Exodus 13:17-18

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

The Pillars of Cloud and Fire

¹⁷ When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer, for God thought, “If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.”^{(A) 18} So God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness bordering the Red Sea.^[a] The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt prepared for battle.