Exodus 13
Christian Standard Bible
13 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Consecrate every firstborn male(A) to me, the firstborn from every womb among the Israelites, both man and domestic animal; it is mine.”
3 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day when you came out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, for the Lord brought you out of here by the strength of his hand. Nothing leavened may be eaten.(B) 4 Today, in the month of Abib,[a](C) you are going out. 5 When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites,[b] which he swore to your ancestors that he would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey,(D) you must carry out this ceremony in this month.(E) 6 For seven days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread is to be eaten for those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, and no yeast may be found among you in all your territory. 8 On that day explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’(F) 9 Let it serve as a sign for you on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead,[c](G) so that the Lord’s instruction may be in your mouth; for the Lord brought you out of Egypt with a strong hand. 10 Keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.
11 “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your ancestors, and gives it to you, 12 you are to present to the Lord every firstborn male of the womb. All firstborn offspring of the livestock you own that are males will be the Lord’s. 13 You must redeem every firstborn of a donkey with a flock animal, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. However, you must redeem every firstborn among your sons.(H)
14 “In the future, when your son(I) asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘By the strength of his hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of humans and the firstborn of livestock. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord all the firstborn of the womb that are males, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’ 16 So let it be a sign on your hand and a symbol[d] on your forehead, for the Lord brought us out of Egypt by the strength of his hand.”(J)
The Route of the Exodus
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby; for God said, “The people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war.”(K) 18 So he led the people around toward the Red Sea along the road of the wilderness. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt in battle formation.(L)
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph(M) with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites swear a solemn oath, saying, “God will certainly come to your aid; then you must take my bones with you from this place.”
20 They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud(N) to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people.
Exodus 13
International Standard Version
Consecration of the Firstborn
13 The Lord spoke to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelis, both of humans and of animals, belongs to me.”
The Festival of Unleavened Bread
3 Then Moses told the people, “Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt, from the house of bondage, because the Lord brought you out from this place with a strong show of force.[a] Moreover, nothing leavened is to be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. 5 When the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which he swore to your ancestors to give you—a land flowing with milk and honey—you are to observe this ritual in this month. 6 You are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread is to be eaten for seven days, and nothing leavened is to be seen among you, nor is leaven to be seen among you throughout your territory. 8 And you are to tell your child on that day, ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 It is to be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead,[b] so that you may speak about the instruction[c] of the Lord; for the Lord brought you out of Egypt with a strong show of force.[d] 10 You are to keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year.”
The Redemption of the Firstborn
11 “When the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite and gives it to you, just as he promised you and your ancestors, 12 you are to dedicate to the Lord everything that first opens the womb. All the firstborn males[e] of your livestock belong to the Lord. 13 You are to redeem every firstborn donkey[f] with a lamb, and if you don’t redeem it, you are to break its neck. You are to redeem every firstborn[g] among your sons. 14 Then when your child asks you in the future, ‘What is this?’, you are to say to him, ‘The Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondage with a strong show of force.[h] 15 And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of humans to the firstborn of animals. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord every male that first opens the womb, but I redeem every firstborn of my sons. 16 It is to be a sign on your hand and an emblem[i] on your forehead,[j] because the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong show of force.’”[k]
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[l] Sea. The Israelis went up from the land of Egypt in military formation.[m] 19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph[n] had made the Israelis take this solemn oath: “God will certainly take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones up with you from here.” 20 They left Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the desert. 21 The Lord went in front of 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, so they could travel both day and night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
Footnotes
- Exodus 13:3 Lit. strong hand
- Exodus 13:9 Lit. between your eyes
- Exodus 13:9 Or Law
- Exodus 13:9 Lit. strong hand
- Exodus 13:12 Lit. Whatever first opens the womb
- Exodus 13:13 Lit. Whatever first opens the womb
- Exodus 13:13 Lit. firstborn of man
- Exodus 13:14 Lit. strong hand
- Exodus 13:16 Or phylacteries
- Exodus 13:16 Lit. between your eyes
- Exodus 13:16 Lit. strong hand
- Exodus 13:18 So MT; LXX reads Red
- Exodus 13:18 Or prepared for battle
- Exodus 13:19 Lit. he
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