Chapter 13

Sign and Memorial.^{[a] 1} The Lord spoke to Moses, ² “Consecrate each firstborn to me, whatever opens the womb in Israel, whether human or animal; it belongs to me.”

³ Moses said to the people, “Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt, your place of slavery. The Lord brought you out from there with a mighty hand. Therefore, do not eat what has been leavened. ⁴ This day you came out is in the month of Abib. ⁵ When the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, that he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall celebrate this rite in this month.

⁶ “For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh you shall celebrate a feast in honor of the Lord. ⁷ For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and there shall be nothing leavened with you. There shall be no leaven in all of your territory. ⁸ On that day you shall teach your son: ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when he brought me out of Egypt.’ ⁹ And it shall be a sign on your hand and a memorial before your eyes so that the law of the Lord may be upon your lips. With a mighty hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.^{[b] 10} You shall celebrate this rite at this time every year.

¹¹ “When the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites, as he promised you and your fathers, and he will have given it to you as a possession, ¹² you shall dedicate each firstborn from the womb to the Lord. All male firstborn of your animals belong to the Lord. ¹³ You shall redeem every firstborn donkey with a lamb.^[c] If you do not redeem it, you shall break its neck. You shall redeem each firstborn son from among his brothers.

¹⁴ “When your son asks you, ‘What is the meaning of this,’ you shall answer, ‘With a mighty arm the Lord brought us out of the land of Egypt, our place of slavery. ¹⁵ When Pharaoh was stubborn and would not let us go, the Lord slew the firstborn in the land of Egypt, the firstborn of human and animal. Because of this I sacrifice the firstborn male from every womb to the Lord, and I redeem the firstborn of my sons.’ ¹⁶ This shall be a sign on your hand and a memorial before your eyes, to remember that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.”

¹⁷ When Pharaoh let the people leave, God did not guide them on the road through the land of the Philistines, even though it was shorter, for God thought, “Otherwise the people, seeing they would have to fight, may change their minds and return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ God guided the people along the desert road toward the Red Sea. The children of Israel, well armed, left the land of Egypt.

¹⁹ Moses took the bones of Joseph along with him, for Joseph had solemnly sworn the children of Israel, saying, “Surely God will come to visit you, and when he does you must carry away my bones.”

²⁰ They left Succoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the desert. ²¹ The Lord went before them as a pillar of cloud during the day to guide them on their way, and as a column of fire during the night to give them light, so that they could travel day and night. ²² During the day the pillar of cloud never disappeared from the sight of the people, nor did the column of fire during the night.