Old/New Testament
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people to go back to Pi Hahiroth. Tell them to spend the night between Migdol and the Red Sea, near Baal Zephon. 3 Pharaoh will think that the Israelites are lost in the desert and that the people will have no place to go. 4 I will make Pharaoh brave, and he will chase you. But I will defeat Pharaoh and his army. This will bring honor to me. Then the people of Egypt will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did what he told them.
Pharaoh Chases the Israelites
5 Pharaoh received a report that the Israelites had escaped. When he heard this, he and his officials changed their minds about what they had done. Pharaoh said, “Why did we let the Israelites leave? Why did we let them run away? Now we have lost our slaves!”
6 So Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his men with him. 7 He took 600 of his best men and all of his chariots. There was an officer in each chariot.[a] 8 The Israelites were leaving with their arms raised in victory. But the Lord caused Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to become brave. And Pharaoh chased the Israelites.
9 The Egyptian army had many horse soldiers and chariots. They chased the Israelites and caught up with them while they were camped near the Red Sea at Pi Hahiroth, east of Baal Zephon.
10 When the Israelites saw Pharaoh and his army coming toward them, they were very frightened and cried to the Lord for help. 11 They said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did you bring us out here in the desert to die? We could have died peacefully in Egypt; there were plenty of graves in Egypt. 12 We told you this would happen! In Egypt we said, ‘Please don’t bother us. Let us stay and serve the Egyptians.’ It would have been better for us to stay and be slaves than to come out here and die in the desert.”
13 But Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Don’t run away! Stand where you are and watch the Lord save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again. 14 You will not have to do anything but stay calm. The Lord will do the fighting for you.”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you still crying to me? Tell the Israelites to start moving. 16 Raise the walking stick in your hand over the Red Sea, and the sea will split. Then the people can go across on dry land. 17 I have made the Egyptians brave, so they will chase you. But I will show you that I am more powerful than Pharaoh and all of his horses and chariots. 18 Then Egypt will know that I am the Lord. They will honor me when I defeat Pharaoh and his horse soldiers and chariots.”
The Lord Defeats the Egyptian Army
19 Then the angel of God moved to the back of the people. (The angel was usually in front of the people, leading them.) So the tall cloud moved from in front of the people and went to the back of the people. 20 In this way the cloud stood between the Egyptians and the Israelites. There was light for the Israelites. But there was darkness for the Egyptians. So the Egyptians did not come any closer to the Israelites that night.
21 Moses raised his hand over the Red Sea, and the Lord caused a strong wind to blow from the east. The wind blew all night long. The sea split, and the wind made the ground dry. 22 The Israelites went through the sea on dry land. The water was like a wall on their right and on their left. 23 Then all of Pharaoh’s chariots and horse soldiers followed them into the sea. 24 Early that morning the Lord looked down from the tall cloud and column of fire at the Egyptian army. Then he made them panic. 25 The wheels of the chariots became stuck. It was very hard to control the chariots. The Egyptians shouted, “Let’s get out of here! The Lord is fighting against us. He is fighting for the Israelites.”
26 Then the Lord told Moses, “Raise your hand over the sea to make the water fall and cover the Egyptian chariots and horse soldiers.”
27 So just before daylight, Moses raised his hand over the sea. And the water rushed back to its proper level. The Egyptians were running as fast as they could from the water, but the Lord swept them away with the sea. 28 The water returned to its normal level and covered the chariots and horse soldiers. Pharaoh’s army had been chasing the Israelites, but that army was destroyed. None of them survived!
29 But the Israelites crossed the sea on dry land. The water was like a wall on their right and on their left. 30 So that day the Lord saved the Israelites from the Egyptians. Later, the Israelites saw the dead bodies of the Egyptians on the shore of the Red Sea. 31 The Israelites saw the great power of the Lord when he defeated the Egyptians. So the people feared and respected the Lord, and they began to trust the Lord and his servant Moses.
The Song of Moses
15 Then Moses and the Israelites began singing this song to the Lord:
“I will sing to the Lord!
He has done great things.
He threw horse and rider
into the sea.
2 The Lord is my strength.
He saves me,
and I sing songs of praise to him.[b]
He is my God,
and I praise him.
He is the God of my ancestors,
and I honor him.
3 The Lord is a great soldier.
The Lord is his name.
4 He threw Pharaoh’s chariots
and soldiers into the sea.
Pharaoh’s very best soldiers
drowned in the Red Sea.[c]
5 The deep water covered them,
and they sank to the bottom like rocks.
6 “Lord, your right hand is amazingly strong.
With your right hand, Lord, you broke the enemy to pieces.
7 In your great majesty you destroyed
those who stood against you.
Your anger destroyed them,
like fire burning straw.
8 The wind you sent in anger
piled the water high.
The flowing water became a wall,
solid to its deepest parts.
9 “The enemy said,
‘I’ll chase them and catch them.
I’ll take all their riches.
I’ll take it all with my sword.
I’ll take everything for myself.’
10 But you blew on them
and covered them with the sea.
They sank like lead
into the deep sea.
11 “Are there any gods like the Lord?
