13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “^(A)Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the firstborn of every womb among the sons of Israel, among people and animals alike; it belongs to Me.”

³ And Moses said to the people, “^(B)Remember this day in which you departed from Egypt, from the house of ^[a]slavery; for ^(C)by ^[b]a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. ^(D)And nothing with yeast shall be eaten. ⁴ On this day in the ^(E)month of Abib, you are about to go out from here. ⁵ And it shall be when the Lord ^(F)brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which ^(G)He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, ^(H)that you shall ^[c]perform this rite in this month. ⁶ For ^(I)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 throughout the seven days; and ^(J)nothing with yeast shall ^[d]be seen among you, nor shall any dough with yeast ^[e]be seen among you in all your borders. ⁸ And ^(K)you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹ And ^(L)it shall ^[f]serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder ^[g]on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with ^(M)a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ Therefore, you shall ^(N)keep this ordinance at its appointed time from ^[h]year to year.

¹¹ “Now when ^(O)the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as ^(P)He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, ^12 (Q)you shall ^[i]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 ^(R)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 ^(S)every ^[j]firstborn among your sons you shall redeem. ^14 (T)And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘^(U)With ^[k]a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of ^[l]slavery. ¹⁵ And it came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the ^(V)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 ^(W)it shall ^[m]serve as a sign on your hand and as ^[n]phylacteries ^[o]on your forehead, for with ^[p]a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

God Leads the People

¹⁷ Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “^(X)The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ Therefore God led the people around by way of the wilderness to the ^[q]Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up ^(Y)in battle formation from the land of Egypt. ¹⁹ And Moses took ^(Z)the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will certainly ^[r]take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.” ²⁰ Then they set out from ^(AA)Succoth and camped in Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ And ^(AB)the Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they might ^[s]travel by day and by night. ^22 [t]He ^(AC)did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from the presence of the people.

Pharaoh in Pursuit

14 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp in front of ^(AD)Pi-hahiroth, between ^(AE)Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea. ³ For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ ⁴ And ^(AF)I will ^[u]harden Pharaoh’s heart, and ^(AG)he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and ^(AH)the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, ^[v]Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this that we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” ⁶ So he had horses harnessed to his chariot and took his people with him; ⁷ and he took six hundred select chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. ⁸ So ^(AI)the Lord ^[w]hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out ^[x](AJ)boldly. ⁹ Then ^(AK)the Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them camping by the sea, ^(AL)beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the sons of Israel ^[y]looked, and behold, the Egyptians were coming after them, and they became very frightened; ^(AM)so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ Then ^(AN)they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, ^[z]bringing us out of Egypt? ^12 (AO)Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘^[aa]Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness!”

The Sea Is Divided

¹³ But Moses said to the people, “^(AP)Do not fear! ^[ab]Stand by and see ^(AQ)the salvation of the Lord, which He will perform for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again, ever. ^14 (AR)The Lord will fight for you, while ^(AS)you keep silent.”

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. ¹⁶ As for you, lift up ^(AT)your staff and reach out with your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall ^[ac]go through the midst of the sea on dry land. ¹⁷ And as for Me, behold, ^(AU)I will ^[ad]harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. ^18 (AV)Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots, and through his horsemen.”

¹⁹ Then ^(AW)the angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. ²⁰ So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud ^[ae]along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night. Therefore the one did not approach the other all night.

^21 (AX)Then Moses reached out with his hand over the sea; and the Lord ^[af]swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into ^(AY)dry land, and ^(AZ)the waters were divided. ²² So ^(BA)the sons of Israel ^[ag]went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and ^(BB)the waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left. ²³ Then ^(BC)the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea. ²⁴ But at the morning watch, ^(BD)the Lord looked down on the ^[ah]army of the Egyptians ^[ai]through the pillar of fire and cloud, and brought the ^[aj]army of the Egyptians into confusion. ²⁵ He ^[ak]caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians each said, “Let me flee from Israel, ^(BE)for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “^(BF)Reach out with your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.” ²⁷ So Moses reached out with his hand over the sea, and ^(BG)the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing ^[al]right into it; then the Lord ^[am](BH)overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. ²⁸ The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; ^(BI)not even one of them remained. ²⁹ But the sons of Israel walked on ^(BJ)dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left.

^30 (BK)So the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel ^(BL)saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹ When Israel saw the great ^[an]power which the Lord had ^[ao]used against the Egyptians, the people ^[ap]feared the Lord, and ^(BM)they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses.

The King of Glory Entering Zion.

A Psalm of David.

Signs of Christ’s Return

24 ^(A)Jesus ^(B)left the temple area and was going on His way ^[a]when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. ² But He responded and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, ^(C)not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³ And as He was sitting on ^(D)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of ^(E)Your coming, and of the ^[b]end of the age?”

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them, “^(F)See to it that no one ^[c]misleads you. ⁵ For ^(G)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ^[d]Christ,’ and they will ^[e]mislead many people. ⁶ And you will be hearing of ^(H)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. ⁷ For ^(I)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^(J)famines and earthquakes in various places. ^8 (K)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “^(L)Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and ^(M)you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰ And at that time many will ^[f](N)fall away, and they will ^[g]betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many ^(O)false prophets will rise up and ^[h]mislead many people. ¹² And because lawlessness is increased, ^[i]most people’s love will become cold. ^13 (P)But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. ¹⁴ This ^(Q)gospel of the kingdom ^(R)shall be preached in the whole ^[j](S)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Perilous Times

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the ^(T)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^(U)the holy place—^[k](V)let the ^[l]reader understand— ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^17 [m]Whoever is on ^(W)the ^[n]housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. ¹⁸ And ^[o]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁹ But ^(X)woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ Moreover, pray that ^[p]when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be a ^(Y)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. ²² And if those days had not been cut short, no ^[q]life would have been saved; but for ^(Z)the sake of the ^[r]elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (AA)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[s]Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false christs and ^(AB)false prophets will arise and will provide great ^[t](AC)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even ^(AD)the ^[u]elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶ So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. ^27 (AE)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the ^(AF)coming of the ^(AG)Son of Man ^[v]be. ^28 (AH)Wherever the corpse is, there the ^[w]vultures will gather.

The Glorious Return

²⁹ “But immediately after the ^(AI)tribulation of those days ^(AJ)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(AK)the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then ^(AL)the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ^(AM)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(AN)He will send forth His angels with ^(AO)a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His ^[x](AP)elect from ^(AQ)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Parable of the Fig Tree

³² “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near; ³³ so you too, when you see all these things, ^[y]recognize that ^[z]He is near, right ^(AR)at the ^[aa]door. ³⁴ Truly I say to you, ^(AS)this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^35 (AT)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁶ “But ^(AU)about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. ³⁷ For ^[ab]the ^(AV)coming of the Son of Man will be ^(AW)just like the days of Noah. ³⁸ For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^(AX)marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that ^(AY)Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they did not ^[ac]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the ^(AZ)coming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰ At that time there will be two men in the field; one ^[ad]will be taken and one ^[ae]will be left. ^41 (BA)Two women will be grinding at the ^[af](BB)mill; one ^[ag]will be taken and one ^[ah]will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

⁴² “Therefore ^(BC)be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But ^[ai]be sure of this, that ^(BD)if the head of the house had known ^(BE)at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ For this reason ^(BF)you must be ready as well; for ^(BG)the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

⁴⁵ “^(BH)Who then is the ^(BI)faithful and ^(BJ)sensible slave whom his ^[aj]master ^(BK)put in charge of his household slaves, to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave whom his ^[ak]master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly I say to you that ^(BL)he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My ^[al]master ^[am]is not coming for a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and he eats and drinks with those habitually drunk; ⁵⁰ then the ^[an]master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, ⁵¹ and he will ^[ao]cut him in two and assign ^[ap]him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be ^(BM)weeping and gnashing of teeth.