Exodus 12:23-32

English Standard Version

²³^(A)For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on ^(B)the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and ^(C)will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. ²⁴You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. ²⁵And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, ^(D)as he has promised, you shall keep this service. ²⁶And ^(E)when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ ²⁷you shall say, ^(F)‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people ^(G)bowed their heads and worshiped.

²⁸Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

²⁹^(H)At midnight the ^(I)Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, ^(J)from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. ³⁰And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was ^(K)a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. ³¹Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, ^(L)both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. ³²^(M)Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”