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 Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea. ³ For Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ ⁴ I will harden (make stubborn, defiant) Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will be glorified and honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians shall know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this that we have done? We have let Israel go from serving us!” ⁶ So Pharaoh harnessed horses to his war-chariots [for battle] and took his ^[a]army with him; ⁷ and he took six hundred chosen war-chariots, and all the other war-chariots of Egypt with ^[b]fighting charioteers over all of them. ⁸ The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, as they were leaving confidently and defiantly.^{(A) 9} The Egyptians chased them with all the horses and war-chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them as they camped by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were very frightened; so the Israelites cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What is this that you have done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians [as slaves] than to die in the wilderness.”

The Sea Is Divided

¹³ Then Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid! Take your stand [be firm and confident and undismayed] and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for those Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you while you [only need to] keep silent and remain calm.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to move forward [toward the sea]. ¹⁶ As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the sons of Israel may go through the middle of the sea on dry land. ¹⁷ As for Me, hear this: I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will go in [the sea] after them; and I will be glorified and honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and his war-chariots and his horsemen. ¹⁸ And the Egyptians shall know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that I am the Lord, when I am glorified and honored through Pharaoh, through his war-chariots and his charioteers.”

¹⁹ The ^[c]angel of God, who had been going in front of the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them. The pillar of the cloud moved from in front and stood behind them. ²⁰ So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. It was a cloud along with darkness [even by day to the Egyptians], but it gave light by night [to the Israelites]; so one [army] did not come near the other all night.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all that night and turned the seabed into dry land, and the waters were divided. ²² The Israelites went into the middle of the sea on dry land, and the waters formed a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. ²³ Then the Egyptians pursued them into the middle of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his war-chariots and his charioteers. ²⁴ So it happened at the early morning watch [before dawn], that the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and put them in a state of confusion. ²⁵ He made their chariot wheels hard to turn, and the chariots difficult to drive; so the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, on their war-chariots and their charioteers.” ²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal flow at sunrise; and the Egyptians retreated right into it [being met by the returning water]; so the Lord overthrew the Egyptians and tossed them into the midst of the sea. ²⁸ The waters returned and covered the chariots and the charioteers, and all the army of Pharaoh that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them survived. ²⁹ But the Israelites walked on dry land in the middle of the sea, and the waters formed a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

³⁰ The Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians [lying] dead on the ^[d]seashore. ³¹ When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord [with reverence and awe-filled respect], and they believed in the Lord, and in His servant Moses.

The Song of Moses and Israel

15 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this ^[e]song to the Lord, singing,

¹⁹ For the horses of Pharaoh went with his war-chariots and his charioteers into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the sons of Israel walked on dry land in the middle of the sea.

²⁰ Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron [and Moses], took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her with timbrels and dancing.^{(B) 21} Miriam answered them,

The Lord Provides Water

²² Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went into the Wilderness of Shur; they went [a distance of] three days (about thirty-three miles) in the wilderness and found no water. ²³ Then they came to Marah, but they could not drink its waters because they were ^[h]bitter; therefore it was named Marah (bitter). ²⁴ The people [grew discontented and] grumbled at Moses, saying, “What are we going to drink?” ²⁵ Then he cried to the Lord [for help], and the Lord showed him a tree, [a branch of] which he threw into the waters, and the waters became sweet.

There the Lord made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there ^[i]He tested them, ²⁶ saying, “If you will diligently listen and pay attention to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and listen to His commandments, and keep [foremost in your thoughts and actively obey] all His precepts and statutes, then I will not put on you any of the diseases which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am the ^[j]Lord who heals you.”

²⁷ Then the children of Israel came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy date palms, and they camped there beside the waters.

The Transfiguration

17 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John the brother of James, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.^{(A) 2} And His appearance changed dramatically in their presence; and His face shone [with heavenly glory, clear and bright] like the sun, and His clothing became as white as light. ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus. ⁴ Then Peter began to speak and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good and delightful and auspicious that we are here; if You wish, I will put up three [sacred] tents here—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and ^[a]a voice from the cloud said, “^[b]This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased and delighted! Listen to Him!”^{(B) 6} When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” ⁸ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

⁹ And as they were going down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” ¹⁰ The disciples asked Him, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹¹ He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; ¹² but I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not recognize him, but did to him as they wished. The Son of Man is also going to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.^(C)

The Demoniac

¹⁴ When they approached the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, kneeling before Him and saying,^{(D) 15} “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic (moonstruck) and suffers terribly; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶ And I brought him to Your disciples, and they were not able to heal him.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” ¹⁸ Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed at once.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why could we not drive it out?” ²⁰ He answered, “Because of your little faith [your lack of trust and confidence in the power of God]; for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, ^[c]if you have [living] faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and [if it is God’s will] it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.^{(E) 21 [d]}[But this kind of demon does not go out except by prayer and fasting.]”

²² When they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed and handed over to men [who are His enemies]; ²³ and they will kill Him, and He will be raised [from death to life] on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved and distressed.

The Tribute Money

²⁴ When they arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the ^[e]half-shekel [temple tax] went up to Peter and said, “Does not your teacher pay the half-shekel?”^{(F) 25} Peter answered, “Yes.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly rulers collect duties or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?” ²⁶ When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt [from taxation]. ²⁷ However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take it and give it to them [to pay the temple tax] for you and Me.”