Exodus 12:1-28
Lexham English Bible
Instructions for the Feast of Passover
12 And Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month will be the beginning of months; it will be for you the first of the months of the year. 3 Speak to all the community of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month, they will each take for themselves a lamb for the family,[a] a lamb for the household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, he and the neighbor nearest to his house will take one according to the number of persons;[b] you will count out portions of the lamb according to how much each one can eat.[c] 5 The lamb for you must be a male, without defect, in its first year; you will take it from the sheep or from the goats.
6 “You will keep it[d] until the fourteenth day of this month, and all the assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter it at twilight.[e] 7 And they will take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel on the houses in which they eat it. 8 And they will eat the meat on this night; they will eat it fire-roasted and with unleavened bread on bitter herbs.[f] 9 You must not eat any of it raw or boiled, boiled in the water, but rather roasted with fire, its head with its legs and with its inner parts. 10 And you must not leave any of it until morning; anything left from it until morning you must burn in the fire. 11 And this is how you will eat it—with your waists fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you will eat it in haste. It is Yahweh’s Passover.
12 “And I will go through the land of Egypt during this night, and I will strike all of the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human to animal, and I will do punishments among all of the gods of Egypt. I am Yahweh. 13 And the blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and I will see the blood, and I will pass over you, and there will not be a destructive plague among you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 “And this day will become a memorial for you, and you will celebrate it as a religious feast for Yahweh throughout your generations; you will celebrate it as a lasting statute. 15 You will eat unleavened bread for seven days. Surely on the first day you shall remove yeast from your houses, because anyone who eats food with yeast from the first day until the seventh day—that person will be cut off from Israel. 16 It will be for you on the first day a holy assembly[g] and on the seventh day a holy assembly;[h] no work will be done on them; only what is eaten by every person, it alone will be prepared for you.
17 “And you will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought out your divisions from the land of Egypt, and you will keep this day for your generations as a lasting statute. 18 On the first day, on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, you will eat unleavened bread until the evening of the twenty-first day of the month. 19 For seven days yeast must not be found in your houses, because anyone eating food with yeast[i] will be cut off from the community of Israel—whether an alien or a native of the land. 20 You will eat no food with yeast; in all of your dwellings you will eat unleavened bread.”
21 And Moses called all the elders of Israel, and he said to them, “Select and take for yourselves sheep for your clans and slaughter the Passover sacrifice. 22 And take a bunch of hyssop and dip it into the blood that is in the basin and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts. And you will not go out, anyone from the doorway of his house, until morning. 23 And Yahweh will go through to strike Egypt, and he will see the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, and Yahweh will pass over the doorway and will not allow the destroyer to come to your houses to strike you.
24 “And you will keep this event as a rule for you and for your children forever.[j] 25 And[k] when you come into the land that Yahweh will give to you, as he said, you will keep this religious custom.[l] 26 And[m] when your children say to you, ‘What is this religious custom[n] for you?’[o] 27 you will say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice for Yahweh, who passed over the houses of the Israelites[p] in Egypt when he struck Egypt; and he delivered our houses.’” And the people knelt down and they worshiped. 28 And the Israelites[q] went, and they did as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron; so they did.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 12:3 Literally “a lamb/kid for the house of fathers.” The word translated “lamb” refers to a small livestock animal and could be either a young sheep or a young goat
- Exodus 12:4 Or “the number of selves”
- Exodus 12:4 Literally “a man for the mouth of his eating”
- Exodus 12:6 Literally “It will be for you for observation”
- Exodus 12:6 Literally “between the evenings”
- Exodus 12:8 Literally “bitter things”
- Exodus 12:16 Or “summons,” “convocation”
- Exodus 12:16 Or “summons,” “convocation”
- Exodus 12:19 Literally “anyone eating yeasted food, that person”
- Exodus 12:24 Or “until eternity”
- Exodus 12:25 Literally “and it will be”
- Exodus 12:25 Literally “service” or “work”
- Exodus 12:26 Literally “and it will be”
- Exodus 12:26 Literally “service” or “work”
- Exodus 12:26 Or “What does this service mean to you?”
- Exodus 12:27 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 12:28 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
Exodus 12:1-28
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Instructions for the Passover
12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 2 “This month is to be the beginning of months for you; it is the first month of your year.(A) 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they must each select an animal of the flock according to their fathers’ households, one animal per household. 4 If the household is too small for a whole animal, that person and the neighbor nearest his house are to select one based on the combined number of people; you should apportion the animal according to what each person[a] will eat. 5 You must have an unblemished(B) animal, a year-old male; you may take it from either the sheep or the goats. 6 You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.(C) 7 They must take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they eat them. 8 They are to eat the meat that night; they should eat it, roasted over the fire along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.(D) 9 Do not eat any of it raw or cooked in boiling[b] water, but only roasted(E) over fire—its head as well as its legs and inner organs. 10 Do not let any of it remain until morning;(F) you must burn up any part of it that does remain before morning. 11 Here is how you must eat it: you must be dressed for travel,[c] your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord’s Passover.(G)
12 “I will pass through(H) the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. I am Yahweh; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt.(I) 13 The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 “This day is to be a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. You are to celebrate it throughout your generations as a permanent statute.(J) 15 You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you must remove yeast(K) from your houses. Whoever eats what is leavened from the first day through the seventh day must be cut off(L) from Israel. 16 You are to hold a sacred assembly(M) on the first day and another sacred assembly on the seventh day. No work may be done on those days except for preparing what people need to eat—you may do only that.
17 “You are to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread because on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt.(N) You must observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent statute. 18 You are to eat unleavened bread in the first month,(O) from the evening of the fourteenth day of the month until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 Yeast must not be found in your houses for seven days. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a foreign resident or native of the land, must be cut off from the community of Israel. 20 Do not eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes.”[d]
21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, select an animal from the flock according to your families, and slaughter the Passover animal.(P) 22 Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood(Q) that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning. 23 When the Lord passes through to strike Egypt and sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, He will pass over the door and not let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you.(R)
24 “Keep this command permanently as a statute for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as He promised, you are to observe this ritual. 26 When your children(S) ask you, ‘What does this ritual mean to you?’ 27 you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice(T) to the Lord, for He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and spared our homes.’” So the people bowed down and worshiped. 28 Then the Israelites went and did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.
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- Exodus 12:4 Or household
- Exodus 12:9 Or or boiled at all in
- Exodus 12:11 Lit it: with your loins girded
- Exodus 12:20 Or settlements
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