Falsehood in defense of truth?

Darwin-Defending Historians Debate Whether It's Justified for Cosmos "to Lie" for the Sake of Science

Casey Luskin May 21, 2014 12:45 PM | 

There shouldn't even be a debate over whether, in defending truth, it's ever justified to lie. Yet over at H-Net, an international consortium of scholars and teachers interested in the humanities and social sciences, Darwin-defending historians of science are mulling whether it's acceptable for the new Cosmos series "to lie" for a good cause -- in this case, defending the authority of science.

In a post titled "We need to talk about Cosmos...," historian of scienceJoseph Martin (pictured at left), who teaches at Colby College, refers to the falsehoods promoted by Cosmos about the history of science.Cosmos, as our readers will know, has persistently offered a false version of history where religion never positively influences the development of science. Martin writes:

I've been watching with interest as the history of science community, particularly on Twitter, has reacted with consternation to the historical components of Neil deGrasse Tyson's Cosmos reboot. To a large extent I agree with these criticisms. It is troubling that the forums in which the public gets the most exposure to history of science also tend to be those in which it is the least responsibly represented.

But part of me also wants to play devil's advocate. First, Cosmos is a fantastic artifact of scientific myth making and as such provides a superb teaching tool when paired with more responsible historical presentations and perhaps some anthropological treatments of similar issues like Sharon Traweek's Beamtimes and Lifetimes.

Second, I don't know that we, as a community, have adequately made the case that the scholarly view of history we advance is, in fact, more useful for current cultural and political discourse than the naïve view scientists advance. One thing we often see in our research, and parallel work in philosophy of science, is that "right" is often not the same thing as "useful." I'm interested in generating some discussion in why and how, if at all, we can make the case that "useful" and "right" are and should be the same thing in this case for reasons other than internal professional ones.

Let me translate. First, he acknowledges that Cosmos has been legitimately criticized for itsinaccurate portrayal of the history of science. But he wants to defend Cosmos, playing the "devil's advocate." Why? Because the "naïve view scientists advance" -- that science is always good, and religion is always getting in the way -- might be more "useful" when talking to the public, even if it isn't "right." But what does he mean by "useful"? And is he really suggesting it might be OK to lie in the service of defending the prestige of science? Yes he is, and that becomes clear in his next comment:

If we [grant] Cosmos the artistic license to lie, the question is then whether it doing so in service of a greater truth and if so, what is it? And what does it mean for us if it turns out that Cosmos and the history community are simply going after different truths?

For the record, I myself am still very much on the fence about this issue, but if I were tasked with mounting a defense of Cosmos as it stands, one of the things I'd say is that the stakes of scientific authority are very high right now, especially in the United States. Perhaps the greater truth here is that we do need to promote greater public trust in science if we are going to tackle some of the frankly quite terrifying challenges ahead and maybe a touch of taradiddle in that direction isn't the worst thing.

A "taradiddle," of course, is a lie ("a statement known by its maker to be untrue and made in order to deceive"). So basically he's saying it's possibly OK for Cosmos "to lie" about the history of science if that helps "promote greater public trust in science."

It's a sickening idea that lies may be necessary to get people to trust an institution like science. That aside, how can we know "it" (i.e., the community that Tyson is purporting to speak for, and using falsehoods to do so, in Cosmos) deserves our trust if it might be necessary "to lie" to defend it?

All this reminds me of how biology professor and science blogger Bora Zivkovic said it's OK to tell teach false claims to students for the purpose of "gaining trust" so they'll "accept evolution." It also reminds me of an infamous comment from Darwin-defending philosopher of science Philip Quinn in Michael Ruse's book But Is It Science?, which discussed whether creationism is science. The full quote is worth reading carefully, as Quinn makes much the same argument that Martin does:

It sometimes happens that the best arguments one can give in support of a view are not going to be effective and the most effective arguments one can give are not going to be good. After all, decision-makers are sometimes too busy to master complex arguments. Then, too, they can be prejudiced or even stupid. When one is aware that this is the situation -- and I suspect this is rather common -- then one confronts the philosopher's dilemma.

