Chapter 17
Jehovih, through His angels, said to Moses: When the body of the king is embalmed and put away, you shall go quickly to your people; for he who comes to the throne is under the voice of the Lord, Baal, and he will try to prevent the departure of My chosen. So Moses left the capital, and did as commanded.
On Nu-ghan’s being crowned he at once issued the following decree: Behold me, I am Pharaoh, King of Egupt, and Ruler of the World. God has raised his voice in my dominions, saying: Hail, Sun King of the corporeal world: Behold, I gave you all the living that are on the face of the earth, and in the waters of the earth, to be yours, to keep forever. And I say to you, what is your own is your own, and you shall have dominion in your own way, for I made all that are alive on the earth to be yours forever!
Whether of beasts of the field, or fish in the waters, or man on the earth; all the living I created for you, and you shall possess them from everlasting to everlasting. And the life of the living I gave into your keeping; and I said to you: The house of Pharaoh I have created, and it is my house also.
And whoever rules on the throne of this land, the same is my son, and is the possessor while the breath of life is in him. But when he dies, and the throne falls to his successor, the rights and the powers and possessions of your kingdom shall not die nor be set to nothing. But the successor shall be my Pharaoh whom I raised up to my dominions; thus says the Lord.
Now, therefore, I, Pharaoh, who am king and possessor of all the world by commandment of God, and by his son (Osiris), who is dead and risen, being myself God of the earth, into whose hands are bequeathed all the living, am today, yesterday, and forever, the same everlasting king and Lord of all. And I decree to my people, who are mine by virtue of my authority from God, that only by my gracious indulgence has any man or people the right to put one foot before the other, on this my sacred earth.
And whoever goes here or there, except by the sign of the signet of my seal, shall surely be put to death.
And any multitude of my people, who are my servants, whom the God of Gods has given into my hands to do my works, to till my earth, or to build my houses, or dig ditches, or make bricks, or gather harvest, or make cloth, or attend flocks, and to do any works whatsoever, who may design to escape out of Egupt, to go to my enemies, the foreign kings, shall be deemed guilty to death. And if such people start forth, to quit my service, to go out of my holy land, then my loyal slaves shall fall upon them and slay them, right and left, sparing neither man, woman nor child. For thus commands the Lord God, whose son I am. ||
Jehovih, through His angels, spoke to Moses, saying: Take Aaron your brother, and go before the king and plead your cause. Moses said: O Jehovih, You Almighty, why have You said this to me? I have no argument in me, like other men. Nor have I courage to confront a man or woman. My tongue is slow to find words till after the opportunity. From my youth up I have known this man, Nu-ghan, who is king, and if he merely stamps his foot at me I am helpless before him.
Jehovih said: For that reason, My son, I can give you My words. Go, and do not fear.
Then Moses went before Pharaoh, taking Aaron with him. The king asked: What is your will? And Moses said: I have come to beseech you to allow my people to depart out of Egupt. The king replied: The Lord is with me; he says you shall not go; and I repeat the words of my God.
Then spoke Moses, the power of Jehovih being upon him: Do not think, O king, that bondage is for this world only; here the matter does not end. You have said here in your decree, you have spoken from the Lord, saying: The life of the living I gave into your keeping. Did the Lord say this to you? Where, then, is justice, since pestilence and death are coming upon your people? Do you call this keeping them? I declare to you, that even in the words of your own God you have failed utterly, and this sin is upon you. Permit, then, my people to depart, so that your own shortness may not be multiplied, in the afflictions that will surely spread over this land.
The king said: You have no authority; you are a frozen serpent that was taken into the house of the king; and being thawed out, you turn to bite your benefactors. You are outlawed by men and accursed by the oracles. It is said of you, you have been to Hored, and there wed for sake of alliance with my high priest, Jethro, for conveyance of my lands to your people. Who are you, that pretends to hear a voice, and to be led by the Unseen? You slave!
Moses said: I am not here to plead my own cause, O king, but my people’s. Suffice it, though, that even as your Lord God stands upon miracles, I do not bow down before him. For these are evidence that your God and your Lord are only angels of the dead, who labor for you and your aggrandizement, and not for all men’s welfare.
For I have miracles also; and whatever your magicians can do, I can do also; do I not have eyes and ears, even as the oracles? Now I declare a miracle to you, which is that you yourself shall yet not only consent to my people going out of Egupt, but you shall send armies to drive them out. To turn a rod into a serpent, or water into wine; or to show the spirits of the dead, alas, O king, even those who are of rotten flesh can do such things!
Pharaoh said: If the oracle hears God, is this not the greatest? Moses replied: He who utters what an angel bid him is that angel’s servant; he who utters a good truth has spoken with Jehovih’s voice. Pharaoh asked: Do you say your words are the Creator’s?
Moses replied: I am like all good men who speak truth; all that is good, and all truth, are Jehovih’s words. In a rose He finds expression in perfume; in the lightning His words are thunder; in a bird His words are songs; but in man, His voice is in man’s words; for every living creature, and every dead thing on the earth, or in the waters, or in the air above the earth, gives expression in its own way; because the Father’s hand is the foundation of all that is good and true. He is the I AM Who sent me to you; by His command I open my mouth before you. And in His name I declare to you that you shall not only allow my people to depart out of Egupt, but you shall send your armies to drive them out.
The king said: Moses, Moses, you are mad! For even if all Egupt runs with blood, yet I will not do as you have said. Then Moses replied: I tell you, O king, there are two powers in heaven: that which is for Justice and Goodness, even Jehovih; and that which is for sin and death. And if the Creator lifts His protecting hand from Egupt, she shall in that day become the plague spot of the earth. You do remember, when, in the ancient days great Thothma built the first pyramid, your forefathers decried the power of heaven; and immediately all the land, and the great pyramid itself, was flooded over by evil spirits. And then came foreign kings, who robbed and plundered Egupt. Do not think, O king, these legends are only idle tales; there are Gods and Lords in heaven who could sweep the sea up, and drown all this country. Behold, a day is set; a night is marked out when the lamb of peace shall die. And in that night the first-born of every woman, and the first-born of every beast in the fields, shall die for all the Eguptians; but in that same night not one of the Israelites shall go down in death. Jehovih says: I will show My power through My people in the time of My covenants.
Pharaoh said: Were these things to be, God would have come to more noble quarters. You are beside yourself. And I banish you; nor will I again look upon your face.
Moses said: Whether in this world or the next, you shall yet call to me to deliver you from torments. Nevertheless, I do your bidding; neither will I come to you again; nor shall you look upon my face for a long season. With that, Moses and Aaron saluted the king and departed.