²¹ Then ^(A)Moses called for all the ^(B)elders of Israel and said to them, ^(C)“Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. ^22 (D)And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and ^(E)strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. ^23 (F)For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the ^(G)blood on the ^[a]lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and ^(H)not allow ^(I)the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. ²⁴ And you shall ^(J)observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. ²⁵ It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, ^(K)just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. ^26 (L)And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ ²⁷ that you shall say, ^(M)‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ ” So the people ^(N)bowed their heads and worshiped. ²⁸ Then the children of Israel went away and ^(O)did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

⁵⁰ Thus all the children of Israel did; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn^(A)

^29 (B)And it came to pass at midnight that ^(C)the Lord struck all 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 ^[a]in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of ^(D)livestock. ³⁰ So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, 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.

The Exodus

³¹ Then he ^(E)called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, ^(F)both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the Lord as you have ^(G)said. ^32 (H)Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.”

^33 (I)And the Egyptians ^(J)urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” ³⁴ So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. ³⁵ Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians ^(K)articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. ^36 (L)And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus ^(M)they plundered the Egyptians.

⁴⁰ Now the ^[a]sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in ^[b]Egypt was ^(A)four hundred and thirty years. ⁴¹ And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that ^(B)all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.

^51 (A)And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt ^(B)according to their armies.

⁴² It is ^(A)a ^[a]night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.

Israel’s Journey from Egypt Reviewed

33 These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the ^(A)hand of Moses and Aaron. ² Now Moses wrote down the starting points of their journeys at the command of the Lord. And these are their journeys according to their starting points:

³ They ^(B)departed from Rameses in ^(C)the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out ^(D)with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians. ⁴ For the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, ^(E)whom the Lord had killed among them. Also ^(F)on their gods the Lord had executed judgments.

³⁷ Then ^(A)the children of Israel journeyed from ^(B)Rameses to Succoth, about ^(C)six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. ³⁸ A ^(D)mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of ^(E)livestock. ³⁹ And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because ^(F)they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.

The Firstborn Consecrated

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^2 (A)“Consecrate^[a] to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”

The Feast of Unleavened Bread^(B)

³ And Moses said to the people: ^(C)“Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of ^[b]bondage; for ^(D)by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. ^(E)No leavened bread shall be eaten. ^4 (F)On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. ⁵ And it shall be, when the Lord ^(G)brings you into the ^(H)land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He ^(I)swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, ^(J)that you shall keep this service in this month. ^6 (K)Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. ⁷ Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And ^(L)no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. ⁸ And you shall ^(M)tell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.’ ⁹ It shall be as ^(N)a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. ^10 (O)You shall therefore keep this ^[c]ordinance in its season from year to year.

The Law of the Firstborn

¹¹ “And it shall be, when the Lord ^(P)brings you into the land of the ^(Q)Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, ^12 (R)that you shall ^[d]set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s. ¹³ But ^(S)every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons ^(T)you shall redeem. ^14 (U)So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ^(V)‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ¹⁵ And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that ^(W)the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶ It shall be as ^(X)a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”