Exodus 13
Legacy Standard Bible
Sanctifying the Firstborn
13 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “(A)Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first [a]offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.”
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
3 And Moses said to the people, “(B)Remember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of [b]slavery; for (C)by a strong hand Yahweh brought you out from this place. (D)And nothing leavened shall be eaten. 4 This day, in the (E)month of Abib, you are going out. 5 And it shall be when Yahweh (F)brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which (G)He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, (H)that you shall [c]do this service in this month. 6 For (I)seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to Yahweh. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and (J)nothing leavened shall be seen [d]among you, nor shall any leaven be seen [e]among you in all your borders. 8 (K)And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what Yahweh did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 And (L)it will be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of Yahweh may be in your mouth; for with (M)a strong hand Yahweh brought you out of Egypt. 10 Therefore, you shall (N)keep this statute at its appointed time from [f]year to year.
11 “And it will be when (O)Yahweh brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as (P)He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 (Q)and you shall [g]devote to Yahweh the first [h]offspring of every womb and [i]the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to Yahweh. 13 But (R)every first [j]offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and (S)every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 (T)And it will be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘(U)With a strong hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt, from the house of [k]slavery. 15 And it happened, when Pharaoh hardened his heart with stiffness about letting us go, that (V)Yahweh killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to Yahweh the males, the first [l]offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 So (W)it will be as a sign on your hand and as [m]phylacteries between your eyes, for with a strong hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt.”
Pillars of Cloud and Fire
17 Now it happened that when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not guide them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “(X)Lest the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” 18 Hence God turned the people to the way of the wilderness to the [n]Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up (Y)in battle array from the land of Egypt. 19 And Moses took (Z)the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely [o]take care of you, and you shall bring up my bones from here with you.” 20 Then they set out from (AA)Succoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 (AB)And Yahweh was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to guide them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might go by day and by night. 22 [p]He (AC)did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
Footnotes
- Exodus 13:2 Lit opening
- Exodus 13:3 Lit slaves
- Exodus 13:5 Lit serve this service
- Exodus 13:7 Lit to
- Exodus 13:7 Lit to
- Exodus 13:10 Lit days to days
- Exodus 13:12 Lit cause to pass over
- Exodus 13:12 Lit opening
- Exodus 13:12 Lit every issue the offspring of a beast
- Exodus 13:13 Lit opening
- Exodus 13:14 Lit slaves
- Exodus 13:15 Lit opening
- Exodus 13:16 Or frontlet-bands
- Exodus 13:18 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Exodus 13:19 Lit visit
- Exodus 13:22 Or The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart
Exodus 13
Common English Bible
13 The Lord said to Moses: 2 Dedicate to me all your oldest children. Each first offspring from any Israelite womb belongs to me, whether human or animal.
Unleavened bread
3 Moses said to the people, “Remember this day which is the day that you came out of Egypt, out of the place you were slaves, because the Lord acted with power to bring you out of there. No leavened bread may be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of Abib,[a] you are going to leave. 5 The Lord will bring you to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. It is the land that the Lord promised your ancestors to give to you, a land full of milk and honey. You should perform this ritual in this month. 6 You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. The seventh day is a festival to the Lord. 7 Only unleavened bread should be eaten for seven days. No leavened bread and no yeast should be seen among you in your whole country. 8 You should explain to your child on that day, ‘It’s because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
9 “It will be a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead so that you will often discuss the Lord’s Instruction, for the Lord brought you out of Egypt with great power. 10 So you should follow this regulation at its appointed time every year.
Dedication of Israel’s oldest offspring
11 “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you as promised to you and your ancestors, 12 you should set aside for the Lord whatever comes out of the womb first. All of the first males born to your animal belong to the Lord. 13 But every first male donkey you should ransom with a sheep. If you don’t ransom it, you must break its neck. You should ransom every oldest male among your children. 14 When in the future your child asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you should answer, ‘The Lord brought us with great power out of Egypt, out of the place we were slaves. 15 When Pharaoh refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the oldest offspring in the land of Egypt, from the oldest sons to the oldest male animals. That is why I offer to the Lord as a sacrifice every male that first comes out of the womb. But I ransom my oldest sons.’ 16 It will be a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with great power.”
God leads the way
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God didn’t lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, even though that was the shorter route. God thought, If the people have to fight and face war, they will run back to Egypt. 18 So God led the people by the roundabout way of the Reed Sea[b] desert. The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt ready for battle. 19 Moses took with him Joseph’s bones just as Joseph had made Israel’s sons promise when he said to them, “When God takes care of you, you must carry my bones out of here with you.” 20 They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. 21 The Lord went in front of them during the day in a column of cloud to guide them and at night in a column of lightning to give them light. This way they could travel during the day and at night. 22 The column of cloud during the day and the column of lightning at night never left its place in front of the people.
Footnotes
- Exodus 13:4 March–April, named Nisan after the exile
- Exodus 13:18 Or Red Sea
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