Study Desk

Now the LORD said to Moses, "One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; ^(C1)after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will assuredly drive you out from here completely.

"Speak now ^(F1)so that the people hear, that ^(C1)each man is to ask of his neighbor, and each woman of her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold."

And ^(C1)the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. ^(C2)Furthermore, the man Moses himself was ^(F1)greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people.

Then Moses said, "This is what the LORD says: 'About ^(C1)midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt,

and ^(C1)all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well.

'So there shall be ^(C1)a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again.

'^(C1)But not even a dog will ^(F1)threaten any of the sons of Israel, nor anything from person to animal, so that you may ^(F2)learn how the LORD distinguishes between Egypt and Israel.'

"And ^(C1)all these servants of yours will come down to me and bow themselves ^(F1)before me, saying, 'Go out, you and all the people who ^(F2)follow you,' and after that I will go out." ^(C2)And he left Pharaoh in the heat of anger.

Then the LORD said to Moses, "^(C1)Pharaoh will not listen to you, so ^(C2)that My wonders will be multiplied in the land of Egypt."

So ^(C1)Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh; yet ^(C2)the LORD ^(F1)hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go out of his land.

Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of ^(F1)Egypt,

"^(C1)This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year for you.

"Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, 'On the tenth of this month they are, each one, to take a ^(F1)lamb for themselves, according to the fathers' households, a ^(F1)lamb for ^(F2)each household.

'Now if the household is too small for a ^(F1)lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the ^(F2)number of persons in them; in proportion to ^(F3)what each one should eat, you are to ^(F4)divide the lamb.

'Your ^(F1)lamb shall be ^(C1)an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

'^(F1)You shall keep it until the ^(C1)fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it ^(F2)(C2)at twilight.

'^(C1)Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel ^(F1)of the houses in which they eat it.

'They shall eat the flesh ^(C1)that same night, ^(C2)roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with ^(C3)unleavened bread ^(F1)(C4)and bitter herbs.

'Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather ^(C1)roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with ^(C2)its entrails.

'^(C1)And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall completely burn with fire.

'Now you shall eat it in this way: with your garment ^(F1)belted around your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in a hurry—it is ^(C1)the LORD'S Passover.

'For ^(C1)I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and fatally strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the human firstborn to animals; and ^(C2)against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—^(C3)I am the LORD.

'^(C1)The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you ^(F1)live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will come upon you ^(F2)to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

'Now ^(C1)this day shall be ^(C2)a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as ^(F1)(C3)a permanent ordinance.

'For ^(C1)seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove dough with yeast from your houses; for whoever eats anything with yeast from the first day until the seventh day, ^(C2)that ^(F1)person shall be cut off from Israel.

'And ^(C1)on the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except for what must be eaten by every person—that alone may be ^(F1)prepared by you.

'You shall also keep ^(C1)the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this ^(C2)very day I brought your ^(F1)multitudes out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall keep this day throughout your generations as ^(C3)a ^(F2)permanent ordinance.

'^(C1)In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.

'For ^(C1)seven days there shall be no dough with yeast found in your houses; for whoever eats anything with yeast, that ^(F1)(C2)person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land.

'You shall not eat anything with yeast; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.'"

Then ^(C1)Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and ^(C2)take for yourselves ^(F1)lambs according to your families, and slaughter ^(C3)the Passover lamb.

"And ^(C1)you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and ^(F1)apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.

"For ^(C1)the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; but when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will ^(C2)not allow the ^(C3)destroyer to come in to your houses to strike you.

"And ^(C1)you shall keep this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever.

"When you enter the land which the LORD will give you, as He has ^(F1)promised, you shall keep this ^(F2)rite.

"^(C1)And when your children say to you, '^(F1)What does this rite mean to you?'

then you shall say, 'It is a Passover sacrifice to ^(C1)the LORD because He passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians, but ^(F1)spared our homes.'" ^(C2)And the people bowed low and worshiped.

Then the sons of Israel went and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

Now it came about at ^(C1)midnight that ^(C2)the LORD struck all ^(C3)the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of ^(C4)cattle.

And Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was ^(C1)a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead.

Then ^(C1)he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, "Rise up, ^(C2)get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, ^(F1)worship the LORD, as you have said.

"Take ^(C1)both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also."

^(C1)The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in a hurry, for they said, "We will all be dead."

So the people took ^(C1)their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders.

^(C1)Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing;

and the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Therefore they ^(C1)plundered the Egyptians.