Exodus 12-15
Lexham English Bible
Instructions for the Feast of Passover
12 And Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month will be the beginning of months; it will be for you the first of the months of the year. 3 Speak to all the community of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month, they will each take for themselves a lamb for the family,[a] a lamb for the household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, he and the neighbor nearest to his house will take one according to the number of persons;[b] you will count out portions of the lamb according to how much each one can eat.[c] 5 The lamb for you must be a male, without defect, in its first year; you will take it from the sheep or from the goats.
6 “You will keep it[d] until the fourteenth day of this month, and all the assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter it at twilight.[e] 7 And they will take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel on the houses in which they eat it. 8 And they will eat the meat on this night; they will eat it fire-roasted and with unleavened bread on bitter herbs.[f] 9 You must not eat any of it raw or boiled, boiled in the water, but rather roasted with fire, its head with its legs and with its inner parts. 10 And you must not leave any of it until morning; anything left from it until morning you must burn in the fire. 11 And this is how you will eat it—with your waists fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you will eat it in haste. It is Yahweh’s Passover.
12 “And I will go through the land of Egypt during this night, and I will strike all of the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human to animal, and I will do punishments among all of the gods of Egypt. I am Yahweh. 13 And the blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and I will see the blood, and I will pass over you, and there will not be a destructive plague among you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 “And this day will become a memorial for you, and you will celebrate it as a religious feast for Yahweh throughout your generations; you will celebrate it as a lasting statute. 15 You will eat unleavened bread for seven days. Surely on the first day you shall remove yeast from your houses, because anyone who eats food with yeast from the first day until the seventh day—that person will be cut off from Israel. 16 It will be for you on the first day a holy assembly[g] and on the seventh day a holy assembly;[h] no work will be done on them; only what is eaten by every person, it alone will be prepared for you.
17 “And you will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought out your divisions from the land of Egypt, and you will keep this day for your generations as a lasting statute. 18 On the first day, on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, you will eat unleavened bread until the evening of the twenty-first day of the month. 19 For seven days yeast must not be found in your houses, because anyone eating food with yeast[i] will be cut off from the community of Israel—whether an alien or a native of the land. 20 You will eat no food with yeast; in all of your dwellings you will eat unleavened bread.”
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.[j] 25 And[k] when you come into the land that Yahweh will give to you, as he said, you will keep this religious custom.[l] 26 And[m] when your children say to you, ‘What is this religious custom[n] for you?’[o] 27 you will say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice for Yahweh, who passed over the houses of the Israelites[p] in Egypt when he struck Egypt; and he delivered our houses.’” And the people knelt down and they worshiped. 28 And the Israelites[q] went, and they did as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron; so they did.
Death of Firstborn and Deliverance from Egypt
29 And[r] 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,[s] 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[t] from the land, because they said, “All of us will die!”[u] 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[v] 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[w] set out from Rameses to Succoth; the men were about six hundred thousand on foot,[x] besides dependents. 38 And also a mixed multitude[y] 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[z] 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[aa] 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[ab] 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[ac] did as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron; so they did. 51 And it was on exactly this day Yahweh brought the Israelites[ad] out from the land of Egypt by their divisions.
