LXX Concordance for εἶπεν

Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.”

Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.

Then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” And it was so.

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for seasons[fn] and for days and years.

Then God said, “Let the water swarm with[fn] living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”

Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.

Then God said, “Let us make man[fn] in[fn] our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl[fn] on the earth.”

God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you,

Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.”

And the man said:

This one, at last, is bone of my bone

and flesh of my flesh;

this one will be called “woman,”

for she was taken from man.

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can't eat from any tree in the garden'? ”

So the LORD God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you? ”

He said to the woman:

I will intensify your labor pains;

you will bear children with painful effort.

Your desire will be for your husband,

yet he will rule over you.

The LORD God said, “Since the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.”

The man was intimate with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have had a male child with the LORD's help.”[fn]

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you furious? And why do you look despondent?

Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let's go out to the field.”[fn] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

But Cain answered the LORD, “My punishment[fn] is too great to bear!

Then the LORD replied to him, “In that case,[fn] whoever kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” And he placed a mark on Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him.

Lamech said to his wives:

Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

wives of Lamech, pay attention to my words.

For I killed a man for wounding me,

a young man for striking me.

And the LORD said, “My Spirit will not remain[fn] with[fn] mankind forever, because they are corrupt.[fn] Their days will be 120 years.”

Then the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I created, off the face of the earth, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky ​— ​for I regret that I made them.”

Then God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to every creature, for the earth is filled with wickedness because of them; therefore I am going to destroy them along with the earth.

Then the LORD said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation.

Then God spoke to Noah,

When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, he said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of human beings, even though the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth onward. And I will never again strike down every living thing as I have done.

God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

Then God said to Noah and his sons with him,

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all future generations:

God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and every creature on earth.”

he said:

Canaan is cursed.

He will be the lowest of slaves to his brothers.

They said to each other, “Come, let's make oven-fired bricks.” (They used brick for stone and asphalt for mortar.)

The LORD said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.

The LORD said to Abram:

Go from your land,

your relatives,

and your father's house

to the land that I will show you.

The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring[fn] I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.

When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are.

So Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, “What have you done to me? Why didn't you tell me she was your wife?

So Abram said to Lot, “Please, let's not have quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, since we are relatives.

After Lot had separated from him, the LORD said to Abram, “Look from the place where you are. Look north and south, east and west,

He blessed him and said:

Abram is blessed by God Most High,

Creator[fn] of heaven and earth,

Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people, but take the possessions for yourself.”

Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in[fn] my house will be my heir.”

He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”

He also said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”

Sarai said to Abram, “Since the LORD has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family.” And Abram agreed to what Sarai said.

Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering![fn] I put my slave in your arms,[fn] and when she saw that she was pregnant, I became contemptible to her. May the LORD judge between me and you.”

He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going? ”

She replied, “I'm running away from my mistress Sarai.”

So she named the LORD who spoke to her: “You are El-roi,”[fn] for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me? ”[fn]

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty. Live[fn] in my presence and be blameless.

God also said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep my covenant.

God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for Sarah[fn] will be her name.

Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth? ”

and said, “My lord, if I have found favor with you, please do not go on past your servant.

So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Knead three measures[fn] of fine flour and make bread.”[fn]

“Where is your wife Sarah? ” they asked him.

“There, in the tent,” he answered.

But the LORD asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I'm old? '

Sarah denied it. “I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid.

But he replied, “No, you did laugh.”

Then the LORD said, “Should I hide what I am about to do from Abraham?

Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious.

Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

and said, “My lords, turn aside to your servant's house, wash your feet, and spend the night. Then you can get up early and go on your way.”

“No,” they said. “We would rather spend the night in the square.”

He said, “Don't do this evil, my brothers.

So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were going to marry his daughters. “Get up,” he said. “Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city! ” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

But Lot said to them, “No, my lords[fn] ​— ​please.

And he said to him, “All right,[fn] I'll grant your request[fn] about this matter too and will not demolish the town you mentioned.

Then the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to sleep with us as is the custom of all the land.

The next day the firstborn said to the younger, “Look, I slept with my father last night. Let's get him to drink wine again tonight so you can go sleep with him and we can preserve our father's line.”

Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said to him, “What have you done to us? How did I sin against you that you have brought such enormous guilt on me and on my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.”

Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you want.”[fn]

The LORD came to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised.

Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me.”[fn]

So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac! ”

But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed[fn] about the boy and about your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac,

and went and sat at a distance, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I can't bear to watch the boy die! ” While she sat at a distance, she[fn] wept loudly.

At that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.

And Abraham said, “I swear it.”

Abimelech replied, “I don't know who did this thing. You didn't report anything to me, so I hadn't heard about it until today.”

And Abimelech said to Abraham, “Why have you separated these seven ewe lambs? ”

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham! ”

“Here I am,” he answered.

Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we'll come back to you.”

Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.”

And he replied, “Here I am, my son.”

Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? ”

But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham! ”

He replied, “Here I am.”

When Abraham got up from beside his dead wife, he spoke to the Hethites:

Ephron was sitting among the Hethites. So in the hearing[fn] of all the Hethites who came to the gate of his city, Ephron the Hethite answered Abraham:

and said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “Listen to me, if you please. Let me pay the price of the field. Accept it from me, and let me bury my dead there.”

Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,

The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I have your son go back to the land you came from? ”

“LORD, God of my master Abraham,” he prayed, “make this happen for me today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me have a little water from your jug.”

“Whose daughter are you? ” he asked. “Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night? ”

and said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld his kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives.”

Laban said, “Come, you who are blessed by the LORD. Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”

A meal was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.”

So Laban said, “Please speak.”

“She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I'll water your camels also.' So I drank, and she also watered the camels.

Then he and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night.

When they got up in the morning, he said, “Send me to my master.”

But he responded to them, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has made my journey a success. Send me away so that I may go to my master.”

They called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man? ”

She replied, “I will go.”

and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us? ”

The servant answered, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself.

But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me? ”[fn] So she went to inquire of the LORD.

He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I'm exhausted.” That is why he was also named Edom.[fn]

The LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I tell you about;

When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say “my wife,” thinking, “The men of the place will kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is a beautiful woman.”

Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister'? ”

Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.”

And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us, for you are much too powerful for us.”[fn]

and the LORD appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your offspring because of my servant Abraham.”

Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me? You hated me and sent me away from you.”

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could not see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.”

And he answered, “Here I am.”

Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Listen! I heard your father talking with your brother Esau. He said,

Jacob answered Rebekah his mother, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a man with smooth skin.

His mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey me and go get them for me.”

When he came to his father, he said, “My father.”

And he answered, “Here I am. Who are you, my son? ”

Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau? ”

And he replied, “I am.”

He had also made some delicious food and brought it to his father. He said to his father, “Let my father get up and eat some of his son's game, so that you may bless me.”

Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau determined in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

So Rebekah said to Isaac, “I'm sick of my life because of these Hethite girls. If Jacob marries someone from around here,[fn] like these Hethite girls, what good is my life? ”

The LORD was standing there beside him,[fn] saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your offspring the land on which you are lying.

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”

Jacob asked the men at the well, “My brothers! Where are you from? ”

“We're from Haran,” they answered.

Laban said to him, “Yes, you are my own flesh and blood.”[fn]

After Jacob had stayed with him a month,

Jacob loved Rachel, so he answered Laban, “I'll work for you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”

Then Jacob said to Laban, “Since my time is complete, give me my wife, so I can sleep with[fn] her.”

When morning came, there was Leah! So he said to Laban, “What have you done to me? Wasn't it for Rachel that I worked for you? Why have you deceived me? ”

She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “The LORD heard that I am neglected and has given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon.[fn]

When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. “Give me sons, or I will die! ” she said to Jacob.

Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; yes, he has heard me and given me a son,” so she named him Dan.[fn]

Rachel said, “In my wrestlings with God,[fn] I have wrestled with my sister and won,” and she named him Naphtali.[fn]

Then Leah said, “What good fortune! ”[fn] and she named him Gad.[fn]

Leah said, “I am happy that the women call me happy,” so she named him Asher.[fn]

Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my slave to my husband,” and she named him Issachar.[fn]

“God has given me a good gift,” Leah said. “This time my husband will honor me because I have borne six sons for him,” and she named him Zebulun.[fn]

She conceived and bore a son, and she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”

After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so that I can return to my homeland.

But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor with you, stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.”

So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your herds have fared with me.

Laban asked, “What should I give you? ”

And Jacob said, “You don't need to give me anything. If you do this one thing for me, I will continue to shepherd and keep your flock.

“Good,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”

The LORD said to him, “Go back to the land of your ancestors and to your family, and I will be with you.”

He said to them, “I can see from your father's face that his attitude toward me is not the same as before, but the God of my father has been with me.

“And he said, ‘Look up and see: all the males that are mating with the flocks are streaked, spotted, and speckled, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.

