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THE BOOK OF EXODUS
Exodus Chapter 1
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
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
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
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
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
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 lsrael: 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 words to him:
18:20. And to shew the people the ceremonies, and the manner of worshipping; and the way wherein they ought to walk, and the work that they ought to do.
18:21. And provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, in whom there is truth, and that hate avarice, and appoint of them rulers of thousands, and of hundreds, and of fifties, and of tens,
18:22. Who may judge the people at all times: and when any great matter soever shall fall out, let them refer it to thee, and let them judge the lesser matters only: that so it may be lighter for thee, the burden being shared out unto others.
18:23. If thou dost this, thou shalt fulfil the commandment of God, and shalt be able to bear his precepts: and all this people shall return to their places with peace.
18:24. And when Moses heard this, he did all things that he had suggested unto him.
18:25. And choosing able men out of all Israel, he appointed them rulers of the people, rulers over thousands, and over hundreds, and over fifties, and over tens.
18:26. And they judged the people at all times: and whatsoever was of greater difficulty they referred to him, and they judged the easier cases only.
18:27. And he let his kinsman depart: and he returned and went into his own country.
Exodus Chapter 19
19:1. In the third month of the departure of Israel out of the land of Egypt, on this day they came into the wilderness of Sinai:
19:2. For departing out of Raphidim, and coming to the desert of Sinai, they camped in the same place, and there Israel pitched their tents over against the mountain.
19:3. And Moses went up to God; and the Lord called unto him from the mountain, and said: Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: And Moses went up to God... Moses went up to mount Sinai, where God spoke to him.
19:4. You have seen what I have done to the Egyptians, how I have carried you upon the wings of eagles, and have taken you to myself.
19:5. If therefore you will hear my voice, and keep my covenant, you shall be my peculiar possession above all people: for all the earth is mine.
19:6. And you shall be to me a priestly kingdom, and a holy nation. These are the words thou shalt speak to the children of Israel.
19:7. Moses came; and calling together the elders of the people, he declared all the words which the Lord had commanded.
19:8. And all the people answered together: All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do. And when Moses had related the people’s words to the Lord,
19:9. The Lord said to him: Lo, now will I come to thee in the darkness of a cloud, that the people may hear me speaking to thee, and may believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
19:10. And he said to him: Go to the people, and sanctify them to day, and to morrow, and let them wash their garments.
19:11. And let them be ready against the third day; for on the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people, upon Mount Sinai.
19:12. And thou shalt appoint certain limits to the people round about, and thou shalt say to them: Take heed ye go not up into the mount, and that ye touch not the borders thereof: every one that toucheth the mount, dying he shall die.
19:13. No hands shall touch him, but he shall be stoned to death, or he shall be shot through with arrows: whether it be beast, or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet shall begin to sound, then let them go up into the mount.
19:14. And Moses came down from the mount to the people, and sanctified them. And when they had washed thelr garments,
19:15. He said to them: Be ready against the third day, and come not near your wives.
19:16. And now the third day was come, and the morning appeared: and behold thunders began to be heard, and lightning to flash, and a very thick cloud to cover the mount, and the noise of the trumpet sounded exceeding loud; and the people that was in the camp, feared.
19:17. And when Moses had brought them forth to meet God, from the place of the camp, they stood at the bottom of the mount.
19:18. And all Mount Sinai was on a smoke: because the Lord was come down upon it in fire, and the smoke arose from it as out of a furnace: and all the mount was terrible.
19:19. And the sound of the trumpet grew by degrees louder and louder, and was drawn out to a greater length: Moses spoke, and God answered him.
19:20. And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, in the very top of the mount, and he called Moses unto the top thereof. And when he was gone up thither,
19:21. He said unto him: Go down, and charge the people; lest they should have a mind to pass the limits to see the Lord, and a very great multitude of them should perish.
19:22. The priests also that come to the Lord, let them be sanctified, lest he strike them.
19:23. And Moses said to the Lord: The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai: for thou didst charge, and command, saying: Set limits about the mount, and sanctify it.
19:24. And the Lord said to him: Go, get thee down; and thou shalt come up, thou and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people pass the limits, nor come up to the Lord, lest he kill them.
19:25. And Moses went down to the people and told them all.
Exodus Chapter 20
20:1. And the Lord spoke all these words:
20:2. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
20:3. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me.
20:4. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth.
A graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing, etc... All such images, or likenesses, are forbidden by this commandment, as are made to be adored and served; according to that which immediately follows, thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them. That is, all such as are designed for idols or image-gods, or are worshipped with divine honour. But otherwise images, pictures, or representations, even in the house of God, and in the very sanctuary so far from being forbidden, are expressly authorized by the word of God. See Ex. 25.15, and etc.; chap. 38.7; Num. 21.8, 9; 1 Chron. or Paralip. 28.18, 19; 2 Chron. or Paralip. 3.10.
20:5. Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me:
20:6. And shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments.
20:7. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain.
20:8. Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day.
20:9. Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy works.
20:10. But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work on it, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates.
20:11. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.
20:12. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayst be longlived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee.
20:13. Thou shalt not kill.
20:14. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
20:15. Thou shalt not steal.
20:16. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
20:17. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house; neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his.
20:18. And all the people saw the voices and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking; and being terrified and struck with fear, they stood afar off,
20:19. Saying to Moses: Speak thou to us, and we will hear: let not the Lord speak to us, lest we die.
20:20. And Moses said to the people: Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that the dread of him might be in you, and you should not sin.
20:21. And the people stood afar off. But Moses went to the dark cloud wherein God was.
20:22. And the Lord said to Moses: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.
20:23. You shall not make gods of silver, nor shall you make to yourselves gods of gold.
20:24. You shall make an altar of earth unto me, and you shall offer upon it your holocausts and peace offerings, your sheep and oxen, in every place where the memory of my name shall be: I will come to thee, and will bless thee.
20:25. And if thou make an altar of stone unto me, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones; for if thou lift up a tool upon it, it shall be defiled.
20:26. Thou shalt not go up by steps unto my altar, lest thy nakedness be discovered.
Exodus Chapter 21
21:1. These are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.
21:2. If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years shall he serve thee; in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
21:3. With what raiment he came in, with the like let him go out: if having a wife, his wife also shall go out with him.
21:4. But if his master gave him a wife, and she hath borne sons and daughters; the woman and her children shall be her master’s: but he himself shall go out with his raiment.
21:5. And if the servant shall say: I love my master and my wife and children, I will not go out free:
21:6. His master shall bring him to the gods, and he shall be set to the door and the posts, and he shall bore his ear through with an awl: and he shall be his servant for ever.
To the gods... Elohim. That is, to the judges, or magistrates, authorized by God.
21:7. If any man sell his daughter to be a servant, she shall not go out as bondwomen are wont to go out.
21:8. If she displease the eyes of her master to whom she was delivered, he shall let her go: but he shall have no power to sell her to a foreign nation, if he despise her.
21:9. But if he have betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
21:10. And if he take another wife for him,