One horn looks roughly like this. Convinced of the overall rightness of one's position, one opts to present the effective bad argument. Each time one does this, one's hands get a little bit dirtier. At first one is painfully sensitive to even small compromises that one knows to be violations of one's intellectual integrity, but gradually numbness of conscience sets in. At last, when presenting the effective bad argument has become easy and habitual -- second nature, as it were -- one's hands have become dirty beyond all cleansing and one suffers from a thoroughgoing corruption of mind.

The other horn looks roughly like this. Concerned to preserve one's integrity at all costs, one resolves never to present the effective bad argument. One always presents the best argument one can for the position one thinks most nearly right, and one's hands remain clean. But frequently these good arguments fail to persuade or carry the day, and gradually one's credibility and effectiveness wane. At last, when one has an established track record of failure, the decision-makers conclude that one is of no use to them, and one is unceremoniously cast aside.

Though it should be obvious that I have been exaggerating a bit for rhetorical effect, I think the hard choice between corruption and ineffectuality is sometimes real enough. That is the dilemma! Is there a way between its horns? Perhaps. My colleague, Dan Brock, suggests that academic philosophers should only get involved in the policy-making arena on a temporary, short-term basis. Maybe this is a way in which we could manage to have our cake and eat it too. For a short period one might engage in giving bad effective arguments without being thoroughly corrupted. Then one could retreat back to the academy to wash one's moderately soiled hands.

After having one's intellectual integrity restored and reinforced, one might then be ready to repeat the cycle.

The application of what I have been saying to the creationist controversy is straightforward. It seems to me that the attempts by creationists to foist their particular brand of dreadful science on public school curricula are pernicious. We should resist such attempts and resist them effectively in the political realm. But some of the creationists who are making such attempts are, to put it not too harshly, shysters. So there may well be circumstances in which only the bad effective argument will work against them in the political or legal arenas. If there are, then I think, though I come to this conclusion reluctantly, it is morally permissible for us to use the bad effective argument, provided we continue to have qualms of conscience about getting our hands soiled. But I also believe we must be very careful not to allow ourselves to slide all the way down the slippery slope to intellectual corruption. Perhaps, if we divide up the labor so that no one among us has to resort to the bad effective argument too frequently, we can succeed in resisting effectively without paying too high a price in terms of moral corruption.

(Philip L. Quinn, "Creationism, Methodology, and Politics," in Ruse M., ed., But Is It Science?: The Philosophical Question in the Creation/Evolution Controversy, Prometheus Books: Amherst NY, 1996, pp. 397-399.)

Did you read all that?

According to Quinn, because "creationists" are "shysters" and promote "dreadful" and "pernicious" initiatives, that means it is "morally permissible" to respond using "bad arguments" (i.e., fallacious arguments) which amount to "compromises that one knows to be violations of one's intellectual integrity" and lead to "intellectual corruption," simply because those bad arguments are "effective" in defending evolution. (In case you're wondering, the "effective" but "bad arguments" that Quinn is talking about are the dubious demarcation criteria which Michael Ruse endorsed during his testimony in the 1981 McLean v. Arkansas. Judge Overton then adopted and employed Ruse's demarcation criteria when ruling creationism is not science.)

Quinn thinks one can "retreat back to the academy to wash one's moderately soiled hands." However, if the academy is recommending we should tell "taradiddles" or promote fallacious arguments simply because they're "effective," then that hardly seems like the place to go in search of moral or ethical cleansing.

Exodus 1-7 NWT 2013 Edition

1 Now these are the names of Israel’s sons who came into Egypt with Jacob, each man who came with his household:+ 2 Reuʹben, Simʹe·on, Leʹvi, and Judah;+ 3 Isʹsa·char, Zebʹu·lun, and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphʹta·li; Gad and Ashʹer.+ 5 And all those* who were born to Jacob* were 70 people,* but Joseph was already in Egypt.+ 6 Joseph eventually died,+ and also all his brothers and all that generation. 7 And the Israelites* became fruitful and began to increase greatly, and they kept on multiplying and growing mightier at an extraordinary rate, so that the land became filled with them.+

8 In time there arose over Egypt a new king, one who did not know Joseph.9 So he said to his people: “Look! The people of Israel are more numerous and mightier than we are.+ 10 Let us deal shrewdly with them. Otherwise, they will continue to multiply, and if a war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us and leave the country.”

11 So they appointed chiefs of forced labor* over them to oppress them with hard labor,+ and they built storage cities for Pharʹaoh, namely, Piʹthom and Ra·amʹses.+ 12 But the more they would oppress them, the more they would multiply and the more they kept spreading out, so they felt sick with fear because of the Israelites.+ 13 Consequently, the Egyptians forced the Israelites into harsh slavery.+ 14 They made their life bitter with hard labor, as they worked with clay mortar and bricks and in every form of slavery in the field. Yes, they made them toil in harsh conditions in every form of slavery.+

15 Later the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives whose names were Shiphʹrah and Puʹah, 16 and he told them: “When you help the Hebrew women to give birth+ and you see them on the stool for childbirth,* you must put the child to death if it is a son; but if it is a daughter, she must live.” 17 However, the midwives feared the true God, and they did not do what the king of Egypt told them. Instead, they would keep the male children alive.+ 18 In time the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them: “Why have you kept the male children alive?” 19 The midwives said to Pharʹaoh: “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women. They are lively and have already given birth before the midwife can come in to them.”

20 So God dealt well with the midwives, and the people kept increasing and becoming very mighty. 21 And because the midwives had feared the true God, he later gave them families. 22 Finally Pharʹaoh commanded all his people: “You are to throw every newborn son of the Hebrews into the Nile River, but you are to keep every daughter alive.”+

2 About that time, a certain man of the house of Leʹvi married a daughter of Leʹvi.+ 2 And the woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw how beautiful he was, she kept him concealed for three months.+ 3 When she was no longer able to conceal him,+ she took a papyrus basket* and coated it with bitumen and pitch and put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile River. 4 But his sister+ stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

5 When Pharʹaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the Nile, her female attendants were walking by the side of the Nile. And she caught sight of the basket in the middle of the reeds. She immediately sent her slave girl to get it.+6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and the boy was crying. She felt compassion for him, but she said: “This is one of the children of the Hebrews.”7 Then his sister said to Pharʹaoh’s daughter: “Shall I go and call a nursing woman from the Hebrews to nurse the child for you?” 8 Pharʹaoh’s daughter said to her: “Go!” At once the girl went and called the child’s mother.+ 9 Pharʹaoh’s daughter then said to her: “Take this child with you and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharʹaoh’s daughter, and he became a son to her.+ She named him Moses* and said: “It is because I have drawn him out of the water.”+

11 Now in those days, after Moses had become an adult,* he went out to his brothers to look at the burdens they were bearing,+ and he caught sight of an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brothers. 12 So he looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.+

13 But he went out on the following day, and there were two Hebrew men fighting with each other. So he said to the one in the wrong: “Why do you strike your companion?”+ 14 At this he said: “Who appointed you as a prince and a judge over us? Are you planning to kill me just as you killed the Egyptian?”+Moses now was afraid and said: “Surely the matter has become known!”

15 Then Pharʹaoh heard about it, and he attempted to kill Moses; but Moses ran away from Pharʹaoh and went to dwell in the land of Midʹi·an,+ and he sat down by a well. 16 Now the priest of Midʹi·an+ had seven daughters, and these came to draw water and to fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 But as usual, the shepherds came and drove them away. At this Moses got up and helped* the women and watered their flock. 18 When they came home to their father Reuʹel,*+ he exclaimed: “How is it that you have come home so quickly today?” 19 They replied: “A certain Egyptian+ rescued us from the shepherds, and he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters: “But where is he? Why did you leave the man behind? Call him, so that he may eat with us.” 21 After that Moses consented to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zip·poʹrah+ to Moses in marriage. 22 Later she bore a son, and he named him Gerʹshom,*+ for he said, “I have become a foreign resident in a foreign land.”+

23 After a long time,* the king of Egypt died,+ but the Israelites continued to groan because of the slavery and to cry out in complaint, and their cry for help because of the slavery kept going up to the true God.+ 24 In time God heard their groaning,+ and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.+ 25 So God looked on the Israelites; and God took notice.

