Study Desk

Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. "All right! Go ahead and offer sacrifices to your God," he said. "But do it here in this land."

"All right, go ahead," Pharaoh replied. "I will let you go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God. But don't go too far away. Now hurry and pray for me."

The Lord has already set the time for the plague to begin. He has declared that he will strike the land tomorrow.'"

But I have spared you for a purpose—to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth.

If you refuse, watch out! For tomorrow I will bring a swarm of locusts on your country.

For the locusts covered the whole country and darkened the land. They devoured every plant in the fields and all the fruit on the trees that had survived the hailstorm. Not a single leaf was left on the trees and plants throughout the land of Egypt.

So Moses lifted his hand to the sky, and a deep darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days.

Finally, Pharaoh called for Moses. "Go and worship the Lord ," he said. "But leave your flocks and herds here. You may even take your little ones with you."

"No," Moses said, "you must provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord our God.

All our livestock must go with us, too; not a hoof can be left behind. We must choose our sacrifices for the Lord our God from among these animals. And we won't know how we are to worship the Lord until we get there."

Tell all the Israelite men and women to ask their Egyptian neighbors for articles of silver and gold."

"From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you.

Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household.

"These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord 's Passover.

On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord !

"This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the Lord . This is a law for all time.

For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. On the first day of the festival, remove every trace of yeast from your homes. Anyone who eats bread made with yeast during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel.

On the first day of the festival and again on the seventh day, all the people must observe an official day for holy assembly. No work of any kind may be done on these days except in the preparation of food.

"Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. This festival will be a permanent law for you; celebrate this day from generation to generation.

Then Moses called all the elders of Israel together and said to them, "Go, pick out a lamb or young goat for each of your families, and slaughter the Passover animal.