Exodus 15
The Voice
Throughout this redemption story, it is clear that the Lord has protected Israel while He has judged and frustrated Egypt. After the many wonders before the Passover and the miraculous guidance by the cloud and the pillar of fire, God destroyed the Egyptian army in the midst of the sea. For centuries people have sought to explain this great miracle and make sense of it. Was it a volcanic eruption and a tsunami that parted the waters? Was it a shallow lake that drowned Pharaoh’s army? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Only God knows. But reason cannot grasp all that took place that day. When God’s covenant people were on the verge of extinction, God stepped in to fight for them. No one survived that day except by the miraculous grace of God.
15 Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Eternal One.
Moses and the Israelites: I will sing to the Eternal, for He has won a great victory;
He has thrown the chariot into the sea: horse and rider.
2 The Eternal is my strength and my song,
and He has come to save me;
He is my God, and I will praise Him.
He is the God of my father, and I will exalt Him.
3 The Eternal is a warrior;
the Eternal is His name.
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has thrown into the sea.
And his high-ranking officers are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The deep waters covered them;
they sank to the muddy depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, Eternal One, is magnificent in power.
Your right hand, Eternal, vanquishes the enemy.
7 In Your majestic greatness You conquer those who rise against You;
You unleash Your burning anger, and it consumes them like straw.
8 With a blast of Your anger the waters piled high,
the waves stood up like a wall;
in the heart of the sea, deep waters turned solid.
9 The enemy said, “I will go after them, chase them down, and divide the spoils;
my desire will be spent on them.
I will draw my sword; my powerful hand will take possession of them once again.”
10 But You blew Your breath-wind, and the sea covered them;
they sank like lead down into the mighty waters.
11 Who compares to You among the gods, O Eternal?
Who compares to You—great in holiness,
awesome in praises, performing marvels and wonders?
12 You raised Your right hand,
and the earth swallowed Your enemies.
13 With Your loyal love, You have led the people You have redeemed;
with Your great strength, You have guided them to Your sacred dwelling.
14 Already people have heard and they tremble;
those who inhabit Philistia are gripped by fear.
15 Even now the chiefs of Edom are deeply disturbed;
Moab’s leaders cannot stop trembling;
all who live in Canaan are deeply distressed and wasting away.
16 Horror and fear overwhelm them.
Faced with the greatness of Your power,
people are afraid to move; they fall as silent as stone,
Until Your people pass by, Eternal One,
until the people whom You purchased pass by.
17 You will bring them and plant them on the mountain of Your inheritance—
the place, Eternal, that You have designated to be Your dwelling,
the sanctuary, Lord, that Your hands founded and made ready.
18 The Eternal will reign as King forever and always.
19 When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot-drivers drove into the sea, the Eternal caused the waters to collapse upon them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.
20 The prophetess, Miriam (Aaron’s sister), picked up a tambourine, and all the rest of the women followed her with tambourines and joyful dancing.
21 Miriam: Sing to the Eternal One, for He has won a great victory;
He has thrown the horse and its chariot into the sea.
22 Then Moses led Israel away from the Red Sea, and they entered the desert of Shur. They traveled for three days in the desert before they found water.
23 When they came to the place where they did find water, they could not drink it because it was so bitter. So they called the place Marah, or bitter. 24 Because they were very thirsty, the people complained to Moses.
Israelites: What are we supposed to drink?
25 Moses then asked the Eternal for help, and the Eternal showed him a log. Moses threw the log into the bitter water, and the water became sweet. At Marah the Eternal established an important principle and set a standard for His people so that He could test them.
Eternal One: 26 If you will listen closely to My voice—the voice of your God—and do what is right in My eyes, pay attention to My instructions, and keep all of My laws; then I will not bring on you any of the plagues that I did on the Egyptians, for I am the Eternal, your Healer.
27 Then they traveled on to an oasis called Elim, where there were 12 freshwater springs and 70 palm trees with dates. They set up camp there next to the waters.
Exodus 15
Amplified Bible
The Song of Moses and Israel
15 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this [a]song to the Lord, singing,
“I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously;
The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea.
2
“The Lord is my strength and my song,
And He has become my salvation;
This is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
3
“The Lord is a warrior;
The Lord is His name.
4
“Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has thrown into the sea;
His chosen captains are drowned in the [b]Red Sea.
5
“The deep [water] covers them;
[Clad in armor] they sank into the depths like a stone.
6
“Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power;
Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
7
“In the greatness of Your majesty You overthrow and annihilate those [adversaries] who rise [in rebellion] against You;
You send out Your fury, and it consumes them like chaff.
8
“With the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up,
The flowing waters stood up like a mound;
The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.
9
“The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;
My desire shall be satisfied against them;
I will draw my sword, my hand shall dispossess them and drive them out.’
10
“You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them;
[Clad in armor] they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11
“Who is like You among the gods, O Lord?
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in splendor, working wonders?
12
“You stretched out Your right hand,
The [c]sea swallowed them.
13
“You in Your lovingkindness and goodness have led the people whom You have redeemed;
In Your strength You have guided them with care to Your holy habitation.
14
“The peoples have heard [about You], they tremble;
Anguish and fear has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia.
15
“Then the [tribal] chiefs of Edom were dismayed and horrified;
The [mighty] leaders of Moab, trembling grips them;
All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away [in despair]—
16
Terror and dread fall on them;
Because of the greatness of Your arm they are as still as a stone;
Until Your people pass by and [into Canaan], O Lord,
Until the people pass by whom You have purchased.
17
“You will bring them [into the land of promise] and plant them on the mountain (Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem) of Your inheritance,
The place, O Lord, You have made for Your dwelling [among them],
The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.
18
“The Lord shall reign to eternity and beyond.”
19 For the horses of Pharaoh went with his war-chariots and his charioteers into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the sons of Israel walked on dry land in the middle of the sea.
20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron [and Moses], took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her with timbrels and dancing.(A) 21 Miriam answered them,
“Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously and is highly exalted;
The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.”
The Lord Provides Water
22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went into the Wilderness of Shur; they went [a distance of] three days (about thirty-three miles) in the wilderness and found no water. 23 Then they came to Marah, but they could not drink its waters because they were [d]bitter; therefore it was named Marah (bitter). 24 The people [grew discontented and] grumbled at Moses, saying, “What are we going to drink?” 25 Then he cried to the Lord [for help], and the Lord showed him a tree, [a branch of] which he threw into the waters, and the waters became sweet.
There the Lord made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there [e]He tested them, 26 saying, “If you will diligently listen and pay attention to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and listen to His commandments, and keep [foremost in your thoughts and actively obey] all His precepts and statutes, then I will not put on you any of the diseases which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am the [f]Lord who heals you.”
27 Then the children of Israel came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy date palms, and they camped there beside the waters.
Footnotes
- Exodus 15:1 It was natural enough to create and sing a song of celebration to the Lord at this point, but the song, with all its detail, undoubtedly served as a memory device as well, a way to embed the account of the miracle in the minds of the people of Israel.
- Exodus 15:4 Lit Sea of Reeds.
- Exodus 15:12 Lit earth.
- Exodus 15:23 The water may have been like that of the Dead Sea, which has such a high salt content that it is bitter, and the natural reaction when attempting to sample it is to spit it out immediately.
- Exodus 15:25 God tests His people to see if they are learning from past experiences and growing in spiritual maturity.
- Exodus 15:26 Heb YHWH (Yahweh)-Ropheeka.
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