Exodus 13:17-14:14

New American Standard Bible

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, “^(A)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 ^[a]Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up ^(B)in battle formation from the land of Egypt. ¹⁹ And Moses took ^(C)the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will certainly ^[b]take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.” ²⁰ Then they set out from ^(D)Succoth and camped in Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ And ^(E)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 ^[c]travel by day and by night. ^22 [d]He ^(F)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 ^(G)Pi-hahiroth, between ^(H)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 ^(I)I will ^[e]harden Pharaoh’s heart, and ^(J)he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and ^(K)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, ^[f]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 ^(L)the Lord ^[g]hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out ^[h](M)boldly. ⁹ Then ^(N)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, ^(O)beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the sons of Israel ^[i]looked, and behold, the Egyptians were coming after them, and they became very frightened; ^(P)so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ Then ^(Q)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, ^[j]bringing us out of Egypt? ^12 (R)Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘^[k]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, “^(S)Do not fear! ^[l]Stand by and see ^(T)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 (U)The Lord will fight for you, while ^(V)you keep silent.”