Exodus 14
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 2 ‘Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you must camp in front of Baal-zephon, facing it by the sea.(A) 3 Pharaoh will say of the Israelites: They are wandering around the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in. 4 I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.’ So the Israelites did this.(B)
The Egyptian Pursuit
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people and said, ‘What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.’ 6 So he got his chariot ready and took his troops[a] with him; 7 he took six hundred of the best chariots and all the rest of the chariots of Egypt, with officers in each one. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out defiantly.[b](C) 9 The Egyptians – all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen,[c] and his army – chased(D) after them and caught up with them as they camped by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians coming after them! The Israelites were terrified and cried out(E) to the Lord for help. 11 They said to Moses, ‘Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.’(F)
13 But Moses said to the people, ‘Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see(G) the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet.’(H)
Escape through the Red Sea
15 The Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to break camp. 16 As for you, lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.(I) 17 As for me, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.’
19 Then the angel of God,(J) who was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them.(K) 20 It came between the Egyptian and Israelite forces. There was cloud and darkness, it lit up the night, and neither group came near the other all night long.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided,(L) 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left.(M)
23 The Egyptians set out in pursuit – all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen – and went into the sea after them. 24 During the morning watch, the Lord looked down at the Egyptian forces from the pillar of fire(N) and cloud, and threw the Egyptian forces into confusion. 25 He caused their chariot wheels to swerve[d][e] and made them drive[f] with difficulty. ‘Let’s get away from Israel,’ the Egyptians said, ‘because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt! ’
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water may come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen.’ 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal depth. While the Egyptians were trying to escape from it, the Lord threw them into the sea.(O) 28 The water came back and covered the chariots(P) and horsemen, as well as the entire army of Pharaoh that had gone after them into the sea. Not even one of them survived.
29 But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed(Q) in him and in his servant Moses.
Exodus 14
New Life Version
Crossing the Red Sea
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people of Israel to turn around and set up their tents in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. Set up your tents in front of Baal-zephon, beside the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They have lost their way. The desert has shut them in.’ 4 I will make Pharaoh’s heart hard. And he will try to catch them. So I will be honored through Pharaoh and his whole army. Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had left, Pharaoh and his servants changed their minds about the people. They said, “What is this we have done? We have let Israel go from working for us.” 6 So he made his war-wagon ready and took his people with him. 7 He took 600 of the best war-wagons, and all the other war-wagons of Egypt in the care of leaders. 8 The Lord made the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt hard. And Pharaoh went to catch the people of Israel, who were leaving without fear. 9 The Egyptians followed them with all the horses and war-wagons of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army. And they came to them at their tents by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
10 When Pharaoh came near, the people of Israel looked and saw the Egyptians coming after them. And they were filled with fear and cried out to the Lord. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the desert? What have you done to us, in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Did we not tell you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die here.”
13 But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid! Be strong, and see how the Lord will save you today. For the Egyptians you have seen today, you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you. All you have to do is keep still.”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to keep going. 16 Lift up your special stick and put out your hand over the sea, and divide it. Then the people of Israel will go through the sea on dry land. 17 I will make the Egyptians’ hearts hard, so they will go after them. And I will be honored through Pharaoh and his whole army, his war-wagons and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I am honored through Pharaoh, his war-wagons and his horsemen.” 19 Then the Angel of God, who had been going in front of the army of Israel, moved and went behind them. The cloud moved from the front of them and stood behind them. 20 It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. There was the cloud and the darkness, yet it gave light at night. And the one army did not come near the other all night. 21 Then Moses put out his hand over the sea. And the Lord moved the sea all night by a strong east wind. So the waters were divided. 22 And the people of Israel went through the sea on dry land. The waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left. 23 Then the Egyptians followed them. All Pharaoh’s horses and war-wagons and horsemen went in the sea after them. 24 In the morning hours, the Lord looked down on the Egyptian army through the fire and cloud. And He made the Egyptian army afraid. 25 He made the wheels of their war-wagons come off, so it was hard for the wagons to be moved. So the Egyptians said, “Let us run away from Israel. For the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand over the sea. And the waters will flow over the Egyptians, and over their war-wagons and their horsemen.” 27 And when the morning came, the Egyptians ran into the wall of water as the sea returned to the way it was before. The Lord destroyed the Egyptians in the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the war-wagons and the horsemen and Pharaoh’s whole army that had gone in the sea after them. Not even one of them was left. 29 But the people of Israel walked on dry land through the sea. The waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left.
30 So the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians. And Israel saw the Egyptians dead beside the sea. 31 Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians. And the people had fear of the Lord. They believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses.
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