Exodus 12:1-28
English Standard Version
The Passover
12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 (A)“This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb (B)according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be (C)without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the (D)fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.[a]
7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the (E)two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with (F)unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but (G)roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And (H)you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with (I)your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. (J)It is the Lord's Passover. 12 For (K)I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on (L)all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: (M)I am the Lord. 13 (N)The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 “This day shall be (O)for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a (P)statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. 15 (Q)Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, (R)that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall hold a (S)holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. 17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for (T)on this very day I brought your (U)hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. 18 (V)In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 (W)For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, (X)that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, (Y)whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”
21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves (Z)according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of (AA)hyssop and (AB)dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch (AC)the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. (AD)None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 (AE)For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on (AF)the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and (AG)will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. 24 You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. 25 And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, (AH)as he has promised, you shall keep this service. 26 And (AI)when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 you shall say, (AJ)‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people (AK)bowed their heads and worshiped.
28 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 12:6 Hebrew between the two evenings
Exodus 12:1-28
International Standard Version
The Passover is Instituted
12 The Lord told Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month will mark the beginning of months for you. It will be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell the entire congregation of Israel, ‘On the tenth of this month they’re each to take a lamb for themselves, according to their ancestors’ households, one lamb for each household. 4 If a household is too small for a lamb, then it and its closest neighbor are to obtain one based on the number of individuals—dividing[a] the lamb based on what each person can eat. 5 Your lamb is to be a year old male without blemish. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 It is to remain under your care until the fourteenth day of this month, and then the entire assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it at twilight. 7 They’re to take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat the lamb.[b] 8 That very night they’re to eat the meat, roasted over the fire, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9 Don’t eat any of it raw or boiled in water. Instead, roast it over the fire, with its head, legs, and internal organs. 10 Don’t leave any of it until morning, and whatever does remain of it until morning you are to burn in the fire.
11 “‘This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it hurriedly—it’s the Lord’s Passover. 12 I’ll pass through the land of Egypt that night and strike every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I’ll execute judgments on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are. I’ll see the blood and pass over you. There will be no plague to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 “‘This day is to be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. You are to celebrate it as a perpetual ordinance from generation to generation. 15 You are to eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day be sure to remove all the leaven from your houses, because any person who eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh will be cut off from Israel. 16 Also, on the first day you’re to hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day you’re to hold a holy assembly. No work is to be done during those days, except for preparing what is to be eaten by each person.
17 “‘You are to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread, since on this very day I brought your tribal divisions from the land of Egypt. You are to observe this day from generation to generation as a perpetual ordinance. 18 In the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day of the month until the evening of the twenty-first day of the month, you are to eat unleavened bread. 19 For seven days leaven is not to be found in your houses. Indeed, any person who eats anything leavened, is to be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether an alien or a native of the land. 20 You are not to eat what is leavened. You are to eat unleavened bread in all your settlements.’”
21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and told them, “Choose sheep for your families, and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bundle of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and apply some of the blood in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts. None of you is to go out of the doorway of his house until morning, 23 because the Lord will pass through to strike down the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the doorway, and won’t allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down. 24 You are to observe this event as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children forever. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you, just as he promised, you are to observe this ritual. 26 And when your children say to you, ‘What does this ritual mean?’[c] 27 you are to say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelis in Egypt when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” Then the people bowed down and worshipped. 28 The Israelis did this. Moses and Aaron did just what the Lord had commanded.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 12:4 Lit. calculate
- Exodus 12:7 Lit. it
- Exodus 12:26 Lit. is . . . to you?
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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