 3 Moses became a shepherd of the flock of his father-in-law Jethʹro,+ the priest of Midʹi·an. While he was leading the flock to the west side of the wilderness, he eventually came to the mountain of the true God, to Hoʹreb.+ 2 Then Jehovah’s angel appeared to him in a flame of fire in the midst of a thornbush.+ As he kept looking, he saw that the thornbush was on fire, and yet the thornbush was not consumed. 3 So Moses said: “I will go over to inspect this unusual sight to see why the thornbush does not burn up.” 4 When Jehovah saw that he went over to look, God called to him out of the thornbush and said: “Moses! Moses!” to which he said: “Here I am.” 5 Then he said: “Do not come any nearer. Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

6 He went on to say: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham,+ the God of Isaac,+ and the God of Jacob.”+ Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at the true God. 7 Jehovah added: “I have certainly seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their outcry because of those who force them to work; I well know the pains they suffer.+ 8 I will go down to rescue them out of the hand of the Egyptians+ and to bring them up out of that land to a land good and spacious, a land flowing with milk and honey,+ the territory of the Caʹnaan·ites, the Hitʹtites, the Amʹor·ites, the Perʹiz·zites, the Hiʹvites, and the Jebʹu·sites.+ 9 Now look! The outcry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen also the harsh way that the Egyptians are oppressing them.+ 10 Now come, I will send you to Pharʹaoh, and you will bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”+

11 However, Moses said to the true God: “Who am I that I should go to Pharʹaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 To this he said: “I will prove to be with you,+ and this is the sign for you that it was I who sent you: After you have brought the people out of Egypt, you people will serve* the true God on this mountain.”+

13 But Moses said to the true God: “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your forefathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is his name?’+ What should I say to them?” 14 So God said to Moses: “I Will Become What I Choose* to Become.”*+ And he added: “This is what you are to say to the Israelites, ‘I Will Become has sent me to you.’”+ 15 Then God said once more to Moses:

“This is what you are to say to the Israelites, ‘Jehovah the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham,+ the God of Isaac,+ and the God of Jacob,+ has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever,+ and this is how I am to be remembered from generation to generation. 16 Now go, and gather the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘Jehovah the God of your forefathers has appeared to me, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he said: “I have certainly taken notice of you+and of what is being done to you in Egypt. 17 So I say, I will take you away from affliction+ at the hands of the Egyptians to the land of the Caʹnaan·ites, the Hitʹtites, the Amʹor·ites,+ the Perʹiz·zites, the Hiʹvites, and the Jebʹu·sites,+ to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’+

18 “They will certainly listen to your voice,+ and you will go, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you men should say to him: ‘Jehovah the God of the Hebrews+ has communicated with us. So, please, let us make a three-day journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God.’+ 19 But I myself well know that the king of Egypt will not give you permission to go unless a mighty hand compels him.+ 20 So I will have to stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my extraordinary acts that I will do in it, and after that he will send you out.+ 21 And I will give this people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and when you go, you will by no means go empty-handed.+ 22 Each woman must ask her neighbor and the woman lodging in her house for articles of silver and of gold as well as clothing, and you will put them on your sons and your daughters; and you will plunder the Egyptians.”+

 4 However, Moses answered: “But suppose they do not believe me and do not listen to my voice,+ for they will say, ‘Jehovah did not appear to you.’” 2 Then Jehovah said to him: “What is that in your hand?” He answered: “A rod.” 3 He said: “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent;+ and Moses fled from it. 4 Jehovah now said to Moses: “Reach out your hand and seize it by the tail.” So he reached out and seized it, and it became a rod in his hand. 5 God then said: “This is so that they may believe that Jehovah the God of their forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,+ has appeared to you.”+

6 Jehovah said to him once more: “Put your hand, please, into the upper fold of your garment.” So he put his hand into the fold of his garment. When he drew it out, why, his hand was stricken with leprosy like snow!+ 7 Then he said: “Return your hand into the upper fold of your garment.” So he returned his hand into his garment. When he drew it out of the garment, it was restored like the rest of his flesh! 8 He said: “If they will not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, then they will certainly heed the next sign.+ 9 Still, even if they will not believe these two signs and refuse to listen to your voice, you will take some water from the Nile River and pour it out on the dry land, and the water that you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry land.”+