No, there are no gods like you—
you are wonderfully holy!
You are amazingly powerful!
You do great miracles!
12 You raised your right hand to punish the enemy,
and the ground opened up to swallow them.
13 But with your kindness
you led the people you saved.
And with your strength
you led them to your holy land.[d]
14 “The other nations will hear this story,
and they will be frightened.
The Philistines will shake with fear.
15 The commanders of Edom will tremble.
The leaders of Moab will be afraid.
The people of Canaan will lose courage.
16 They will be filled with fear
when they see your strength.
They will be as still as a rock, Lord,
while your people, the ones you made, pass by.
17 You will lead your people
to your own mountain.
You will let them live by the place that you, Lord, prepared as your home.
It is the Temple, Lord, that you yourself built.
18 “The Lord will rule forever and ever!”
19 Yes, it really happened! Pharaoh’s horses and riders, and chariots went into the sea. And the Lord brought all the water of the sea down on top of them. But the Israelites walked through that sea on dry land.
20 Then Aaron’s sister, the woman prophet Miriam, took a tambourine. She and the women began singing and dancing. 21 Miriam repeated the words,
“Sing to the Lord!
He has done great things.
He threw horse and rider
into the sea ….”
Israel Goes Into the Desert
22 Moses led the Israelites away from the Red Sea and into the desert of Shur. They traveled for three days in the desert. They could not find any water. 23 Then they came to Marah.[e] There was water at Marah, but it was too bitter to drink. (That is why the place was named Marah.)
24 The people began complaining to Moses. They said, “Now what will we drink?”
25 So Moses called to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a large piece of wood. When Moses put the wood in the water, the water became good to drink.
There the Lord put in place a law and a command for him and tested him to see if he would obey.[f] 26 He said to him, “I am the Lord your God. If you listen to me and do what I say is right, and if you obey all my commands and laws, then I will not give you any of the sicknesses that I gave the Egyptians. I am the Lord who heals you.”
27 Then the people traveled to Elim. At Elim there were twelve springs of water and 70 palm trees. So the people made their camp there near that water.
Jesus Is Seen With Moses and Elijah(A)
17 Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John the brother of James and went up on a high mountain. They were all alone there. 2 While these followers watched him, Jesus was changed. His face became bright like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 Then two men were there, talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah.
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you want, I will put three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While Peter was talking, a bright cloud came over them. A voice came from the cloud and said, “This is my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with him. Obey him!”
6 The followers with Jesus heard this voice. They were very afraid, so they fell to the ground. 7 But Jesus came to them and touched them. He said, “Stand up. Don’t be afraid.” 8 The followers looked up, and they saw that Jesus was now alone.
9 As Jesus and the followers were coming down the mountain, he gave them this command: “Don’t tell anyone about what you saw on the mountain. Wait until the Son of Man has been raised from death. Then you can tell people about what you saw.”
10 The followers asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come[a] before the Messiah comes?”
11 Jesus answered, “They are right to say Elijah is coming. And it is true that Elijah will make all things the way they should be. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come. People did not know who he was, and they treated him badly, doing whatever they wanted to do. It is the same with the Son of Man. Those same people will make the Son of Man suffer.” 13 Then the followers understood that when Jesus said Elijah, he was really talking about John the Baptizer.
Jesus Frees a Boy From an Evil Spirit(B)
14 Jesus and the followers went back to the people. A man came to Jesus and bowed before him. 15 The man said, “Lord, be kind to my son. He suffers so much from the seizures he has. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your followers, but they could not heal him.”
17 Jesus answered, “You people today have no faith. Your lives are so wrong! How long must I stay with you? How long must I continue to be patient with you? Bring the boy here.” 18 Jesus gave a strong command to the demon inside the boy. The demon came out of the boy, and the boy was healed.
19 Then the followers came to Jesus alone. They said, “We tried to force the demon out of the boy, but we could not. Why were we not able to make the demon go out?”
20 Jesus answered, “You were not able to make the demon go out, because your faith is too small. Believe me when I tell you, if your faith is only as big as a mustard seed you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. You will be able to do anything.” 21 [b]
Jesus Talks About His Death(C)
22 Later, the followers met together in Galilee. Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man will be handed over to the control of other men, 23 who will kill him. But on the third day he will be raised from death.” The followers were very sad to hear that Jesus would be killed.
Jesus Teaches About Paying Taxes
24 Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. There the men who collect the two-drachma Temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your teacher pay the Temple tax?”
25 Peter answered, “Yes, he does.”
Peter went into the house where Jesus was. Before Peter could speak, Jesus said to him, “The kings on the earth get different kinds of taxes from people. But who are those who pay the taxes? Are they the king’s children? Or do other people pay the taxes? What do you think?”
26 Peter answered, “The other people pay the taxes.”
Jesus said, “Then the children of the king don’t have to pay taxes. 27 But we don’t want to upset these tax collectors. So do this: Go to the lake and fish. After you catch the first fish, open its mouth. Inside its mouth you will find a four-drachma coin. Take that coin and give it to the tax collectors. That will pay the tax for you and me.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International