Exodus 15
Modern English Version
A Song of Moses
15 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord and spoke, saying:
“I will sing to the Lord,
for He has triumphed gloriously!
He has thrown the horse and his rider
into the sea!
2 The Lord is my strength and song,
and He has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
3 The Lord is a man of war;
the Lord is His name.
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
He has thrown into the sea;
his chosen captains also
are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The depths have covered them;
they sank to the bottom like a stone.
6 “Your right hand, O Lord,
is glorious in power.
Your right hand, O Lord,
shatters the enemy.
7 In the greatness of Your excellence,
You overthrow those who rise up against You.
You send out Your wrath;
it consumes them like stubble.
8 With the blast of Your nostrils
the waters were gathered together.
The flowing waters stood upright as a heap;
and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 “The enemy said,
‘I will pursue. I will overtake.
I will divide the spoil;
my lust shall be satisfied upon them.
I will draw my sword,
my hand shall destroy them.’
10 You blew with Your wind,
and the sea covered them;
they sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
11 “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like You,
glorious in holiness,
fearful in praises,
doing wonders?
12 You stretched out Your right hand,
and the earth swallowed them.
13 “In Your mercy You have led
the people whom You have redeemed;
You have guided them by Your strength
to Your holy dwelling.
14 The peoples have heard and are afraid;
sorrow has taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom were amazed;
the mighty men of Moab, trembling takes hold of them;
all the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away.
16 Fear and dread fall upon them;
by the greatness of Your arm
they are as still as a stone,
until Your people pass over, O Lord,
until the people whom You have purchased pass over.
17 You shall bring them in, and plant them
on the mountain of Your inheritance,
in the place, O Lord, which You have made for Your dwelling,
in the sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.
18 The Lord will reign
forever and ever.”
19 For the horses of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea.
The Song of Miriam
20 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dancing. 21 Miriam answered them,
“Sing to the Lord,
for He triumphed gloriously!
The horse and his rider
He has hurled into the sea.”
The Waters of Marah and Elim
22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the Wilderness of Shur, and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore, the name of it was called Marah. 24 So the people murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
25 And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he had thrown it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.
There He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them. 26 He said, “If you diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases with which I have afflicted the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”
27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the waters.
Exodus 15
Contemporary English Version
The Song of Moses
15 (A)(B) (C) Moses and the Israelites sang this song in praise of the Lord:
I sing praises to the Lord
for his great victory!
He has thrown the horses
and their riders
into the sea.
2 (D) The Lord is my strength,
the reason for my song,
because he has saved me.
I praise and honor the Lord—
he is my God and the God
of my ancestors.
3 The Lord is his name,
and he is a warrior!
4 He threw the chariots and army
of Egypt's king[a]
into the Red Sea,[b]
and he drowned the best
of the king's officers.
5 They sank to the bottom
just like stones.
6 With the tremendous force
of your right arm, our Lord,
you crushed your enemies.
7 What a great victory was yours,
when you defeated everyone
who opposed you.
Your fiery anger wiped them out,
as though they were straw.
8 You were so furious
that the sea piled up
like a wall,
and the ocean depths
curdled like cheese.
9 Your enemies boasted
that they would
pursue and capture us,
divide up our possessions,
treat us as they wished,
then take out their swords
and kill us right there.
10 But when you got furious,
they sank like lead,
swallowed by ocean waves.
11 Our Lord, no other gods
compare with you—
Majestic and holy!
Fearsome and glorious!
Miracle worker!
12 When you signaled
with your right hand,
your enemies were swallowed
deep into the earth.
13 The people you rescued
were led by your powerful love
to your holy place.
14 Nations learned of this
and trembled—
Philistines shook with horror.
15 The leaders of Edom and of Moab
were terrified.
Everyone in Canaan fainted,
16 struck down by fear.
Our Lord, your powerful arm
kept them still as a rock
until the people you rescued
to be your very own
had marched by.
17 You will let your people settle
on your own mountain,
where you chose to live
and to be worshiped.
18 Our Lord, you will rule forever!
The Song of Miriam
19 The Lord covered the royal Egyptian cavalry and chariots with the sea, after the Israelites had walked safely through on dry ground. 20 Miriam the sister of Aaron was a prophet. So she took her tambourine and led the other women out to play their tambourines and to dance. 21 Then she sang to them:
“Sing praises to the Lord
for his great victory!
He has thrown the horses
and their riders into the sea.”
Bitter Water at Marah
22 After the Israelites left the Red Sea,[c] Moses led them through the Shur Desert for three days, before finding water. 23 They did find water at Marah, but it was bitter, which is how that place got its name.[d] 24 The people complained and said, “Moses, what are we going to drink?”
25 (E) Moses asked the Lord for help, and the Lord told him to throw a certain piece of wood into the water. Moses did so, and the water became fit to drink.
At Marah the Lord tested his people and also gave them some laws and teachings. 26 Then he said, “I am the Lord your God, and I cure your diseases. If you obey me by doing right and by following my laws and teachings, I won't punish you with the diseases I sent on the Egyptians.”
27 Later the Israelites came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and 70 palm trees. So they camped there.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
