Beginning
13 The Lord said to Moses,
2 Sanctify (consecrate, set apart) to Me all the firstborn [males]; whatever is first to open the womb among the Israelites, both of man and of beast, is Mine.
3 And Moses said to the people, [Earnestly] remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage and bondmen, for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place; no leavened bread shall be eaten.
4 This day you go forth in the month Abib.
5 And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which He promised and swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey [a land of plenty], you shall keep this service in this month.
6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread and the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord.
7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, neither shall there be leaven in all your territory.
8 You shall explain to your son on that day, This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.
9 It shall be as a sign to you upon your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.
10 You shall therefore keep this ordinance at this time from year to year.
11 And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He promised and swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you,
12 You shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstlings of your livestock that are males shall be the Lord’s.
13 Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem by [substituting for it] a lamb, or if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn among your sons shall you redeem.
14 And when, in time to come, your son asks you, What does this mean? You shall say to him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage and bondmen.
15 For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and of livestock. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb; but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.
16 And it shall be as a reminder upon your hand or as frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God led them not by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God said, Lest the people change their purpose when they see war and return to Egypt.
18 But God led the people around by way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the Israelites went up marshaled [in ranks] out of the land of Egypt.
19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for [Joseph] had strictly sworn the Israelites, saying, Surely God will be with you, and you must carry my bones away from here with you.(A)
20 They journeyed from Succoth and encamped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.
21 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.
14 And the Lord said to Moses,
2 Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the [Red] Sea, before [a]Baal-zephon. You shall encamp opposite it by the sea.
3 For Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, They are entangled in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.
4 I will harden (make stubborn, strong) Pharaoh’s heart, that he will pursue them, and I will gain honor and glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so.
5 It was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, What is this we have done? We have let Israel go from serving us!
6 And he made ready his chariots and took his army,
7 And took 600 chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.
8 The Lord made hard and strong the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, for [they] left proudly and defiantly.(B)
9 The Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the [Red] Sea by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
10 When Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked up, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and the Israelites were exceedingly frightened and cried out to the Lord.
11 And they said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you treated us this way and brought us out of Egypt?
12 Did we not tell you in Egypt, Let us alone; let us serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.
13 Moses told the people, Fear not; stand still (firm, confident, undismayed) and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians you have seen today you shall never see again.
14 The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest.
15 The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to Me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward!
16 Lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the Israelites shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
17 And I, behold, I will harden (make stubborn and strong) the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall go [into the sea] after them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and horsemen.
18 The Egyptians shall know and realize that I am the Lord when I have gained honor and glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.
19 And the [b]Angel of God Who went before the host of Israel moved and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before them and stood behind them,
20 Coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. It was a cloud and darkness to the Egyptians, but it gave light by night to the Israelites; and the one host did not come near the other all night.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night and made the sea dry land; and the waters were divided.
22 And the Israelites went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
24 And in the morning watch the Lord through the pillar of fire and cloud looked down on the host of the Egyptians and discomfited [them],
25 And bound (clogged, took off) their chariot wheels, making them drive heavily; and the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians!
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and horsemen.
27 So Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength and normal flow when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled into it [being met by it]; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians and shook them off into the midst of the sea.
28 The waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that pursued them; not even one of them remained.
29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore.
31 And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did against the Egyptians, and the people [reverently] feared the Lord and trusted in (relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord and to His servant Moses.
15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord, saying, I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider or its chariot has He thrown into the sea.
2 The Lord is my Strength and my Song, and He has become my Salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
3 The Lord is a Man of War; the Lord is His name.
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his host has He cast into the sea; his chosen captains also are sunk in the Red Sea.
5 The floods cover them; they sank in the depths [clad in mail] like a stone.
6 Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power; Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
7 In the greatness of Your majesty You overthrow those rising against You. You send forth Your fury; it consumes them like stubble.
8 With the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up, the floods stood fixed in a heap, the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my desire shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
10 You [Lord] blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; [clad in mail] they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
11 Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders?
12 You stretched out Your right hand, the earth’s [sea] swallowed them.
13 You in Your mercy and loving-kindness have led forth the people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation.
14 The peoples have heard of it; they tremble; pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Now the chiefs of Edom are dismayed; the mighty men of Moab [renowned for strength], trembling takes hold of them; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away—little by little.
16 Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of Your arm they are as still as a stone—till Your people pass by and over [into Canaan], O Lord, till the people pass by whom You have purchased.
17 You will bring them in [to the land] and plant them on Your own mountain, the place, O Lord, You have made for Your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.
18 The Lord will reign forever and ever.
19 For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the Israelites walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea.
20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and dancing.
21 And Miriam responded to them, Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously and is highly exalted; the horse and his rider He has thrown into the sea.
22 Then Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea and they went into the Wilderness of Shur; they went three days [thirty-three miles] in the wilderness and found no water.
23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its waters for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah [bitterness].
24 The people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
25 And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree which he cast into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. There [the Lord] made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He proved them,
26 Saying, If you will diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord your God and will do what is right in His sight, and will listen to and obey His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon you which I brought upon the Egyptians, for I am the Lord Who heals you.
27 And they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; and they encamped there by the waters.
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation