Exodus 13
New American Standard Bible
13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “(A)Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the firstborn of every womb among the sons of Israel, among people and animals alike; it belongs to Me.”
3 And Moses said to the people, “(B)Remember this day in which you departed from Egypt, from the house of [a]slavery; for (C)by [b]a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. (D)And nothing with yeast shall be eaten. 4 On this day in the (E)month of Abib, you are about to go out from here. 5 And it shall be when the Lord (F)brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which (G)He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, (H)that you shall [c]perform this rite in this month. 6 For (I)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 throughout the seven days; and (J)nothing with yeast shall [d]be seen among you, nor shall any dough with yeast [e]be seen among you in all your borders. 8 And (K)you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 And (L)it shall [f]serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder [g]on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with (M)a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. 10 Therefore, you shall (N)keep this ordinance at its appointed time from [h]year to year.
11 “Now when (O)the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as (P)He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 (Q)you shall [i]devote to the Lord every firstborn of a womb, and every firstborn offspring of an animal that you own; the males belong to the Lord. 13 But (R)every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and (S)every [j]firstborn among your sons you shall redeem. 14 (T)And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘(U)With [k]a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of [l]slavery. 15 And it came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the (V)Lord put to death every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborns to animal firstborns. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, every firstborn of a womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 So (W)it shall [m]serve as a sign on your hand and as [n]phylacteries [o]on your forehead, for with [p]a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”
God Leads the People
17 Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “(X)The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” 18 Therefore God led the people around by way of the wilderness to the [q]Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up (Y)in battle formation from the land of Egypt. 19 And Moses took (Z)the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will certainly [r]take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.” 20 Then they set out from (AA)Succoth and camped in Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 21 And (AB)the Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they might [s]travel by day and by night. 22 [t]He (AC)did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from the presence of the people.
Footnotes
- Exodus 13:3 Lit slaves
- Exodus 13:3 Lit strength of hand
- Exodus 13:5 Lit serve this service
- Exodus 13:7 Lit appear to you
- Exodus 13:7 Lit appear to you
- Exodus 13:9 Lit be for
- Exodus 13:9 Lit between your eyes
- Exodus 13:10 Lit days to days
- Exodus 13:12 Lit cause to pass over
- Exodus 13:13 Lit firstborn of a human
- Exodus 13:14 Lit strength of hand
- Exodus 13:14 Lit slaves
- Exodus 13:16 Lit be for
- Exodus 13:16 Or frontlet-bands
- Exodus 13:16 Lit between your eyes
- Exodus 13:16 Lit strength of hand
- Exodus 13:18 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Exodus 13:19 Lit visit
- Exodus 13:21 Lit go
- Exodus 13:22 Or The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart
Exodus 13
Complete Jewish Bible
13 (vii) Adonai said to Moshe, 2 “Set aside for me all the firstborn. Whatever is first from the womb among the people of Isra’el, both of humans and of animals, belongs to me.” 3 Moshe said to the people, “Remember this day, on which you left Egypt, the abode of slavery; because Adonai, by the strength of his hand, has brought you out of this place. Do not eat hametz. 4 You are leaving today, in the month of Aviv. 5 When Adonai brings you into the land of the Kena‘ani, Hitti, Emori, Hivi and Y’vusi, which he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you are to observe this ceremony in this month. 6 For seven days you are to eat matzah, and the seventh day is to be a festival for Adonai. 7 Matzah is to be eaten throughout the seven days; neither hametz nor leavening agents are to be seen with you throughout your territory. 8 On that day you are to tell your son, ‘It is because of what Adonai did for me when I left Egypt.’
9 “Moreover, it will serve you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder between your eyes, so that Adonai’s Torah may be on your lips; because with a strong hand Adonai brought you out of Egypt. 10 Therefore you are to observe this regulation at its proper time, year after year. 11 When Adonai brings you into the land of the Kena‘ani, as he swore to you and your ancestors, and gives it to you, 12 you are to set apart for Adonai everything that is first from the womb. Every firstborn male animal will belong to Adonai. 13 Every firstborn from a donkey, you are to redeem with a lamb; but if you choose not to redeem it, you must break its neck. But from people, you are to redeem every firstborn son. (Maftir) 14 When, at some future time, your son asks you, ‘What is this?’ then say to him, ‘With a strong hand Adonai brought us out of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh was unwilling to let us go, Adonai killed all the firstborn males in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of humans and the firstborn of animals. This is why I sacrifice to Adonai any male that is first from the womb of an animal, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 This will serve as a sign on your hand and at the front of a headband around your forehead that with a strong hand Adonai brought us out of Egypt.”
Haftarah Bo: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 46:13–28
B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Bo: Luke 2:22–24; Yochanan (John) 19:31–37; Acts 13:16 –17; Revelation 8:6–9:12; 16:1–21
Parashah 16: B’shallach (After he had let go) 13:17–17:16
17 After Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not guide them to the highway that goes through the land of the P’lishtim, because it was close by — God thought that the people, upon seeing war, might change their minds and return to Egypt. 18 Rather, God led the people by a roundabout route, through the desert by the Sea of Suf. The people of Isra’el went up from the land of Egypt fully armed.
19 Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him, for Yosef had made the people of Isra’el swear an oath when he said, “God will certainly remember you; and you are to carry my bones up with you, away from here.”
20 They traveled from Sukkot and set up camp in Etam, at the edge of the desert. 21 Adonai went ahead of them in a column of cloud during the daytime to lead them on their way, and at night in a column of fire to give them light; thus they could travel both by day and by night. 22 Neither the column of cloud by day nor the column of fire at night went away from in front of the people.
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Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.