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A Song of Deliverance

15 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord:

“I will sing to the Lord,
    for he has triumphed gloriously;
he has hurled both horse and rider
    into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song;
    he has given me victory.
This is my God, and I will praise him—
    my father’s God, and I will exalt him!
The Lord is a warrior;
    Yahweh[a] is his name!
Pharaoh’s chariots and army
    he has hurled into the sea.
The finest of Pharaoh’s officers
    are drowned in the Red Sea.[b]
The deep waters gushed over them;
    they sank to the bottom like a stone.

“Your right hand, O Lord,
    is glorious in power.
Your right hand, O Lord,
    smashes the enemy.
In the greatness of your majesty,
    you overthrow those who rise against you.
You unleash your blazing fury;
    it consumes them like straw.
At the blast of your breath,
    the waters piled up!
The surging waters stood straight like a wall;
    in the heart of the sea the deep waters became hard.

“The enemy boasted, ‘I will chase them
    and catch up with them.
I will plunder them
    and consume them.
I will flash my sword;
    my powerful hand will destroy them.’
10 But you blew with your breath,
    and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
    in the mighty waters.

11 “Who is like you among the gods, O Lord
    glorious in holiness,
awesome in splendor,
    performing great wonders?
12 You raised your right hand,
    and the earth swallowed our enemies.

13 “With your unfailing love you lead
    the people you have redeemed.
In your might, you guide them
    to your sacred home.
14 The peoples hear and tremble;
    anguish grips those who live in Philistia.
15 The leaders of Edom are terrified;
    the nobles of Moab tremble.
All who live in Canaan melt away;
16     terror and dread fall upon them.
The power of your arm
    makes them lifeless as stone
until your people pass by, O Lord,
    until the people you purchased pass by.
17 You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain—
    the place, O Lord, reserved for your own dwelling,
    the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.
18 The Lord will reign forever and ever!”

19 When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and charioteers rushed into the sea, the Lord brought the water crashing down on them. But the people of Israel had walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground!

20 Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine and led all the women as they played their tambourines and danced. 21 And Miriam sang this song:

“Sing to the Lord,
    for he has triumphed gloriously;
he has hurled both horse and rider
    into the sea.”

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Footnotes

  1. 15:3 Yahweh is a transliteration of the proper name YHWH that is sometimes rendered “Jehovah”; in this translation it is usually rendered “the Lord” (note the use of small capitals).
  2. 15:4 Hebrew sea of reeds; also in 15:22.

The Song of Moses

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

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
    horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.(A)
The Lord is my strength and my might,[a]
    and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him;
    my father’s God, and I will exalt him.(B)
The Lord is a warrior;
    the Lord is his name.(C)

Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he cast into the sea;
    his elite officers were sunk in the Red Sea.[b](D)
The floods covered them;
    they went down into the depths like a stone.(E)
Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power—
    your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.(F)
In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries;
    you sent out your fury; it consumed them like stubble.(G)
At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
    the floods stood up in a heap;
    the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.(H)
The enemy said, ‘I will pursue; I will overtake;
    I will divide the spoil; my desire shall have its fill of them.
    I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’(I)
10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;
    they sank like lead in the mighty waters.(J)

11 Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
    Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
    awesome in splendor, doing wonders?(K)
12 You stretched out your right hand;
    the earth swallowed them.

13 In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed;
    you guided them by your strength to your holy abode.(L)
14 The peoples heard; they trembled;
    pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia.(M)
15 Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;
    trembling seized the leaders of Moab;
    all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.(N)
16 Terror and dread fell upon them;
    by the might of your arm, they became still as a stone
until your people, O Lord, passed by,
    until the people whom you acquired passed by.(O)
17 You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession,
    the place, O Lord, that you made your abode,
    the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.(P)
18 The Lord will reign forever and ever.”(Q)

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.(R)

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.(S) 21 And Miriam sang to them:

“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.”(T)

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Footnotes

  1. 15.2 Or song
  2. 15.4 Or Sea of Reeds