Exodus 13:11-16
New American Standard Bible
11 “Now when (A)the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as (B)He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 (C)you shall [a]devote to the Lord every firstborn of a womb, and every firstborn offspring of an animal that you own; the males belong to the Lord. 13 But (D)every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and (E)every [b]firstborn among your sons you shall redeem. 14 (F)And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘(G)With [c]a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of [d]slavery. 15 And it came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the (H)Lord put to death every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborns to animal firstborns. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, every firstborn of a womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 So (I)it shall [e]serve as a sign on your hand and as [f]phylacteries [g]on your forehead, for with [h]a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 13:12 Lit cause to pass over
- Exodus 13:13 Lit firstborn of a human
- Exodus 13:14 Lit strength of hand
- Exodus 13:14 Lit slaves
- Exodus 13:16 Lit be for
- Exodus 13:16 Or frontlet-bands
- Exodus 13:16 Lit between your eyes
- Exodus 13:16 Lit strength of hand
Exodus 13:11-16
Amplified Bible
11 “Now it shall be when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 you shall set apart and dedicate to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock shall be the Lord’s. 13 Every firstborn of a [a]donkey you shall redeem by [substituting] a lamb [as a sacrifice for it], but if you do not [wish to] redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn among your sons you shall redeem [that is, “buy back” from God with a suitable sacrifice]. 14 And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘With a strong and powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondage and slavery. 15 For it happened, when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, that the Lord struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animal. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord all the males, the first [to be born] of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 So it shall serve as a sign and a reminder on your [left] hand (arm) and as [b]frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong and powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”
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- Exodus 13:13 For most Israelites, the donkey would eventually be important for their livelihoods as a work-animal, so God foresaw the need and allowed this exception. Those who had no need for an additional donkey were not required to redeem it, but were to kill it in recognition of God’s right to the firstborn. On the other hand, redemption was of course the only option for a firstborn son. God thereby honors His own right to the firstborn, but at the same time forbids human sacrifice.
- Exodus 13:16 Heb totaphoth, later renamed tefillin (“attachment”) but often called phylacteries (Gr “safeguards”) these came to be small cube-shaped leather pouches which contained tiny parchments of Ex 13:1-16 and Deut 6:4-9; 11:13-21. They were strapped to the forehead and the left forearm of Jewish men (or the right forearm, if a man was left-handed) in obedience to the commands in this verse and Deut 6:8. Phylacteries and the parchments contained in them were very artistically made, and are still worn today by observant Jews during morning services.
Exodus 13:11-16
The Message
11-13 “When God brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he promised you and your fathers, and turns it over to you, you are to set aside the first birth out of every womb to God. Every first birth from your livestock belongs to God. You can redeem every first birth of a donkey if you want to by substituting a lamb; if you decide not to redeem it, you must break its neck.
13-16 “Redeem every firstborn child among your sons. When the time comes and your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you tell him, ‘God brought us out of Egypt, out of a house of slavery, with a powerful hand. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, God killed every firstborn in Egypt, the firstborn of both humans and animals. That’s why I make a sacrifice for every first male birth from the womb to God and redeem every firstborn son.’ The observance functions like a sign on your hands or a symbol on the middle of your forehead: God brought us out of Egypt with a powerful hand.”
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson