1 ^mJethro, ⁿthe priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her home, 3 along with her ^otwo sons. The name of the one was Gershom (^pfor he said, ^q“I have been a sojourner¹ in a foreign land”), 4 and the name of the other, Eliezer² (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). 5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the ^rmountain of God. 6 And when he sent word to Moses, “I,³ your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” 7 Moses ^swent out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and ^tkissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. 8 Then Moses told his father-in-law ^uall that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. 9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.

10 Jethro said, ^v“Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that ^wthe Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they ^xdealt arrogantly with the people.”⁴ 12 And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law ^ybefore God.

13 The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because ^zthe people come to me to inquire of God; 16 ^awhen they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I ^bmake them know the statutes of God and his laws.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. ^cYou are not able to do it alone. 19 Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall ^drepresent the people before God and ^ebring their cases to God, 20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know ^fthe way in which they must walk and ^gwhat they must do. 21 Moreover, look for ^hable men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 22 And ⁱlet them judge the people at all times. ^jEvery great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will ^kbear the burden with you. 23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be ^lable to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”

24 So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 ^mMoses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 26 And ⁿthey judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. 27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and ^ohe went away to his own country.

1 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” 2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, ⁱ“A staff.” 3 And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. 4 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— 5 “that they may ^jbelieve that the Lord, ^kthe God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” 6 Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.”¹ And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was ^lleprous² like snow. 7 Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, ^mit was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8 “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. 9 If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile ⁿwill become blood on the dry ground.”

10 But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but ^oI am slow of speech and of tongue.” 11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore go, and ^pI will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” 13 But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” 14 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, ^qhe is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 ^rYou shall speak to him and ^sput the words in his mouth, and ^pI will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16 ^tHe shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and ^uyou shall be as God to him. 17 And take in your hand ^vthis staff, with which you shall do the signs.”

18 Moses went back to ^wJethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for ^xall the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took ^yhis wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took ^zthe staff of God in his hand.

21 And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the ^amiracles that I have put in your power. But ^bI will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, ^cIsrael is my ^dfirstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I ^ewill kill your firstborn son.’”

24 At a lodging place on the way ^fthe Lord met him and ^gsought to put him to death. 25 Then ^hZipporah took a ⁱflint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’³ feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26 So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.

27 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness ^jto meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the ^kmountain of God and kissed him. 28 And Moses ^ltold Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak, and all ^mthe signs that he had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron ⁿwent and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30 ^oAaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people ^pbelieved; and when they heard that the Lord had ^qvisited the people of Israel and that he had ^rseen their affliction, ^sthey bowed their heads and worshiped.

1 Then Moses and the people of Israel ^fsang this song to the Lord, saying,

19 For when ^tthe horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, ^uthe Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. 20 Then ^vMiriam ^wthe prophetess, the ^xsister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and ^yall the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them:

22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of ^aShur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to ^bMarah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.² 24 And the people ^cgrumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 And he ^dcried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log,³ and he ^ethrew it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord⁴ made for them a statute and a rule, and there he ^ftested them, 26 saying, ^g“If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the ^hdiseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, ⁱyour healer.”

27 Then ^jthey came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.