Exodus 12-14

GOD’S WORD Translation

Passover

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, ² “This month will be the very first month of the year for you. ³ Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth ⌞day⌟ of this month each man must take a lamb or a young goat for his family—one animal per household. ⁴ A household may be too small to eat a whole animal. That household and the one next door can share one animal. Choose your animal based on the number of people and what each person can eat. ⁵ Your animal must be a one-year-old male that has no defects. You may choose a lamb or a young goat. ⁶ Take care of it until the fourteenth ⌞day⌟ of this month.

“Then at dusk, all the assembled people from the community of Israel must slaughter their animals. ⁷ They must take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they will eat the animals. ⁸ The meat must be eaten that same night. It must be roasted over a fire and eaten with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. ⁹ Don’t eat any of it raw or boiled but roast the whole animal over a fire. ¹⁰ Don’t leave any of it until morning. Anything left over in the morning must be burned up. ¹¹ This is how ⌞you should be dressed when⌟ you eat it: with your belt on, your sandals on your feet, and your shepherd’s staff in your hand. You must eat it in a hurry. It is the Lord’s Passover.

¹² “On that same night I will go throughout Egypt and kill every firstborn male, both human and animal. I will severely punish all the gods of Egypt, ⌞because⌟ I am the Lord. ¹³ But the blood on your houses will be a sign for your protection. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. Nothing will touch or destroy you when I strike Egypt.

¹⁴ “This day will be one for you to remember. This is a permanent law for generations to come: You will celebrate this day as a pilgrimage festival in the Lord’s honor. ¹⁵ For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the very first day you must remove any yeast that you have in your houses. Whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh day must be excluded from Israel. ¹⁶ You must have a holy assembly on the first day and another one on the seventh. You must not work on these days except to prepare your own meals. That’s all you may do.

¹⁷ You must celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread because it was on this very day that I brought you out of Egypt in organized family groups. This is a permanent law for future generations: You must celebrate this day. ¹⁸ From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day you must eat unleavened bread. ¹⁹ There should be no yeast in your houses for seven days. Whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be excluded from the community of Israel, whether he is an Israelite or not. ²⁰ Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat ⌞only⌟ unleavened bread.”

²¹ Then Moses called for all the leaders of Israel. He said to them, “Pick out a lamb or a young goat for your families, and kill the Passover animal. ²² Take the branch of a hyssop plant, dip it in the blood which is in a bowl, and put some of the blood on the top and sides of the doorframes ⌞of your houses⌟. No one may leave the house until morning. ²³ The Lord will go throughout Egypt to kill the Egyptians. When he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, he will pass over that doorway, and he will not let the destroyer come into your home to kill you.

²⁴ “You must follow these instructions. They are a permanent law for you and your children. ²⁵ When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. ²⁶ When your children ask you what this ceremony means to you, ²⁷ you must answer, ‘It’s the Passover sacrifice in the Lord’s honor. The Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he killed the Egyptians.’ ”

Then the people knelt, bowing with their faces touching the ground. ²⁸ The Israelites did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

²⁹ At midnight the Lord killed every firstborn male in Egypt from the firstborn son of Pharaoh who ruled the land to the firstborn son of the prisoner in jail, and also every firstborn animal. ³⁰ Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the ⌞other⌟ Egyptians got up during the night. There was loud crying throughout Egypt because in every house someone had died.

Pharaoh Allows the Israelites to Leave Egypt

³¹ Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron during the night. He said, “You and the Israelites must leave my people at once. Go, worship the Lord as you asked. ³² Take your flocks and herds, too, as you asked. Just go! And bless me, too!”

³³ The Egyptians begged the people to leave the country quickly. They said, “Soon we’ll all be dead!” ³⁴ So the people picked up their bread dough before it had risen and carried it on their shoulders in bowls, wrapped up in their clothes.

³⁵ The Israelites did what Moses had told them and asked the Egyptians for gold and silver jewelry and for clothes. ³⁶ The Lord made the Egyptians generous to the people, and they gave them what they asked for. So the Israelites stripped Egypt of its wealth.

The Israelites Leave Egypt

³⁷ The Israelites left Rameses to go to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, plus all the women and children. ³⁸ Many other people also went with them, along with large numbers of sheep, goats, and cattle.

³⁹ With the dough they had brought from Egypt, they baked round, flat bread. The dough hadn’t risen because they’d been thrown out of Egypt and had no time to prepare food for the trip.

⁴⁰ The Israelites had been living in Egypt for 430 years. ⁴¹ After exactly 430 years all the Lord’s people left Egypt in organized family groups. ⁴² That night the Lord kept watch to take them out of Egypt. (All Israelites in future generations must keep watch on this night, since it is dedicated to the Lord.)

Rules for the Passover

⁴³ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the rules for the Passover:

“No foreigner may eat the Passover meal.

⁴⁴ “Any male slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised him.

⁴⁵ “No foreigner visiting you may eat it.

“No hired worker may eat it.

⁴⁶ “The meal must be eaten inside one house. Never take any of the meat outside the house.

“Never break any of the bones.

⁴⁷ “The whole community of Israel must celebrate the Passover.

⁴⁸ “Foreigners may want to celebrate the Lord’s Passover. First, every male in the household must be circumcised. Then they may celebrate the Passover like native-born Israelites. But no uncircumcised males may ever eat the Passover meal. ⁴⁹ The same instructions apply to native-born Israelites as well as foreigners.”

⁵⁰ All the Israelites did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹ That very day the Lord brought all the Israelites out of Egypt in organized family groups.

