God Guides the People in the Desert

¹⁷ When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearer, because God had said, “If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.”

¹⁸ So God led the people the roundabout way of the desert toward the Reed^[a] Sea. The Israelis went up from the land of Egypt in military formation.^[b]