But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night. “Watch yourself! ” God warned him. “Don't say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and taken my daughters away like prisoners of war!

“I could do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Watch yourself! Don't say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.'

Jacob answered, “I was afraid, for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force.

She said to her father, “Don't be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I am having my period.” So Laban searched, but could not find the household idols.

Then Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters; the children, my children; and the flocks, my flocks! Everything you see is mine! But what can I do today for these daughters of mine or for the children they have borne?

Then Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a mound, then ate there by the mound.

Then Laban said, “This mound is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore the place was called Galeed

When he saw them, Jacob said, “This is God's camp.” So he called that place Mahanaim.[fn]

He thought, “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it, the remaining one can escape.”

He entrusted them to his slaves as separate herds and said to them, “Go on ahead of me, and leave some distance between the herds.”

“You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.' ” For he thought, “I want to appease Esau with the gift that is going ahead of me. After that, I can face him, and perhaps he will forgive me.”

Then he said to Jacob, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he asked, “Who are these with you? ”

He answered, “The children God has graciously given your servant.”

So Esau said, “What do you mean by this whole procession[fn] I met? ”

“To find favor with you, my lord,” he answered.

Then Esau said, “Let's move on, and I'll go ahead of you.”

Esau said, “Let me leave some of my people with you.”

But he replied, “Why do that? Please indulge me,[fn] my lord.”

“Get me this girl as a wife,” he told his father.

Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, “Grant me this favor,[fn] and I'll give you whatever you say.

Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me, making me odious to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. We are few in number; if they unite against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”

God said to Jacob, “Get up! Go to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”

God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; you will no longer be named Jacob, but your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel.

During her difficult labor, the midwife said to her, “Don't be afraid, for you have another son.”

He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had:

Then he had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun, moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers, you know, are pasturing the flocks at Shechem. Get ready. I'm sending you to them.”

“I'm ready,” Joseph replied.

“I'm looking for my brothers,” Joseph said. “Can you tell me where they are pasturing their flocks? ”

When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from them.[fn] He said, “Let's not take his life.”

Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?

He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do? ”[fn]

His father recognized it. “It is my son's robe,” he said. “A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has been torn to pieces! ”

Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother's wife. Perform your duty as her brother-in-law and produce offspring for your brother.”

Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He might die too, like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father's house.

He went over to her and said, “Come, let me sleep with you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.

She said, “What will you give me for sleeping with me? ”

So the Adullamite returned to Judah, saying, “I couldn't find her, and besides, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.' ”

But then he pulled his hand back, out came his brother, and she said, “What a breakout you have made for yourself! ” So he was named Perez.[fn]

After some time his master's wife looked longingly at Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.”

she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “my husband brought a Hebrew man to make fools of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, and I screamed as loud as I could.

“We had dreams,” they said to him, “but there is no one to interpret them.”

Then Joseph said to them, “Don't interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

“This is its interpretation,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days.

When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was positive, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream. Three baskets of white bread were on my head.

“This is its interpretation,” Joseph replied. “The three baskets are three days.

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said about you that you can hear a dream and interpret it.”

Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh's dreams mean the same thing. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.

and he said to them, “Can we find anyone like this, a man who has God's spirit[fn] in him? ”

Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “See, I am placing you over all the land of Egypt.”

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh and no one will be able to raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt without your permission.”

and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every land, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food.

When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at each other?

But Jacob did not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought, “Something might happen to him.”

When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them.

“Where do you come from? ” he asked.

“From the land of Canaan to buy food,” they replied.

Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies. You have come to see the weakness[fn] of the land.”

“No,” he said to them. “You have come to see the weakness of the land.”

Then Joseph said to them, “I have spoken:[fn] ‘You are spies! '

On the third day Joseph said to them, “I fear God ​— ​do this and you will live.

Then they said to each other, “Obviously, we are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his deep distress when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this trouble has come to us.”

He turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes.

He said to his brothers, “My silver has been returned! It's here in my bag.” Their hearts sank. Trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What has God done to us? ”

“The man who is the lord of the country said to us, ‘This is how I will know if you are honest: Leave one brother with me, take food to relieve the hunger of your households, and go.

Their father Jacob said to them, “It's me that you make childless. Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything happens to me! ”

When they had used up the grain they had brought back from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little food.”

“But if you will not send him, we will not go, for the man said to us, ‘You will not see me again unless your brother is with you.' ”

Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me. We will be on our way so that we may live and not die ​— ​neither we, nor you, nor our dependents.

Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and take them down to the man as a gift ​— ​a little balsam and a little honey, aromatic gum and resin, pistachios and almonds.

When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his steward, “Take the men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for they will eat with me at noon.”

Then the steward said, “May you be well. Don't be afraid. Your God and the God of your father must have put treasure in your bags. I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

He asked if they were well, and he said, “How is your elderly father that you told me about? Is he still alive? ”

Then he washed his face and came out. Regaining his composure, he said, “Serve the meal.”

“Put my cup, the silver one, at the top of the youngest one's bag, along with the silver for his grain.” So he did as Joseph told him.

They had not gone very far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Get up. Pursue the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?

When he overtook them, he said these words to them.

The steward replied, “What you have said is right, but only the one who is found to have it will be my slave, and the rest of you will be blameless.”

“What have you done? ” Joseph said to them. “Didn't you know that a man like me could uncover the truth by divination? ”

“But our father said, ‘Go again, and buy us a little food.'

“Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons.

Joseph could no longer keep his composure in front of all his attendants,[fn] so he called out, “Send everyone away from me! ” No one was with him when he revealed his identity to his brothers.

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living? ” But they could not answer him because they were terrified in his presence.

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and go on back to the land of Canaan.

So Joseph sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving, he said to them, “Don't argue[fn] on the way.”

But when they told Jacob all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.

That night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob! ” he said.

And Jacob replied, “Here I am.”

Then Israel said to Joseph, “I'm ready to die now because I have seen your face and you are still alive! ”

And Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation? ”

They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants, both we and our ancestors, are shepherds.”

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you,

Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years have you lived? ”

But Joseph said, “Give me your livestock. Since the silver is gone, I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.”

Joseph said to the people, “Understand today that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you. Sow it in the land.

When the time approached for him to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor with you, put your hand under my thigh and promise me that you will deal with me in kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt.

Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.

When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, “Who are these? ”

Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, but now God has even let me see your offspring.”

Then he blessed Joseph and said:

The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,

the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,

Joseph said to his father, “Not that way, my father! This one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”

Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your fathers.

Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.[fn]

Then he commanded them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hethite.

So Pharaoh said, “Go and bury your father in keeping with your oath.”

But Joseph said to them, “Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God?

“Therefore don't be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.[fn]

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will certainly come to your aid and bring you up from this land to the land he swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and powerful than we are.

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives ​— ​the first, whose name was Shiphrah, and the second, whose name was Puah ​— ​

So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this and let the boys live? ”

Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Should I go and call a Hebrew woman who is nursing to nurse the boy for you? ”

“Who made you a commander and judge over us? ” the man replied. “Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? ”

Then Moses became afraid and thought, “What I did is certainly known.”

When they returned to their father Reuel,[fn] he asked, “Why have you come back so quickly today? ”

“So where is he? ” he asked his daughters. “Why then did you leave the man behind? Invite him to eat dinner.”

So Moses thought, “I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn't the bush burning up? ”

But Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt? ”

Moses answered, “What if they won't believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you'? ”

In addition the LORD said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was diseased, resembling snow.[fn]

But Moses replied to the LORD, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent ​— ​either in the past or recently or since you have been speaking to your servant ​— ​because my mouth and my tongue are sluggish.”[fn]

Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”[fn]

Then Moses went back to his father-in-law, Jethro, and said to him, “Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt and see if they are still living.”

Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”

The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, make sure you do before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart[fn] so that he won't let the people go.

So Zipporah took a flint, cut off her son's foreskin, threw it at Moses's feet, and said, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me! ”

But Pharaoh responded, “Who is the LORD that I should obey him by letting Israel go? I don't know[fn] the LORD, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”

The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you causing the people to neglect their work? Get to your labor! ”

But he said, “You are slackers. Slackers! That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the LORD.'

So Moses went back to the LORD and asked, “Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? And why did you ever send me?

But the LORD replied to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: because of a strong hand he will let them go, and because of a strong hand he will drive them from his land.”

Then the LORD spoke to Moses,

Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them commands concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

It was this Aaron and Moses whom the LORD told, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt according to their military divisions.”

But Moses replied in the LORD's presence, “Since I am such a poor speaker, how will Pharaoh listen to me? ”

The LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet.

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh's heart is hard: He refuses to let the people go.

So the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt ​— ​over their rivers, canals, ponds, and all their water reservoirs ​— ​and they will become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.”

But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their occult practices. So Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him: This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.

The LORD then said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, canals, and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.”

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Appeal to the LORD to remove the frogs from me and my people. Then I will let the people go and they can sacrifice to the LORD.”

