Exodus 12:21-51
New King James Version
21 Then (A)Moses called for all the (B)elders of Israel and said to them, (C)“Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 (D)And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and (E)strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 (F)For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the (G)blood on the [a]lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and (H)not allow (I)the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 And you shall (J)observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, (K)just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 (L)And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 that you shall say, (M)‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ ” So the people (N)bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and (O)did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn(P)
29 (Q)And it came to pass at midnight that (R)the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was [b]in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of (S)livestock. 30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
The Exodus
31 Then he (T)called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, (U)both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the Lord as you have (V)said. 32 (W)Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.”
33 (X)And the Egyptians (Y)urged the people, that they might 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, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. 35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians (Z)articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 (AA)And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus (AB)they plundered the Egyptians.
37 Then (AC)the children of Israel journeyed from (AD)Rameses to Succoth, about (AE)six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. 38 A (AF)mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of (AG)livestock. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because (AH)they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.
40 Now the [c]sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in [d]Egypt was (AI)four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that (AJ)all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It is (AK)a [e]night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.
Passover Regulations(AL)
43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is (AM)the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. 44 But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have (AN)circumcised him, then he may eat it. 45 (AO)A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it. 46 In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, (AP)nor shall you break one of its bones. 47 (AQ)All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 And (AR)when a stranger [f]dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. 49 (AS)One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.”
50 Thus all the children of Israel did; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. 51 (AT)And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt (AU)according to their armies.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 12:23 Crosspiece at top of door
- Exodus 12:29 in prison
- Exodus 12:40 Length of the stay
- Exodus 12:40 Sam., LXX Egypt and Canaan
- Exodus 12:42 night of vigil
- Exodus 12:48 As a resident alien
Exodus 12:21-51
English Standard Version
21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves (A)according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of (B)hyssop and (C)dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch (D)the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. (E)None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 (F)For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on (G)the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and (H)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, (I)as he has promised, you shall keep this service. 26 And (J)when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 you shall say, (K)‘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 (L)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 (M)At midnight the (N)Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, (O)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 (P)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, (Q)both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. 32 (R)Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”
The Exodus
33 (S)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 (T)asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 (U)And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that (V)they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
37 And the (W)people of Israel journeyed from (X)Rameses to Succoth, (Y)about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 A (Z)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 (AA)they were thrust out of Egypt and (AB)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 (AC)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 (AD)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[a] that is (AE)bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. 45 (AF)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 (AG)you shall not break any of its bones. 47 (AH)All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 (AI)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 (AJ)shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 49 There shall be (AK)one law for the native and for the (AL)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 (AM)Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their (AN)hosts.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 12:44 Or servant; the Hebrew term ‘ebed designates a range of social and economic roles (see Preface)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.