- Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shall you see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. And God spoke unto Moses and said unto him, I am the Lord, and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob. I am the Lord God Almighty, the Lord Jehovah. And was not my name known unto them? Yea, and I have also established my covenant with them which I made with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore, say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will remove you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with great judgments. And I will take you to me for a people and I will be to you a God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land concerning which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And I will give it you for a heritage. I the Lord will do it. And Moses spoke so unto the children of Israel, but they listened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit and for cruel bondage.
- And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Go in, speak unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not listened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who is of uncircumcised lips? And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
- These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben, the first born of Israel: Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi — these are the families of Reuben. And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman — these are the families of Simeon. And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari; and the years of the life of Levi were a hundred thirty-seven years.
- The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families. And the sons of Kohath: Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel; and the years of the life of Kohath were a hundred thirty-three years. And the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations.
- And Amram took himself Jochebed, his father’s sister, to wife, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the years of the life of Amram were a hundred and thirty-seven years. And the sons of Izhar: Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri. And the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, and Elizaphan, and Sithri.
- And Aaron took himself Elisheba — daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon — to wife, and she bore him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. And the sons of Korah: Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph — these are the families of the Korahites.
- And Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took himself one of the daughters of Putiel to wife, and she bore him Phinehas.
- These are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families. These are the sons of Aaron, according to their families. And all these are the names of the children of Israel, according to the heads of their families, that the Lord said unto Aaron and Moses they should bring up out of the land of Egypt, according to their armies. These are they concerning whom the Lord spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, that he should let them go. And he sent Moses and Aaron to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt.
- And it came to pass on the day the Lord spoke unto Moses in the land of Egypt that the Lord commanded Moses that he should speak unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt, All that I say unto you, saying, I, the Lord, will do unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt, all that I say unto you. And Moses said before the Lord, Behold, I am of stammering lips and slow of speech. How shall Pharaoh listen unto me?
- And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made you a prophet to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your spokesman. You shall speak unto your brother all that I command you, and Aaron your brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land. And Pharaoh will harden his heart, as I said unto you, and you shall multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh will not listen unto you; therefore, I will lay my hand upon Egypt and bring forth my armies, my people — the children of Israel — out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them. And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them; so did they. And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke unto Pharaoh.
- And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Show a miracle, that I may know you — then you shall say unto Aaron, Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers. Now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments, for they cast down every man his rod and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. And Pharaoh hardened his heart, that he listened not unto them, as the Lord had said.
- And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. Go unto Pharaoh in the morning. He goes out unto the water, and you shall stand by the river’s brink to meet him, and the rod which was turned to a serpent shall you take in your hand. And you shall say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me unto you, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness, and behold, hitherto you would not hear. Thus says the Lord: In this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in my hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall stink, and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the river. And the Lord spoke unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take your rod and stretch out your hand upon the waters of Egypt — upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water — that they may become blood, and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in wood and in stone. And Moses and Aaron did so as the Lord commanded, and he lifted up the rod and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that were in the river died, and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments, and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he listen unto them, as the Lord had said. And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also. And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink, for they could not drink of the water of the river. And seven days were fulfilled after the Lord had smitten the river.
Chapter 4