10 Moses now said to Jehovah: “Pardon me, Jehovah, but I have never been a fluent speaker, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant, for I am slow of speech* and slow of tongue.”+ 11 Jehovah said to him: “Who made a mouth for man, or who makes them speechless, deaf, clear-sighted, or blind? Is it not I, Jehovah? 12 So go now, and I will be with you as you speak,* and I will teach you what you should say.”+ 13 But he said: “Pardon me, Jehovah, please send anyone whom you want to send.” 14 Then Jehovah’s anger blazed against Moses, and he said: “What about your brother Aaron+ the Levite? I know that he can speak very well. And he is now on his way here to meet you. When he sees you, his heart will rejoice.+ 15 So you must speak to him and put the words in his mouth,+ and I will be with you and him as you speak,+ and I will teach you men what to do. 16 He will speak for you to the people, and he will be your spokesman, and you will serve as God to him.*+ 17 And you will take this rod in your hand and perform the signs with it.”+

18 So Moses went back to Jethʹro his father-in-law+ and said to him: “I want to go, please, and return to my brothers who are in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” Jethʹro said to Moses: “Go in peace.” 19 After that Jehovah said to Moses in Midʹi·an: “Go, return to Egypt, because all the men who were seeking to kill you* are dead.”+

20 Then Moses took his wife and his sons and lifted them onto a donkey, and he started back to the land of Egypt. Moreover, Moses took the rod of the true God in his hand. 21 Then Jehovah said to Moses: “After you have returned to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharʹaoh all the miracles that I have empowered you to do.+ But I will allow his heart to become obstinate,+ and he will not send the people away.+ 22 You must say to Pharʹaoh, ‘This is what Jehovah says: “Israel is my son, my firstborn.+ 23 I say to you, Send my son away so that he may serve me. But if you refuse to send him away, I am going to kill your son, your firstborn.”’”+

24 Now on the road at the lodging place, Jehovah+ met him and was seeking to put him to death.+ 25 Finally Zip·poʹrah+ took a flint* and circumcised her son and caused his foreskin to touch his feet and said: “It is because you are a bridegroom of blood to me.” 26 So He let him go. At that time she said, “a bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.

27 Then Jehovah said to Aaron: “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.”+ So he went and met him at the mountain of the true God+ and greeted him with a kiss. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of Jehovah, who had sent him,+ and all the signs that He had commanded him to do.+ 29 After that Moses and Aaron went and gathered all the elders of the Israelites.+ 30 Aaron told them all the words that Jehovah had spoken to Moses, and he performed the signs+ before the eyes of the people. 31 At this the people believed.+ When they heard that Jehovah had turned his attention to the Israelites+ and that he had seen their affliction,+ they bowed down and prostrated themselves.

 5 Afterward, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharʹaoh: “This is what Jehovah the God of Israel says, ‘Send my people away so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharʹaoh said: “Who is Jehovah,+ that I should obey his voice to send Israel away?+ I do not know Jehovah at all, and what is more, I will not send Israel away.”+ 3 But they said: “The God of the Hebrews has communicated with us. Please, we want to make a three-day journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to Jehovah our God;+ otherwise, he will strike us with disease or with the sword.” 4 The king of Egypt replied to them: “Why is it, Moses and Aaron, that you are taking the people away from their work? Return to your labor!”*+ 5 And Pharʹaoh continued: “Look at how many people of the land there are, and you would have them rest from their labor.”

6 That same day, Pharʹaoh commanded the taskmasters and their foremen:7 “You must no longer give straw to the people to make bricks.+ Let them goand gather straw for themselves. 8 But you must still impose on them the same quota of bricks as they made in the past. Do not reduce it for them, for they are relaxing.* That is why they are crying out, ‘We want to go, we want to sacrifice to our God!’ 9 Make them work harder, and keep them busy so that they will not pay attention to lies.”

