The Fifth Plague: Egyptian Livestock Die

9 Then the Lord said to Moses, ^p“Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says ^qthe Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, 3 behold, ^rthe hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. 4 ^sBut the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.”’” 5 And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” 6 And the next day the Lord did this thing. ^tAll the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died. 7 And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But ^uthe heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

The Sixth Plague: Boils

8 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become ^vboils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast. 11 And ^wthe magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. 12 ^xBut the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as ^ythe Lord had spoken to Moses.

The Seventh Plague: Hail

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, ^z“Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself,¹ and on your servants and your people, so ^athat you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 ^bBut for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so ^cthat my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 ^dYou are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. 18 Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 Now therefore send, ^eget your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.”’” 20 Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, 21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field.

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be ^fhail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.” 23 Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the ^gLord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail ^hstruck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 ⁱOnly in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.

27 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time ^jI have sinned; the ^kLord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 ^lPlead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, ^mI will stretch out my hands to the Lord. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that ⁿthe earth is the Lord’s. 30 But as for you and your servants, ^oI know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.” 31 (The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the emmer² were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.) 33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and ^mstretched out his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and ^phardened his heart, ^qhe and his servants. 35 So ^rthe heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.

The Eighth Plague: Locusts

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, 2 and ^sthat you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, ^tthat you may know that I am the Lord.”

3 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to ^uhumble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. 4 For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring ^vlocusts into your country, 5 and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall ^weat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, 6 and they shall fill ^xyour houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

7 Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, ^y“Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?” 9 Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for ^zwe must hold a feast to the Lord.” 10 But he said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your ^alittle ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind.¹ 11 No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

12 Then the Lord said to Moses, ^b“Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and ^ceat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 ^dThe locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, ^esuch a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. 15 They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and ^fthey ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, ^g“I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. 17 Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and ^hplead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” 18 So ⁱhe went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 19 And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them ^jinto the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. 20 But the Lord ^khardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

21 Then the Lord said to Moses, ^l“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be ^mdarkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but ⁿall the people of Israel had light where they lived. 24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, ^o“Go, serve the Lord; ^pyour little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” 27 But the Lord ^qhardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” 29 Moses said, “As you say! ^rI will not see your face again.”

A Final Plague Threatened

11 The Lord said to Moses, “Yet ^sone plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. ^tWhen he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. 2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, that ^uthey ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” 3 ^vAnd the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.

4 So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ^w‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, 5 and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is ^xbehind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. 6 ^yThere shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. 7 But not a dog shall growl ^zagainst any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord ^amakes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ 8 And ^ball these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. 9 Then the Lord said to Moses, ^c“Pharaoh will not listen to you, that ^dmy wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord ^ehardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.

The Passover

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 ^f“This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb ^gaccording to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be ^hwithout blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the ⁱfourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.¹

7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the ^jtwo doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with ^kunleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but ^lroasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And ^myou shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with ⁿyour belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. ^oIt is the Lord’s Passover. 12 For ^pI will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on ^qall the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: ^rI am the Lord. 13 ^sThe blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

14 “This day shall be ^tfor you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a ^ustatute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. 15 ^vSeven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, ^wthat person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall hold a ^xholy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. 17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for ^yon this very day I brought your ^zhosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. 18 ^aIn the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 ^bFor seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, ^bthat person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, ^cwhether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”

21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves ^daccording to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of ^ehyssop and ^fdip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch ^gthe lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. ^hNone of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 ⁱFor the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on ^gthe lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and ^jwill not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. 24 You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. 25 And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, ^kas he has promised, you shall keep this service. 26 And ^lwhen your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 you shall say, ^m‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people ⁿbowed their heads and worshiped.

28 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

29 ^oAt midnight the ^pLord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, ^qfrom the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was ^ra great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. 31 Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, ^sboth you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. 32 ^tTake your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”

The Exodus

33 ^uThe Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. 35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had ^vasked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 ^wAnd the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that ^xthey let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

37 And the ^ypeople of Israel journeyed from ^zRameses to Succoth, ^aabout six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 A ^bmixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because ^uthey were thrust out of Egypt and ^ccould not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

40 The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of ^d430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a ^enight of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.

Institution of the Passover

43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, 44 but every slave² that is ^fbought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. 45 ^gNo foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. 46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and ^hyou shall not break any of its bones. 47 ⁱAll the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 ^jIf a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he ^kshall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 49 There shall be ^lone law for the native and for the ^jstranger who sojourns among you.”