The Holy Bible

Part 4 out of 30



Exodus Chapter 1


The Israelites are multiplied in Egypt. They are oppressed by a new
king, who commandeth all their male children to be killed.

1:1. These are the names of the children of Israel, that went into
Egypt with Jacob: they went in every man with his household:

1:2. Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Juda,

1:3. Issachar, Zabulon, and Benjamin,

1:4. Dan, and Nephthali, Gad and Aser.

1:5. And all the souls that came out of Jacob's thigh, were seventy:
but Joseph was in Egypt.

1:6. After he was dead, and all his brethren, and all that generation,

1:7. The children of Israel increased, and sprung up into multitudes,
and growing exceedingly strong they filled the land.

1:8. In the mean time there arose a new king over Egypt, that knew not
Joseph:

1:9. And he said to his people: Behold the people of the children of
Israel are numerous and stronger than we.

1:10. Come let us wisely oppress them, lest they multiply: and if any
war shall rise against us, join with our enemies, and having overcome
us, depart out of the land.

1:11. Therefore he set over them masters of the works, to afflict them
with burdens: and they built for Pharao cities of tabernacles, Phithom,
and Ramesses.

Of tabernacles. . .Or, of storehouses.

1:12. But the more they oppressed them, the more they were multiplied
and increased.

1:13. And the Egyptians hated the children of Israel, and afflicted
them and mocked them:

1:14. And they made their life bitter with hard works in clay and
brick, and with all manner of service, wherewith they were overcharged
in the works of the earth.

1:15. And the king of Egypt spoke to the midwives of the Hebrews: of
whom one was called Sephora, the other Phua,

1:16. Commanding them: When you shall do the office of midwives to the
Hebrew women, and the time of delivery is come: if it be a man child,
kill it: if a woman, keep it alive.

1:17. But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt
had commanded, but saved the men children.

1:18: And the king called for them and said: What is it that you meant
to do, that you would save the men children?

1:19. They answered: The Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women:
for they themselves are skilful in the office of a midwife; and they
are delivered before we come to them.

1:20. Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people
multiplied and grew exceedingly strong.

1:21. And because the midwives feared God, he built them houses.

Because the midwives feared God, etc. . .The midwives were rewarded, not
for their lie, which was a venial sin; but for their fear of God, and
their humanity: but this reward was only temporal, in building them
houses, that is, in establishing and enriching their families.

1:22. Pharao therefore charged all his people, saying: Whatsoever shall
be born of the male sex, ye shall cast into the river: whatsoever of
the female, ye shall save alive.



Exodus Chapter 2


Moses is born and exposed on the bank of the river; where he is taken
up by the daughter of Pharao, and adopted for her son. He killeth an
Egyptian, and fleeth into Madian; where he marrieth a wife.

2:1. After this there went a man of the house of Levi; and took a wife
of his own kindred.

2:2. And she conceived, and bore a son: and seeing him a goodly child,
hid him three months.

2:3. And when she could hide him no longer, she took a basket made of
bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and pitch: and put the little babe
therein, and laid him in the sedges by the river's brink,

2:4. His sister standing afar off, and taking notice what would be
done.

2:5. And behold the daughter of Pharao came down to wash herself in the
river: and her maids walked by the river's brink. And when she saw the
basket in the sedges she sent one of her maids for it: and when it was
brought,

2:6. She opened it, and seeing within it an infant crying, having
compassion on it, she said: This is one of the babes of the Hebrews.

2:7. And the child's sister said to her: Shall I go, and call to thee a
Hebrew woman, to nurse the babe?

2:8. She answered: Go. The maid went and called her mother.

2:9. And Pharao's daughter said to her: Take this child, and nurse him
for me: I will give thee thy wages. The woman took and nursed the
child: and when he was grown up, she delivered him to Pharao's
daughter.

2:10. And she adopted him for a son, and called him Moses, saying:
Because I took him out of the water.

Moses. . .Or Moyses, in the Egyptian tongue, signifies one taken or
saved out of the water.

2:11. In those days, after Moses was grown up, he went out to his
brethren: and saw their affliction, and an Egyptian striking one of the
Hebrews, his brethren.

2:12. And when he had looked about this way and that way, and saw no
one there, he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

He slew the Egyptian. . .This he did by a particular inspiration of God;
as a prelude to his delivering the people from their oppression and
bondage. He thought, says St. Stephen, Acts 7.25, that his brethren
understood that God by his hand would save them. But such particular
and extraordinary examples are not to be imitated.

2:13. And going out the next day, he saw two Hebrews quarrelling: and
he said to him that did the wrong: Why strikest thou thy neighbour?

2:14. But he answered: Who hath appointed thee prince and judge over
us? wilt thou kill me, as thou didst yesterday kill the Egyptian? Moses
feared, and said: How is this come to be known?

2:15. And Pharao heard of this word, and sought to kill Moses: but he
fled from his sight, and abode in the land of Madian, and he sat down
by a well.

Madian. . .A city and country of Arabia, which took its name from Madian
the son of Abraham, by Cetura, and was peopled by his posterity.

2:16. And the priest of Madian had seven daughters, who came to draw
water: and when the troughs were filled, desired to water their
father's flocks.

2:17. And the shepherds came and drove them away: and Moses arose, and
defending the maids, watered their sheep.

2:18: And when they returned to Raguel their father, he said to them:
Why are ye come sooner than usual?

Raguel. . .He had two names, being also called Jethro, as appears from
the first verse of the following chapter.

2:19. They answered: A man of Egypt delivered us from the hands of the
shepherds: and he drew water also with us, and gave the sheep to drink.

2:20. But he said: Where is he? why have you let the man go? call him
that he may eat bread.

2:21. And Moses swore that he would dwell with him. And he took Sephora
his daughter to wife:

2:22. And she bore him a son, whom he called Gersam, saying: I have
been a stranger in a foreign country. And she bore another, whom he
called Eliezer, saying: For the God of my father, my helper, hath
delivered me out of the hand of Pharao.

Gersam. . .Or Gershom. This name signifies a stranger there: as Eliezer
signifies the help of God.

2:23. Now after a long time the king of Egypt died: and the children of
Israel groaning, cried out because of the works: and their cry went up
unto God from the works.

2:24. And he heard their groaning, and remembered the covenant which he
made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

2:25. And the Lord looked upon the children of Israel, and he knew
them.

Knew them. . .That is, he had respect to them, he cast a merciful eye
upon them.



Exodus Chapter 3


God appeareth to Moses in a bush, and sendeth him to deliver Israel.

3:1. Now Moses fed the sheep of Jethro, his father in law, the priest
of Madian: and he drove the flock to the inner parts of the desert, and
came to the mountain of God, Horeb.

3:2. And the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst
of a bush: and he saw that the bush was on fire, and was not burnt.

The Lord appeared. . .That is, an angel representing God, and speaking
in his name.

3:3. And Moses said: I will go, and see this great sight, why the bush
is not burnt.

3:4. And when the Lord saw that he went forward to see, he called to
him out of the midst of the bush. and said: Moses, Moses. And he
answered: Here I am.

3:5. And he said: Come not nigh hither, put off the shoes from thy
feet; for the place, whereon thou standest, is holy ground.

3:6. And he said: I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses hid his face: for he durst
not look at God.

3:7. And the Lord said to him: I have seen the affliction of my people
in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of the rigour of them that
are over the works;

3:8. And knowing their sorrow, I am come down to deliver them out of
the hands of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land into a
good and spacious land, into a land that floweth with milk and honey,
to the places of the Chanaanite, and Hethite, and Amorrhite, and
Pherezite, and Hevite, and Jebusite.

3:9. For the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have
seen their affliction, wherewith they are oppressed by the Egyptians.

3:10. But come, and I will send thee to Pharao, that thou mayst bring
forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.

3:11. And Moses said to God: Who am I that I should go to Pharao, and
should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

3:12. And he said to him: I will be with thee; and this thou shalt have
for a sign that I have sent thee: When thou shalt have brought my
people out of Egypt, thou shalt offer sacrifice to God upon this
mountain.

3:13. Moses said to God: Lo, I shall go to the children of Israel, and
say to them: The God of your fathers hath sent me to you. If they shall
say to me: What is his name? What shall I say to them?

3:14. God said to Moses: I AM WHO AM. He said: Thus shalt thou say to
the children of Israel: HE WHO IS, hath sent me to you.

I am who am. . .That is, I am being itself, eternal, self-existent,
independent, infinite; without beginning, end, or change; and the
source of all other beings.

3:15. And God said again to Moses: Thus shalt thou say to the children
of Israel: The Lord God of your fathers the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob hath sent me to you; this is my name for
ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

3:16. Go and gather together the ancients of Israel, and thou shalt say
to them: The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to me, saying: Visiting I
have visited you; and I have seen all that hath befallen you in Egypt.

3:17. And I have said the word to bring you forth out of the affliction
of Egypt, into the land of the Chanaanite, and Hethite, and Amorrhite,
and Pherezite, and Hevite, and Jebusite, to a land that floweth with
milk and honey.

3:18: And they shall hear thy voice; and thou shalt go in, thou and the
ancients of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and thou shalt say to him:
The Lord God of the Hebrews hath called us; we will go three days'
journey into the wilderness, to sacrifice unto the Lord our God.

3:19. But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, but by a
mighty hand.

3:20. For I will stretch forth my hand, and will strike Egypt with all
my wonders which I will do in the midst of them: after these he will
let you go.

3:21. And I will give favour to this people, in the sight of the
Egyptians: and when you go forth, you shall not depart empty:

3:22. But every woman shall ask of her neighbour, and of her that is in
her house, vessels of silver and of gold, and raiment: and you shall
put them on your sons and daughters, and shall spoil Egypt.

Shall spoil, etc. . .That is, you shall strip, and take away the goods
of the Egyptians. This was not authorizing theft or injustice; but was
a just disposal made by Him, who is the great lord and master of all
things, in order to pay the children of Israel some part of what was
due to them from the Egyptians for their labours.



Exodus Chapter 4


Moses is empowered to confirm his mission with miracles: his brother
Aaron is appointed to assist him.

4:1. Moses answered, and said: They will not believe me, nor hear my
voice, but they will say: The Lord hath not appeared to thee.

4:2. Then he said to him: What is that thou holdest in thy hand? He
answered: A rod.

4:3. And the Lord said: Cast it down upon the ground. He cast it down,
and it was turned into a serpent, so that Moses fled from it.

4:4. And the Lord said: Put out thy hand, and take it by the tail. He
put forth his hand, and took hold of it, and it was turned into a rod.

4:5. That they may believe, saith he, that the Lord God of their
fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,
hath appeared to thee.

4:6. And the Lord said again: Put thy hand into thy bosom. And when he
had put it into his bosom, he brought it forth leprous as snow.

4:7. And he said: Put back thy hand into thy bosom. He put it back, and
brought it out again, and it was like the other flesh.

4:8. If they will not believe thee, saith he, nor hear the voice of the
former sign, they will believe the word of the latter sign.

4:9. But if they will not even believe these two signs, nor hear thy
voice: take of the river water, and pour it out upon the dry land, and
whatsoever thou drawest out of the river, shall be turned into blood.

4:10. Moses said: I beseech thee, Lord, I am not eloquent from
yesterday and the day before; and since thou hast spoken to thy
servant, I have more impediment and slowness of tongue.

4:11. The Lord said to him: Who made man's mouth? or who made the dumb
and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? did not I?

4:12. Go therefore, and I will be in thy mouth; and I will teach thee
what thou shalt speak.

4:13. But he said: I beseech thee, Lord, send whom thou wilt send.

4:14. The Lord being angry at Moses, said: Aaron the Levite is thy
brother, I know that he is eloquent: behold he cometh forth to meet
thee, and seeing thee, shall be glad at heart.

4:15. Speak to him, and put my words in his mouth: and I will be in thy
mouth, and in his month, and will shew you what you must do.

4:16. He shall speak in thy stead to the people, and shall be thy
mouth: but thou shalt be to him in those things that pertain to God.

4:17. And take this rod in thy hand. wherewith thou shalt do the signs.

4:18: Moses went his way, and returned to Jethro his father in law, and
said to him; I will go and return to my brethren into Egypt, that I may
see if they be yet alive. And Jethro said to him: Go in peace.

4:19. And the Lord said to Moses, in Madian: Go, and return into Egypt;
for they are all dead that sought thy life.

4:20. Moses therefore took his wife, and his sons, and set them upon an
ass; and returned into Egypt, carrying the rod of God in his hand.

4:21. And the Lord said to him as he was returning into Egypt: See that
thou do all the wonders before Pharao, which I have put in thy hand: I
shall harden his heart, and he will not let the people go.

I shall harden, etc. . .Not by being the efficient cause of his sin; but
by withdrawing from him, for his just punishment, the dew of grace that
might have softened his heart; and so suffering him to grow harder and
harder.

4:22. And thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Israel is my son,
my firstborn.

4:23. I have said to thee: Let my son go, that he may serve me, and
thou wouldst not let him go: behold I will kill thy son, thy firstborn.

4:24. And when he was in his journey, in the inn, the Lord met him, and
would have killed him.

The Lord met him, and would have killed him. . .This was an angel
representing the Lord, who treated Moses in this manner, for having
neglected the circumcision of his younger son; which his wife
understanding, circumcised her child upon the spot, upon which the
angel let Moses go.

4:25. Immediately Sephora took a very sharp stone, and circumcised the
foreskin of her son, and touched his feet, and said: A bloody spouse
art thou to me.

4:26. And he let him go after she had said: A bloody spouse art thou to
me, because of the circumcision.

4:27. And the Lord said to Aaron: Go into the desert to meet Moses. And
he went forth to meet him in the mountain of God, and kissed him.

4:28. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord, by which he had
sent him, and the signs that he had commanded.

4:29. And they came together, and they assembled all the ancients of
the children of Israel.

4:30. And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had said to Moses:
and he wrought the signs before the people.

4:31. And the people believed. And they heard that the Lord had visited
the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction:
and falling down they adored.



Exodus Chapter 5


Pharao refuseth to let the people go. They are more oppressed.

5:1. After these things, Moses and Aaron went in, and said to Pharao:
Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Let my people go, that they may
sacrifice to me in the desert.

5:2. But he answered: Who is the Lord, that I should hear his voice,
and let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.

5:3. And they said: The God of the Hebrews hath called us, to go three
days' journey into the wilderness, and to sacrifice to the Lord our
God; lest a pestilence or the sword fall upon us.

5:4. The king of Egypt said to them: Why do you Moses and Aaron draw
off the people from their works? Get you gone to your burdens.

5:5. And Pharao said: The people of the land are numerous; you see that
the multitude is increased; how much more if you give them rest from
their works?

5:6. Therefore he commanded the same day the overseers of the works,
and the task-masters of the people, saying:

5:7. You shall give straw no more to the people to make brick, as
before; but let them go and gather straw.

5:8. And you shall lay upon them the task of bricks, which they did
before; neither shall you diminish any thing thereof, for they are
idle, and therefore they cry. saying: Let us go and sacrifice to our
God.

5:9. Let them be oppressed with works, and let them fulfil them; that
they may not regard lying words.

5:10. And the overseers of the works, and the taskmasters, went out and
said to the people: Thus saith Pharao: I allow you no straw;

5:11. Go, and gather it where you can find it; neither shall any thing
of your work be diminished.

5:12. And the people was scattered through all the land of Egypt to
gather straw.

5:13. And the overseers of the works pressed them, saying: Fulfil your
work every day, as before ye were wont to do, when straw was given you.

5:14. And they that were over the works of the children of Israel, were
scourged by Pharao's taskmasters, saying: Why have you not made up the
task of bricks, both yesterday and to day, as before?

5:15. And the officers of the children of Israel came, and cried out to
Pharao, saying: Why dealest thou so with thy servants?

5:16. Straw is not given us, and bricks are required of us as before;
behold we, thy servants, are beaten with whips, and thy people is
unjustly dealt withal.

5:17. And he said: You are idle, and therefore you say: Let us go and
sacrifice to the Lord.

5:18: Go therefore and work: straw shall not be given you, and you
shall deliver the accustomed number of bricks.

5:19. And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in
evil case, because it was said to them: There shall not a whit be
diminished of the bricks for every day.

5:20. And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood over against them as they
came out from Pharao:

5:21. And they said to them: The Lord see and judge, because you have,
made our savour to stink before Pharao and his servants, and you have
given him a sword, to kill us.

5:22. And Moses returned to the Lord, and said: Lord, why hast thou
afflicted this people? wherefore hast thou sent me?

5:23. For since the time that I went in to Pharao to speak in thy name,
he hath afflicted thy people: and thou hast not delivered them.



Exodus Chapter 6


God reneweth his promise. The genealogies of Ruben, Simon and Levi,
down to Moses and Aaron.

6;1. And the Lord said to Moses: Now thou shalt see what I will do to
Pharao: for by a mighty hand shall he let them go, and with a strong
hand shall he cast them out of his land.

6:2. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: I am the Lord

6:3. That appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by the name of
God Almighty: and my name ADONAI I did not shew them.

My name Adonai. . .The name, which is in the Hebrew text, is that most
proper name of God, which signifieth his eternal, self-existent being,
Ex. 3.14, which the Jews out of reverence never pronounce; but, instead
of it, whenever it occurs in the Bible, they read Adonai, which
signifies the Lord; and, therefore, they put the points or vowels,
which belong to the name Adonai, to the four letters of that other
ineffable name Jod, He, Vau, He. Hence some moderns have framed the
name Jehovah, unknown to all the ancients, whether Jews or Christians;
for the true pronunciation of the name, which is in the Hebrew text, by
long disuse, is now quite lost.

6:4. And I made a covenant with them, to give them the land of Chanaan,
the land of their pilgrimage wherein they were strangers.

6:5. I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, wherewith the
Egyptians have oppressed them: and I have remembered my covenant.

6:6. Therefore say to the children of Israel: I am the Lord who will
bring you out from the work-prison of the Egyptians, and will deliver
you from bondage: and redeem you with a high arm, and great judgments.

6:7. And I will take you to myself for my people, I will be your God:
and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out
from the work-prison of the Egyptians:

6:8. And brought you into the land, concerning which I lifted up my
hand to give it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: and I will give it you to
possess: I am the Lord.

6:9. And Moses told all this to the children of Israel: but they did
not hearken to him, for anguish of spirit, and most painful work.

6:10. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

6:11. Go in, and speak to Pharao king of Egypt, that he let the
children of Israel go out of his land.

6:12. Moses answered before the Lord: Behold the children of Israel do
not hearken to me: and how will Pharao hear me, especially as I am of
uncircumcised lips?

Uncircumcised lips. . .So he calls the defect he had in his words, or
utterance.

6:13. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and he gave them a charge
unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharao the king of Egypt, that
they should bring forth the children of Israel out of the land of
Egypt.

6:14. These are the heads of their houses by their families. The sons
of Ruben the firstborn of Israel: Henoch and Phallu, Hesron and Charmi.

6:15. These are the kindreds of Ruben. The sons of Simeon, Jamuel and
Jamin, and Ahod, and Jachin, and Soar, and Saul the son of a
Chanaanitess: these are the families of Simeon.

6:16. And these are the names of the sons of Levi by their kindreds:
Gerson, and Caath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were a
hundred and thirty-seven.

6:17. The sons of Gerson: Lobni and Semei, by their kindreds.

6:18: The sons of Caath: Amram, and Isaar, and Hebron and Oziel. And
the years of Caath's life, were a hundred and thirty-three.

6:19. The sons of Merari: Moholi and Musi. These are the kindreds of
Levi by their families.

6:20. And Amram took to wife Jochabed his aunt by the father's side:
and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of Amram's life, were a
hundred and thirty-seven.

6:21. The sons also of Isaar: Core, and Nepheg, and Zechri.

6:22. The sons also of Oziel: Mizael, and Elizaphan, and Sethri.

6:23. And Aaron took to wife Elizabeth the daughter of Aminadab, sister
of Nahason, who bore him Nadab, and Abiu, and Eleazar, and Ithamar.

6:24. The sons also of Core: Aser, and Elcana, and Abiasaph. These are
the kindreds of the Corites.

6:25. But Eleazar the son of Aaron took a wife of the daughters of
Phutiel: and she bore him Phinees. These are the heads of the Levitical
families by their kindreds.

6:26. These are Aaron and Moses, whom the Lord commanded to bring forth
the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their companies.

6:27. These are they that speak to Pharao, king of Egypt, in order to
bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and
Aaron,

6:28. In the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt.

6:29. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: I am the Lord; speak thou to
Pharao, king of Egypt, all that I say to thee.

6:30. And Moses said before the Lord: Lo I am of uncircumcised lips,
how will Pharao hear me?



Exodus Chapter 7


Moses and Aaron go into Pharao: they turn the rod into a serpent; and
the waters of Egypt into blood, which was the first plague. The
magicians do the like, and Pharao's heart is hardened.

7:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Behold, I have appointed thee the god
of Pharao; and Aaron, thy brother, shall be thy prophet.

The god of Pharao. . .Viz., to be his judge; and to exercise a divine
power, as God's instrument, over him and his people.

7:2. Thou shalt speak to him all that I command thee; and he shall
speak to Pharao, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

7:3. But I shall harden his heart, and shall multiply my signs and
wonders in the land of Egypt.

I shall harden, etc. . .not by being the efficient cause of his hardness
of heart, but by permitting it; and by withdrawing grace from him, in
punishment of his malice; which alone was the proper cause of his being
hardened.

7:4. And he will not hear you: and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and
will bring forth my army and my people, the children of Israel, out of
the land of Egypt, by very great judgments.

7:5. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, who have
stretched forth my hand upon Egypt, and have brought forth the children
of Israel out of the midst of them.

7:6. And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded; so did they.

7:7. And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three, when they
spoke to Pharao.

7:8. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron:

7:9. When Pharao shall say to you, Shew signs; thou shalt say to Aaron:
Take thy rod, and cast it down before Pharao, and it shall be turned
into a serpent.

7:10. So Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharao, and did as the Lord had
commanded. And Aaron took the rod before Pharao and his servants, and
it was turned into a serpent.

7:11. And Pharao called the wise men and the magicians; and they also
by Egyptian enchantments and certain secrets, did in like manner.

Magicians. . .Jannes, and Mambres, or Jambres, 2 Tim. 3.8.

7:12. And they every one cast down their rods, and they were turned
into serpents: but Aaron's rod devoured their rods.

7:13. And Pharao's heart was hardened, and he did not hearken to them,
as the Lord had commanded.

7:14. And the Lord said to Moses: Pharao's heart is hardened, he will
not let the people go.

7:15. Go to him in the morning, behold he will go out to the waters:
and thou shalt stand to meet him on the ' bank of the river: and thou
shalt take in thy hand the rod that was turned into a serpent.

7:16. And thou shalt say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to
thee, saying: Let my people go to sacrifice to me in the desert: and
hitherto thou wouldst not hear.

7:17. Thus therefore saith the Lord: In this thou shalt know that I am
the Lord: behold I will strike with the rod, that is in my hand, the
water of the river, and it shall be turned into blood.

7:18: And the fishes that are in the river, shall die, and the waters
shall be corrupted, and the Egyptians shall be afflicted when they
drink the water of the river.

7:19. The Lord also said to Moses: Say to Aaron, Take thy rod; and
stretch forth thy hand upon the waters of Egypt, and upon their rivers,
and streams and pools, and all the ponds of waters, that they may be
turned into blood: and let blood be in all the land of Egypt, both in
vessels of wood and of stone.

7:20. And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded: and lifting up
the rod, he struck the water of the river before Pharao and his
servants: and it was turned into blood.

7:21. And the fishes that were in the river died; and the river
corrupted, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river,
and there was blood in all the land of Egypt.

7:22. And the magicians of the Egyptians with their enchantments did in
like manner; and Pharao's heart was hardened, neither did he hear them,
as the Lord had commanded.

7:23. And he turned himself away, and went into his house, neither did
he set his heart to it this time also.

7:24. And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to
drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.

7:25. And seven days were fully ended, after that the Lord struck the
river.



Exodus Chapter 8


The second plague is of frogs: Pharao promiseth to let the Israelites
go, but breaketh his promise. The third plague is of sciniphs. The
fourth is of flies. Pharao again promiseth to dismiss the people, but
doth it not.

8:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao, and thou shalt say to
him: Thus saith the Lord: Let my people go to sacrifice to me.

8:2. But if thou wilt not let them go, behold I will strike all thy
coasts with frogs.

