Exodus 12:21-51

Lexham English Bible

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.^{[a] 25} And^[b] when you come into the land that Yahweh will give to you, as he said, you will keep this religious custom.^{[c] 26} And^[d] when your children say to you, ‘What is this religious custom^[e] for you?’^{[f] 27} you will say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice for Yahweh, who passed over the houses of the Israelites^[g] in Egypt when he struck Egypt; and he delivered our houses.’” And the people knelt down and they worshiped. ²⁸ And the Israelites^[h] went, and they did as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron; so they did.

Death of Firstborn and Deliverance from Egypt

²⁹ And^[i] 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,^[j] 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^[k] from the land, because they said, “All of us will die!”^{[l] 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^[m] 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^[n] set out from Rameses to Succoth; the men were about six hundred thousand on foot,^[o] besides dependents. ³⁸ And also a mixed multitude^[p] 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^[q] 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^[r] 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^[s] 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^[t] did as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron; so they did. ⁵¹ And it was on exactly this day Yahweh brought the Israelites^[u] out from the land of Egypt by their divisions.