Consecration of the Firstborn

13 The Lord said to Moses, ^2 (A)“Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”

^14 (A)And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ^(B)‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of ^(C)slavery. ¹⁵ For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the ^(D)Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but ^(E)all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ^16 (F)It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for ^(G)by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

²¹ And ^(A)the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. ²² The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

¹⁰ When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel ^(A)cried out to the Lord.

¹³ And Moses said to the people, ^(A)“Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For ^(B)the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. ^14 (C)The Lord will fight for you, and you have only ^(D)to be silent.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. ^16 (E)Lift up your staff, and ^(F)stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.

^19 (A)Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, ²⁰ coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night^[a] without one coming near the other all night.

²¹ Then Moses ^(B)stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by ^(C)a strong east wind all night and ^(D)made the sea dry land, and the waters were ^(E)divided.

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, ^(A)“Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” ^27 (B)So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea ^(C)returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord ^(D)threw^[a] the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. ²⁸ The ^(E)waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, ^(F)not one of them remained.

^31 (A)Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they ^(B)believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Warning Against Idolatry

10 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,^[a] that our fathers were all under ^(A)the cloud, and all ^(B)passed through the sea, ² and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, ³ and ^(C)all ate the same ^(D)spiritual food, ⁴ and ^(E)all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. ⁵ Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for ^(F)they were overthrown^[b] in the wilderness.

⁶ Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as ^(G)they did. ^7 (H)Do not be idolaters ^(I)as some of them were; as it is written, ^(J)“The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” ^8 (K)We must not indulge in sexual immorality ^(L)as some of them did, and ^(M)twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. ⁹ We must not put Christ^[c] to the test, ^(N)as some of them did and ^(O)were destroyed by serpents, ¹⁰ nor grumble, ^(P)as some of them did and ^(Q)were destroyed by ^(R)the Destroyer. ¹¹ Now these things happened to them as an example, but ^(S)they were written down for our instruction, ^(T)on whom the end of the ages has come. ¹² Therefore ^(U)let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. ¹³ No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. ^(V)God is faithful, and ^(W)he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.