8:3. And the river shall bring forth an abundance of frogs; which shall
come up and enter into thy house, and thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed,
and into the houses of thy servants, and to thy people, and into thy
ovens, and into the remains of thy meats:

8:4. And the frogs shall come in to thee, and to thy people, and to all
thy servants.

8:5. And the Lord said to Moses: Say to Aaron: Stretch forth thy hand
upon the streams, and upon the rivers and the pools, and bring forth
frogs upon the land of Egypt.

8:6. And Aaron stretched forth his hand upon the waters of Egypt, and
the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.

8:7. And the magicians also, by their enchantments, did in like manner,
and they brought forth frogs upon the land of Egypt.

8:8. But Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: Pray ye to
the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will
let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.

Pray ye to the Lord, etc. . .By this it appears, that though the
magicians, by the help of the devil, could bring frogs, yet they could
not take them away: God being pleased to abridge in this the power of
Satan. So we see they could not afterwards produce the lesser insects;
and in this restraint of the power of the devil, were forced to
acknowledge the finger of God.

8:9. And Moses said to Pharao: Set me a time when I shall pray for
thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, that the frogs may be
driven away from thee and from thy house, and from thy servants, and
from thy people; and may remain only in the river.

8:10. And he answered: To morrow. But he said: I will do according to
thy word; that thou mayest know that there is none like to the Lord our
God.

8:11. And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy house, and
from thy servants, and from thy people; and shall remain only in the
river.

8:12. And Moses and Aaron went forth from Pharao: and Moses cried to
the Lord for the promise, which he had made to Pharao concerning the
frogs.

8:13. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses: and the frogs
died out of the houses, and out of the villages, and out of the fields:

8:14. And they gathered them together into immense heaps, and the land
was corrupted.

8:15. And Pharao seeing that rest was given, hardened his own heart,
and did not hear them, as the Lord had commanded.

Pharao hardened his own heart. . .By this we see that Pharao was himself
the efficient cause of his heart being hardened, and not God.--See the
same repeated in ver. 32. Pharao hardened his heart at this time also:
likewise chap. 9.7, 35, and chap. 13.15.

8:16. And the Lord said to Moses: Say to Aaron: Stretch forth thy rod,
and strike the dust of the earth; and may there be sciniphs in all the
land of Egypt.

Sciniphs. . .Or Cinifs, Hebrew Chinnim, small flying insects, very
troublesome both to men and beast.

8:17. And they did so. And Aaron stretched forth his hand, holding the
rod; and he struck the dust of the earth, and there came sciniphs on
men and on beasts: all the dust of the earth was turned into sciniphs
through all the land of Egypt.

8:18: And the magicians with their enchantments practised in like
manner, to bring forth sciniphs, and they could not: and there were
sciniphs as well on men as on beasts.

8:19. And the magicians said to Pharao: This is the finger of God. And
Pharao's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them, as the
Lord had commanded.

8:20. The Lord also said to Moses: Arise early, and stand before
Pharao; for he will go forth to the waters: and thou shalt say to him:
Thus saith the Lord: Let my people go to sacrifice to me.

8:21. But if thou wilt not let them go, behold I will send in upon
thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy houses, all kind of flies:
and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with flies of divers
kinds, and the whole land wherein they shall be.

8:22. And I will make the land of Gessen wonderful in that day, so that
flies shall not be there: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord in the
midst of the earth.

8:23. And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to
morrow shall this sign be.

8:24. And the Lord did so. And there came a very grievous swarm of
flies into the houses of Pharao and of his servants, and into all the
land of Egypt: and the land was corrupted by this kind of flies.

8:25. And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: Go and
sacrifice to your God in this land.

8:26. And Moses said: It cannot be so: for we shall sacrifice the
abominations of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: now if we kill those
things which the Egyptians worship, in their presence, they will stone
us.

The abominations, etc. . .That is, the things they worship for Gods:
oxen, rams, etc. It is the usual style of the scriptures to call all
idols and false gods, abominations, to signify how much the people of
God ought to detest and abhor them.

8:27. We will go three days' journey into the wilderness; and we will
sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.

8:28. And Pharao said: I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your
God in the wilderness, but go no farther: pray for me.

8:29. And Moses said: I will go out from thee, and will pray to the
Lord: and the flies shall depart from Pharao, and from his servants,
and from his people to morrow: but do not deceive any more, in not
letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.

8:30. So Moses went out from Pharao, and prayed to the Lord.

8:31. And he did according to his word: and he took away the flies from
Pharao, and from his servants, and from his people: there was not left
so much as one.

8:32. And Pharao's heart was hardened, so that neither this time would
he let the people go.



Exodus Chapter 9


The fifth plague is a murrain among the cattle. The sixth, of boils in
men and beasts. The seventh, of hail. Pharao promiseth again to let the
people go, and breaketh his word.

9:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao, and speak to him:
Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to sacrifice
to me.

9:2. But if thou refuse, and withhold them still:

9:3. Behold my hand shall be upon thy fields; and a very grievous
murrain upon thy horses, and asses, and camels, and oxen, and sheep.

9:4. And the Lord will make a wonderful difference between the
possessions of Israel and the possessions of the Egyptians, that
nothing at all shall die of those things that belong to the children of
Israel.

9:5. And the Lord appointed a time, saying: To morrow will the Lord do
this thing in the land.

9:6. The Lord therefore did this thing the next day: and all the beasts
of the Egyptians died, but of the beasts of the children of Israel
there died not one.

All the beasts. . .That is, many of all kinds.

9:7. And Pharao sent to see; and there was not any thing dead of that
which Israel possessed. And Pharao's heart was hardened, and he did not
let the people go.

9:8. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Take to you handfuls of
ashes out of the chimney, and let Moses sprinkle it in the air in the
presence of Pharao.

9:9. And be there dust upon all the land of Egypt: for there shall be
boils and swelling blains both in men and beasts, in the whole land of
Egypt.

9:10. And they took ashes out of the chimney, and stood before Pharao,
and Moses sprinkled it in the air; and there came boils with swelling
blains in men and beasts.

9:11. Neither could the magicians stand before Moses, for the boils
that were upon them, and in all the land of Egypt.

9:12. And the Lord hardened Pharao's heart, and he hearkened not unto
them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

Hardened, etc. . .See the annotations above, chap. 4.21, chap. 7.3, and
chap. 8.15.

9:13. And the Lord said to Moses: Arise in the morning, and stand
before Pharao, and thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord, the God
of the Hebrews: Let my people go to sacrifice to me.

9:14. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thy heart, and
upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayst know that there
is none like me in all the earth.

9:15. For now I will stretch out my hand to strike thee, and thy
people, with pestilence, and thou shalt perish from the earth.

9:16. And therefore have I raised thee, that I may shew my power in
thee, and my name may be spoken of throughout all the earth.

9:17. Dost thou yet hold back my people; and wilt thou not let them go?

9:18: Behold I will cause it to rain to morrow at this same hour, an
exceeding great hail; such as hath not been in Egypt from the day that
it was founded, until this present time.

9:19. Send therefore now presently, and gather together thy cattle, and
all that thou hast in the field; for men and beasts, and all things
that shall be found abroad, and not gathered together out of the fields
which the hail shall fall upon, shall die.

9:20. He that feared the word of the Lord among Pharao's servants, made
his servants and his cattle flee into houses:

9:21. But he that regarded not the word of the Lord, left his servants,
and his cattle in the fields.

9:22. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand towards
heaven, that there may be hail in the whole land of Egypt upon men, and
upon beasts, and upon every herb of the field in the land of Egypt.

9:23. And Moses stretched forth his rod towards heaven, and the Lord
sent thunder and hail, and lightnings running along the ground: and the
Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

9:24. And the hail and fire mixt with it drove on together: and it was
of so great bigness, as never before was seen in the whole land of
Egypt since that nation was founded.

9:25. And the hail destroyed through all the land of Egypt all things
that were in the fields, both man and beast: and the hail smote every
herb of the field, and it broke every tree of the country.

9:26. Only in the land of Gessen, where the children of Israel were,
the hail fell not.

9:27. And Pharao sent and called Moses and Aaron, saying to them: I
have sinned this time also, the Lord is just: I and my people, are
wicked.

9:28. Pray ye to the Lord that the thunderings of God and the hail may
cease: that I may let you go, and that ye may stay here no longer.

