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Exodus 12
New King James Version

The Passover Instituted(A)

12 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 (B)“This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the (C)tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be (D)without[a] blemish, a male [b]of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 Now you shall keep it until the (E)fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that (F)night; (G)roasted in fire, with (H)unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but (I)roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. 10 (J)You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11 And thus you shall eat it: [c]with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. (K)It is the Lord’s Passover.

12 ‘For I (L)will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and (M)against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: (N)I am the Lord. 13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

14 ‘So this day shall be to you (O)a memorial; and you shall keep it as a (P)feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast (Q)by an everlasting ordinance. 15 (R)Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, (S)that [d]person shall be [e]cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day there shall be (T)a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. 17 So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for (U)on this same day I will have brought your [f]armies (V)out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. 18 (W)In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For (X)seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ”

21 Then (Y)Moses called for all the (Z)elders of Israel and said to them, (AA)“Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 (AB)And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and (AC)strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 (AD)For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the (AE)blood on the [g]lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and (AF)not allow (AG)the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 And you shall (AH)observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, (AI)just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 (AJ)And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 that you shall say, (AK)‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ ” So the people (AL)bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and (AM)did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn(AN)

29 (AO)And it came to pass at midnight that (AP)the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was [h]in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of (AQ)livestock. 30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

The Exodus

31 Then he (AR)called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, (AS)both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the Lord as you have (AT)said. 32 (AU)Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.”

33 (AV)And the Egyptians (AW)urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. 35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians (AX)articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 (AY)And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus (AZ)they plundered the Egyptians.

37 Then (BA)the children of Israel journeyed from (BB)Rameses to Succoth, about (BC)six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. 38 A (BD)mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of (BE)livestock. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because (BF)they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.

40 Now the [i]sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in [j]Egypt was (BG)four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that (BH)all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It is (BI)a [k]night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.

Passover Regulations(BJ)

43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is (BK)the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. 44 But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have (BL)circumcised him, then he may eat it. 45 (BM)A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it. 46 In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, (BN)nor shall you break one of its bones. 47 (BO)All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 And (BP)when a stranger [l]dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. 49 (BQ)One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.”

50 Thus all the children of Israel did; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. 51 (BR)And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt (BS)according to their armies.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 12:5 perfect or sound
  2. Exodus 12:5 a year old
  3. Exodus 12:11 Made ready to travel
  4. Exodus 12:15 soul
  5. Exodus 12:15 Put to death
  6. Exodus 12:17 hosts
  7. Exodus 12:23 Crosspiece at top of door
  8. Exodus 12:29 in prison
  9. Exodus 12:40 Length of the stay
  10. Exodus 12:40 Sam., LXX Egypt and Canaan
  11. Exodus 12:42 night of vigil
  12. Exodus 12:48 As a resident alien
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Exodus 12
Lexham English Bible

Instructions for the Feast of Passover

12 And Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month will be the beginning of months; it will be for you the first of the months of the year. 3 Speak to all the community of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month, they will each take for themselves a lamb for the family,[a] a lamb for the household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, he and the neighbor nearest to his house will take one according to the number of persons;[b] you will count out portions of the lamb according to how much each one can eat.[c] 5 The lamb for you must be a male, without defect, in its first year; you will take it from the sheep or from the goats.

6 “You will keep it[d] until the fourteenth day of this month, and all the assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter it at twilight.[e] 7 And they will take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel on the houses in which they eat it. 8 And they will eat the meat on this night; they will eat it fire-roasted and with unleavened bread on bitter herbs.[f] 9 You must not eat any of it raw or boiled, boiled in the water, but rather roasted with fire, its head with its legs and with its inner parts. 10 And you must not leave any of it until morning; anything left from it until morning you must burn in the fire. 11 And this is how you will eat it—with your waists fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you will eat it in haste. It is Yahweh’s Passover.

12 “And I will go through the land of Egypt during this night, and I will strike all of the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human to animal, and I will do punishments among all of the gods of Egypt. I am Yahweh. 13 And the blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and I will see the blood, and I will pass over you, and there will not be a destructive plague among you when I strike the land of Egypt.

14 “And this day will become a memorial for you, and you will celebrate it as a religious feast for Yahweh throughout your generations; you will celebrate it as a lasting statute. 15 You will eat unleavened bread for seven days. Surely on the first day you shall remove yeast from your houses, because anyone who eats food with yeast from the first day until the seventh day—that person will be cut off from Israel. 16 It will be for you on the first day a holy assembly[g] and on the seventh day a holy assembly;[h] no work will be done on them; only what is eaten by every person, it alone will be prepared for you.

17 “And you will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought out your divisions from the land of Egypt, and you will keep this day for your generations as a lasting statute. 18 On the first day, on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, you will eat unleavened bread until the evening of the twenty-first day of the month. 19 For seven days yeast must not be found in your houses, because anyone eating food with yeast[i] will be cut off from the community of Israel—whether an alien or a native of the land. 20 You will eat no food with yeast; in all of your dwellings you will eat unleavened bread.”

