Exodus 14:10-21:14

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹⁰ As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord.^{(A) 11} They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt?^{(B) 12} Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” ¹³ But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today, for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again.^{(C) 14} The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.”^(D)

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. ¹⁶ But you lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground.^{(E) 17} Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.^{(F) 18} Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.”^(G)

¹⁹ The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them.^{(H) 20} It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.^{(I) 22} The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.^{(J) 23} The Egyptians pursued and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. ²⁴ At the morning watch the Lord, in the pillar of fire and cloud, looked down on the Egyptian army and threw the Egyptian army into a panic.^{(K) 25} He clogged^[a] their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”^(L)

The Pursuers Drowned

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.” ²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea.^{(M) 28} The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained.^{(N) 29} But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.^(O)

³⁰ Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.^{(P) 31} Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.^(Q)

The Song of Moses

15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

¹⁹ When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.^(AI)

The Song of Miriam

²⁰ Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing.^{(AJ) 21} And Miriam sang to them:

Bitter Water Made Sweet

²² Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea,^[d] and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water.^{(AL) 23} When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah.^{[e](AM) 24} And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”^{(AN) 25} He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord^[f] made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he put them to the test.^{(AO) 26} He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you.”^(AP)

²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the water.^(AQ)

Bread from Heaven

16 The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from Elim and came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.^{(AR) 2} The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.^{(AS) 3} The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”^(AT)

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.^{(AU) 5} On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.”^{(AV) 6} So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ⁷ and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?”^{(AW) 8} And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.”

⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites: ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’ ”^{(AX) 10} And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.^{(AY) 11} The Lord spoke to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”

¹³ In the evening quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.^{(AZ) 14} When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.^{(BA) 15} When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?”^[g] For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.^{(BB) 16} This is what the Lord has commanded: Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer per person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.” ¹⁷ The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. ¹⁸ But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed.^{(BC) 19} And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over until morning.”^{(BD) 20} But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it became wormy and rotten. And Moses was angry with them. ²¹ Morning by morning they gathered it, as much as each needed, but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

²² On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers apiece. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,^{(BE) 23} he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.”^{(BF) 24} So they put it aside until morning, just as Moses commanded them, and it did not rot, and there were no maggots in it.^{(BG) 25} Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. ²⁶ Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”

²⁷ On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. ²⁸ The Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and instructions?^{(BH) 29} See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you food for two days; each of you stay where you are; do not leave your place on the seventh day.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ The Israelites called it manna; it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.^{(BI) 32} Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations in order that they may see the food with which I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.” ³³ And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord, to be kept throughout your generations.”^{(BJ) 34} Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the covenant, for safekeeping.^{(BK) 35} The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a habitable land; they ate manna, until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.^{(BL) 36} (An omer is a tenth of an ephah.)

Water from the Rock

17 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.^{(BM) 2} The people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”^{(BN) 3} But the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?”^{(BO) 4} So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do for this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”^{(BP) 5} The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile and go.^{(BQ) 6} I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.^{(BR) 7} He called the place Massah^[h] and Meribah,^[i] because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”^(BS)

Amalek Attacks Israel and Is Defeated

⁸ Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.^{(BT) 9} Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men for us and go out; fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”^{(BU) 10} So Joshua did as Moses told him and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. ¹² But Moses’s hands grew heavy, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on either side, so his hands were steady until the sun set. ¹³ And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the sword.

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a remembrance in a book and recite it in the hearing of Joshua: I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”^{(BV) 15} And Moses built an altar and called it, The Lord is my banner. ¹⁶ He said, “A hand upon the banner of the Lord!^[j] The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Jethro’s Advice

18 Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’s father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.^{(BW) 2} After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro took her back,^{(BX) 3} along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom^[k] (for he had said, “I have been an alien in a foreign land”),^{(BY) 4} and the name of the other was Eliezer^[l] (for he had said, “The God of my father was my help and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). ⁵ Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, along with Moses’s sons and wife, came into the wilderness where Moses was encamped at the mountain of God.^{(BZ) 6} He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you, with your wife and her two sons.” ⁷ So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law; he bowed down and kissed him; each asked after the other’s welfare, and they went into the tent.^{(CA) 8} Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had found them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them.^{(CB) 9} Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in delivering them from the Egyptians.

¹⁰ Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh.^{(CC) 11} Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because he delivered the people from the Egyptians,^[m] when they dealt arrogantly with them.”^{(CD) 12} And Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’s father-in-law in the presence of God.

