24 Now when he was on the way at the resting place, an 25 Angel of the Lord met him and sought to kill him. Whereupon Sepphora took a sharp stone and circumcised her son. Then she fell at his feet and said, The blood of the circumci26 sion of my son hath stopped me. So she departed from him, because she said, The blood of the circumcision of my son hath stopt me.

27 Now the Lord had said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. So he went and met him at the mount of God; 28 and they saluted each other. And Moses told Aaron all the

words of the Lord, which he had sent and all the orders which 29 he had given him in charge. And Moses and Aaron went and 30 assembled the Senate of the Israelites, and Aaron rehearsed

all the words which God had spoken to Moses; and he per31 formed the miracles in the presence of the people. And the people believed and were rejoiced that God had visited the children of Israel and that he had seen their affliction. So bowing their heads the people worshipped.

V.

And after this Moses went in with Aaron to Pharao and they said to him, Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel, Let my people go that they may keep a festival for me in the wil2 derness. Upon which Pharao said, Who is he, that I should 3 hearken to his voice so as to send away the Israelites? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go. Then they said to him, The God of the Hebrews hath called us. Let us therefore go three days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest death or destruction 4 befal us. Thereupon the king of Egypt said to them, Why

4

do ye, Moses and Aaron, divert the people from their labours? 5 Begone each of you to his work. And Pharao said, Behold this people is now numerous, therefore we must not let them 6 rest from their labours. So Pharao gave orders to the task 7 masters of the people and to the clerks saying, You shall no more give the people straw to make bricks as heretofore; but let them go and gather straw for themselves; yet the daily 8 task of brick making which they now perform, you shall lay upon them. Thou shalt make no abatement; for they are idle. Therefore they have cried saying, Let us go and sacrifice to 9 our God. Let the work of these men be made heavy and let

them employ their thoughts about that, and not trouble them10 selves with vain discourses. Upon this the task masters and 11 clerks hurried them and spoke to the people saying, Thus saith

Pharao, I will no more give you straw; go and collect straw for yourselves where you can find it; for no abatement shall be 12 made of your task. So the people were dispersed through all 13 the land of Egypt to collect stubble instead of straw. And the

task masters urged them saying, Compleat the customary daily 14 tasks as when straw was furnished you. And when they beat

the clerks of the nation of the Israelites who were set over them by the officers of Pharao and said, Why have you not as hereto15 fore compleated your tasks of brick making to day? the clerks of

the children of Israel went and cried to Pharao saying, Why dost 16 thou deal thus with thy servants? There is no straw given to

thy servants, yet they say to us, Make bricks. And lo! thy servants are beaten. Wilt thou then deal unjustly with thy 17 people? But he said to them, You are idle: You are idlers. 18 Therefore you say, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Go

therefore now and work; for there shall be no straw given 19 you, yet you shall deliver the task of bricks. So the clerks of

the children of Israel saw themselves in a miserable situation, when they said, You shall be allowed no abatement from the 20 customary daily task of brick making. And upon meeting

Moses and Aaron who had come to meet them as they came 21 out from Pharao they said to them, God look upon you and

judge. For you have made the smell of us horrible before Pharao and before his servants to put a sword in his hand to 22 kill us. Thereupon Moses turned to the Lord and said, O Lord, why hast thou afflicted this people? And why hast thou sent me? For since I went to Pharao to speak in thy name, he hath ill treated this people and thou hast not delivered thy VI. people. Then the Lord said to Moses, Now thou shalt see what I will do to Pharao; for by a strong hand he shall let them go; and by an uplifted arm he shall drive them out of his land. 2 Moreover God spake to Moses and said to him, I am the Lord; 3 and I appeared to Abraham and to Isaak and to Jacob as their God. Though I did not clearly manifest to them my name 4 Lord, yet I established this my covenant with them to give

them the land of the Chananites-the land wherein they had

5 sojourned-in which they were then sojourning. Now I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, which the Egyp6 tians have occasioned by enslaving them. And I have remembered the covenant with you. Go speak to the children of Israel and say, I am the Lord and I will bring you out from the bondage of the Egyptians, and deliver you from this slavery, and redeem you with an uplifted arm and with great decision and take you to myself for my own people, and I will be your God. 7 And you shall know that I the Lord am your God, who brought 8 you out from the tyranny of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land for which I stretched out my hand to give it to Abraham and Isaak and Jacob. And I will give it to you for a heritage. I am the Lord.

9

In these terms Moses spoke to the Israelites; but they hearkened not to him on account of their despondency, and on ac10 count of their hard labours. Then the Lord spoke to Moses 11 saying; Go in; speak to Pharao king of Egypt that he may 12 send the children of Israel out of his land. Upon which Moses spoke before the Lord saying, Behold the Israelites have not hearkened to me, how then should Pharao hearken to me, incapable as I am of speaking?

