,'
said Moses, 'young and old, boys and girls, sheep and cattle; for we have
to keep the Lord's pilgrim-feast.' Pharaoh replied, 'Very well then; take
dependants with you when you go; and the LORD be with you. But
beware, there is trouble in store for you. No, your menfolk may go and
worship the LORD, for that is all you asked.' So they were driven out from
Pharaoh's presence.
Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand over Egypt so
that the locusts may come and invade the land and devour all the vegetation
in it, everything the hail has left.' Moses stretched out his staff over the
land of Egypt, and the LORD sent a wind roaring in from the east all that
day and all that night. When morning came, the east wind had brought the
locusts. They invaded the whole land of Egypt, and settled on all its terri-
tory in swarms so dense that the like of them had never been seen before,
nor ever will be again. They covered the surface of the whole land till it
was black with them. They devoured all the vegetation and all the fruit of
the trees that the hail had spared. There was no green left on tree or plant
throughout all Egypt. Pharaoh hastily summoned Moses and Aaron. 'I
have sinned against the LORD your God and against you', he said. 'Forgive
my sin, I pray, just this once. Intercede with the LORD your God and beg
him only to remove this deadly plague from me.' Moses left Pharaoh and
interceded with the LORD. The LORD changed the wind into a westerly gale,
which carried the locusts away and swept them into the Red Sea. There
was not a single locust left in all the territory of Egypt. But the LORD made
Pharaoh obstinate, and he did not let the Israelites go.
Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand towards the sky so
that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness that can be
felt.' Moses stretched out his hand towards the sky, and it became pitch
dark throughout the land of Egypt for three days. Men could not see one
another; for three days no one stirred from where he was,. But there was no
darkness wherever the Israelites lived. Pharaoh summoned Moses. 'Go',
he said, 'and worship the LORD. Your dependants may go with you; but
your flocks and herds must be left with us.' But Moses said, 'No, you must
yourself supply us with animals for sacrifice and whole-offering to the
LORD our God; and our own flocks must go with us too - not a hoof must
be left behind. We may need animals from our own flocks to worship the
LORD our God; we ourselves cannot tell until we are there how we are to
worship the LORD.' The LORD made Pharaoh obstinate, and he refused to
let them go. 'Out! Pester me no more!' he said to Moses. 'Take care you do
not see my face again, for on the day you do, you die.' 'You are right,' said
Moses; 'I shall never see your face again.'
11 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'One last plague I will bring upon Pharaoh
and Egypt. After that he will let you go; he will send you packing, as a man
dismisses a rejected bride. Let the people be told that men and women alike
should ask their neighbors for jewellery of silver and gold.' The LORD
made the Egyptians well-disposed towards them, and, moreover, Moses
was a very great man in Egypt in the eyes of Pharaoh's courtiers and of
the people.
Moses then said, 'These are the words of the LORD: "At midnight I will
go out among the Egyptians. Every first-born creature in the land of
Egypt shall die: the first-born of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, the first-
born of the slave-girl at the handmill, and all the first-born of the cattle.
All Egypt will send up a great cry of anguish, a cry the like of which has
never been heard before, nor ever will be again. But among all Israel not
a dog's tongue shall be so much as scratched, no man or beast hurt."
Thus you shall know that the LORD does make a distinction between Egypt
and Israel. Then all these courtiers of yours will come down to me, pros-
trate themselves and cry, "Go away, you and all the people who follow at
your heels." After that I will go away.' Then Moses left Pharaoh's presence
hot with anger.
The LORD said to Moses, 'Pharaoh will not listen to you; I will therefore
show still more portents in the land of Egypt.' All these portents had Moses
and Aaron shown in the presence of Pharaoh, and yet the LORD made him
obstinate, and he did not let the Israelites leave the country.
The New English Bible (with Apocrypha)
Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, 1970
Posted Mar 28, 2018, 11:57 AM UTC
10