אֵת

And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen how severely the Egyptians are oppressing them.

Therefore, go! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

But Moses asked God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

“I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain.”

Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said: I have surely attended to you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.

And I have promised to bring you up out of your affliction in Egypt, into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

But I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless a mighty hand compels him.

So I will stretch out My hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders I will perform among them. And after that, he will release you.

And I will grant this people such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that when you leave, you will not go away empty-handed.

Every woman shall ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians.”

You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do.

But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.”

Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who sought to kill you are dead.”

So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.

The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.

…and I told you to let My son go so that he may worship Me. But since you have refused to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son!’”

But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched it to Moses’ feet. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said.

And Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and all the signs He had commanded him to perform.

Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites,

…and Aaron relayed everything the LORD had said to Moses. And Moses performed the signs before the people,

…and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.

After that, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”

But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”

But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Get back to your labor!”

Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you would be stopping them from their labor.”

That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen:

But require of them the same quota of bricks as before; do not reduce it. For they are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’

The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce your daily quota of bricks.”

When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them.

“May the LORD look upon you and judge you,” the foremen said, “for you have made us a stench before Pharaoh and his officials; you have placed in their hand a sword to kill us!”

Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and You have not delivered Your people in any way.”

I also established My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land where they lived as foreigners.