13

(Now when the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge to Pharao king of Egypt to send away the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, these were the chief lead14 ers of their patriarchal houses. The sons of Reuben the first

born of Israel, Enoch and Phallus, Asron and Carmi. This 15 was the family of Reuben. And the sons of Symeon were

Jemuel and Jamin and Aod and Jachin and Saar and Saul the 16 son of a Chananitish woman. These were the patriarchal houses of the Symeonites. And these are the names of the children of Levi according to their families, Gerson, Kaath and Merari. Now the years of the life of Levi were a hun17 dred and thirty seven. And these were the sons of Gerson,

Lobeni and Semei. These were houses of their patriarchal 18 family. And the sons of Kaath were Ambram and Issaar, Che

bron and Oziel. Now the years of the life of Kaath were a 19 hundred and thirty three. And the sons of Merari were Mooli and Mousi. These were the houses of the patriarchal family of 20 Levi according to their families. Now Ambram had taken to

wife Jochabed a daughter of his father's brother and she bore to him Aaron and Moses and Mariam their sister. And the years 21 of the life of Ambram were a hundred and thirty two. And 22 the sons of Issaar were Kore and Naphek and Zechri. And 23 the sons of Oziel were Misael and Elisaphan and Segri. And

Aaron had taken to wife Elizabeth the daughter of Aminadab and the sister of Naason, and she bore to him Nadab and 24 Abiud and Eleazar and Ithamar. And the sons of Kore were Asir and Elkana and Abiasar. These were the families of 25 Kore. And Eleazar the son of Aaron had taken to wife one of the daughters of Phoutiel, and she bore to him Phineas. These were the heads of the patriarchal family of the Levites 26 according to their genealogies. This Aaron and Moses were they whom God ordered to lead the Israelites out of the land of Egypt with their armies. These were they who spoke to 27 Pharao king of Egypt. And the same Aaron and Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt.

28

Now on the day when the Lord spoke to, Moses in the land of Egypt, when the Lord spoke to Moses and said, I am the Lord, Speak to Pharao king of Egypt all the words which I say to thee, and Moses said before the Lord, Behold I am a stammerer and how will Pharao listen to me, the VII. Lord spoke to Moses saying, Behold I have made thee a god to Pharao, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet, 2 and thou shalt deliver to him all that I command thee. And Aaron thy brother shall speak to Pharao, to send the Israelites 3 out of his land. But I will let Pharao's heart be stubborn, and I will multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 And when Pharao will not hearken to you, I will lay my hand upon Egypt and bring out my people, the children of Israel with my host out of the land of Egypt with great vengeance. 5 And all the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I

lay my hand on Egypt and bring the children of Israel out 6 from among them. So Moses acted in conjunction with Aaron; 7 and as the Lord commanded so they did. Now Moses was 8 eighty years old and his brother Aaron was eighty three years old, when he spoke to Pharao.)

9

And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, If Pharao shall speak to you and say, Give us a sign or a miracle,

then thou shalt say to thy brother Aaron, Take this staff and throw it on the ground in the presence of Pharao and before 10 his attendants and it shall be a dragon. So Moses went in with Aaron before Pharao and his attendants and they did as the Lord commanded them. But when Aaron threw down the staff before Pharao and before his attendants and it became a dragon, Pharao called together the wise men of Egypt and the 11 sorcerers. And the Egyptian enchanters by their sorceries did in like manner. They cast down each his staff, which became 12 dragons. Though Aaron's staff devoured their staves, yet Pha13 rao's heart was stubborn and he hearkened not to them to do as the Lord commanded them.

14

Then the Lord said to Moses, Pharao's heart is obstinately bent not to let the people go. Go in the morning to Pharao. 15 Behold he is going out to the water and thou wilt meet him at the border of the river. And thou shalt take in thy hand the 16 staff which was turned into a serpent, and say to him, The Lord the God of the Hebrews hath sent to thee saying, Send away my people that they may serve me in the wilderness, and 17 behold thou hast not hearkened hitherto. Thus saith the Lord, By this thou shalt know that I am the Lord, Behold with this staff which is in my hand I smite upon the water in the river 18 and it shall turn into blood. And the fishes which are in the

river shall die. And the river shall stink. And the Egyptians 19 shall not be able to drink the water of the river. Moreover the Lord said to Moses, Say to thy brother Aaron, Take thy staff in thy hand and stretch forth thy hand against the waters of Egypt, against the rivers and against the canals and against their ponds and against all their reservoirs of water; and they shall become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt both in the cisterns of wood and in those of stone.

20

So Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them. And lifting up his staff he smote the water in the river in the presence of Pharao and before all his attendants and changed all the water of the river into blood. And the fishes which were 21 in the river died. And the river stunk so that the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. And there was blood 22 in all the land of Egypt. But when the magicians of Egypt