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13 ¶ And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and of beast; for it is mine.

And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD has brought you out of here with a strong hand; therefore, ye shall not eat with leaven.

This day ye came out in the month Abib.

And when the LORD shall have brought thee into the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, which he swore unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt do this service in this month.

Thou shalt eat without leaven for seven days, and the seventh day shall be a feast unto the LORD.

Bread without leaven shall be eaten the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen with thee, neither shall there be any leaven in all thy borders.

And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when he brought me out of Egypt.

And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thy hand and for a memorial before thine eyes, that the LORD’s law may be in thy mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought thee out of Egypt.

10 Thou shalt, therefore, keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.

11 ¶ And it shall be when the LORD shall have brought thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall have given it to thee,

12 that thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that opens the womb and in the same manner every firstborn that opens the wombs of thy animals; the males shall be the LORD’s.

13 And every firstborn of an ass thou shalt ransom with a lamb; and if thou wilt not ransom it, then thou shalt cut off its head; and in the same manner thou shalt ransom all the human firstborn among thy sons.

14 And it shall be when thy son asks thee in time to come, saying, What is this? Thou shalt say unto him, With a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery;

15 and it came to pass when Pharaoh was hardening himself to not let us go that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt from the human firstborn to the firstborn of the beast; therefore, I sacrifice to the LORD every male that opens the womb, and I ransom every firstborn of my sons.

16 And it shall be for a token upon thy hand, and for a memorial before thine eyes: That the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand.

17 ¶ And it came to pass when Pharaoh had let the people go that God did not lead them through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt;

18 but God led the people round about through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the sons of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt.

19 And Moses also took the bones of Joseph with him, who had made the sons of Israel swear, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away from here with you.

20 And they took their journey from Succoth and encamped in Etham in the edge of the wilderness.

21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them in the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light that they might walk by day and by night.

22 He never took away the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

Consecration of the Firstborn

13 The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me every firstborn male.(A) The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”

Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt,(B) out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand.(C) Eat nothing containing yeast.(D) Today, in the month of Aviv,(E) you are leaving. When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites,(F) Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites(G)—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey(H)—you are to observe this ceremony(I) in this month: For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival(J) to the Lord. 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. On that day tell your son,(K) ‘I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand(L) and a reminder on your forehead(M) that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand.(N) 10 You must keep this ordinance(O) at the appointed time(P) year after year.

11 “After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites(Q) and gives it to you, as he promised on oath(R) to you and your ancestors,(S) 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.(T) 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey,(U) but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.(V) Redeem(W) every firstborn among your sons.(X)

14 “In days to come, when your son(Y) 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.(Z) 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.’(AA) 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead(AB) 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.”(AC) 18 So God led(AD) the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.[a] The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.(AE)

19 Moses took the bones of Joseph(AF) 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.”[b](AG)

20 After leaving Sukkoth(AH) they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.(AI) 21 By day the Lord went ahead(AJ) of them in a pillar of cloud(AK) 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(AL) its place in front of the people.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 13:18 Or the Sea of Reeds
  2. Exodus 13:19 See Gen. 50:25.