Crossing the Red Sea

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the people of Israel to ^(A)turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between ^(B)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 ^(C)I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, and I will ^(D)get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, ^(E)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 ^(F)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 ^(G)six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. ⁸ And ^(H)the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while ^(I)the people of Israel were going out defiantly. ⁹ The ^(J)Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them ^(K)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 ^(L)cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ They ^(M)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 ^(N)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, ^(O)“Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For ^(P)the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. ^14 (Q)The Lord will fight for you, and you have only ^(R)to be silent.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. ^16 (S)Lift up your staff, and ^(T)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 ^(U)I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and ^(V)I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. ¹⁸ And the Egyptians ^(W)shall know that I am the Lord, ^(X)when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

^19 (Y)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^[a] without one coming near the other all night.

²¹ Then Moses ^(Z)stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by ^(AA)a strong east wind all night and ^(AB)made the sea dry land, and the waters were ^(AC)divided. ²² And ^(AD)the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being ^(AE)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^[b] their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the ^(AF)Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(AG)“Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” ^27 (AH)So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea ^(AI)returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord ^(AJ)threw^[c] the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. ²⁸ The ^(AK)waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, ^(AL)not one of them remained. ²⁹ But the ^(AM)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 ^(AN)saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ^31 (AO)Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they ^(AP)believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

The Song of Moses

15 Then Moses and the people of Israel ^(AQ)sang this song to the Lord, saying,

¹⁹ For when ^(CE)the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, ^(CF)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 ^(CG)Miriam ^(CH)the prophetess, the ^(CI)sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and ^(CJ)all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. ²¹ And Miriam sang to them:

Bitter Water Made Sweet

²² Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of ^(CL)Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. ²³ When they came to ^(CM)Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.^{[e] 24} And the people ^(CN)grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” ²⁵ And he ^(CO)cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log,^[f] and he ^(CP)threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord^[g] made for them a statute and a rule, and there he ^(CQ)tested them, ²⁶ saying, ^(CR)“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 ^(CS)diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, ^(CT)your healer.”

²⁷ Then ^(CU)they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

6 After this ^(A)Jesus went away to the other side of ^(B)the Sea of Galilee, which is ^(C)the Sea of Tiberias. ² And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. ³ Jesus went up on ^(D)the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. ⁴ Now ^(E)the Passover, the ^(F)feast of the Jews, was at hand. ^5 (G)Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to ^(H)Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” ⁶ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. ^7 (I)Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii^[a] worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” ⁸ One of his disciples, ^(J)Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, ⁹ “There is a boy here who has five ^(K)barley loaves and two fish, but ^(L)what are they for so many?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” ^(M)Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and ^(N)when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹² And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, ^(O)“This is indeed ^(P)the Prophet ^(Q)who is to come into the world!”

^15 (R)Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus ^(S)withdrew again to ^(T)the mountain by himself.

Jesus Walks on Water

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹ When they had rowed about three or four miles,^[b] they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. ^20 (U)But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” ²¹ Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

I Am the Bread of Life

²² On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only ^(V)one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. ²³ Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord ^(W)had given thanks. ^24 (X)So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and ^(Y)went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, ^(Z)“Rabbi, when did you come here?” ²⁶ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AA)you are seeking me, not because you saw ^(AB)signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ^27 (AC)Do not work for the food that perishes, but for ^(AD)the food that endures to eternal life, which ^(AE)the Son of Man will give to you. For on ^(AF)him God the Father has ^(AG)set his seal.” ²⁸ Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing ^(AH)the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, ^(AI)that you believe in him whom ^(AJ)he has sent.” ³⁰ So they said to him, ^(AK)“Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? ^31 (AL)Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ^(AM)‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” ³² Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is ^(AN)he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴ They said to him, ^(AO)“Sir, give us this bread always.”

³⁵ Jesus said to them, ^(AP)“I am the bread of life; ^(AQ)whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. ³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. ^37 (AR)All that ^(AS)the Father gives me will come to me, and ^(AT)whoever comes to me I will never cast out. ³⁸ For ^(AU)I have come down from heaven, not to do ^(AV)my own will but ^(AW)the will of him ^(AX)who sent me. ³⁹ And ^(AY)this is the will of him who sent me, ^(AZ)that I should lose nothing of ^(BA)all that he has given me, but ^(BB)raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who ^(BC)looks on the Son and ^(BD)believes in him ^(BE)should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

⁴¹ So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, ^(BF)“I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They said, ^(BG)“Is not this Jesus, ^(BH)the son of Joseph, whose father and mother ^(BI)we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” ⁴³ Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me ^(BJ)draws him. And ^(BK)I will raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets, ^(BL)‘And they will all be ^(BM)taught by God.’ ^(BN)Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— ^46 (BO)not that anyone has seen the Father except ^(BP)he who is from God; he ^(BQ)has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(BR)whoever believes has eternal life. ^48 (BS)I am the bread of life. ^49 (BT)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and ^(BU)they died. ^50 (BV)This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it ^(BW)and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread ^(BX)that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give ^(BY)for the life of the world is ^(BZ)my flesh.”

⁵² The Jews then ^(CA)disputed among themselves, saying, ^(CB)“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” ⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of ^(CC)the Son of Man and drink his blood, you ^(CD)have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ^(CE)has eternal life, and ^(CF)I will raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ^(CG)abides in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As ^(CH)the living Father ^(CI)sent me, and ^(CJ)I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. ^58 (CK)This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread^[c] the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹ Jesus^[d] said these things in the synagogue, as he taught ^(CL)at Capernaum.

The Words of Eternal Life

^60 (CM)When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” ⁶¹ But Jesus, ^(CN)knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? ⁶² Then what if you were to see ^(CO)the Son of Man ^(CP)ascending to ^(CQ)where he was before? ^63 (CR)It is the Spirit who gives life; ^(CS)the flesh is no help at all. ^(CT)The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴ But ^(CU)there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus ^(CV)knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and ^(CW)who it was who would betray him.) ⁶⁵ And he said, “This is why I told you ^(CX)that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

^66 (CY)After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to ^(CZ)the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have ^(DA)the words of eternal life, ⁶⁹ and ^(DB)we have believed, and have come to know, that ^(DC)you are ^(DD)the Holy One of God.” ⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, ^(DE)“Did I not choose you, ^(DF)the twelve? And yet one of you is ^(DG)a devil.” ⁷¹ He spoke of Judas ^(DH)the son of Simon Iscariot, for ^(DI)he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.