Unleavened Bread and Dedication of Firstborn to Commemorate the Rescue from Egypt
13 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Consecrate to me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the Israelites,[ae] among humans[af] and among domestic animals;[ag] it belongs to me.”[ah] 3 And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day when you went out from Egypt, from a house of slaves, because with strength of hand Yahweh brought you out from here, and food with yeast will not be eaten. 4 Today you are going out in the month of Abib. 5 And when Yahweh brings you to the land of the Canaanites[ai] and the Hittites[aj] and the Amorites[ak] and the Hivites[al] and the Jebusites[am]—which he swore to your ancestors[an] to give to you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you will perform this service in this month. 6 Seven days you will eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day will be a feast for Yahweh. 7 Unleavened bread will be eaten the seven days; food with yeast will not be seen for you; and yeast will not be seen for you in all your territory. 8 And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘This is because of what Yahweh did for me when I came out from Egypt.’ 9 And it will be as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes so that the law of Yahweh will be in your mouth, that with a strong hand Yahweh brought you out from Egypt. 10 And you will keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.[ao]
11 “And when Yahweh brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as he swore to you and to your ancestors,[ap] and he gives it to you, 12 you will hand over every first offspring of a womb to Yahweh, and every first offspring dropped by a domestic animal that will belong to you, the males will be for Yahweh. 13 And every first offspring of a donkey you will redeem with small livestock, and if you will not redeem it, then you will break its neck, and every firstborn human among your sons you will redeem. 14 And when your son asks you in the future,[aq] saying, ‘What is this?’ you will say to him, ‘With strength of hand Yahweh brought us out from Egypt, from a house of slaves. 15 And when Pharaoh was stubborn to release us, Yahweh killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from firstborn human to firstborn domestic animal. Therefore I am sacrificing to Yahweh every first offspring of a womb, the males, and every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 And it will be as a sign on your hand and as symbolic ornaments between your eyes that with strength of hand Yahweh brought us out from Egypt.”
Summary of Travel
17 And when Pharaoh released the people, God did not lead them the way of the land of the Philistines, though it was nearer, because God said, “Lest the people change their mind when they see war and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by the way of the desert to the Red Sea,[ar] and the Israelites[as] went up in battle array from the land of Egypt. 19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph[at] had made the Israelites[au] solemnly swear an oath, saying, “God will surely attend to you, and you will take up my bones from here with you.” 20 And they set out from Succoth, and they encamped at Etham on the edge of the desert. 21 And Yahweh was going before them by day in a column of cloud to lead them on the way and by night in a column of fire to give light to them to go by day and night. 22 The column of cloud by day and the column of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
Yahweh Rescues Israel at the Red Sea
14 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the Israelites[av] so that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea;[aw] before Baal Zephon, which is opposite it, you will camp by the sea. 3 And Pharaoh will say of the Israelites,[ax] ‘They are wandering around in the land. The desert has closed in on them.’ 4 And I will harden the heart of Pharaoh, and he will chase after them, and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and through all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” And they did so.
5 And it was told to the king of Egypt that the people fled, and the heart of Pharaoh was changed and that of his servants toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have released Israel from serving us!” 6 And he harnessed his chariot and took with him his people. 7 And he took six hundred select chariots and all the chariots of Egypt and officers over all of them. 8 And Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and he chased after the Israelites.[ay] (Now the Israelites[az] were going out boldly.[ba]) 9 And the Egyptians chased after them, and they overtook them encamped at the sea—all the horses of the chariots of Pharaoh and his charioteers and his army—at Pi-hahiroth before Baal Zephon.
10 And Pharaoh approached, and the Israelites[bb] lifted their eyes, and there were the Egyptians traveling after them! And they were very afraid, and the Israelites[bc] cried out to Yahweh. 11 And they said to Moses, “Because there are no graves in Egypt? Is that why you have taken us to die in the desert? What is this you have done to us by bringing us out from Egypt! 12 Isn’t this the word we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve Egypt!’ because serving Egypt is better for us than our dying in the desert.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “You must not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will accomplish for you today, because the Egyptians whom you see today you will see never again. 14 Yahweh will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”
15 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Speak to the Israelites[bd] so that they set out.[be] 16 And you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it so that the Israelites[bf] can go in the middle of the sea on the dry land. 17 And as for me, look, I am about to harden the heart of the Egyptians so that they come after them, and I will display my glory through Pharaoh and through all of his army, through his chariots and through his charioteers. 18 And the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I display my glory through Pharaoh, through his chariots, and through his charioteers.”
19 And the angel of God who was going before the camp of Israel set out and went behind them. And the column of cloud set out ahead of them, and it stood still behind them, 20 so that it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. And it was a dark cloud,[bg] but it gave light to the night,[bh] so that neither approached the other[bi] all night.
