Exodus 13-16

New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 13

Consecration of Firstborn. ¹ The Lord spoke to Moses and said: ² Consecrate to me every firstborn; whatever opens the womb among the Israelites,^(A) whether of human being or beast, belongs to me.

^3 (B)Moses said to the people, “Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt, out of a house of slavery. For it was with a strong hand that the Lord brought you out from there. Nothing made with leaven may be eaten. ⁴ This day on which you are going out is in the month of Abib.^{[a] 5} Therefore, when the Lord, your God, has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perrizites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you will perform the following service^[b] in this month. ⁶ For seven days you will eat unleavened bread, and the seventh day will also be a festival to the Lord. ⁷ Unleavened bread may be eaten during the seven days, but nothing leavened and no leaven may be found in your possession in all your territory. ⁸ And on that day you will explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹ It will be like a sign^[c] on your hand and a reminder on your forehead,^(C) so that the teaching of the Lord will be on your lips: with a strong hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ You will keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.

¹¹ “When the Lord, your God, has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, just as he swore to you and your ancestors, and gives it to you, ^12 (D)you will dedicate to the Lord every newborn that opens the womb; and every firstborn male of your animals will belong to the Lord. ¹³ Every firstborn of a donkey you will ransom with a sheep. If you do not ransom it, you will break its neck. Every human firstborn of your sons you must ransom. ¹⁴ And when your son asks you later on, ‘What does this mean?’ you will tell him, ‘With a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of a house of slavery. ¹⁵ When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, the firstborn of human being and beast alike. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord every male that opens the womb, and why I ransom every firstborn of my sons.’ ¹⁶ It will be like a sign on your hand and a band on your forehead that with a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”^(E)

IV. The Deliverance of the Israelites from Pharaoh and Victory at the Sea

Toward the Red Sea. ¹⁷ Now, when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the Philistines’ land,^[d] though this was the nearest; for God said: If the people see that they have to fight, they might change their minds and return to Egypt. ¹⁸ Instead, God rerouted them toward the Red Sea by way of the wilderness road, and the Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt arrayed for battle. ¹⁹ Moses also took Joseph’s bones^(F) with him, for Joseph had made the Israelites take a solemn oath, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you must bring my bones up with you from here.”

²⁰ Setting out from Succoth, they camped at Etham^(G) near the edge of the wilderness.

^21 (H)The Lord preceded them, in the daytime by means of a column of cloud to show them the way, and at night by means of a column of fire^[e] to give them light. Thus they could travel both day and night. ²² Neither the column of cloud by day nor the column of fire by night ever left its place in front of the people.

Chapter 14

¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ² Speak to the Israelites: Let them turn about and camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea.^(I) Camp in front of Baal-zephon,^[f] just opposite, by the sea. ³ Pharaoh will then say, “The Israelites are wandering about aimlessly in the land. The wilderness has closed in on them.” ⁴ I will so harden Pharaoh’s heart that he will pursue them. Thus I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.

This the Israelites did. ^5 (J)When it was reported to the king of Egypt that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart about the people. “What in the world have we done!” they said. “We have released Israel from our service!” ⁶ So Pharaoh harnessed his chariots and took his army with him. ⁷ He took six hundred select chariots and all the chariots of Egypt, with officers^[g] on all of them. ⁸ The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites while they were going out in triumph. ⁹ The Egyptians pursued them—all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, his horsemen,^[h] and his army—and caught up with them as they lay encamped by the sea, at Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

Crossing the Red Sea. ¹⁰ Now Pharaoh was near when the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians had set out after them. Greatly frightened, the Israelites cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ To Moses they said, “Were there no burial places in Egypt that you brought us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² Did we not tell you this in Egypt, when we said, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? Far better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” ¹³ But Moses answered the people, “Do not fear! Stand your ground and see the victory the Lord will win for you today. For these Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses: Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to set out. ¹⁶ And you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea, and split it in two, that the Israelites may pass through the sea on dry land. ¹⁷ But I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and his horsemen. ¹⁸ The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.

¹⁹ The angel of God,^[i] who had been leading Israel’s army, now moved and went around behind them. And the column of cloud, moving from in front of them, took up its place behind them, ²⁰ so that it came between the Egyptian army and that of Israel. And when it became dark, the cloud illumined the night; and so the rival camps did not come any closer together all night long.^{[j] 21 (K)}Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind all night long and turned the sea into dry ground. The waters were split, ²² so that the Israelites entered into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water as a wall to their right and to their left.

Rout of the Egyptians. ²³ The Egyptians followed in pursuit after them—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen—into the midst of the sea. ²⁴ But during the watch just before dawn, the Lord looked down from a column of fiery cloud upon the Egyptian army and threw it into a panic; ²⁵ and he so clogged their chariot wheels that they could drive only with difficulty. With that the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

²⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses: Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and their horsemen. ²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal flow. The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward it when the Lord cast the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. ^28 (L)As the water flowed back, it covered the chariots and the horsemen. Of all Pharaoh’s army which had followed the Israelites into the sea, not even one escaped. ²⁹ But the Israelites had walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, with the water as a wall to their right and to their left. ³⁰ Thus the Lord saved Israel on that day from the power of Egypt. When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore ³¹ and saw the great power that the Lord had shown against Egypt, the people feared the Lord. They believed in the Lord^(M) and in Moses his servant.