The LORD did as Moses had said: the frogs in the houses, courtyards, and fields died.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land, and it will become gnats[fn] throughout the land of Egypt.”

The LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh when you see him going out to the water. Tell him: This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship[fn] me.

But Moses said, “It would not be right[fn] to do that, because what we will sacrifice to the LORD our God is detestable to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice what the Egyptians detest in front of them, won't they stone us?

The LORD did as Moses had said: He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people; not one was left.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him: This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of furnace soot, and Moses is to throw it toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh. Tell him: This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven and let there be hail throughout the land of Egypt ​— ​on people and animals and every plant of the field in the land of Egypt.”

Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned this time,” he said to them. “The LORD is the righteous one, and I and my people are the guilty ones.

Moses said to him, “When I have left the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know the earth[fn] belongs to the LORD.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may do these miraculous signs of mine among them,[fn]

So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the LORD your God,” Pharaoh said. “But exactly who will be going? ”

He said to them, “The LORD would have to be with you if I would ever let you and your families go! Look out ​— ​you're heading for trouble.

The LORD then said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, and the locusts will come up over it and eat every plant in the land, everything that the hail left.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt.”

Moses responded, “You must also let us have[fn] sacrifices and burnt offerings to prepare for the LORD our God.

The LORD said[fn] to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here. When he lets you go,[fn] he will drive you out of here.

So Moses said, “This is what the LORD says: About midnight I will go throughout Egypt,

The LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,

Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, select an animal from the flock according to your families, and slaughter the Passover animal.

He summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, “Get out immediately from among my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship the LORD as you have said.

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner may eat it.

The LORD spoke to Moses:

Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day when you came out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, for the LORD brought you out of here by the strength of his hand. Nothing leavened may be eaten.

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby; for God said, “The people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war.”

They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?

But Moses said to the people, “Don't be afraid. Stand firm and see the LORD's salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.

The LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to break camp.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water may come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen.”

The enemy said:

“I will pursue, I will overtake,

I will divide the spoil.

My desire will be gratified at their expense.

I will draw my sword;

my hand will destroy[fn] them.”

He said, “If you will carefully obey the LORD your God, do what is right in his sight, pay attention to his commands, and keep all his statutes, I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.

So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt,

Moses continued, “The LORD will give you meat to eat this evening and all the bread you want in the morning, for he has heard the complaints that you are raising against him. Who are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD.”

When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it? ” because they didn't know what it was.

Moses told them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat.

Moses said to them, “No one is to let any of it remain until morning.”

He told them, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil, and set aside everything left over to be kept until morning.' ”

“Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you won't find any in the field.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you[fn] refuse to keep my commands and instructions?

Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Two quarts[fn] of it are to be preserved throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.' ”

So the people complained to Moses, “Give us water to drink.”

“Why are you complaining to me? ” Moses replied to them. “Why are you testing the LORD? ”

The LORD answered Moses, “Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take the staff you struck the Nile with in your hand and go.

Moses said to Joshua, “Select some men for us and go fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with God's staff in my hand.”

The LORD then said to Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven.”

“Blessed be the LORD,” Jethro exclaimed, “who rescued you from the power of Egypt and from the power of Pharaoh. He has rescued the people from under the power of Egypt!

“What you're doing is not good,” Moses's father-in-law said to him.

Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.

Then all the people responded together, “We will do all that the LORD has spoken.” So Moses brought the people's words back to the LORD.

He said to the people, “Be prepared by the third day. Do not have sexual relations with women.”

The LORD directed Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the LORD; otherwise many of them will die.

Moses responded to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, since you warned us: Put a boundary around the mountain and consecrate it.”

Then the LORD told Moses, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.

Then he said to Moses, “Go up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of Israel's elders, and bow in worship at a distance.

Moses took the blood, splattered it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you concerning all these words.”

The LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay there so that I may give you the stone tablets with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”

The LORD said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices: stacte, onycha, and galbanum; the spices and pure frankincense are to be in equal measures.

He took the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf.

Then they said, “Israel, these are your gods,[fn] who brought you up from the land of Egypt! ”

But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God: “LORD, why does your anger burn against your people you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand?

So the LORD relented concerning the disaster he had said he would bring on his people.

Then Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you have led them into such a grave sin? ”

And Moses stood at the camp's entrance and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered around him.

Afterward Moses said, “Today you have been dedicated[fn] to the LORD, since each man went against his son and his brother. Therefore you have brought a blessing on yourselves today.”