9:29. Moses said: As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will stretch
forth my hands to the Lord, and the thunders shall cease, and the hail
shall be no more: that thou mayst know that the earth is the Lord's:

9:30. But I know that neither thou, nor thy servants do yet fear the
Lord God.

9:31. The flax therefore, and the barley were hurt, because the barley
was green, and the flax was now bolled;

9:32. But the wheat, and other winter corn were not hurt, because they
were lateward.

9:33. And when Moses was gone from Pharao out of the city, he stretched
forth his hands to the Lord: and the thunders and the hail ceased,
neither did there drop any more rain upon the earth.

9:34. And Pharao seeing that the rain, and the hail, and the thunders
were ceased, increased his sin:

9:35. And his heart was hardened, and the heart of his servants, and it
was made exceeding hard: neither did he let the children of Israel go,
as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses.



Exodus Chapter 10


The eighth plague of the locusts. The ninth, of darkness: Pharao is
still hardened.

10:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao; for I have hardened
his heart, and the heart of his servants: that I may work these my
signs in him,

10:2. And thou mayst tell in the ears of thy sons, and of thy
grandsons, how often I have plagued the Egyptians, and wrought my signs
amongst them: and you may know that I am the Lord.

10:3. Therefore Moses and Aaron went in to Pharao, and said to him:
Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews: How long refusest thou to
submit to me? let my people go, to sacrifice to me.

10:4. But if thou resist, and wilt not let them go, behold I will bring
in to-morrow the locusts into thy coasts;

10:5. To cover the face of the earth, that nothing thereof may appear,
but that which the hail hath left may be eaten: for they shall feed
upon all the trees that spring in the fields.

10:6. And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of thy servants,
and of all the Egyptians: such a number as thy fathers have not seen,
nor thy grandfathers, from the time they were first upon the earth,
until this present day. And he turned himself away, and went forth from
Pharao.

10:7. And Pharao's servants said to him: How long shall we endure this
scandal? Iet the men go to sacrifice to the Lord their God. Dost thou
not see that Egypt is undone?

10:8. And they called back Moses, and Aaron, to Pharao; and he said to
them: Go, sacrifice to the Lord your God: who are they that shall go?

10:9. Moses said: We will go with our young and old, with our sons and
daughters, with our sheep and herds: for it is the solemnity of the
Lord our God.

10:10. And Pharao answered: So be the Lord with you, as I shall let you
and your children go: who can doubt but that you intend some great
evil?

10:11. It shall not be so. but go ye men only, and sacrifice to the
Lord: for this yourselves also desired. And immediately they were cast
out from Pharao's presence.

10:12. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand upon the land
of Egypt unto the locust, that it come upon it, and devour every herb
that is left after the hail.

10:13. And Moses stretched forth his rod upon the land of Egypt: and
the Lord brought a burning wind all that day, and night; and when it
was morning, the burning wind raised the locusts.

10:14. And they came up over the whole land of Egypt; and rested in all
the coasts of the Egyptians, innumerable, the like as had not been
before that time, nor shall be hereafter.

10:15. And they covered the whole face of the earth, wasting all
things. And the grass of the earth was devoured, and what fruits soever
were on the trees, which the hail had left; and there remained not any
thing that was green on the trees, or in the herbs of the earth, in all
Egypt.

10:16. Wherefore Pharao in haste called Moses and Aaron, and said to
them: I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you.

10:17. But now forgive me my sin this time also, and pray to the Lord
your God, that he take away from me this death.

10:18: And Moses going forth from the presence of Pharao, prayed to the
Lord:

10:19. And he made a very strong wind to blow from the west, and it
took the locusts and cast them into the Red Sea: there remained not so
much as one in all the coasts of Egypt.

10:20. And the Lord hardened Pharao's heart, neither did he let the
children of Israel go.

10:21. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch out thy hand towards heaven:
and may there be darkness upon the land of Egypt so thick that it may
be felt.

Darkness upon the land of Egypt, so thick that it may be felt. . .By
means of the gross exhalations, which were to cause and accompany the
darkness.

10:22. And Moses stretched forth his hand towards heaven: and there
came horrible darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.

10:23. No man saw his brother, nor moved himself out of the place where
he was: but wheresoever the children of Israel dwelt, there was light.

10:24. And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: Go,
sacrifice to the Lord: let your sheep only, and herds remain, let your
children go with you.

10:25. Moses said: Thou shalt give us also sacrifices and
burnt-offerings, to the Lord our God.

10:26. All the flocks shall go with us; there shall not a hoof remain
of them: for they are necessary for the service of the Lord our God:
especially as we know not what must be offered, till we come to the
very place.

10:27. And the Lord hardened Pharao's heart, and he would not let them
go.

10:28. And Pharao said to Moses: Get thee from me, and beware thou see
not my face any more: in what day soever thou shalt come in my sight,
thou shalt die.

10:29. Moses answered: So shall it be as thou hast spoken, I will not
see thy face anymore.



Exodus Chapter 11


Pharao and his people are threatened with the death of their firstborn.

11:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Yet one plague more will I bring upon
Pharao and Egypt, and after that he shall let you go, and thrust you
out.

11:2. Therefore thou shalt tell all the people, that every man ask of
his friend, and every woman of her neighbour, vessels of silver and of
gold.

11:3. And the Lord will give favour to his people in the sight of the
Egyptians. And Moses was a very great man in the land of Egypt, in the
sight of Pharao's servants, and of all the people.

11:4. And he said: Thus saith the Lord: At midnight I will enter into
Egypt:

11:5. And every firstborn in the land of the Egyptians shall die, from
the firstborn of Pharao who sitteth on his throne, even to the
firstborn of the handmaid that is at the mill, and all the firstborn of
beasts.

11:6. And there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as
neither hath been before, nor shall be hereafter.

11:7. But with all the children of Israel there shall not a dog make
the least noise, from man even to beast; that you may know how
wonderful a difference the Lord maketh between the Egyptians and
Israel.

11:8. And all these thy servants shall come down to me, and shall
worship me, saying: Go forth thou, and all the people that is under
thee: after that we will go out.

11:9. And he went out from Pharao exceeding angry. But the Lord said to
Moses: Pharao will not hear you, that many signs may be done in the
land of Egypt.

11:10. And Moses and Aaron did all the wonders that are written, before
Pharao. And the Lord hardened Pharao's heart, neither did he let the
children of Israel go out of his land.

The Lord hardened, etc. . .See the annotations above, chap. 4.21, and
chap. 7.3.



Exodus Chapter 12


The manner of preparing, and eating the paschal lamb: the firstborn of
Egypt are all slain: the Israelites depart.

12:1. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:

12:2. This month shall be to you the beginning of months; it shall be
the first in the months of the year.

12:3. Speak ye to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, and say
to them: On the tenth day of this month let every man take a lamb by
their families and houses.

12:4. But if the number be less than may suffice to eat the lamb, he
shall take unto him his neighbour that joineth to his house, according
to the number of souls which may be enough to eat the lamb.

12:5. And it shall be a lamb without blemish, a male, of one year;
according to which rite also you shall take a kid.

A kid. . .The phase might be performed, either with a lamb or with a
kid: and all the same rites and ceremonies were to be used with the one
as with the other.

12:6. And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; and
the whole multitude of the children of Israel shall sacrifice it in the
evening.

12:7. And they shall take of the blood thereof, and put it upon both
the side posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses, wherein they
shall eat it.

12:8. And they shall eat the flesh that night roasted at the fire, and
unleavened bread with wild lettuce.

12:9. You shall not eat thereof any thing raw, nor boiled in water, but
only roasted at the fire; you shall eat the head with the feet and
entrails thereof.

12:10. Neither shall there remain any thing of it until morning. If
there be any thing left, you shall burn it with fire.

12:11. And thus you shall eat it: you shall gird your reins, and you
shall have shoes on your feet, holding staves in your hands, and you
shall eat in haste; for it is the Phase (that is the Passage) of the
Lord.

12:12. And I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and will
kill every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast: and
against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments; I am the Lord.

12:13. And the blood shall be unto you for a sign in the houses where
you shall be; and I shall see the blood, and shall pass over you; and
the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I shall strike
the land of Egypt.

12:14. And this day shall be for a memorial to you; and you shall keep
it a feast to the Lord in your generations, with an everlasting
observance.

