Exodus 13
Common English Bible
13 The Lord said to Moses: 2 Dedicate to me all your oldest children. Each first offspring from any Israelite womb belongs to me, whether human or animal.
Unleavened bread
3 Moses said to the people, “Remember this day which is the day that you came out of Egypt, out of the place you were slaves, because the Lord acted with power to bring you out of there. No leavened bread may be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of Abib,[a] you are going to leave. 5 The Lord will bring you to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. It is the land that the Lord promised your ancestors to give to you, a land full of milk and honey. You should perform this ritual in this month. 6 You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. The seventh day is a festival to the Lord. 7 Only unleavened bread should be eaten for seven days. No leavened bread and no yeast should be seen among you in your whole country. 8 You should explain to your child on that day, ‘It’s because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
9 “It will be a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead so that you will often discuss the Lord’s Instruction, for the Lord brought you out of Egypt with great power. 10 So you should follow this regulation at its appointed time every year.
Dedication of Israel’s oldest offspring
11 “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you as promised to you and your ancestors, 12 you should set aside for the Lord whatever comes out of the womb first. All of the first males born to your animal belong to the Lord. 13 But every first male donkey you should ransom with a sheep. If you don’t ransom it, you must break its neck. You should ransom every oldest male among your children. 14 When in the future your child asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you should answer, ‘The Lord brought us with great power out of Egypt, out of the place we were slaves. 15 When Pharaoh refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the oldest offspring in the land of Egypt, from the oldest sons to the oldest male animals. That is why I offer to the Lord as a sacrifice every male that first comes out of the womb. But I ransom my oldest sons.’ 16 It will be a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with great power.”
God leads the way
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God didn’t lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, even though that was the shorter route. God thought, If the people have to fight and face war, they will run back to Egypt. 18 So God led the people by the roundabout way of the Reed Sea[b] desert. The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt ready for battle. 19 Moses took with him Joseph’s bones just as Joseph had made Israel’s sons promise when he said to them, “When God takes care of you, you must carry my bones out of here with you.” 20 They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. 21 The Lord went in front of them during the day in a column of cloud to guide them and at night in a column of lightning to give them light. This way they could travel during the day and at night. 22 The column of cloud during the day and the column of lightning at night never left its place in front of the people.
Footnotes
- Exodus 13:4 March–April, named Nisan after the exile
- Exodus 13:18 Or Red Sea
Exodus 13
International Children’s Bible
The Law of the Firstborn
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Give every firstborn male to me. Every firstborn male among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”
3 Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, the day you left Egypt. You were slaves in that land. The Lord with his great power brought you out of it. You must not eat bread made with yeast. 4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving Egypt. 5 The Lord made a promise to your ancestors. The Lord promised to give you the land of these people: the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites. The Lord will lead you to this land where much food grows. There you must celebrate this feast during the first month of every year. 6 For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the seventh day there will be a feast to honor the Lord. 7 So for seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast. There must be no bread made with yeast anywhere in your land. 8 On that day you should tell your son: ‘We are having this feast because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 This feast will help you remember. It will be like a mark on your hand. It will be like a reminder on your forehead. This feast will remind you to speak the Lord’s teachings. This is because the Lord used his great power to bring you out of Egypt. 10 So celebrate this feast every year at the right time.
11 “The Lord will take you into the land of the Canaanites. He promised to give this land to you and your ancestors. 12 Then you must give him every firstborn male. And every firstborn male animal must be given to the Lord. 13 Buy back every firstborn donkey by offering a lamb. If you don’t want to buy the donkey back, then break its neck. You must buy back from the Lord every firstborn of your sons.
14 “From now on your son will ask you: ‘What does this mean?’ You will answer, ‘With his great power, the Lord brought us out of Egypt. We were slaves in that land. 15 In Egypt the king was stubborn. He refused to let us leave. But the Lord killed every firstborn male in Egypt, both human and animal. That is why I sacrifice every firstborn male animal to the Lord. And that is why I buy back each of my firstborn sons from the Lord.’ 16 This feast is like a mark on your hand. And it is like a reminder on your forehead. It will help you remember that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his great power.”
The Way Out of Egypt
17 The king sent the people out of Egypt. God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country. That road is the shortest way. But God said, “They might think they will have to fight. Then they might change their minds and go back to Egypt.” 18 So God led them through the desert toward the Red Sea. The Israelites were dressed for fighting when they left the land of Egypt.
19 Moses carried the bones of Joseph with him. Before Joseph died, he had made the sons of Israel promise to do this. He had said, “When God saves you, remember to carry my bones with you out of Egypt.”
20 The people of Israel left Succoth and camped at Etham. Etham was on the edge of the desert. 21 The Lord showed them the way. During the day he went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud. And during the night the Lord was in a pillar of fire to give them light. They could travel during the day or night. 22 The pillar of cloud was always with them during the day. And the pillar of fire was always with them at night.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
