ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not lessen it: for they are idle; therefore they cry; saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.

And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spoke to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you As to you, get you straw where you can find it yet nothing of your work shall be lessened.

straw.

So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw. And the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to-day, as heretofore?

Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? There is no straw given to thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.

But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle; therefore ye are saying, Let us go, and do sacrifice to the LORD. Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the number of bricks.

And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.

And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh: and they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to

be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us. And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, why hast thou done evil to this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people. Then the LORD said to Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh : for, with a strong hand shall he send them forth, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. And God spoke to Moses, and said to him, I am the LORD: and I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by the name of God Almighty; but, by my name JEHOVAH* was I not known to them. And I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groanings of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. Therefore, say to the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: and I will take you to myself for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, who bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land, concerning which I did swear to give it to Abrah m, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it to you for an heritage: I am the Lord. And Moses spoke

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* Jehovah.-This name is part of the verb "TO BE," and, like the name by which he revealed himself to Moses, "| AM HE WHO IS," is expressive of the eternal, independent existence of the Deity.

thus to the children of Israel: but they hearkened not to Moses, for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Go in, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he send the children of Israel out of his land. And Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened to me: how then will Pharaoh hearken to me, and I of uncircumcised lips ?* And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a charge to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. And the LORD said to Moses, See, I have made thee God to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh will not hearken to you, and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them. And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they. And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty and three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

*

Of uncircumcised lips.-The want of circumcision in any one was regarded, both by the Egyptians and Hebrews, as constituting an unclean, unholy condition. Moses, in saying that he and Aaron were of uncircumcised lips, signifies that he and Aaron would be regarded as impure and unholy, and thus were likely to be viewed by Pharaoh with abhorrence.

QUESTIONS ON LESSON XXXII.

WHEN Moses had been long in Midian, to what mountain did he go?

Who appeared to him there?

In what form did he appear to him?

What did he direct him to do? and why?

What did he further say to him?

What objection did Moses make?

What answer did God give to him?

What three signs did God give to Moses?
What objection did Moses still make?
What did God reply?

What arrangement was at length made?

When Moses and Aaron told to the elders of the people of their conference with God, how was their intelligence received?

When Moses and Aaron delivered their message to Pharaoh, what reply did he make?

What orders did he give respecting the Israelites ?

When the Israelites complained to him of these orders, what did he say to them?

What did the people of Israel then do?

What did Moses do?

What did God reply to Moses?

How old was Moses when he and Aaron spoke to Pharaoh ?

LESSON XXXII.

FROM EXODUS VII. AND VIII.

AND the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for yourselves, then thou shalt say to Aaron, Take thy rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. And Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and did as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers. Now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like

manner with their enchantments.* For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, that he hearkened not to them, as the LORD had said.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is obstinate, he refuseth to send the people forth. Go to Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out to the water; and thou shalt stand by the brink of the river, to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thy hand. And thou shalt say to him, The LORD the God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Send forth my people, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou hast not obeyed. Thus saith the LORD, By this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold I will smite with the rod that is in my hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned into blood. And the fishes that are in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.t

And the LORD spoke to Moses, Say to Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thy hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their

*Wise men, sorcerers, and magicians.-This contest between Moses and the magicians of Egypt became famous over all the world. The traditions of various countries have retained some remembrance of it. The Jews preserved the names of the two principal magicians, and the Apostle has confirmed the tradition, 2 Tim. iii. 8. "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses."

† Lothe to drink of the water of the river.-The water of the Nile, all travellers testify, is peculiarly pleasant to the taste, and the Egyptians boast of it, as the best in the whole world. In heathen times, they paid divine honours to the Nile; as the Hindoos still do to the Ganges. The turning the waters of the river to blood, therefore, was striking a blow at the national superstition.