12:15. Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread: in the first day
there shall be no leaven in your houses; whosoever shall eat any thing
leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall
perish out of Israel.

12:16. The first day shall be holy and solemn, and the seventh day
shall be kept with the like solemnity: you shall do no work in them,
except those things that belong to eating.

12:17. And you shall observe the feast of the unleavened bread: for in
this same day I will bring forth your army out of the land of Egypt,
and you shall keep this day in your generations by a perpetual
observance.

12:18: The first month, the fourteenth day of the month, in the
evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth
day of the same month, in the evening.

Unleavened bread. . .By this it appears, that our Saviour made use of
unleavened bread, in the institution of the blessed sacrament, which
was on the evening of the paschal solemnity, at which time there was no
leavened bread to be found in Israel.

12:19. Seven days there shall not be found any leaven in your houses:
he that shall eat leavened bread, his soul shall perish out of the
assembly of Israel, whether he be a stranger or born in the land.

12:20. You shall not eat any thing leavened: in all your habitations
you shall eat unleavened bread.

12:21. And Moses called all the ancients of the children of Israel, and
said to them: Go take a lamb by your families, and sacrifice the Phase.

12:22. And dip a bunch of hyssop in the blood that is at the door, and
sprinkle the transom of the door therewith, and both the door cheeks:
let none of you go out of the door of his house till morning.

Sprinkle, etc. . .This sprinkling the doors of the Israelites with the
blood of the paschal lamb, in order to their being delivered from the
sword of the destroying angel, was a lively figure of our redemption by
the blood of Christ.

12:23. For the Lord will pass through striking the Egyptians: and when
he shall see the blood on the transom, and on both the posts, he will
pass over the door of the house, and not suffer the destroyer to come
into your houses and to hurt you.

12:24. Thou shalt keep this thing as a law for thee and thy children
for ever.

12:25. And when you have entered into the land which the Lord will give
you, as he hath promised, you shall observe these ceremonies.

12:26. And when your children shall say to you: What is the meaning of
this service?

12:27. You shall say to them: It is the victim of the passage of the
Lord, when he passed over the houses of the children of Israel in
Egypt, striking the Egyptians, and saving our houses. And the people
bowing themselves, adored.

12:28. And the children of Israel going forth, did as the Lord had
commanded Moses and Aaron.

12:29. And it came to pass at midnight, the Lord slew every firstborn
in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharao, who sat on his
throne, unto the firstborn of the captive woman that was in the prison,
and all the firstborn of cattle.

12:30. And Pharao arose in the night, and all his servants, and all
Egypt: and there arose a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house
wherein there lay not one dead.

12:31. And Pharao calling Moses and Aaron, in the night, said: Arise
and go forth from among my people, you and the children of Israel: go,
sacrifice to the Lord as you say.

12:32. Your sheep and herds take along with you, as you demanded, and
departing bless me.

12:33. And the Egyptians pressed the people to go forth out of the land
speedily, saying: We shall all die.

12:34. The people therefore took dough before it was leavened; and
tying it in their cloaks, put it on their shoulders.

12:35. And the children of Israel did as Moses had commanded: and they
asked of the Egyptians vessels of silver and gold, and very much
raiment.

12:36. And the Lord gave favour to the people in the sight of the
Egyptians, so that they lent unto them: and they stripped the
Egyptians.

12:37. And the children of Israel set forward from Ramesse to Socoth,
being about six hundred thousand men on foot, beside children.

12:38. And a mixed multitude, without number, went up also with them,
sheep and herds, and beasts of divers kinds, exceeding many.

12:39. And they baked the meal, which a little before they had brought
out of Egypt in dough: and they made hearth cakes unleavened: for it
could not be leavened, the Egyptians pressing them to depart, and not
suffering them to make any stay; neither did they think of preparing
any meat.

12:40. And the abode of the children of Israel that they made in Egypt,
was four hundred and thirty years.

12:41. Which being expired, the same day all the army of the Lord went
forth out of the land of Egypt.

12:42. This is the observable night of the Lord, when he brought them
forth out of the land of Egypt: this night all the children of Israel
must observe in their generations.

12:43. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: This is the service of the
Phase; no foreigner shall eat of it.

12:44. But every bought servant shall be circumcised, and so shall eat.

12:45. The stranger and the hireling shall not eat thereof.

12:46. In one house shall it be eaten, neither shall you carry forth of
the flesh thereof out of the house, neither shall you break a bone
thereof.

12:47. All the assembly of the children of Israel shall keep it.

12:48. And if any stranger be willing to dwell among you, and to keep
the Phase of the Lord, all his males shall first be circumcised, and
then shall he celebrate it according to the manner: and he shall be as
he that is born in the land: but if any man be uncircumcised, he shall
not eat thereof.

12:49. The same law shall be to him that is born in the land, and to
the proselyte that sojourneth with you.

12:50. And all the children of Israel did as the Lord had commanded
Moses and Aaron.

12:51. And the same day the Lord brought forth the children of Israel
out of the land of Egypt by their companies.



Exodus Chapter 13


The paschal solemnity is to be observed; and the firstborn are to be
consecrated to God. The people are conducted through the desert by a
pillar of fire in the night, and a cloud in the day.

13:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

13:2. Sanctify unto me every firstborn that openeth the womb among the
children of Israel, as well of men as of beasts: for they are all mine.

Sanctify unto me every firstborn. . .Sanctification in this place means
that the firstborn males of the Hebrews should be deputed to the
ministry in the divine worship; and the firstborn of beasts to be given
for a sacrifice.

13:3. And Moses said to the people: Remember this day in which you came
forth out of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage, for with a strong
hand hath the Lord brought you forth out of this place: that you eat no
leavened bread.

13:4. This day you go forth in the month of new corn.

13:5. And when the Lord shall have brought thee into the land of the
Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, and the Hevite, and the
Jebusite, which he swore to thy fathers that he would give thee, a land
that floweth with milk and honey, thou shalt celebrate this manner of
sacred rites in this month.

13:6. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh
day shall be the solemnity of the Lord.

13:7. Unleavened bread shall you eat seven days: there shall not be
seen any thing leavened with thee, nor in all thy coasts.

13:8. And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying: This is what the
Lord did to me when I came forth out of Egypt.

13:9. And it shall be as a sign in thy hand, and as a memorial before
thy eyes; and that the law of the Lord be always in thy mouth, for with
a strong hand the Lord hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

13:10. Thou shalt keep this observance at the set time from days to
days.

13:11. And when the Lord shall have brought thee into the land of the
Chanaanite, as he swore to thee and thy fathers, and shall give it
thee:

13:12. Thou shalt set apart all that openeth the womb for the Lord, and
all that is first brought forth of thy cattle: whatsoever thou shalt
have of the male sex, thou shalt consecrate to the Lord.

13:13. The firstborn of an ass thou shalt change for a sheep: and if
thou do not redeem it, thou shalt kill it. And every firstborn of men
thou shalt redeem with a price.

13:14. And when thy son shall ask thee to morrow, saying: What is this?
thou shalt answer him: With a strong hand did the Lord bring us forth
out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

13:15. For when Pharao was hardened, and would not let us go, the Lord
slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man to
the firstborn of beasts: therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that
openeth the womb of the male sex, and all the firstborn of my sons I
redeem.

13:16. And it shall be as a sign in thy hand, and as a thing hung
between thy eyes, for a remembrance: because the Lord hath brought us
forth out of Egypt by a strong hand.

13:17. And when Pharao had sent out the people, the Lord led them not
by the way of the land of the Philistines, which is near; thinking lest
perhaps they would repent, if they should see wars arise against them,
and would return into Egypt.

13:18: But he led them about by the way of the desert, which is by the
Red Sea: and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of
Egypt.

13:19. And Moses took Joseph's bones with him: because he had adjured
the children of Israel, saying: God shall visit you, carry out my bones
from hence with you.

13:20. And marching from Socoth, they encamped in Etham, in the utmost
coasts of the wilderness.

13:21. And the Lord went before them to shew the way, by day in a
pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire; that he might be
the guide of their journey at both times.

13:22. There never failed the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the
pillar of fire by night, before the people.



Exodus Chapter 14


Pharao pursueth the children of Israel. They murmur against Moses, but
are encouraged by him, and pass through the Red Sea. Pharao and his
army following them are drowned.

14:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

14:2. Speak to the children of Israel: Let them turn and encamp over
against Phihahiroth, which is between Magdal and the sea over against
Beelsephon: you shall encamp before it upon the sea.

14:3. And Pharao will say of the children of Israel: They are
straitened in the land, the desert hath shut them in.

14:4. And I shall harden his heart and he will pursue you: and I shall
be glorified in Pharao, and in all his army: and the Egyptians shall
know that I am the Lord. And they did so.

14:5. And it was told the king of the Egyptians that the people was
fled: and the heart of Pharao and of his servants was changed with
regard to the people, and they said: What meant we to do, that we let
Israel go from serving us?

14:6. So he made ready his chariot, and took all his people with him.

14:7. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots
that were in Egypt: and the captains of the whole army.

14:8. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharao, king of Egypt, and he
pursued the children of Israel; but they were gone forth in a mighty
hand.

14:9. And when the Egyptians followed the steps of them who were gone
before, they found them encamped at the sea side: all Pharao's horse
and chariots and the whole army were in Phihahiroth, before Beelsephon.

14:10. And when Pharao drew near, the children of Israel lifting up
their eyes, saw the Egyptians behind them: and they feared exceedingly,
and cried to the Lord.

14:11. And they said to Moses: Perhaps there were no graves in Egypt,
therefore thou hast brought us to die in the wilderness: why wouldst
thou do this, to lead us out of Egypt?

14:12. Is not this the word that we spoke to thee in Egypt, saying:
Depart from us, that we may serve the Egyptians? for it was much better
to serve them, than to die in the wilderness.

14:13. And Moses said to the people: Fear not: stand, and see the great
wonders of the Lord, which he will do this day; for the Egyptians, whom
you see now, you shall see no more for ever.

14:14. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.

14:15. And the Lord said to Moses: Why criest thou to me? Speak to the
children of Israel to go forward.

14:16. But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand over the
sea, and divide it: that the children of Israel may go through the
midst of the sea on dry ground.

14:17. And I will harden the heart of the Egyptians to pursue you: and
I will be glorified in Pharao, and in all his host, and in his chariots
and in his horsemen.

14:18: And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall be
glorified in Pharao, and in his chariots, and in his horsemen.

14:19. And the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel,
removing, went behind them: and together with him the pillar of the
cloud, leaving the forepart,

14:20. Stood behind, between the Egyptians' camp and the camp of
Israel: and it was a dark cloud, and enlightening the night, so that
they could not come at one another all the night.

A dark cloud, and enlightening the night. . .It was a dark cloud to the
Egyptians; but enlightened the night to the Israelites by giving them a
great light.

14:21. And when Moses had stretched forth his hand over the sea, the
Lord took it away by a strong and burning wind blowing all the night,
and turned it into dry ground: and the water was divided.

14:22. And the children of Israel went in through the midst of the sea
dried up; for the water was as a wall on their right hand and on their
left.

14:23. And the Egyptians pursuing went in after them, and all Pharao's
horses, his chariots and horsemen, through the midst of the sea.

14:24. And now the morning watch was come, and behold the Lord looking
upon the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and of the cloud,
slew their host.

14:25. And overthrew the wheels of the chariots, and they were carried
into the deep. And the Egyptians said: Let us flee from Israel; for the
Lord fighteth for them against us.

14:26. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand over the sea,
that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots
and horsemen.

14:27. And when Moses had stretched forth his hand towards the sea, it
returned at the first break of day to the former place: and as the
Egyptians were fleeing away, the waters came upon them, and the Lord
shut them up in the middle of the waves.

14:28. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots and the
horsemen of all the army of Pharao, who had come into the sea after
them, neither did there so much as one of them remain.

14:29. But the children of Israel marched through the midst of the sea
upon dry land, and the waters were to them as a wall on the right hand
and on the left:

14:30. And the Lord delivered Israel in that day out of the hands of
the Egyptians.

14:31. And they saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore, and the
mighty hand that the Lord had used against them: and the people feared
the Lord, and they believed the Lord, and Moses his servant.



Exodus Chapter 15


The canticle of Moses. The bitter waters of Mara are made sweet.

15:1. Then Moses and the children of Israel sung this canticle to the
Lord, and said: Let us sing to the Lord: for he is gloriously
magnified, the horse and the rider he hath thrown into the sea.

15:2. The Lord is my strength and my praise, and he is become salvation
to me: he is my God, and I will glorify him: the God of my father, and
I will exalt him.

15:3. The Lord is as a man of war, Almighty is his name.

15:4. Pharao's chariots and his army he hath cast into the sea: his
chosen captains are drowned in the Red Sea.

15:5. The depths have covered them, they are sunk to the bottom like a
stone.

15:6. Thy right hand, O Lord, is magnified in strength: thy right hand,
O Lord, hath slain the enemy.

15:7. And in the multitude of thy glory thou hast put down thy
adversaries: thou hast sent thy wrath, which hath devoured them like
stubble.

15:8. And with the blast of thy anger the waters were gathered
together: the flowing water stood, the depths were gathered together in
the midst of the sea.

15:9. The enemy said: I will pursue and overtake, I will divide the
spoils, my soul shall have its fill: I will draw my sword, my hand
shall slay them.

15:10. Thy wind blew and the sea covered them: they sunk as lead in the
mighty waters.

15:11. Who is like to thee, among the strong, O Lord? who is like to
thee, glorious in holiness, terrible and praise-worthy, doing wonders?

15:12. Thou stretchedst forth thy hand, and the earth swallowed them.

15:13. In thy mercy thou hast been a leader to the people which thou
hast redeemed: and in thy strength thou hast carried them to thy holy
habitation.

15:14. Nations rose up, and were angry: sorrows took hold on the
inhabitants of Philisthiim.

15:15. Then were the princes of Edom troubled, trembling seized on the
stout men of Moab: all the inhabitants of Chanaan became stiff.

15:16. Let fear and dread fall upon them, in the greatness of thy arm:
let them become immoveable as a stone, until thy people, O Lord, pass
by: until this thy people pass by, which thou hast possessed.

15:17. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thy
inheritance, in thy most firm habitation, which thou hast made, O Lord;
thy sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.

15:18: The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.

15:19. For Pharao went in on horseback with his chariots and horsemen
into the sea: and the Lord brought back upon them the waters of the
sea: but the children of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst
thereof.

15:20. So Mary the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in
her hand: and all the women went forth after her with timbrels and with
dances.

15:21. And she began the song to them, saying: Let us sing to the Lord,
for he is gloriously magnified, the horse and his rider he hath thrown
into the sea.

15:22. And Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went forth
into the wilderness of Sur: and they marched three days through the
wilderness, and found no water.

15:23. And they came into Mara, and they could not drink the waters of
Mara because they were bitter: whereupon he gave a name also agreeable
to the place, calling it Mara, that is, bitterness.

15:24. And the people murmured against Moses, saying: What shall we
drink?

15:25. But he cried to the Lord, and he shewed him a tree, which when
he had cast into the waters, they were turned into sweetness. There he
appointed him ordinances, and judgments, and there he proved him,

15:26. Saying: If thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and do
what is right before him, and obey his commandments, and keep all his
precepts, none of the evils that I laid upon Egypt, will I bring upon
thee: for I am the Lord thy healer.

15:27. And the children of Israel came into Elim, where there were
twelve fountains of water, and seventy palm trees: and they encamped by
the waters.



Exodus Chapter 16


The people murmur for want of meat: God giveth them quails and manna.

16:1. And they set forward from Elim, and all the multitude of the
children of Israel came into the desert of Sin, which is between Elim
and Sinai: the fifteenth day of the second month, after they came out
of the land of Egypt.

16:2. And all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured
against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

16:3. And the children of Israel said to them: Would to God we had died
by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat over the
fleshpots, and ate bread to the full: Why have you brought us into this
desert, that you might destroy all the multitude with famine?

16:4. And the Lord said to Moses: Behold I will rain bread from heaven
for you; let the people go forth, and gather what is sufficient for
every day: that I may prove them whether they will walk in my law, or
not.

16:5. But the sixth day let them provide for to bring in: and let it be
double to that they were wont to gather every day.

16:6. And Moses and Aaron said to the children of Israel In the evening
you shall know that the Lord hath brought you forth out of the land of
Egypt:

16:7. And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord: for he
hath heard your murmuring against the Lord: but as for us, what are we,
that you mutter against us?