13 The Lord spoke to Moses, ² “Set apart every firstborn male for me. Every firstborn male offspring among the Israelites is mine, whether human or animal.”

³ Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day—the day when you left Egypt, the land of slavery. The Lord used his mighty hand to bring you out of there. Don’t eat anything made with yeast. ⁴ Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving Egypt. ⁵ The Lord swore to your ancestors that he would give you the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. When he brings you into that land flowing with milk and honey, you must observe this ceremony in this month.

⁶ “For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. The seventh day will be a pilgrimage festival in the Lord’s honor. ⁷ Only unleavened bread should be eaten during these seven days. No sourdough or yeast should be seen anywhere in your territory. ⁸ On that day tell your children, ‘We do this because of what the Lord did for us when we left Egypt.’ ⁹ This ⌞festival⌟ will be ⌞like⌟ a mark on your hand or a reminder on your forehead that the teachings of the Lord are ⌞always⌟ to be a part of your conversation. Because the Lord used his mighty hand to bring you out of Egypt, ¹⁰ you must follow these rules every year at this time.

Rules Concerning the Firstborn Child

¹¹ “When the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he swore to you and your ancestors, ¹² sacrifice every firstborn male offspring to the Lord. The firstborn male offspring of each of your animals belongs to the Lord. ¹³ It will cost you a sheep or a goat to buy any firstborn donkey back from the Lord. If you don’t buy it back, then you must break the donkey’s neck. You must also buy every firstborn son back from the Lord.

¹⁴ “In the future when your children ask you what this means, tell them, ‘The Lord used his mighty hand to bring us out of slavery in Egypt. ¹⁵ When Pharaoh was too stubborn to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn male in Egypt—human and animal. This is why we sacrifice every firstborn male to the Lord and buy every firstborn son back from the Lord.’ ¹⁶ So this ⌞festival⌟ will be ⌞like⌟ a mark on your hand and ⌞like⌟ a band on your forehead, because the Lord used his mighty hand to bring us out of Egypt.”

God Leads the People out of Egypt

¹⁷ When Pharaoh let the people go, God didn’t lead them on the road through Philistine territory, although that was the shortest route. God said, “If they see that they have to fight a war, they may change their minds and go back to Egypt.” ¹⁸ So God led the people around the other way, on the road through the desert toward the Red Sea. The Israelites were ready for battle when they left Egypt.

¹⁹ Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites solemnly swear to do this. Joseph had said, “God will definitely come to help you. When he does, take my bones with you.”

²⁰ They moved from Succoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the desert. ²¹ By day the Lord went ahead of them in a column of smoke to lead them on their way. By night he went ahead of them in a column of fire to give them light so that they could travel by day or by night. ²² The column of smoke was always in front of the people during the day. The column of fire was always there at night.

Pharaoh Pursues Israel

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites to go back and set up their camp facing Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. Set up your camp facing north—by the sea. ³ Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are ⌞just⌟ wandering around. The desert is blocking their escape.’ ⁴ I will make Pharaoh so stubborn that he will pursue them. Then, because of what I do to Pharaoh and his entire army, I will receive honor, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So that is what the Israelites did.

⁵ When Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) was told that the people had fled, he and his officials changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We’ve lost our slaves because we’ve let Israel go.” ⁶ So Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his army with him. ⁷ He took 600 of his best chariots as well as all the other chariots in Egypt, placing an officer in each of them. ⁸ The Lord made Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) so stubborn that he pursued the Israelites, who were boldly leaving Egypt. ⁹ The Egyptians pursued the Israelites. Pharaoh’s army, including all his horse-drawn chariots and cavalry, caught up with them as they were setting up their camp by the sea at Pi Hahiroth facing north.

¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians were coming after them. Terrified, the Israelites cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ They said to Moses, “Did you bring us out into the desert to die because there were no graves in Egypt? Look what you’ve done by bringing us out of Egypt! ¹² Didn’t we tell you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone! Let us go on serving the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

The Lord Divides the Red Sea

¹³ Moses answered the people, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still, and see what the Lord will do to save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again. ¹⁴ The Lord is fighting for you! So be still!”

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to start moving. ¹⁶ Raise your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide the water. Then the Israelites will go through the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷ I am making the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow the Israelites. I will receive honor because of what I will do to Pharaoh, his entire army, his chariots, and cavalry. ¹⁸ The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I am honored for what I did to Pharaoh, his chariots, and his cavalry.”

¹⁹ The Messenger of God, who had been in front of the Israelites, moved behind them. So the column of smoke moved from in front of the Israelites and stood behind them ²⁰ between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp. The ⌞column of⌟ smoke was there when darkness came, and it lit up the night. Neither side came near the other all night long.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord pushed back the sea with a strong east wind and turned the sea into dry ground. The water divided, ²² and the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground. The water stood like a wall on their right and on their left.

²³ The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry followed them into the sea. ²⁴ Just before dawn, the Lord looked down from the column of fire and smoke and threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. ²⁵ He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they could hardly move. Then the Egyptians shouted, “Let’s get out of here! The Lord is fighting for Israel! He’s against us!”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water will flow back over the Egyptians, their chariots, and their cavalry.”

²⁷ Moses stretched his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the water returned to its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but the Lord swept them into the sea. ²⁸ The water flowed back and covered Pharaoh’s entire army, as well as the chariots and the cavalry that had followed Israel into the sea. Not one of them survived.

²⁹ Meanwhile, the Israelites had gone through the sea on dry ground while the water stood like a wall on their right and on their left. ³⁰ That day the Lord saved Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. ³¹ When the Israelites saw the great power the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord and believed in him and in his servant Moses.