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Exodus 12-18
English Standard Version
Exodus 12-18
English Standard Version
The Passover
12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 (A)“This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb (B)according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be (C)without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the (D)fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.[a]
7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the (E)two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with (F)unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but (G)roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And (H)you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with (I)your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. (J)It is the Lord's Passover. 12 For (K)I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on (L)all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: (M)I am the Lord. 13 (N)The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 “This day shall be (O)for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a (P)statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. 15 (Q)Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, (R)that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall hold a (S)holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. 17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for (T)on this very day I brought your (U)hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. 18 (V)In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 (W)For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, (X)that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, (Y)whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”
21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves (Z)according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of (AA)hyssop and (AB)dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch (AC)the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. (AD)None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 (AE)For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on (AF)the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and (AG)will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. 24 You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. 25 And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, (AH)as he has promised, you shall keep this service. 26 And (AI)when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 you shall say, (AJ)‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people (AK)bowed their heads and worshiped.
28 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn
29 (AL)At midnight the (AM)Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, (AN)from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was (AO)a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. 31 Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, (AP)both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. 32 (AQ)Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”
The Exodus
33 (AR)The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. 35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had (AS)asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 (AT)And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that (AU)they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
37 And the (AV)people of Israel journeyed from (AW)Rameses to Succoth, (AX)about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 A (AY)mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because (AZ)they were thrust out of Egypt and (BA)could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.
40 The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of (BB)430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a (BC)night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.
Institution of the Passover
43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, 44 but every slave[b] that is (BD)bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. 45 (BE)No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. 46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and (BF)you shall not break any of its bones. 47 (BG)All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 (BH)If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he (BI)shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 49 There shall be (BJ)one law for the native and for the (BK)stranger who sojourns among you.”
50 All the people of Israel did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the (BL)Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their (BM)hosts.
Consecration of the Firstborn
13 The Lord said to Moses, 2 (BN)“Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
3 Then Moses said to the people, (BO)“Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, (BP)for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. (BQ)No leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of (BR)Abib, you are going out. 5 And when the Lord brings you into (BS)the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which (BT)he swore to your fathers to give you, a land (BU)flowing with milk and honey, (BV)you shall keep this service in this month. 6 (BW)Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. 8 (BX)You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 And it shall (BY)be to you as a sign on your hand and as (BZ)a memorial (CA)between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. 10 (CB)You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.
11 “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, (CC)as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, 12 (CD)you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord's. 13 (CE)Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every (CF)firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 (CG)And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, (CH)‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of (CI)slavery. 15 For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the (CJ)Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but (CK)all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 (CL)It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for (CM)by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”
Pillars of Cloud and Fire
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did (CN)not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people (CO)change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” 18 But God (CP)led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. 19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph[c] had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, (CQ)“God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” 20 And (CR)they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 21 And (CS)the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
Crossing the Red Sea
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people of Israel to (CT)turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between (CU)Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ 4 And (CV)I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, and I will (CW)get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, (CX)and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the (CY)mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, 7 and took (CZ)six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. 8 And (DA)the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while (DB)the people of Israel were going out defiantly. 9 The (DC)Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them (DD)encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel (DE)cried out to the Lord. 11 They (DF)said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what (DG)we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, (DH)“Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For (DI)the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 (DJ)The Lord will fight for you, and you have only (DK)to be silent.”
15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 (DL)Lift up your staff, and (DM)stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And (DN)I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and (DO)I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians (DP)shall know that I am the Lord, (DQ)when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
19 (DR)Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night[d] without one coming near the other all night.
21 Then Moses (DS)stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by (DT)a strong east wind all night and (DU)made the sea dry land, and the waters were (DV)divided. 22 And (DW)the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being (DX)a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, 25 clogging[e] their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the (DY)Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, (DZ)“Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” 27 (EA)So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea (EB)returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord (EC)threw[f] the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The (ED)waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, (EE)not one of them remained. 29 But the (EF)people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
30 Thus the Lord (EG)saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 (EH)Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they (EI)believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
The Song of Moses
15 Then Moses and the people of Israel (EJ)sang this song to the Lord, saying,
(EK)“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider[g] he has thrown into the sea.
2 (EL)The Lord is my strength and my (EM)song,
and he has become (EN)my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
(EO)my father's God, and (EP)I will exalt him.
3 The Lord is (EQ)a man of war;
(ER)the Lord is his name.
4 (ES)“Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
and his chosen (ET)officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
5 The (EU)floods covered them;
they (EV)went down into the depths like a stone.
6 (EW)Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,
your right hand, O Lord, (EX)shatters the enemy.
7 In the (EY)greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
you send out your fury; it (EZ)consumes them like stubble.
8 At the (FA)blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
the (FB)floods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said, (FC)‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
I (FD)will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’
10 You (FE)blew with your wind; the (FF)sea covered them;
they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 (FG)“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in (FH)glorious deeds, (FI)doing wonders?
12 You stretched out (FJ)your right hand;
the earth swallowed them.
13 “You have (FK)led in your steadfast love the people whom (FL)you have redeemed;
you have (FM)guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
14 (FN)The peoples have heard; they tremble;
pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Now are the chiefs of Edom (FO)dismayed;
trembling seizes the leaders of (FP)Moab;
(FQ)all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
16 Terror and (FR)dread fall upon them;
because of the greatness of your arm, they are still (FS)as a stone,
till your people, O Lord, pass by,
till the people pass by whom (FT)you have purchased.
17 You will bring them in and (FU)plant them on your own mountain,
the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,
(FV)the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.
18 (FW)The Lord will reign forever and ever.”
19 For when (FX)the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, (FY)the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. 20 Then (FZ)Miriam (GA)the prophetess, the (GB)sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and (GC)all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them:
(GD)“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”
Bitter Water Made Sweet
22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of (GE)Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to (GF)Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.[h] 24 And the people (GG)grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 And he (GH)cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log,[i] and he (GI)threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
There the Lord[j] made for them a statute and a rule, and there he (GJ)tested them, 26 saying, (GK)“If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the (GL)diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, (GM)your healer.”
27 Then (GN)they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.
Bread from Heaven
16 They (GO)set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel (GP)grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, (GQ)“Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, (GR)when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain (GS)bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may (GT)test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, (GU)it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, (GV)“At evening (GW)you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the (GX)glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For (GY)what are we, that you grumble against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—(GZ)what are we? Your grumbling is not (HA)against us but against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses (HB)said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, (HC)‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” 10 And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the (HD)glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “I (HE)have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At (HF)twilight you shall eat meat, and (HG)in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 In the evening (HH)quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning (HI)dew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, (HJ)“What is it?”[k] For they (HK)did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, (HL)“It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an (HM)omer,[l] according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, (HN)whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. 19 And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and (HO)it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
22 On (HP)the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of (HQ)solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’” 24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and (HR)it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for (HS)today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 And the Lord said to Moses, (HT)“How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people (HU)rested on the seventh day.
31 Now the house of Israel called its name (HV)manna. It was (HW)like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” 33 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a (HX)jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before (HY)the testimony to be kept. 35 The people of Israel (HZ)ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till (IA)they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (An omer is (IB)the tenth part of an ephah.)[m]
Water from the Rock
17 (IC)All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 (ID)Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you (IE)test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and (IF)the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready (IG)to stone me.” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with (IH)which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 (II)Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place (IJ)Massah[n] and (IK)Meribah,[o] because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Israel Defeats Amalek
8 (IL)Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to (IM)Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with (IN)the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So (IO)Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and (IP)Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses (IQ)held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and (IR)Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And (IS)Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of (IT)Joshua, that (IU)I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses (IV)built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne[p] of the Lord! (IW)The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Jethro's Advice
18 (IX)Jethro, (IY)the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Now Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home, 3 along with her (IZ)two sons. The name of the one was Gershom ((JA)for he said, (JB)“I have been a sojourner[q] in a foreign land”), 4 and the name of the other, Eliezer[r] (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). 5 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the (JC)mountain of God. 6 And when he sent word to Moses, “I,[s] your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” 7 Moses (JD)went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and (JE)kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. 8 Then Moses told his father-in-law (JF)all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. 9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10 Jethro said, (JG)“Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that (JH)the Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they (JI)dealt arrogantly with the people.”[t] 12 And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law (JJ)before God.
13 The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. 14 When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because (JK)the people come to me to inquire of God; 16 (JL)when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I (JM)make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” 17 Moses' father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. (JN)You are not able to do it alone. 19 Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall (JO)represent the people before God and (JP)bring their cases to God, 20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know (JQ)the way in which they must walk and (JR)what they must do. 21 Moreover, look for (JS)able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 22 And (JT)let them judge the people at all times. (JU)Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will (JV)bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be (JW)able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”
24 So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 (JX)Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 26 And (JY)they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. 27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and (JZ)he went away to his own country.
Footnotes
- Exodus 12:6 Hebrew between the two evenings
- Exodus 12:44 Or servant; the Hebrew term ‘ebed designates a range of social and economic roles (see Preface)
- Exodus 13:19 Samaritan, Septuagint; Hebrew he
- Exodus 14:20 Septuagint and the night passed
- Exodus 14:25 Or binding (compare Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac); Hebrew removing
- Exodus 14:27 Hebrew shook off
- Exodus 15:1 Or its chariot; also verse 21
- Exodus 15:23 Marah means bitterness
- Exodus 15:25 Or tree
- Exodus 15:25 Hebrew he
- Exodus 16:15 Or “It is manna”; Hebrew man hu
- Exodus 16:16 An omer was about 2 quarts or 2 liters
- Exodus 16:36 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters
- Exodus 17:7 Massah means testing
- Exodus 17:7 Meribah means quarreling
- Exodus 17:16 A slight change would yield upon the banner
- Exodus 18:3 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for sojourner
- Exodus 18:4 Eliezer means My God is help
- Exodus 18:6 Hebrew; Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac behold
- Exodus 18:11 Hebrew with them
Exodus 12-18
New International Version
Exodus 12-18
New International Version
The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread(A)
12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month,(B) the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb[a](C) for his family, one for each household.(D) 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect,(E) and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month,(F) when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.(G) 7 Then they are to take some of the blood(H) and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night(I) they are to eat the meat roasted(J) over the fire, along with bitter herbs,(K) and bread made without yeast.(L) 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs.(M) 10 Do not leave any of it till morning;(N) if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste;(O) it is the Lord’s Passover.(P)
12 “On that same night I will pass through(Q) Egypt and strike down(R) every firstborn(S) of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods(T) of Egypt. I am the Lord.(U) 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over(V) you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.(W)
14 “This is a day you are to commemorate;(X) for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.(Y) 15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast.(Z) On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off(AA) from Israel. 16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work(AB) at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.
17 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread,(AC) because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt.(AD) Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.(AE) 18 In the first month(AF) you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner(AG) or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off(AH) from the community of Israel. 20 Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live,(AI) you must eat unleavened bread.”(AJ)
21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover(AK) lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop,(AL) dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood(AM) on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. 23 When the Lord goes through the land to strike(AN) down the Egyptians, he will see the blood(AO) on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over(AP) that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer(AQ) to enter your houses and strike you down.
24 “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance(AR) for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land(AS) that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children(AT) ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover(AU) sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”(AV) Then the people bowed down and worshiped.(AW) 28 The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded(AX) Moses and Aaron.
29 At midnight(AY) the Lord(AZ) struck down all the firstborn(BA) in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock(BB) as well. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing(BC) in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.
The Exodus
31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship(BD) the Lord as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds,(BE) as you have said, and go. And also bless(BF) me.”
33 The Egyptians urged the people to hurry(BG) and leave(BH) the country. “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!”(BI) 34 So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs(BJ) wrapped in clothing. 35 The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold(BK) and for clothing.(BL) 36 The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed(BM) toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered(BN) the Egyptians.
37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses(BO) to Sukkoth.(BP) There were about six hundred thousand men(BQ) on foot, besides women and children. 38 Many other people(BR) went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 With the dough the Israelites had brought from Egypt, they baked loaves of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out(BS) of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.
40 Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt[b] was 430 years.(BT) 41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions(BU) left Egypt.(BV) 42 Because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the Lord for the generations to come.(BW)
Passover Restrictions
43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover meal:(BX)
“No foreigner(BY) may eat it. 44 Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised(BZ) him, 45 but a temporary resident or a hired worker(CA) may not eat it.
46 “It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.(CB) 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.
48 “A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land.(CC) No uncircumcised(CD) male may eat it. 49 The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner(CE) residing among you.”
50 All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded(CF) Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt(CG) by their divisions.(CH)
Consecration of the Firstborn
13 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me every firstborn male.(CI) The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”
3 Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt,(CJ) out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand.(CK) Eat nothing containing yeast.(CL) 4 Today, in the month of Aviv,(CM) you are leaving. 5 When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites,(CN) Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites(CO)—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey(CP)—you are to observe this ceremony(CQ) in this month: 6 For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival(CR) to the Lord. 7 Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. 8 On that day tell your son,(CS) ‘I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand(CT) and a reminder on your forehead(CU) that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand.(CV) 10 You must keep this ordinance(CW) at the appointed time(CX) year after year.
11 “After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites(CY) and gives it to you, as he promised on oath(CZ) to you and your ancestors,(DA) 12 you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord.(DB) 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey,(DC) but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.(DD) Redeem(DE) every firstborn among your sons.(DF)
14 “In days to come, when your son(DG) asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.(DH) 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’(DI) 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead(DJ) that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”
Crossing the Sea
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”(DK) 18 So God led(DL) the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.[c] The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.(DM)
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph(DN) with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.”[d](DO)
20 After leaving Sukkoth(DP) they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.(DQ) 21 By day the Lord went ahead(DR) of them in a pillar of cloud(DS) to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left(DT) its place in front of the people.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol(DU) and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon.(DV) 3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,(DW) and he will pursue them.(DX) But I will gain glory(DY) for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”(DZ) So the Israelites did this.
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled,(EA) Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds(EB) about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots,(EC) along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart(ED) of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.(EE) 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses(EF) and chariots, horsemen[e] and troops(EG)—pursued the Israelites and overtook(EH) them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.(EI)
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried(EJ) out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?(EK) What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”(EL)
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid.(EM) Stand firm and you will see(EN) the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see(EO) again. 14 The Lord will fight(EP) for you; you need only to be still.”(EQ)
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me?(ER) Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff(ES) and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water(ET) so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts(EU) of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them.(EV) And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord(EW) when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”
19 Then the angel of God,(EX) who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud(EY) also moved from in front and stood behind(EZ) them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness(FA) to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand(FB) over the sea,(FC) and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind(FD) and turned it into dry land.(FE) The waters were divided,(FF) 22 and the Israelites went through the sea(FG) on dry ground,(FH) with a wall(FI) of water on their right and on their left.
23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen(FJ) followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud(FK) at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.(FL) 25 He jammed[f] the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting(FM) for them against Egypt.”(FN)
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place.(FO) The Egyptians were fleeing toward[g] it, and the Lord swept them into the sea.(FP) 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea.(FQ) Not one of them survived.(FR)
29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground,(FS) with a wall(FT) of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved(FU) Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand(FV) of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared(FW) the Lord and put their trust(FX) in him and in Moses his servant.
The Song of Moses and Miriam
15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song(FY) to the Lord:
“I will sing(FZ) to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver(GA)
he has hurled into the sea.(GB)
2 “The Lord is my strength(GC) and my defense[h];
he has become my salvation.(GD)
He is my God,(GE) and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt(GF) him.
3 The Lord is a warrior;(GG)
the Lord is his name.(GH)
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army(GI)
he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
are drowned in the Red Sea.[i]
5 The deep waters(GJ) have covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.(GK)
6 Your right hand,(GL) Lord,
was majestic in power.
Your right hand,(GM) Lord,
shattered(GN) the enemy.
7 “In the greatness of your majesty(GO)
you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;(GP)
it consumed(GQ) them like stubble.
8 By the blast of your nostrils(GR)
the waters piled up.(GS)
The surging waters stood up like a wall;(GT)
the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.(GU)
9 The enemy boasted,
‘I will pursue,(GV) I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;(GW)
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
and my hand will destroy them.’
10 But you blew with your breath,(GX)
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.(GY)
11 Who among the gods
is like you,(GZ) Lord?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,(HA)
awesome in glory,(HB)
working wonders?(HC)
12 “You stretch out(HD) your right hand,
and the earth swallows your enemies.(HE)
13 In your unfailing love you will lead(HF)
the people you have redeemed.(HG)
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.(HH)
14 The nations will hear and tremble;(HI)
anguish(HJ) will grip the people of Philistia.(HK)
15 The chiefs(HL) of Edom(HM) will be terrified,
the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,(HN)
the people[j] of Canaan will melt(HO) away;
16 terror(HP) and dread will fall on them.
By the power of your arm
they will be as still as a stone(HQ)—
until your people pass by, Lord,
until the people you bought[k](HR) pass by.(HS)
17 You will bring(HT) them in and plant(HU) them
on the mountain(HV) of your inheritance—
the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling,(HW)
the sanctuary,(HX) Lord, your hands established.
18 “The Lord reigns
for ever and ever.”(HY)
19 When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen[l] went into the sea,(HZ) the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.(IA) 20 Then Miriam(IB) the prophet,(IC) Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels(ID) and dancing.(IE) 21 Miriam sang(IF) to them:
“Sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver(IG)
he has hurled into the sea.”(IH)
The Waters of Marah and Elim
22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert(II) of Shur.(IJ) For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.(IK) 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.[m](IL)) 24 So the people grumbled(IM) against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”(IN)
25 Then Moses cried out(IO) to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw(IP) it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.
There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.(IQ) 26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep(IR) all his decrees,(IS) I will not bring on you any of the diseases(IT) I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals(IU) you.”
27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped(IV) there near the water.
Manna and Quail
16 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin,(IW) which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt.(IX) 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled(IY) against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt!(IZ) There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food(JA) we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”(JB)
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven(JC) for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test(JD) them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice(JE) as much as they gather on the other days.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt,(JF) 7 and in the morning you will see the glory(JG) of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling(JH) against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?”(JI) 8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling(JJ) against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”(JK)
9 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’”
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory(JL) of the Lord appearing in the cloud.(JM)
11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling(JN) of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”(JO)
13 That evening quail(JP) came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew(JQ) around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost(JR) on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know(JS) what it was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread(JT) the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer[n](JU) for each person you have in your tent.’”
17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.(JV) Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.
19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”(JW)
20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell.(JX) So Moses was angry(JY) with them.
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice(JZ) as much—two omers[o] for each person—and the leaders of the community(KA) came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath(KB) to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”
24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath,(KC) there will not be any.”
27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you[p] refuse to keep my commands(KD) and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The people of Israel called the bread manna.[q](KE) It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’”
33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna(KF) in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.”
34 As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law,(KG) so that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna(KH) forty years,(KI) until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.(KJ)
36 (An omer(KK) is one-tenth of an ephah.)(KL)
Water From the Rock
17 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin,(KM) traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim,(KN) but there was no water(KO) for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water(KP) to drink.”(KQ)
Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”(KR)
3 But the people were thirsty(KS) for water there, and they grumbled(KT) against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die(KU) of thirst?”
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone(KV) me.”
5 The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff(KW) with which you struck the Nile,(KX) and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb.(KY) Strike(KZ) the rock, and water(LA) will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah[r](LB) and Meribah[s](LC) because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
The Amalekites Defeated
8 The Amalekites(LD) came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.(LE) 9 Moses said to Joshua,(LF) “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff(LG) of God in my hands.”
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur(LH) went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning,(LI) but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.(LJ) 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite(LK) army with the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write(LL) this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out(LM) the name of Amalek(LN) from under heaven.”
15 Moses built an altar(LO) and called(LP) it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against[t] the throne of the Lord,[u] the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites(LQ) from generation to generation.”(LR)
Jethro Visits Moses
18 Now Jethro,(LS) the priest of Midian(LT) and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.(LU)
2 After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah,(LV) his father-in-law Jethro received her 3 and her two sons.(LW) One son was named Gershom,[v] for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”;(LX) 4 and the other was named Eliezer,[w](LY) for he said, “My father’s God was my helper;(LZ) he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”
5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain(MA) of God. 6 Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”
7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down(MB) and kissed(MC) him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships(MD) they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved(ME) them.
9 Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things(MF) the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said, “Praise be to the Lord,(MG) who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods,(MH) for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.”(MI) 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law,(MJ) brought a burnt offering(MK) and other sacrifices(ML) to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal(MM) with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence(MN) of God.
13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”
15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.(MO) 16 Whenever they have a dispute,(MP) it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”(MQ)
17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.(MR) 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you.(MS) You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes(MT) to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions,(MU) and show them the way they are to live(MV) and how they are to behave.(MW) 21 But select capable men(MX) from all the people—men who fear(MY) God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain(MZ)—and appoint them as officials(NA) over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case(NB) to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share(NC) it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders(ND) of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.(NE) 26 They served as judges(NF) for the people at all times. The difficult cases(NG) they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.(NH)
27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.(NI)
Footnotes
- Exodus 12:3 The Hebrew word can mean lamb or kid; also in verse 4.
- Exodus 12:40 Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint Egypt and Canaan
- Exodus 13:18 Or the Sea of Reeds
- Exodus 13:19 See Gen. 50:25.
- Exodus 14:9 Or charioteers; also in verses 17, 18, 23, 26 and 28
- Exodus 14:25 See Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint and Syriac; Masoretic Text removed
- Exodus 14:27 Or from
- Exodus 15:2 Or song
- Exodus 15:4 Or the Sea of Reeds; also in verse 22
- Exodus 15:15 Or rulers
- Exodus 15:16 Or created
- Exodus 15:19 Or charioteers
- Exodus 15:23 Marah means bitter.
- Exodus 16:16 That is, possibly about 3 pounds or about 1.4 kilograms; also in verses 18, 32, 33 and 36
- Exodus 16:22 That is, possibly about 6 pounds or about 2.8 kilograms
- Exodus 16:28 The Hebrew is plural.
- Exodus 16:31 Manna sounds like the Hebrew for What is it? (see verse 15).
- Exodus 17:7 Massah means testing.
- Exodus 17:7 Meribah means quarreling.
- Exodus 17:16 Or to
- Exodus 17:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
- Exodus 18:3 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for a foreigner there.
- Exodus 18:4 Eliezer means my God is helper.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.