Exodus 14
Darby Translation
14 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea: before Baal-Zephon, opposite to it, shall ye encamp by the sea.
3 And Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness has hemmed them in.
4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he may pursue after them; and I will glorify myself in Pharaoh, and in all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah. And they did so.
5 And it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his bondmen was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from our service?
6 And he yoked his chariot, and took his people with him.
7 And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.
8 And Jehovah hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel; and the children of Israel had gone out with a high hand.
9 And the Egyptians pursued after them,—all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them where they had encamped by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, opposite to Baal-Zephon.
10 And Pharaoh approached; and the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and the children of Israel were much afraid, and cried out to Jehovah.
11 And they said to Moses, Is it because there were no graves in Egypt, thou hast taken us away to die in the wilderness? why hast thou done this to us, that thou hast led us out of Egypt?
12 Is not this what we told thee in Egypt, when we said, Let us alone, and we will serve the Egyptians? For [it had been] better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.
13 And Moses said to the people, Fear not: stand still, and see the salvation of Jehovah, which he will work for you to-day; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
14 Jehovah will fight for you, and ye shall be still.
15 And Jehovah said to Moses, Why dost thou cry unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.
16 And thou, lift thy staff, and stretch out thy hand over the sea, and divide it; and the children of Israel shall go on dry [ground] through the midst of the sea.
17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall pursue after them; and I will glorify myself in Pharaoh and in all his host, in his chariots and in his horsemen.
18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have glorified myself in Pharaoh, in his chariots and in his horsemen.
19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before them, and stood behind them.
20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and was a cloud and darkness, and lit up the night; and the one did not come near the other all the night.
21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and Jehovah made the sea go [back] by a strong east wind all the night, and made the sea dry [land], and the waters were divided.
22 And the children of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry [ground]; and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
23 And the Egyptians pursued and came after them—all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots and his horsemen, into the midst of the sea.
24 And it came to pass in the morning watch, that Jehovah looked upon the camp of the Egyptians, in the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and embarrassed the camp of the Egyptians.
25 And he took off their chariot wheels, and caused them to drive with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, Let us flee before Israel, for Jehovah is fighting for them against the Egyptians!
26 And Jehovah said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand over the sea, that the waters may return upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and upon their horsemen.
27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength toward the morning; and the Egyptians fled against it; and Jehovah overturned the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.
28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen of all the host of Pharaoh that had come into the sea after them; there remained not even one of them.
29 And the children of Israel walked on dry [ground] through the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
30 Thus Jehovah saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the sea-shore.
31 And Israel saw the great power [with] which Jehovah had wrought against the Egyptians; and the people feared Jehovah, and believed in Jehovah, and in Moses his bondman.
Exodus 14
Expanded Bible
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] to turn back to Pi Hahiroth and to camp between Migdol and the ·Red [or Reed; 10:19] Sea. Camp ·across from [opposite] Baal Zephon [C in the eastern Nile Delta; the exact locations of these sites are unknown], ·on the shore of [L by] the sea. 3 ·The king [L Pharaoh] will think, ‘The ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] are ·lost [wandering around], ·trapped [closed/shut in] by the ·desert [wilderness].’ 4 I will ·make the king stubborn [L harden the heart of Pharaoh] again so he will ·chase after [pursue] them, but I will ·defeat the king and his army, bringing honor to me [L gain glory over Pharaoh and over his army], and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” ·The Israelites [L They] did just as they were told.
The King Chases the Israelites
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the ·Israelites [people] had ·left [or fled], he and his officers changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We have ·lost [sent away] the Israelites who served us!” 6 So ·the king [L he] ·prepared [harnessed] his war chariot and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of his best chariots, together with all the other chariots of Egypt, each with an officer in it. 8 The Lord ·made the king of Egypt stubborn [L hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt], so he ·chased [pursued] the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], who were leaving ·victoriously [boldly; L with uplifted hand]. 9 The Egyptians—with all the king’s horses, chariot drivers, and army—·chased the Israelites [L pursued them]. They caught up with them while they were camped by the ·Red Sea [L Sea; 10:19], near Pi Hahiroth and Baal Zephon [14:1].
10 When the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] saw ·the king and his army [L Egypt] coming after them, they were very frightened and cried to the Lord for help. 11 They said to Moses, “What have you done to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in the ·desert [wilderness]? ·There were [L Were there not…?] plenty of graves for us in Egypt. 12 ·We told [L Did we not tell…?] you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone; we will stay and serve the Egyptians.’ Now we will die in the desert.”
13 But Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still and you will see the Lord save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again after today. 14 You only need to remain ·calm [or still]; the Lord will fight for you [15:3].”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Command the Israelites to ·start moving [get going; depart]. 16 Raise your ·walking stick [staff] and ·hold it [L extend/stretch your hand] over the sea so that the sea will split and the ·people [L sons/T children of Israel] can ·cross it [L go in the midst of the sea] on dry land. 17 I will ·make the Egyptians stubborn [L harden the hearts of the Egyptians] so they will ·chase the Israelites [L go after them], but I will be ·honored [glorified] when I defeat ·the king [L Pharaoh] and all of his chariot drivers and chariots. 18 When I defeat ·the king [L Pharaoh], his chariot drivers, and chariots, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”
19 Now the angel of God that usually traveled in front of ·Israel’s army [L them] moved behind them. Also, the pillar of cloud [13:21] moved from in front of the people and stood behind them. 20 So the cloud came between the camp of the Egyptians and camp of the Israelites. This made it dark for the Egyptians but gave light to the Israelites. So the cloud kept ·the two armies [L them] apart all night.
21 Then Moses ·held [extended; stretched] his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind, making the sea become dry ground. The water was split, 22 and the ·Israelites [L the sons/T children of Israel] went through the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
23 Then all ·the king’s [L Pharaoh’s] horses, chariots, and chariot drivers ·followed [pursued] them into the sea. 24 ·When morning came [L At the morning watch], the Lord looked down from the pillar of cloud and fire at the Egyptian army and made them panic. 25 He clogged their chariot wheels,[a] making it hard to ·drive the chariots [L turn]. The Egyptians shouted, “Let’s ·get away [flee] from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them and against Egypt [15:3].”
26 Then the Lord told Moses, “·Hold [Extend; Stretch] your hand over the sea so that the water will come back over the Egyptians, their chariots, and chariot drivers.” 27 So Moses ·raised [extended; stretched] his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its ·place [or normal depth]. The Egyptians tried to ·run [flee] from it, but the Lord ·swept them away [tossed; overthrew them] into the sea. 28 The water returned, covering the chariots, chariot drivers, and all ·the king’s [L Pharaoh’s] army that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them ·survived [remained].
29 But the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] crossed the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 So that day the Lord saved the Israelites from the Egyptians, and the Israelites saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. 31 When the Israelites saw ·the great power the Lord had used [L what God did with his strong hand] against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they ·trusted [had confidence in] the Lord and his servant Moses.
Footnotes
- Exodus 14:25 clogged their chariot wheels This phrase appears in some Greek copies. The Hebrew text has “misdirected their chariot wheels”
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