¹³ The next day Moses sat as judge for the people, while the people stood around him from morning until evening. ¹⁴ When Moses’s father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?” ¹⁵ Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God.^{(CE) 16} When they have a dispute, they come to me, and I decide between one person and another, and I make known to them the statutes and instructions of God.” ¹⁷ Moses’s father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.^{(CF) 19} Now listen to me. I will give you counsel, and God be with you! You should represent the people before God and bring their cases to God.^{(CG) 20} Teach them the statutes and instructions and make known to them the way they are to go and the things they are to do.^{(CH) 21} You should also look for able men among all the people, men who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain; set them as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.^{(CI) 22} Let them sit as judges for the people at all times; let them bring every important case to you but decide every minor case themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.^{(CJ) 23} If you do this and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people will go to their homes in peace.”

²⁴ So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said. ²⁵ Moses chose able men from all Israel and appointed them as heads over the people, as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.^{(CK) 26} And they judged the people at all times; hard cases they brought to Moses, but any minor case they decided themselves.^{(CL) 27} Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went off to his own country.^(CM)

The Israelites Reach Mount Sinai

19 On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai. ² They journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain.^{(CN) 3} Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the Israelites:^{(CO) 4} ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.^{(CP) 5} Now, therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine,^{(CQ) 6} but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”^(CR)

⁷ So Moses went, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. ⁸ The people all answered as one, “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.” Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.^{(CS) 9} Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after.”

The People Consecrated

When Moses had told the words of the people to the Lord,^{(CT) 10} the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes^{(CU) 11} and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.^{(CV) 12} You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death.^{(CW) 13} No hand shall touch them, but they shall be stoned or shot with arrows;^[n] whether animal or human being, they shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they may go up on the mountain.” ¹⁴ So Moses went down from the mountain to the people. He consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵ And he said to the people, “Prepare for the third day; do not go near a woman.”

¹⁶ On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all the people who were in the camp trembled.^{(CX) 17} Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Now all of Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended upon it in fire; the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain shook violently.^{(CY) 19} As the blast of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God would answer him in thunder.^{(CZ) 20} When the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain, the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. ²¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the Lord; otherwise many of them will perish.^{(DA) 22} Even the priests who approach the Lord must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them.”^{(DB) 23} Moses said to the Lord, “The people are not permitted to come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and keep it holy.’ ”^{(DC) 24} The Lord said to him, “Go down, then come back up and bring Aaron with you, but do not let either the priests or the people break through to come up to the Lord; otherwise he will break out against them.” ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Ten Commandments

20 Then God spoke all these words,^(DD)

² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;^{(DE) 3} you shall have no other gods before^[o] me.^(DF)

⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.^{(DG) 5} You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me^{(DH) 6} but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation^[p] of those who love me and keep my commandments.^(DI)

⁷ “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.^(DJ)

⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.^{(DK) 9} Six days you shall labor and do all your work.^{(DL) 10} But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.^(DM)

¹² “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.^(DN)

¹³ “You shall not murder.^[q](DO)

¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.^(DP)

¹⁵ “You shall not steal.^(DQ)

¹⁶ “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.^(DR)

¹⁷ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female slave, ox, donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”^(DS)

¹⁸ When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid^[r] and trembled and stood at a distance^{(DT) 19} and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”^{(DU) 20} Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.”^{(DV) 21} Then the people stood at a distance, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.^(DW)

The Law concerning the Altar

²² The Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves how I spoke with you from heaven.^{(DX) 23} You shall not make gods of silver alongside me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.^{(DY) 24} You need make for me only an altar of earth and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your offerings of well-being, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.^{(DZ) 25} But if you make for me an altar of stone, do not build it of hewn stones, for if you use a chisel upon it you profane it.^{(EA) 26} You shall not go up by steps to my altar, so that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.

The Law concerning Slaves

21 “These are the ordinances that you shall set before them:^(EB)

² “When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, but in the seventh he shall go out a free person, without debt.^{(EC) 3} If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. ⁵ But if the slave declares, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out a free person,’ ⁶ then his master shall bring him before God. He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him for life.^(ED)

⁷ “When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.^{(EE) 8} If she does not please her master, who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed; he shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt unfairly with her. ⁹ If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. ¹⁰ If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife.^{[s](EF) 11} And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out without debt, without payment of money.

The Law concerning Violence

¹² “Whoever strikes a person mortally shall be put to death.^{(EG) 13} If it was not premeditated but came about by an act of God, then I will appoint for you a place to which the killer may flee.^{(EH) 14} But if someone willfully attacks and kills another by treachery, you shall take the killer from my altar for execution.^(EI)