16:8. And Moses said: In the evening the Lord will give you flesh to
eat, and in the morning bread to the full: for he hath heard your
murmurings, with which you have murmured against him, for what are we?
your murmuring is not against us, but against the Lord.

16:9. Moses also said to Aaron: Say to the whole congregation of the
children of Israel: Come before the Lord; for he hath heard your
murmuring.

16:10. And when Aaron spoke to all the assembly of the children of
Israel, they looked towards the wilderness; and behold the glory of the
Lord appeared in a cloud.

16:11. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

16:12. I have heard the murmuring of the children of Israel, say to
them: In the evening you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall
have your fill of bread; and you shall know that I am the Lord your
God.

16:13. So it came to pass in the evening, that quails coming up,
covered the camp: and in the morning a dew lay round about the camp.

16:14. And when it had covered the face of the earth, it appeared in
the wilderness small, and as it were beaten with a pestle, like unto
the hoar frost on the ground.

16:15. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to
another: Manhu! which signifieth: What is this! for they knew not what
it was. And Moses said to them: This is the bread which the Lord hath
given you to eat.

16:16. This is the word that the Lord hath commanded: Let every one
gather of it as much as is enough to eat; a gomor for every man,
according to the number of your souls that dwell in a tent, so shall
you take of it.

16:17. And the children of Israel did so: and they gathered, one more,
another less.

16:18: And they measured by the measure of a gomor: neither had he more
that had gathered more; nor did he find less that had provided less:
but every one had gathered, according to what they were able to eat.

16:19. And Moses said to them: Let no man leave thereof till the
morning.

16:20. And they hearkened not to him, but some of them left until the
morning, and it began to be full of worms, and it putrified, and Moses
was angry with them.

16:21. Now every one of them gathered in the morning, as much as might
suffice to eat: and after the sun grew hot, it melted.

16:22. But on the sixth day they gathered twice as much, that is, two
gomors every man: and all the rulers of the multitude came, and told
Moses.

16:23. And he said to them: This is what the Lord hath spoken: To
morrow is the rest of the sabbath sanctified to the Lord. Whatsoever
work is to be done, do it; and the meats that are to be dressed, dress
them; and whatsoever shall remain, lay it up until the morning.

16:24. And they did so as Moses had commanded, and it did not putrify,
neither was there worm found in it.

16:25. And Moses said: Eat it to day, because it is the sabbath of the
Lord: to day it shall not be found in the field.

16:26. Gather it six days; but on the seventh day is the sabbath of the
Lord, therefore it shall not be found.

16:27. And the seventh day came; and some of the people going forth to
gather, found none.

16:28. And the Lord said to Moses: How long will you refuse to keep my
commandments, and my law?

16:29. See that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, and for this
reason on the sixth day he giveth you a double provision: let each man
stay at home, and let none go forth out of his place the seventh day.

16:30. And the people kept the sabbath on the seventh day.

16:31. And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it
was like coriander seed, white, and the taste thereof like to flour
with honey.

16:32. And Moses said: This is the word which the Lord hath commanded:
Fill a gomor of it, and let it be kept unto generations to come
hereafter; that they may know the bread, wherewith I fed you in the
wilderness when you were brought forth out of the land of Egypt.

16:33. And Moses said to Aaron: Take a vessel, and put manna into it,
as much as a gomor can hold; and lay it up before the Lord, to keep
unto your generations,

16:34. As the Lord commanded Moses. And Aaron put it in the tabernacle
to be kept.

16:35. And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, till they came
to a habitable land: with this meat were they fed, until they reached
the borders of the land of Chanaan.

16:36. Now a gomor is the tenth part of an ephi.



Exodus Chapter 17


The people murmur again for want of drink; the Lord giveth them water
out of a rock. Moses lifting up his hand in prayer, Amalec is overcome.

17:1. Then all the multitude of the children of Israel setting forward
from the desert of Sin, by their mansions, according to the word of the
Lord, encamped in Raphidim, where there was no water for the people to
drink.

17:2. And they chode with Moses, and said: Give us water, that we may
drink. And Moses answered them: Why chide you with me? Wherefore do
you tempt the Lord?

17:3. So the people were thirsty there for want of water, and murmured
against Moses, saying: Why didst thou make us go forth out of Egypt, to
kill us and our children, and our beasts with thirst?

17:4. And Moses cried to the Lord, saying: What shall I do to this
people? Yet a little more and they will stone me.

17:5. And the Lord said to Moses: Go before the people, and take with
thee of the ancients of Israel: and take in thy hand the rod wherewith
thou didst strike the river, and go.

17:6. Behold I will stand there before thee, upon the rock Horeb, and
thou shalt strike the rock, and water shall come out of it that the
people may drink. Moses did so before the ancients of Israel:

17:7. And he called the name of that place Temptation, because of the
chiding of the children of Israel, and for that they tempted the Lord,
saying: Is the Lord amongst us or not?

17:8. And Amalec came, and fought against Israel in Raphidim.

17:9. And Moses said to Josue: Choose out men; and go out and fight
against Amalec: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill, having
the rod of God in my hand.

17:10. Josue did as Moses had spoken, and he fought against Amalec; but
Moses, and Aaron, and Hur, went up upon the top of the hill.

17:11. And when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel overcame; but if he
let them down a little, Amalec overcame.

17:12. And Moses's hands were heavy: so they took a stone, and put
under him, and he sat on it: and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands on
both sides. And it came to pass, that his hands were not weary until
sunset.

17:13. And Josue put Amalec and his people to flight, by the edge of
the sword.

17:14. And the Lord said to Moses: Write this for a memorial in a book,
and deliver it to the ears of Josue; for I will destroy the memory of
Amalec from under heaven.

17:15. And Moses built an altar; and called the name thereof, The Lord,
my exaltation, saying:

17:16. Because the hand of the throne of the Lord, and the war of the
Lord shall be against Amalec, from generation to generation.



Exodus Chapter 18


Jethro bringeth to Moses his wife and children. His counsel.

18:1. And when Jethro the priest of Madian, the kinsman of Moses, had
heard all the things that God had done to Moses, and to Israel his
people, and that the Lord had brought forth Israel out of Egypt:

18:2. He took Sephora, the wife of Moses, whom he had sent back:

18:3. And her two sons, of whom one was called Gersam: his father
saying, I have been a stranger in a foreign country.

18:4. And the other Eliezer: For the God of my father, said he, is my
helper, and hath delivered me from the sword of Pharao.

18:5. And Jethro, the kinsman of Moses, came with his sons, and his
wife to Moses into the desert, where he was camped by the mountain of
God.

18:6. And he sent word to Moses, saying: I Jethro, thy kinsman, come to
thee, and thy wife, and thy two sons with her.

18:7. And he went out to meet his kinsman, and worshipped and kissed
him: and they saluted one another with words of peace. And when he was
come into the tent,

18:8. Moses told his kinsman all that the Lord had done to Pharao, and
the Egyptians in favour of Israel: and all the labour which had
befallen them in the journey, and that the Lord had delivered them.

18:9. And Jethro rejoiced for all the good things that the Lord had
done to Israel, because he had delivered them out of the hands of the
Egyptians.

18:10. And he said: Blessed is the Lord, who hath delivered his people
out of the hand of Egypt.

18:11. Now I know, that the Lord is great above all gods; because they
dealt proudly against them.

18:12. So Jethro, the kinsman of Moses, offered holocausts and
sacrifices to God: and Aaron and all the ancients of Israel came, to
eat bread with him before God.

18:13. And the next day Moses sat to judge the people, who stood by
Moses from morning until night.

18:14. And when his kinsman had seen all things that he did among the
people, he said: What is it that thou dost among the people? Why
sittest thou alone, and all the people wait from morning till night?

18:15. And Moses answered him: The people come to me to seek the
judgment of God?

18:16. And when any controversy falleth out among them, they come to me
to judge between them, and to shew the precepts of God, and his laws.

18:17. But he said: The thing thou dost is not good.

18:18: Thou art spent with foolish labour, both thou, and this people
that is with thee; the business is above thy strength, thou alone canst
not bear it.

18:19. But hear my words and counsels, and God shall be with thee. Be
thou to the people in those things that pertain to God, to bring their


 


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