Exodus 14
Lexham English Bible
Yahweh Rescues Israel at the Red Sea
14 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the Israelites[a] so that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea;[b] before Baal Zephon, which is opposite it, you will camp by the sea. 3 And Pharaoh will say of the Israelites,[c] ‘They are wandering around in the land. The desert has closed in on them.’ 4 And I will harden the heart of Pharaoh, and he will chase after them, and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and through all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” And they did so.
5 And it was told to the king of Egypt that the people fled, and the heart of Pharaoh was changed and that of his servants toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have released Israel from serving us!” 6 And he harnessed his chariot and took with him his people. 7 And he took six hundred select chariots and all the chariots of Egypt and officers over all of them. 8 And Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and he chased after the Israelites.[d] (Now the Israelites[e] were going out boldly.[f]) 9 And the Egyptians chased after them, and they overtook them encamped at the sea—all the horses of the chariots of Pharaoh and his charioteers and his army—at Pi-hahiroth before Baal Zephon.
10 And Pharaoh approached, and the Israelites[g] lifted their eyes, and there were the Egyptians traveling after them! And they were very afraid, and the Israelites[h] cried out to Yahweh. 11 And they said to Moses, “Because there are no graves in Egypt? Is that why you have taken us to die in the desert? What is this you have done to us by bringing us out from Egypt! 12 Isn’t this the word we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve Egypt!’ because serving Egypt is better for us than our dying in the desert.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “You must not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will accomplish for you today, because the Egyptians whom you see today you will see never again. 14 Yahweh will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”
15 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Speak to the Israelites[i] so that they set out.[j] 16 And you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it so that the Israelites[k] can go in the middle of the sea on the dry land. 17 And as for me, look, I am about to harden the heart of the Egyptians so that they come after them, and I will display my glory through Pharaoh and through all of his army, through his chariots and through his charioteers. 18 And the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I display my glory through Pharaoh, through his chariots, and through his charioteers.”
19 And the angel of God who was going before the camp of Israel set out and went behind them. And the column of cloud set out ahead of them, and it stood still behind them, 20 so that it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. And it was a dark cloud,[l] but it gave light to the night,[m] so that neither approached the other[n] all night.
21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh moved the sea[o] with a strong east wind all night, and he made the sea become dry ground, and the waters were divided. 22 And the Israelites[p] entered the middle of the sea on the dry land. The waters were a wall for them on their right and on their left. 23 And the Egyptians gave chase[q] and entered after them—all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his charioteers—into the middle of the sea. 24 And during the morning watch, Yahweh looked down to the Egyptian camp from in the column of fire and cloud, and he threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. 25 And he removed[r] the wheels of their chariots so that they drove them with difficulty, and the Egyptians said, “We must flee away[s] from Israel because Yahweh is fighting for them against Egypt.”
26 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, and let the waters return over the Egyptians, over their chariots, and over their charioteers.” 27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned at daybreak[t] to its normal level, and the Egyptians were fleeing because of it,[u] and Yahweh swept the Egyptians into the middle of the sea. 28 And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the charioteers—all the army of Pharaoh coming after them into the sea. Not even[v] one survived among them. 29 But the Israelites[w] walked on the dry land in the middle of the sea. The waters were a wall for them on their right and on their left. 30 And Yahweh saved Israel on that day from the hand[x] of Egypt, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore of the sea. 31 And Israel saw the great hand[y] that Yahweh displayed against Egypt, and the people feared Yahweh, and they believed in Yahweh and in Moses his servant.
Footnotes
- Exodus 14:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:2 Literally “and between the sea”
- Exodus 14:3 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:8 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:8 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:8 Literally “with a raised/high hand”
- Exodus 14:10 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:10 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:15 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:15 Or “journey,” “move on,” “travel”
- Exodus 14:16 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:20 Literally “the cloud was and the darkness”
- Exodus 14:20 Or “it illumined the night”
- Exodus 14:20 Literally “this did not come near to this”
- Exodus 14:21 Or “caused the sea to go,” “drove the sea”
- Exodus 14:22 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:23 Or “pursued,” “chased”
- Exodus 14:25 Or “let turn aside”
- Exodus 14:25 Or “let us flee,” “let me run away”; the verb is singular, but it is plural in context
- Exodus 14:27 Literally “at the turning of morning”
- Exodus 14:27 Literally “to/for/from the meeting of it”
- Exodus 14:28 Literally “up to,” “as far as”
- Exodus 14:29 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:30 Or “power”
- Exodus 14:31 Or “power”
Exodus 14
New Living Translation
14 Then the Lord gave these instructions to Moses: 2 “Order the Israelites to turn back and camp by Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea. Camp there along the shore, across from Baal-zephon. 3 Then Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are confused. They are trapped in the wilderness!’ 4 And once again I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after you.[a] I have planned this in order to display my glory through Pharaoh and his whole army. After this the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord!” So the Israelites camped there as they were told.
The Egyptians Pursue Israel
5 When word reached the king of Egypt that the Israelites had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds. “What have we done, letting all those Israelite slaves get away?” they asked. 6 So Pharaoh harnessed his chariot and called up his troops. 7 He took with him 600 of Egypt’s best chariots, along with the rest of the chariots of Egypt, each with its commander. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, so he chased after the people of Israel, who had left with fists raised in defiance. 9 The Egyptians chased after them with all the forces in Pharaoh’s army—all his horses and chariots, his charioteers, and his troops. The Egyptians caught up with the people of Israel as they were camped beside the shore near Pi-hahiroth, across from Baal-zephon.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the Lord, 11 and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? 12 Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’”
13 But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. 14 The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”
Escape through the Red Sea
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! 16 Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will charge in after the Israelites. My great glory will be displayed through Pharaoh and his troops, his chariots, and his charioteers. 18 When my glory is displayed through them, all Egypt will see my glory and know that I am the Lord!”
19 Then the angel of God, who had been leading the people of Israel, moved to the rear of the camp. The pillar of cloud also moved from the front and stood behind them. 20 The cloud settled between the Egyptian and Israelite camps. As darkness fell, the cloud turned to fire, lighting up the night. But the Egyptians and Israelites did not approach each other all night.
21 Then Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the Lord opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into dry land. 22 So the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side!
23 Then the Egyptians—all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and charioteers—chased them into the middle of the sea. 24 But just before dawn the Lord looked down on the Egyptian army from the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw their forces into total confusion. 25 He twisted[b] their chariot wheels, making their chariots difficult to drive. “Let’s get out of here—away from these Israelites!” the Egyptians shouted. “The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!”
26 When all the Israelites had reached the other side, the Lord said to Moses, “Raise your hand over the sea again. Then the waters will rush back and cover the Egyptians and their chariots and charioteers.” 27 So as the sun began to rise, Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the water rushed back into its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 Then the waters returned and covered all the chariots and charioteers—the entire army of Pharaoh. Of all the Egyptians who had chased the Israelites into the sea, not a single one survived.
29 But the people of Israel had walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, as the water stood up like a wall on both sides. 30 That is how the Lord rescued Israel from the hand of the Egyptians that day. And the Israelites saw the bodies of the Egyptians washed up on the seashore. 31 When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Lord had unleashed against the Egyptians, they were filled with awe before him. They put their faith in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
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