10 So the taskmasters+ and their foremen went out and said to the people: “Here is what Pharʹaoh has said, ‘I am giving you no more straw. 11 Go and get your own straw for yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’” 12 Then the people scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 And the taskmasters kept urging them: “You must each finish your work every day, just as when straw was provided.” 14 Also the foremen of the Israelites, whom Pharʹaoh’s taskmasters had appointed over them, were beaten.+ They asked them: “Why did you not reach the quota of bricks that you used to make? It happened both yesterday and today.”

15 So the foremen of the Israelites went in and complained to Pharʹaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way? 16 No straw is given to your servants, yet they are saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are beaten, but your own people are at fault.” 17 But he said: “You are relaxing,* you are relaxing!*+ That is why you are saying, ‘We want to go, we want to sacrifice to Jehovah.’+ 18 So now go, get back to work! No straw will be given to you, but you must still produce your quota of bricks.”

19 Then the foremen of the Israelites saw that they were in serious trouble because of the order: “You must not reduce your daily quota of bricks at all.”20 After that they met up with Moses and Aaron, who were standing there to meet them as they came out from Pharʹaoh. 21 At once they said to them: “May Jehovah look upon you and judge, since you have made Pharʹaoh and his servants despise us* and you have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”+ 22 Then Moses turned to Jehovah and said: “Jehovah, why have you afflicted this people? Why have you sent me? 23 From the time that I went in before Pharʹaoh to speak in your name,+ he has dealt worse with this people,+ and you have certainly not rescued your people.”+

 6 So Jehovah said to Moses: “Now you will see what I will do to Pharʹaoh.+ A mighty hand will force him to send them away, and a mighty hand will force him to drive them out of his land.”+

2 Then God said to Moses: “I am Jehovah. 3 And I used to appear to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty,+ but with regard to my name Jehovah+ I did not make myself known to them.+ 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Caʹnaan, the land in which they lived as foreigners.+ 5 Now I myself have heard the groaning of the people of Israel, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I remember my covenant.+

6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians and rescue you from their slavery,+ and I will reclaim you with an outstretched* arm and with great judgments.+ 7 And I will take you in as my people, and I will be your God,+ and you will certainly know that I am Jehovah your God who is bringing you out from under the burdens of Egypt. 8 And I will bring you into the land that I swore with an oath*to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as something to possess.+ I am Jehovah.’”+

9 Moses later gave this message to the Israelites, but they did not listen to Moses because of their discouragement and because of the harsh slavery.+

10 Then Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying: 11 “Go in and tell Pharʹaoh, Egypt’s king, that he should send the Israelites away out of his land.”12 However, Moses replied to Jehovah: “Look! The Israelites have not listened to me;+ how will Pharʹaoh ever listen to me, as I speak with difficulty?”*+ 13 But Jehovah again told Moses and Aaron what commands to give to the Israelites and to Pharʹaoh, Egypt’s king, in order to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

14 These are the heads of the house of their fathers: The sons of Reuʹben, Israel’s firstborn,+ were Haʹnoch, Palʹlu, Hezʹron, and Carʹmi.+ These are the families of Reuʹben.

15 The sons of Simʹe·on were Jem·uʹel, Jaʹmin, Oʹhad, Jaʹchin, Zoʹhar, and Shaʹul, the son of a Caʹnaan·ite woman.+ These are the families of Simʹe·on.

16 These are the names of the sons of Leʹvi,+ according to their family descents: Gerʹshon, Koʹhath, and Me·rarʹi.+ The length of Leʹvi’s life was 137 years.

17 The sons of Gerʹshon were Libʹni and Shimʹe·i, according to their families.+

18 The sons of Koʹhath were Amʹram, Izʹhar, Hebʹron, and Uzʹzi·el.+ The length of Koʹhath’s life was 133 years.

19 The sons of Me·rarʹi were Mahʹli and Muʹshi.

These were the families of the Levites, according to their family descents.+

20 Now Amʹram took Jochʹe·bed, his father’s sister, as his wife.+ She bore him Aaron and Moses.+ The length of Amʹram’s life was 137 years.