21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh moved the sea[bj] with a strong east wind all night, and he made the sea become dry ground, and the waters were divided. 22 And the Israelites[bk] entered the middle of the sea on the dry land. The waters were a wall for them on their right and on their left. 23 And the Egyptians gave chase[bl] and entered after them—all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his charioteers—into the middle of the sea. 24 And during the morning watch, Yahweh looked down to the Egyptian camp from in the column of fire and cloud, and he threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. 25 And he removed[bm] the wheels of their chariots so that they drove them with difficulty, and the Egyptians said, “We must flee away[bn] from Israel because Yahweh is fighting for them against Egypt.”
26 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, and let the waters return over the Egyptians, over their chariots, and over their charioteers.” 27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned at daybreak[bo] to its normal level, and the Egyptians were fleeing because of it,[bp] and Yahweh swept the Egyptians into the middle of the sea. 28 And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the charioteers—all the army of Pharaoh coming after them into the sea. Not even[bq] one survived among them. 29 But the Israelites[br] walked on the dry land in the middle of the sea. The waters were a wall for them on their right and on their left. 30 And Yahweh saved Israel on that day from the hand[bs] of Egypt, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore of the sea. 31 And Israel saw the great hand[bt] that Yahweh displayed against Egypt, and the people feared Yahweh, and they believed in Yahweh and in Moses his servant.
Song of Victory at the Sea
15 Then Moses and the Israelites[bu] sang this song to Yahweh, and they said,[bv]
“Let me sing to Yahweh because he is highly exalted;
the horse and its rider he hurled into the sea.
2 Yah[bw] is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation;[bx]
this is my God, and I will praise him—the God of my father—and I will exalt him.
3 Yahweh is a man of war; Yahweh is his name.
4 The chariots of Pharaoh and his army he cast into the sea,
and his choice adjutants were sunk in the Red Sea.[by]
5 The deep waters covered them;
they went down into the depths like a stone.
6 Yahweh, your right hand is glorious in power;
Yahweh, your right hand destroyed the enemy.
7 And in the greatness of your majesty you overthrew those standing up to you;
you released your fierce anger, and it consumed them like stubble.
8 And by the breath of your nostrils waters were piled up;
waves stood like a heap;
deep waters in the middle of the sea congealed.
9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide plunder,
my desire will be full of them, I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.’
10 You blew with your breath; the sea covered them;
they dropped like lead in the mighty waters.
11 Who is like you among the gods, Yahweh?
Who is like you—glorious in holiness, awesome in praiseworthy actions, doing wonders?[bz]
12 You stretched out your right hand;
the earth swallowed them.
13 In your loyal love you led the people whom you redeemed;
in your strength you guided them to the abode of your holiness.[ca]
14 Peoples heard; they trembled;
anguish seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom were horrified; great distress seized the leaders of Moab;
all of the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.
16 Terror and dread fell on them;
at the greatness of your arm they became silent like the stone,
until your people passed by, Yahweh,
until the people whom you bought passed by.
17 You brought them and planted them on the mountain of your inheritance,
a place you made for yourself to inhabit, Yahweh,
a sanctuary, Lord, that your hands established.
18 Yahweh will reign as king forever and ever.”
19 When the horses[cb] of Pharaoh came into the sea with his chariots[cc] and with his charioteers, Yahweh brought back upon them the waters of the sea, and the Israelites[cd] traveled on dry ground through the middle of the sea. 20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took her[ce] tambourine in her hand, and all of the women went out after her with tambourines and with dances. 21 And Miriam answered,[cf] “Sing to Yahweh because he is highly exalted; the horse and its rider he hurled into the sea.”
Yahweh Provides Water at Marah
22 And Moses caused Israel to set out from the Red Sea,[cg] and they went out into the desert of Shur, and they traveled three days in the desert, and they did not find water. 23 And they came to Marah, and they were not able to drink water from Marah because it was bitter. Therefore it was named[ch] Marah. 24 And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 And he cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh showed him a piece of wood, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There he made a rule and regulation for them, and there he tested them. 26 And he said, “If you carefully listen to the voice of Yahweh your God and you do what is right in his eyes and give heed to his commands and you keep all his rules, then I will not bring about on you any of the diseases[ci] that I brought about on Egypt, because I am Yahweh your healer.
27 And they came to Elim, and twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees were there, and they encamped there at the water.