21 And Moses called all the elders of Israel, and he said to them, “Select and take for yourselves sheep for your clans and slaughter the Passover sacrifice. 22 And take a bunch of hyssop and dip it into the blood that is in the basin and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts. And you will not go out, anyone from the doorway of his house, until morning. 23 And Yahweh will go through to strike Egypt, and he will see the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, and Yahweh will pass over the doorway and will not allow the destroyer to come to your houses to strike you.

24 “And you will keep this event as a rule for you and for your children forever.[j] 25 And[k] when you come into the land that Yahweh will give to you, as he said, you will keep this religious custom.[l] 26 And[m] when your children say to you, ‘What is this religious custom[n] for you?’[o] 27 you will say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice for Yahweh, who passed over the houses of the Israelites[p] in Egypt when he struck Egypt; and he delivered our houses.’” And the people knelt down and they worshiped. 28 And the Israelites[q] went, and they did as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron; so they did.

Death of Firstborn and Deliverance from Egypt

29 And[r] in the middle of the night, Yahweh struck all of the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the prison house and every firstborn of an animal. 30 And Pharaoh got up at night, he and all his servants and all Egypt, and a great cry of distress was in Egypt because there was not a house where there was no one dead. 31 And he called Moses and Aaron at night, and he said, “Get up, go out from the midst of my people, both you as well as the Israelites,[s] and go, serve Yahweh, as you have said. 32 Take both your sheep and goats as well as your cattle, and go, and bless also me.”

33 And the Egyptians urged the people in order to hurry their release[t] from the land, because they said, “All of us will die!”[u] 34 And the people lifted up their dough before it had yeast; their kneading troughs were wrapped up in their cloaks on their shoulder. 35 And the Israelites[v] did according to the word of Moses, and they asked from the Egyptians for objects of silver and objects of gold and for clothing. 36 And Yahweh gave the people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they granted their requests, and they plundered the Egyptians.

37 And the Israelites[w] set out from Rameses to Succoth; the men were about six hundred thousand on foot,[x] besides dependents. 38 And also a mixed multitude[y] went up with them and sheep and goats and cattle, very numerous livestock. 39 And they baked the dough that they had brought out from Egypt as cakes, unleavened bread, because it had no yeast when they were driven out from Egypt, and they were not able to delay, and also they had not made provisions for themselves.

40 And the period of dwelling of the Israelites[z] that they dwelled in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, on this exact day, all of Yahweh’s divisions went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It is a night of vigils[aa] belonging to Yahweh for bringing them out from the land of Egypt; it is this night belonging to Yahweh with vigils for all of the Israelites[ab] throughout their generations.

43 And Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: No foreigner may eat it. 44 But any slave of a man, an acquisition by money, and you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. 45 A temporary resident and a hired worker may not eat it. 46 It will be eaten in one house; you will not bring part of the meat out from the house to the outside; and you will not break a bone of it. 47 All of the community of Israel will prepare it. 48 And when an alien dwells with you and he wants to prepare the Passover for Yahweh, every male belonging to him must be circumcised, and then he may come near to prepare it, and he will be as the native of the land, but any uncircumcised man may not eat it. 49 One law will be for the native and for the alien who is dwelling in your midst.”

50 And all the Israelites[ac] did as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron; so they did. 51 And it was on exactly this day Yahweh brought the Israelites[ad] out from the land of Egypt by their divisions.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 12:3 Literally “a lamb/kid for the house of fathers.” The word translated “lamb” refers to a small livestock animal and could be either a young sheep or a young goat
  2. Exodus 12:4 Or “the number of selves”
  3. Exodus 12:4 Literally “a man for the mouth of his eating”
  4. Exodus 12:6 Literally “It will be for you for observation”
  5. Exodus 12:6 Literally “between the evenings”
  6. Exodus 12:8 Literally “bitter things”
  7. Exodus 12:16 Or “summons,” “convocation”
  8. Exodus 12:16 Or “summons,” “convocation”
  9. Exodus 12:19 Literally “anyone eating yeasted food, that person”
  10. Exodus 12:24 Or “until eternity”
  11. Exodus 12:25 Literally “and it will be”
  12. Exodus 12:25 Literally “service” or “work”
  13. Exodus 12:26 Literally “and it will be”
  14. Exodus 12:26 Literally “service” or “work”
  15. Exodus 12:26 Or “What does this service mean to you?”
  16. Exodus 12:27 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  17. Exodus 12:28 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  18. Exodus 12:29 Literally “and it was”
  19. Exodus 12:31 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  20. Exodus 12:33 Or “to hasten to release them”
  21. Exodus 12:33 Or “We all are dead!”
  22. Exodus 12:35 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  23. Exodus 12:37 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  24. Exodus 12:37 Or “footmen,” “infantrymen.” The word probably has military connotations, as when it is used elsewhere in the numbering of soldiers (compare 2 Sam 10:6; 1 Kgs 20:29; 2 Kgs 13:7)
  25. Exodus 12:38 Literally “a large mixture” (compare Jer 25:20; Ezek 30:5)
  26. Exodus 12:40 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  27. Exodus 12:42 Or “observances”
  28. Exodus 12:42 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  29. Exodus 12:50 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  30. Exodus 12:51 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
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Exodus 11
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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