21 The sons of Izʹhar were Korʹah,+ Neʹpheg, and Zichʹri.

22 The sons of Uzʹzi·el were Mishʹa·el, El·zaʹphan,+ and Sithʹri.

23 Now Aaron took E·liʹshe·ba, Am·minʹa·dab’s daughter, the sister of Nahʹshon,+ as his wife. She bore him Naʹdab, A·biʹhu, El·e·aʹzar, and Ithʹa·mar.+

24 The sons of Korʹah were Asʹsir, El·kaʹnah, and A·biʹa·saph.+ These were the families of the Korʹah·ites.+

25 El·e·aʹzar,+ Aaron’s son, took one of the daughters of Puʹti·el as his wife. She bore him Phinʹe·has.+

These are the heads of the paternal houses of the Levites, according to their families.+

26 This is the Aaron and Moses to whom Jehovah said: “Bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt, company by company.”*+ 27 It was they who spoke to Pharʹaoh, Egypt’s king, to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt. It was this Moses and Aaron.+

28 On that day when Jehovah spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,29 Jehovah told Moses: “I am Jehovah. Speak to Pharʹaoh, king of Egypt, everything I am speaking to you.” 30 Then Moses said before Jehovah: “Look! I speak with difficulty,* so how will Pharʹaoh ever listen to me?”+

 7 Jehovah then said to Moses: “See, I have made you like God* to Pharʹaoh, and Aaron your own brother will become your prophet.+ 2 You are to repeat everything that I will command you, and Aaron your brother will speak to Pharʹaoh, and he will send the Israelites away from his land. 3 As for me, I will allow Pharʹaoh’s heart to become obstinate,+ and I will multiply my signs and my miracles in the land of Egypt.+ 4 But Pharʹaoh will not listen to you, and I will lay my hand upon Egypt and bring my multitudes,* my people, the Israelites, out of the land of Egypt with great judgments.+ 5 And the Egyptians will certainly know that I am Jehovah+ when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.” 6 Moses and Aaron did what Jehovah had commanded them; they did just so. 7 Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 years old when they spoke to Pharʹaoh.+

8 Jehovah now said to Moses and Aaron: 9 “If Pharʹaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then tell Aaron, ‘Take your rod and throw it down before Pharʹaoh.’ It will become a big snake.”+ 10 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharʹaoh and did exactly as Jehovah had commanded. Aaron threw his rod down before Pharʹaoh and his servants, and it became a big snake. 11 However, Pharʹaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and the magic-practicing priests of Egypt+ also did the same thing with their magic.*+ 12 Each one threw down his rod, and they became big snakes; but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. 13 Still, Pharʹaoh’s heart became obstinate,+ and he did not listen to them, just as Jehovah had said.

14 Then Jehovah said to Moses: “Pharʹaoh’s heart is unresponsive.+ He has refused to send the people away. 15 Go to Pharʹaoh in the morning. Look! He is going out to the water! And you should station yourself to meet him by the edge of the Nile River; and take with you in your hand the rod that turned into a serpent.+ 16 And you must say to him, ‘Jehovah the God of the Hebrews has sent me to you,+ and he says: “Send my people away so that they may serve me in the wilderness,” but you have not obeyed until now. 17 This is what Jehovah says: “By this you will know that I am Jehovah.+ Here I am striking the water that is in the Nile River with the rod that is in my hand, and it will turn into blood.18 And the fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will find it impossible to drink water from the Nile.”’”

19 Then Jehovah said to Moses: “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt,+ over its rivers, over its canals,* over its marshes,+ and over all its reservoirs, that they may become blood.’ There will be blood in all the land of Egypt, even in the wooden and stone containers.”20 Immediately Moses and Aaron did just as Jehovah had commanded. He lifted up the rod and struck the water that was in the Nile River before the eyes of Pharʹaoh and his servants, and all the water that was in the river was turned into blood.+ 21 And the fish that were in the river died,+ and the river began to stink, and the Egyptians were unable to drink water from the Nile,+ and there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.

22 Nevertheless, the magic-practicing priests of Egypt did the same thing with their secret arts,+ so that Pharʹaoh’s heart continued to be obstinate, and he did not listen to them, just as Jehovah had said.+ 23 Then Pharʹaoh returned to his house, and he did not take this to heart either. 24 So all the Egyptians were digging all around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink any water of the Nile. 25 And seven full days passed after Jehovah struck the Nile.