Footnotes
- Exodus 12:3 Literally “a lamb/kid for the house of fathers.” The word translated “lamb” refers to a small livestock animal and could be either a young sheep or a young goat
- Exodus 12:4 Or “the number of selves”
- Exodus 12:4 Literally “a man for the mouth of his eating”
- Exodus 12:6 Literally “It will be for you for observation”
- Exodus 12:6 Literally “between the evenings”
- Exodus 12:8 Literally “bitter things”
- Exodus 12:16 Or “summons,” “convocation”
- Exodus 12:16 Or “summons,” “convocation”
- Exodus 12:19 Literally “anyone eating yeasted food, that person”
- Exodus 12:24 Or “until eternity”
- Exodus 12:25 Literally “and it will be”
- Exodus 12:25 Literally “service” or “work”
- Exodus 12:26 Literally “and it will be”
- Exodus 12:26 Literally “service” or “work”
- Exodus 12:26 Or “What does this service mean to you?”
- Exodus 12:27 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 12:28 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 12:29 Literally “and it was”
- Exodus 12:31 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 12:33 Or “to hasten to release them”
- Exodus 12:33 Or “We all are dead!”
- Exodus 12:35 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 12:37 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 12:37 Or “footmen,” “infantrymen.” The word probably has military connotations, as when it is used elsewhere in the numbering of soldiers (compare 2 Sam 10:6; 1 Kgs 20:29; 2 Kgs 13:7)
- Exodus 12:38 Literally “a large mixture” (compare Jer 25:20; Ezek 30:5)
- Exodus 12:40 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 12:42 Or “observances”
- Exodus 12:42 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 12:50 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 12:51 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 13:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 13:2 Hebrew “human”
- Exodus 13:2 Hebrew “animal”
- Exodus 13:2 Literally “to/for me it”
- Exodus 13:5 Hebrew “Canaanite”
- Exodus 13:5 Hebrew “Hittite”
- Exodus 13:5 Hebrew “Amorite”
- Exodus 13:5 Hebrew “Hivite”
- Exodus 13:5 Hebrew “Jebusite”
- Exodus 13:5 Or “fathers”
- Exodus 13:10 Literally “from days to days”
- Exodus 13:11 Or “fathers”
- Exodus 13:14 Literally “tomorrow”
- Exodus 13:18 Literally “sea of reed”
- Exodus 13:18 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 13:19 Hebrew “he”
- Exodus 13:19 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:2 Literally “and between the sea”
- Exodus 14:3 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:8 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:8 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:8 Literally “with a raised/high hand”
- Exodus 14:10 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:10 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:15 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:15 Or “journey,” “move on,” “travel”
- Exodus 14:16 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:20 Literally “the cloud was and the darkness”
- Exodus 14:20 Or “it illumined the night”
- Exodus 14:20 Literally “this did not come near to this”
- Exodus 14:21 Or “caused the sea to go,” “drove the sea”
- Exodus 14:22 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:23 Or “pursued,” “chased”
- Exodus 14:25 Or “let turn aside”
- Exodus 14:25 Or “let us flee,” “let me run away”; the verb is singular, but it is plural in context
- Exodus 14:27 Literally “at the turning of morning”
- Exodus 14:27 Literally “to/for/from the meeting of it”
- Exodus 14:28 Literally “up to,” “as far as”
- Exodus 14:29 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 14:30 Or “power”
- Exodus 14:31 Or “power”
- Exodus 15:1 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 15:1 Literally “and they said, saying”
- Exodus 15:2 a shortened form of “Yahweh”
- Exodus 15:2 Literally “he was for me for salvation”
- Exodus 15:4 Literally “sea of reed”
- Exodus 15:11 Hebrew “wonder”
- Exodus 15:13 Or “your holy dwelling”
- Exodus 15:19 Hebrew “horse”
- Exodus 15:19 Hebrew “chariot”
- Exodus 15:19 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 15:20 Literally “the tambourine”
- Exodus 15:21 Literally “answered to them”
- Exodus 15:22 Literally “sea of reed”
- Exodus 15:23 Literally “its name was called”; the Hebrew word for “bitter” is pronounced “marah”
- Exodus 15:26 Hebrew “disease”
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software