The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them ¹  with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. ²  He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt. ³ 

Certainly ¹  caraway seed is not threshed with a sledge, nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin seed. ²  Certainly caraway seed is beaten with a stick, and cumin seed with a flail.

Every blow from his punishing cudgel, ¹  with which the Lord will beat them, ²  will be accompanied by music from the ³  tambourine and harp, and he will attack them with his weapons. ⁴ 

Mourn for that nation, all you nations living around it, all of you nations that know of its fame. ¹  Mourn and say, ‘Alas, its powerful influence has been broken! Its glory and power have been done away!’ ² 

Then he said to me, “Son of man, I am about to remove the bread supply ¹  in Jerusalem. ²  They will eat their bread ration anxiously, and they will drink their water ration in terror

Violence ¹  has grown into a staff that supports wickedness. Not one of them will be left ²  – not from their crowd, not from their wealth, not from their prominence. ³ 

Its boughs were strong, fit ¹  for rulers’ scepters; it reached up into the clouds. It stood out because of its height and its many branches. ² 

But it was plucked up in anger; it was thrown down to the ground. The east wind ¹  dried up its fruit; its strong branches broke off and withered – a fire consumed them.

While they were bringing her out, she sent word ¹  to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” ²  Then she said, “Identify ³  the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.”

“When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Do ¹  a miracle,’ and you say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down ²  before Pharaoh,’ it will become ³  a snake.”

When ¹  Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, they did so, just as the Lord had commanded them – Aaron threw ²  down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants and it became a snake. ³ 

Thus says the Lord: “By this you will know that I am the Lord: I am going to strike ¹  the water of the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned into blood. ² 

Moses and Aaron did so, ¹  just as the Lord had commanded. Moses raised ²  the staff ³  and struck the water that was in the Nile right before the eyes ⁴  of Pharaoh and his servants, ⁵  and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. ⁶ 

The Lord spoke to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Extend your hand with your staff ¹  over the rivers, over the canals, and over the ponds, and bring the frogs up over the land of Egypt.’”

¹ The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Extend your staff and strike the dust of the ground, and it will become ²  gnats ³  throughout all the land of Egypt.’”

They did so; Aaron extended his hand with his staff, he struck the dust of the ground, and it became gnats on people ¹  and on animals. All the dust of the ground became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.

When Moses extended ¹  his staff toward the sky, the Lord ²  sent thunder ³  and hail, and fire fell to the earth; ⁴  so the Lord caused hail to rain down on the land of Egypt.

So Moses extended his staff over the land of Egypt, and then the Lord ¹  brought ²  an east wind on the land all that day and all night. ³  The morning came, ⁴  and the east wind had brought up ⁵  the locusts!

The Lord said to Moses, “Go over before the people; ¹  take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile and go.

So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our ¹  men and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”