Consecration of the Firstborn

13 The Lord said to Moses, ^2 (A)“Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

³ Then Moses said to the people, ^(B)“Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, ^(C)for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. ^(D)No leavened bread shall be eaten. ⁴ Today, in the month of ^(E)Abib, you are going out. ⁵ And when the Lord brings you into ^(F)the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which ^(G)he swore to your fathers to give you, a land ^(H)flowing with milk and honey, ^(I)you shall keep this service in this month. ^6 (J)Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. ⁷ Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. ^8 (K)You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹ And it shall ^(L)be to you as a sign on your hand and as ^(M)a memorial ^(N)between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. ^10 (O)You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.

¹¹ “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, ^(P)as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, ^12 (Q)you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord's. ^13 (R)Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every ^(S)firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. ^14 (T)And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ^(U)‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of ^(V)slavery. ¹⁵ For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the ^(W)Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but ^(X)all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ^16 (Y)It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for ^(Z)by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

Pillars of Cloud and Fire

¹⁷ When Pharaoh let the people go, God did ^(AA)not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people ^(AB)change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ But God ^(AC)led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. ¹⁹ Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph^[a] had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, ^(AD)“God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” ²⁰ And ^(AE)they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ And ^(AF)the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. ²² The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

Crossing the Red Sea

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the people of Israel to ^(AG)turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between ^(AH)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 ^(AI)I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, and I will ^(AJ)get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, ^(AK)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 ^(AL)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 ^(AM)six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. ⁸ And ^(AN)the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while ^(AO)the people of Israel were going out defiantly. ⁹ The ^(AP)Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them ^(AQ)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 ^(AR)cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ They ^(AS)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 ^(AT)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, ^(AU)“Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For ^(AV)the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. ^14 (AW)The Lord will fight for you, and you have only ^(AX)to be silent.”

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

^19 (BE)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^[b] without one coming near the other all night.

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

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

The Song of Moses

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

¹⁹ For when ^(DK)the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, ^(DL)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 ^(DM)Miriam ^(DN)the prophetess, the ^(DO)sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and ^(DP)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 ^(DR)Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. ²³ When they came to ^(DS)Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.^{[f] 24} And the people ^(DT)grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” ²⁵ And he ^(DU)cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log,^[g] and he ^(DV)threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord^[h] made for them a statute and a rule, and there he ^(DW)tested them, ²⁶ saying, ^(DX)“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 ^(DY)diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, ^(DZ)your healer.”

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

Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

23 Then Jesus ^(A)said to the crowds and to his disciples, ^2 (B)“The scribes and the Pharisees ^(C)sit on Moses' seat, ³ so do and observe whatever they tell you, ^(D)but not the works they do. ^(E)For they preach, but do not practice. ^4 (F)They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,^[a] and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. ^5 (G)They do all their deeds ^(H)to be seen by others. For they make ^(I)their phylacteries broad and ^(J)their fringes long, ⁶ and they ^(K)love the place of honor at feasts and ^(L)the best seats in the synagogues ⁷ and ^(M)greetings in ^(N)the marketplaces and being called ^(O)rabbi^[b] by others. ^8 (P)But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are ^(Q)all brothers.^{[c] 9 (R)}And call no man your father on earth, for ^(S)you have one Father, who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, ^(T)the Christ. ^11 (U)The greatest among you shall be your servant. ^12 (V)Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

¹³ “But woe ^(W)to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you ^(X)shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you ^(Y)neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.^{[d] 15} Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single ^(Z)proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a ^(AA)child of ^(AB)hell^[e] as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to ^(AC)you, ^(AD)blind guides, who say, ^(AE)‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁷ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or ^(AF)the temple that has made the gold sacred? ¹⁸ And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by ^(AG)the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or ^(AH)the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰ So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by ^(AI)him who dwells in it. ²² And whoever swears by ^(AJ)heaven swears by ^(AK)the throne of God and by ^(AL)him who sits upon it.

^23 (AM)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^(AN)you tithe mint and dill and ^(AO)cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: ^(AP)justice and mercy and faithfulness. ^(AQ)These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing ^(AR)a camel!

^25 (AS)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^(AT)you clean the outside of ^(AU)the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of ^(AV)greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of ^(AW)the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

^27 (AX)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like ^(AY)whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and ^(AZ)all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you also ^(BA)outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of ^(BB)hypocrisy and lawlessness.

^29 (BC)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are ^(BD)sons of those who murdered the prophets. ^32 (BE)Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. ³³ You serpents, ^(BF)you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to ^(BG)hell? ^34 (BH)Therefore ^(BI)I send you ^(BJ)prophets and wise men and ^(BK)scribes, ^(BL)some of whom you will kill and crucify, and ^(BM)some you will ^(BN)flog in your synagogues and ^(BO)persecute from town to town, ³⁵ so that on you may come all ^(BP)the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^(BQ)Abel to the blood of ^(BR)Zechariah the son of Barachiah,^[f] whom you murdered between ^(BS)the sanctuary and ^(BT)the altar. ³⁶ Truly, I say to you, ^(BU)all these things will come upon this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

^37 (BV)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that ^(BW)kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have ^(BX)gathered ^(BY)your children together ^(BZ)as a hen gathers her brood ^(CA)under her wings, and ^(CB)you were not willing! ³⁸ See, ^(CC)your house is left to you desolate. ³⁹ For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ^(CD)‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

My Help and My Deliverer

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

O Lord, Be Gracious to Me

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.