Chapter 15

¹ Then Moses and the Israelites sang^(N) this song to the Lord:^[k]

¹⁹ When Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen entered the sea, the Lord made the waters of the sea flow back upon them, though the Israelites walked on dry land through the midst of the sea.^{(R) 20} Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, while all the women went out after her with tambourines, dancing; ²¹ and she responded^[o] to them:

V. The Journey in the Wilderness to Sinai

At Marah and Elim. ^22 (T)Then Moses led Israel forward from the Red Sea,^[p] and they marched out to the wilderness of Shur. After traveling for three days through the wilderness without finding water, ²³ they arrived at Marah, where they could not drink its water, because it was too bitter. Hence this place was called Marah. ²⁴ As the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” ²⁵ he cried out to the Lord, who pointed out to him a piece of wood. When he threw it into the water, the water became fresh.^(U)

It was here that God, in making statutes and ordinances for them, put them to the test. ²⁶ He said: If you listen closely to the voice of the Lord, your God, and do what is right in his eyes: if you heed his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases with which I afflicted the Egyptians;^(V) for I, the Lord, am your healer.

²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.^(W)

Chapter 16

The Wilderness of Sin. ¹ Having set out from Elim, the whole Israelite community came into the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month^[q] after their departure from the land of Egypt. ² Here in the wilderness the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. ³ The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our kettles of meat and ate our fill of bread! But you have led us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of famine!”

The Quail and the Manna. ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses:^(X) I am going to rain down bread from heaven^[r] for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow my instructions or not. ⁵ On the sixth day, however, when they prepare what they bring in, let it be twice as much as they gather on the other days. ⁶ So Moses and Aaron told all the Israelites,^(Y) “At evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt; ⁷ and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, when he hears your grumbling against him. But who are we that you should grumble against us?” ⁸ And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and in the morning your fill of bread, and hears the grumbling you utter against him, who then are we? Your grumbling is not against us, but against the Lord.”

⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole Israelite community: Approach the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.” ¹⁰ But while Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they turned in the direction of the wilderness, and there the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud! ¹¹ The Lord said to Moses: ¹² I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them: In the evening twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will have your fill of bread, and then you will know that I, the Lord, am your God.

¹³ In the evening, quail^(Z) came up and covered the camp. In the morning there was a layer of dew all about the camp, ¹⁴ and when the layer of dew evaporated, fine flakes were on the surface of the wilderness, fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground. ¹⁵ On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, “What is this?”^[s] for they did not know what it was. But Moses told them, “It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.^(AA)

Regulations Regarding the Manna. ¹⁶ “Now, this is what the Lord has commanded. Gather as much of it as each needs to eat, an omer^[t] for each person for as many of you as there are, each of you providing for those in your own tent.” ¹⁷ The Israelites did so. Some gathered a large and some a small amount. ^18 [u]But when they measured it out by the omer, the one who had gathered a large amount did not have too much, and the one who had gathered a small amount did not have too little. They gathered as much as each needed to eat. ¹⁹ Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over until morning.” ²⁰ But they did not listen to Moses, and some kept a part of it over until morning, and it became wormy and stank. Therefore Moses was angry with them.

²¹ Morning after morning they gathered it, as much as each needed to eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted away. ²² On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers for each person. When all the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses, ²³ he told them, “That is what the Lord has prescribed. Tomorrow is a day of rest, a holy sabbath of the Lord. Whatever you want to bake, bake; whatever you want to boil, boil; but whatever is left put away and keep until the morning.” ²⁴ When they put it away until the morning, as Moses commanded, it did not stink nor were there worms in it. ²⁵ Moses then said, “Eat it today, for today is the sabbath of the Lord. Today you will not find any in the field. ²⁶ Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, it will not be there.” ²⁷ Still, on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather it, but they did not find any. ²⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses: How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my instructions? ²⁹ Take note! The Lord has given you the sabbath. That is why on the sixth day he gives you food for two days. Each of you stay where you are and let no one go out on the seventh day. ³⁰ After that the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ The house of Israel named this food manna.^(AB) It was like coriander seed,^[v] white, and it tasted like wafers made with honey.

³² Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded. Keep a full omer of it for your future generations, so that they may see the food I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.” ³³ Moses then told Aaron, “Take a jar^[w] and put a full omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to keep it for your future generations.” ³⁴ As the Lord had commanded Moses, Aaron placed it in front of the covenant^[x] to keep it.

³⁵ The Israelites ate the manna for forty years, until they came to settled land;^(AC) they ate the manna until they came to the borders of Canaan. ³⁶ (An omer is one tenth of an ephah.)^[y]