Exodus 13
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
13 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 ‘Consecrate every firstborn male(A) to me, the firstborn from every womb among the Israelites, both man and domestic animal; it is mine.’
3 Then Moses said to the people, ‘Remember this day when you came out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, for the Lord brought you out of here by the strength of his hand. Nothing leavened may be eaten.(B) 4 Today, in the month of Abib,[a](C) you are going out. 5 When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites,[b] which he swore to your ancestors that he would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey,(D) you must carry out this ceremony in this month.(E) 6 For seven days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread is to be eaten for those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, and no yeast may be found among you in all your territory. 8 On that day explain to your son, “This is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.”(F) 9 Let it serve as a sign for you on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead,[c](G) so that the Lord’s instruction may be in your mouth; for the Lord brought you out of Egypt with a strong hand. 10 Keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.
11 ‘When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your ancestors, and gives it to you, 12 you are to present to the Lord every firstborn male of the womb. All firstborn offspring of the livestock you own that are males will be the Lord’s. 13 You must redeem every firstborn of a donkey with a flock animal, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. However, you must redeem every firstborn among your sons.(H)
14 ‘In the future, when your son(I) asks you, “What does this mean? ” say to him, “By the strength of his hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of humans and the firstborn of livestock. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord all the firstborn of the womb that are males, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.” 16 So let it be a sign on your hand and a symbol[d] on your forehead, for the Lord brought us out of Egypt by the strength of his hand.’(J)
The Route of the Exodus
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby; for God said, ‘The people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war.’(K) 18 So he led the people around towards the Red Sea along the road of the wilderness. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt in battle formation.(L)
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph(M) with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites swear a solemn oath, saying, ‘God will certainly come to your aid; then you must take my bones with you from this place.’
20 They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud(N) to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people.
Exodus 13
New King James Version
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.”
The Wilderness Way(Y)
17 Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people (Z)change their minds when they see war, and (AA)return to Egypt.” 18 So God (AB)led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.
19 And Moses took the (AC)bones of (AD)Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, (AE)“God will surely [e]visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”
20 So (AF)they took their journey from (AG)Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. 21 And (AH)the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.
Footnotes
- Exodus 13:2 Set apart
- Exodus 13:3 Lit. slaves
- Exodus 13:10 regulation
- Exodus 13:12 Lit. cause to pass over
- Exodus 13:19 give attention to
Exodus 13
EasyEnglish Bible
Firstborn sons
13 The Lord spoke to Moses. 2 He said, ‘Keep every firstborn male separate and special for me. Every male who is the first to be born of his mother is mine. He is mine, whether he is man or animal.’[a]
3 Moses said to the people, ‘Remember this day, the day when you came out of Egypt. You left the place where you were slaves. The Lord brought you out with his powerful authority. Remember! Do not eat anything that has yeast in it on this day. 4 Today you are leaving Egypt. It is the first month of the year, called Abib. 5 The Lord will bring you to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. God promised your ancestors that he would give that land to you. The land will give you plenty of good food and drink, enough for everyone. When the Lord brings you into that place, you must eat the Passover meal to worship God in this month every year. 6 For seven days you must eat bread without yeast in it. Then on the seventh day you must have a festival for the Lord. 7 Eat bread without yeast during those seven days. There must not be any yeast left among you, in the whole of your land.
8 On that day, you must tell your children the reason for this festival. Tell them, “We do this because of what the Lord did for us. He brought us out of Egypt.” 9 This special time will be like a mark on your hand. It will be like something that you fix between your eyes. It will be a sign that causes you to remember what happened on this day. Then you will not forget to speak about the Law of the Lord. Remember this: The Lord brought you out of Egypt with his great power. 10 Every year, at the right time you must do what I have said.
11 The Lord will bring you into the land of the Canaanites. It is the land that he promised to give to you and to your ancestors. When he gives it to you, you must do this: 12 You must give to the Lord all the firstborn males. That includes your own firstborn sons, and the male animals that are born first. They belong to the Lord. 13 When a donkey gives birth to her first male, you must give a lamb to God, instead of the donkey. If you do not do that, you must kill the donkey. You must break its neck. For any of your own firstborn sons, you must give an animal instead of your son.
14 One day, your son may ask you, “What does this mean?” Then you must say to him, “The Lord brought us out of Egypt with his powerful authority. He took us away from the place where we were slaves. 15 Pharaoh refused to let us go. But the Lord killed all the firstborn sons in the country of Egypt. He killed all the firstborn males, both people and animals. That is why I offer all the firstborn male animals as a sacrifice to the Lord. But for each of my firstborn sons, I give an animal to God instead.” 16 It will be like a mark on your hand or something that you fix between your eyes. It will be a sign that causes you to remember what happened. You will remember that the Lord used his great power to bring us out of Egypt.’
The Israelites cross the Red Sea
17 When Pharaoh let the people go away, God did not lead them through the country of the Philistines. This was a short way for them to go, but God did not lead them that way. God said, ‘If the people have to fight a war, they may change their minds. Then they may return to Egypt.’ 18 So God led the people round by the desert road. They went towards the Red Sea. When the Israelites came out of the country of Egypt, they were ready to fight.
19 Moses took Joseph's bones with him. Joseph had made the Israelites promise to do this. He had said, ‘One day, God will come and he will save you. Then you must carry my bones with you when you leave this place.’[b]
20 The Israelites travelled from Succoth and they arrived at Etham. They put up their tents there, on the edge of the desert. 21 As they travelled, the Lord was leading them. During the day, he was there as a pillar of cloud that went in front of them. During the night, he went as a pillar of fire. This gave them light, so they could travel during the day or the night. 22 The cloud did not leave the people during the day. Nor did the fire leave them during the night. It was always in front of them.
Footnotes
- 13:2 God had killed the firstborn sons of the Egyptians, but he had saved the firstborn sons of the Israelites. Because of this, the firstborn sons were special. God said, ‘They are mine.’
- 13:19 See Genesis 50:24-25. Joseph was one of Jacob's sons who became a ruler in Egypt. He died there. But he did not want his family to bury him in Egypt. He wanted them to bury him in Canaan.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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