The Exodus

²⁹ Now at midnight the Lord struck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock.^{(A) 30} During the night Pharaoh got up, he along with all his officials and all the Egyptians, and there was a loud wailing^(B) throughout Egypt because there wasn’t a house without someone dead. ³¹ He summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, “Get out immediately from among my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship the Lord as you have said. ³² Take even your flocks and your herds as you asked and leave, and also bless me.”

³³ Now the Egyptians pressured the people in order to send them quickly out of the country, for they said, “We’re all going to die!” ^{(C) 34} So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their clothes on their shoulders.

³⁵ The Israelites acted on Moses’s word and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold items and for clothing.^{(D) 36} And the Lord gave the people such favor with the Egyptians that they gave them what they requested. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.

³⁷ The Israelites traveled from Rameses to Succoth,^(E) about six hundred thousand^(F) able-bodied men on foot, besides their families. ³⁸ A mixed crowd also went up with them, along with a huge number of livestock, both flocks and herds. ³⁹ The people baked the dough they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves, since it had no yeast; for when they were driven^(G) out of Egypt, they could not delay and had not prepared provisions for themselves.

⁴⁰ The time that the Israelites lived in Egypt^[a] was 430 years.^{(H) 41} At the end of 430 years, on that same day, all the Lord’s military divisions went out from the land of Egypt. ⁴² It was a night of vigil in honor of the Lord, because he would bring them out of the land of Egypt. This same night is in honor of the Lord, a night vigil for all the Israelites throughout their generations.^(I)

¹³ The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

²⁴ Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die,^(A) but God will certainly come to your aid and bring you up from this land to the land he swore to give to Abraham,^(B) Isaac,^(C) and Jacob.”^{(D) 25} So Joseph made the sons of Israel take an oath: “When God comes to your aid, you are to carry my bones up from here.”^(E)

²² By faith Joseph, as he was nearing the end of his life, mentioned^[a] the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions concerning his bones.^(A)

²⁷ By faith he left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees him who is invisible.^{(A) 28} By faith he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites.