Exodus 12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 12
The Passover Ritual Prescribed.[a] 1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 2 [b]This month will stand at the head of your calendar; you will reckon it the first month of the year.(A) 3 Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month every family must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household. 4 If a household is too small for a lamb, it along with its nearest neighbor will procure one, and apportion the lamb’s cost[c] in proportion to the number of persons, according to what each household consumes. 5 Your lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You may take it from either the sheep or the goats. 6 You will keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole community of Israel assembled, it will be slaughtered during the evening twilight. 7 They will take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They will consume its meat that same night, eating it roasted with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or even boiled in water, but roasted, with its head and shanks and inner organs. 10 You must not keep any of it beyond the morning; whatever is left over in the morning must be burned up.
11 This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you will eat it in a hurry. It is the Lord’s Passover. 12 For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every firstborn in the land, human being and beast alike, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt—I, the Lord!(B) 13 But for you the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thereby, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you.(C)
14 This day will be a day of remembrance for you, which your future generations will celebrate with pilgrimage to the Lord; you will celebrate it as a statute forever. 15 For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. From the very first day you will have your houses clear of all leaven. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day to the seventh will be cut off[d] from Israel. 16 On the first day you will hold a sacred assembly, and likewise on the seventh. On these days no sort of work shall be done, except to prepare the food that everyone needs. 17 Keep, then, the custom of the unleavened bread,(D) since it was on this very day that I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. You must observe this day throughout your generations as a statute forever. 18 From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day of this month you will eat unleavened bread. 19 For seven days no leaven may be found in your houses; for anyone, a resident alien or a native, who eats leavened food will be cut off from the community of Israel. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; wherever you dwell you may eat only unleavened bread.
Promulgation of the Passover. 21 Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and procure lambs for your families, and slaughter the Passover victims. 22 (E)Then take a bunch of hyssop,[e] and dipping it in the blood that is in the basin, apply some of this blood to the lintel and the two doorposts. And none of you shall go outdoors until morning. 23 For when the Lord goes by to strike down the Egyptians, seeing the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door and not let the destroyer come into your houses to strike you down.
24 “You will keep this practice forever as a statute for yourselves and your descendants. 25 Thus, when you have entered the land which the Lord will give you as he promised, you must observe this rite. 26 (F)When your children ask you, ‘What does this rite of yours mean?’ 27 you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice for the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt; when he struck down the Egyptians, he delivered our houses.’”
Then the people knelt and bowed down, 28 and the Israelites went and did exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.
Death of the Firstborn. 29 (G)And so at midnight the Lord struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the firstborn of the animals. 30 Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians; and there was loud wailing throughout Egypt, for there was not a house without its dead.
Permission to Depart. 31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Leave my people at once, you and the Israelites! Go and serve the Lord as you said. 32 Take your flocks, too, and your herds, as you said, and go; and bless me, too!”[f]
33 The Egyptians, in a hurry to send them away from the land, urged the people on, for they said, “All of us will die!” 34 The people, therefore, took their dough before it was leavened, in their kneading bowls wrapped in their cloaks on their shoulders. 35 (H)And the Israelites did as Moses had commanded: they asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. 36 Indeed the Lord had made the Egyptians so well-disposed toward the people that they let them have whatever they asked for. And so they despoiled the Egyptians.
Departure from Egypt. 37 The Israelites set out from Rameses(I) for Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, not counting the children. 38 A crowd of mixed ancestry[g] also went up with them, with livestock in great abundance, both flocks and herds. 39 The dough they had brought out of Egypt they baked into unleavened loaves. It was not leavened, because they had been driven out of Egypt and could not wait. They did not even prepare food for the journey.
40 The time the Israelites had stayed in Egypt[h] was four hundred and thirty years.(J) 41 At the end of four hundred and thirty years, on this very date, all the armies of the Lord left the land of Egypt. 42 This was a night of vigil for the Lord, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt; so on this night all Israelites must keep a vigil for the Lord throughout their generations.
Law of the Passover. 43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: This is the Passover statute. No foreigner may eat of it. 44 However, every slave bought for money you will circumcise; then he may eat of it. 45 But no tenant or hired worker may eat of it. 46 It must be eaten in one house; you may not take any of its meat outside the house.(K) You shall not break any of its bones.[i] 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate this feast. 48 If any alien(L) residing among you would celebrate the Passover for the Lord, all his males must be circumcised, and then he may join in its celebration just like the natives. But no one who is uncircumcised may eat of it. 49 There will be one law[j] for the native and for the alien residing among you.
50 All the Israelites did exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 On that same day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt company by company.
Footnotes
- 12:1–20 This section, which interrupts the narrative of the exodus, contains later legislation concerning the celebration of Passover.
- 12:2 As if to affirm victory over Pharaoh and sovereignty over the Israelites, the Lord proclaims a new calendar for Israel. This month: Abib, the month of “ripe grain.” Cf. 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; Dt 16:1. It occurred near the vernal equinox, March–April. Later it was known by the Babylonian name of Nisan. Cf. Neh 2:1; Est 3:7.
- 12:4 The lamb’s cost: some render the Hebrew, “reckon for the lamb the number of persons required to eat it.” Cf. v. 10.
- 12:15 Cut off: a common Priestly term, not easily reduced to a simple English equivalent, since its usage appears to involve a number of associated punishments, some or all of which may come into play in any instance of the term’s use. These included the excommunication of the offender from the Israelite community, the premature death of the offender, the eventual eradication of the offender’s posterity, and finally the loss by the offender of all ancestral holdings.
- 12:22 Hyssop: a plant with many small woody branches that was convenient for a sprinkling rite.
- 12:32 Bless me, too: in a final and humiliating admission of defeat, once again Pharaoh asks Moses to intercede for him (cf. 8:24). However, Pharaoh may be speaking sarcastically.
- 12:38 Mixed ancestry: not simply descendants of Jacob; cf. Nm 11:4; Lv 24:10–11.
- 12:40 In Egypt: according to the Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch “in Canaan and Egypt,” thus reckoning from the time of Abraham. Cf. Gal 3:17.
- 12:46 You shall not break any of its bones: the application of these words to Jesus on the cross (Jn 19:36) sees the Paschal lamb as a prophetic type of Christ, sacrificed to free men and women from the bondage of sin. Cf. also 1 Cor 5:7; 1 Pt 1:19.
- 12:49 One law: the first appearance of the word torah, traditionally translated as “law,” though it can have the broader meaning of “teaching” or “instruction.” Elsewhere, too, it is said that the “alien” is to be accorded the same treatment as the Israelite (e.g., Lv 19:34).
Exodus 12
New American Standard Bible
The Passover Lamb
12 Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of [a]Egypt, 2 “(A)This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year for you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are, each one, to take a [b]lamb for themselves, according to the fathers’ households, a [c]lamb for [d]each household. 4 Now if the household is too small for a [e]lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the [f]number of persons in them; in proportion to [g]what each one should eat, you are to [h]divide the lamb. 5 Your [i]lamb shall be (B)an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 [j]You shall keep it until the (C)fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it [k](D)at twilight. 7 (E)Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel [l]of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh (F)that same night, (G)roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with (H)unleavened bread [m](I)and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather (J)roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with (K)its entrails. 10 (L)And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall completely burn with fire. 11 Now you shall eat it in this way: with your garment [n]belted around your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in a hurry—it is (M)the Lord’s Passover. 12 For (N)I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and fatally strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the human firstborn to animals; and (O)against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—(P)I am the Lord. 13 (Q)The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you [o]live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will come upon you [p]to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
Feast of Unleavened Bread
14 ‘Now (R)this day shall be (S)a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as [q](T)a permanent ordinance. 15 For (U)seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove dough with yeast from your houses; for whoever eats anything with yeast from the first day until the seventh day, (V)that [r]person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 And (W)on the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except for what must be eaten by every person—that alone may be [s]prepared by you. 17 You shall also keep (X)the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this (Y)very day I brought your [t]multitudes out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall keep this day throughout your generations as (Z)a [u]permanent ordinance. 18 (AA)In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For (AB)seven days there shall be no dough with yeast found in your houses; for whoever eats anything with yeast, that [v](AC)person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 You shall not eat anything with yeast; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’”
21 Then (AD)Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and (AE)take for yourselves [w]lambs according to your families, and slaughter (AF)the Passover lamb. 22 And (AG)you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and [x]apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.
A Memorial of Redemption
23 For (AH)the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; but when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will (AI)not allow the (AJ)destroyer to come in to your houses to strike you. 24 And (AK)you shall keep this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever. 25 When you enter the land which the Lord will give you, as He has [y]promised, you shall keep this [z]rite. 26 (AL)And when your children say to you, ‘[aa]What does this rite mean to you?’ 27 then you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to (AM)the Lord because He passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians, but [ab]spared our homes.’” (AN)And the people bowed low and worshiped.
28 Then the sons of Israel went and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
29 Now it came about at (AO)midnight that (AP)the Lord struck all (AQ)the firstborn in the land of Egypt, 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 (AR)cattle. 30 And Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was (AS)a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead. 31 Then (AT)he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Rise up, (AU)get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, [ac]worship the Lord, as you have said. 32 Take (AV)both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.”
Exodus of Israel
33 (AW)The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in a hurry, for they said, “We will all be dead.” 34 So the people took (AX)their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders.
35 (AY)Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; 36 and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Therefore they (AZ)plundered the Egyptians.
37 Now the (BA)sons of Israel journeyed from (BB)Rameses to Succoth, about (BC)six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children. 38 A (BD)mixed multitude also went up with them, [ad]along with flocks and herds, a (BE)very large number of livestock. 39 And they baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread. For it had no yeast, since they were (BF)driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they [ae]prepared any provisions for themselves.
40 Now the time [af]that the sons of Israel had lived in Egypt was (BG)430 years. 41 And at the end of 430 years, on (BH)this very day, (BI)all the [ag]multitudes of the Lord departed from the land of Egypt.
Ordinance of the Passover
42 (BJ)It is a night [ah]to be observed for the Lord, for having brought them out of the land of Egypt; this night is for the Lord, [ai]to be observed by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations.
43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of (BK)the Passover: no [aj](BL)foreigner is to eat it; 44 but as for every (BM)slave [ak]that someone has purchased with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. 45 (BN)A stranger or a hired worker shall not eat it. 46 It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to bring any of the meat outside of the house, (BO)nor are you to break any bone of it. 47 (BP)All the congregation of Israel are to [al]celebrate this. 48 But (BQ)if a stranger resides with you and [am]celebrates the Passover to the Lord, all of his males are to be circumcised, and then he shall come near to [an]celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised male may eat it. 49 [ao](BR)The same law shall [ap]apply to the native as to the stranger who resides among you.”
50 Then all the sons of Israel did so; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day (BS)the Lord brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt (BT)according to their [aq]multitudes.
Footnotes
- Exodus 12:1 Lit Egypt, saying
- Exodus 12:3 Or kid
- Exodus 12:3 Or kid
- Exodus 12:3 Lit the
- Exodus 12:4 Or kid
- Exodus 12:4 Or amount
- Exodus 12:4 Lit each man’s eating
- Exodus 12:4 Lit compute for
- Exodus 12:5 Or kid
- Exodus 12:6 Lit It shall be to you for a guarding
- Exodus 12:6 Lit between the two evenings
- Exodus 12:7 Lit upon
- Exodus 12:8 Lit in addition to
- Exodus 12:11 I.e., for travel
- Exodus 12:13 Lit are
- Exodus 12:13 Lit for destruction
- Exodus 12:14 Or an eternal
- Exodus 12:15 Lit soul
- Exodus 12:16 Lit done
- Exodus 12:17 Lit armies
- Exodus 12:17 Or eternal
- Exodus 12:19 Lit soul
- Exodus 12:21 Lit sheep
- Exodus 12:22 Lit cause to touch
- Exodus 12:25 Lit spoken
- Exodus 12:25 Lit service
- Exodus 12:26 Lit What is this service to you?
- Exodus 12:27 Lit delivered
- Exodus 12:31 Or serve
- Exodus 12:38 Lit and
- Exodus 12:39 Lit made
- Exodus 12:40 Or of the sons of Israel who lived
- Exodus 12:41 Lit armies
- Exodus 12:42 Or of vigil
- Exodus 12:42 Or of vigil
- Exodus 12:43 Lit son of a stranger
- Exodus 12:44 Lit of a man, an acquisition of money
- Exodus 12:47 Lit perform
- Exodus 12:48 Lit performs
- Exodus 12:48 Lit perform
- Exodus 12:49 Lit One law
- Exodus 12:49 Lit be
- Exodus 12:51 I.e., multitudes in battle formation
Exodus 12
King James Version
12 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying,
2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.
10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's passover.
12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.
13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
16 And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
17 And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.
18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.
19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.
20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.
21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.
22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
23 For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.
25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.
26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
28 And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.
32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.
33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.
34 And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.
35 And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:
36 And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.
38 And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.
39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.
40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
42 It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.
43 And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:
44 But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
45 A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.
46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.
47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.
50 Thus did all the children of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
51 And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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