Old/New Testament

Crossing the Red Sea

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the people of Israel to turn around and set up their tents in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. Set up your tents in front of Baal-zephon, beside the sea. ³ For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They have lost their way. The desert has shut them in.’ ⁴ I will make Pharaoh’s heart hard. And he will try to catch them. So I will be honored through Pharaoh and his whole army. Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the people had left, Pharaoh and his servants changed their minds about the people. They said, “What is this we have done? We have let Israel go from working for us.” ⁶ So he made his war-wagon ready and took his people with him. ⁷ He took 600 of the best war-wagons, and all the other war-wagons of Egypt in the care of leaders. ⁸ The Lord made the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt hard. And Pharaoh went to catch the people of Israel, who were leaving without fear. ⁹ The Egyptians followed them with all the horses and war-wagons of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army. And they came to them at their tents by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

¹⁰ When Pharaoh came near, the people of Israel looked and saw the Egyptians coming after them. And they were filled with fear and cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the desert? What have you done to us, in bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² Did we not tell you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die here.”

¹³ But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid! Be strong, and see how the Lord will save you today. For the Egyptians you have seen today, you will never see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you. All you have to do is keep still.”

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to keep going. ¹⁶ Lift up your special stick and put out your hand over the sea, and divide it. Then the people of Israel will go through the sea on dry land. ¹⁷ I will make the Egyptians’ hearts hard, so they will go after them. And I will be honored through Pharaoh and his whole army, his war-wagons and his horsemen. ¹⁸ The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I am honored through Pharaoh, his war-wagons and his horsemen.” ¹⁹ Then the Angel of God, who had been going in front of the army of Israel, moved and went behind them. The cloud moved from the front of them and stood behind them. ²⁰ It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. There was the cloud and the darkness, yet it gave light at night. And the one army did not come near the other all night. ²¹ Then Moses put out his hand over the sea. And the Lord moved the sea all night by a strong east wind. So the waters were divided. ²² And the people of Israel went through the sea on dry land. The waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left. ²³ Then the Egyptians followed them. All Pharaoh’s horses and war-wagons and horsemen went in the sea after them. ²⁴ In the morning hours, the Lord looked down on the Egyptian army through the fire and cloud. And He made the Egyptian army afraid. ²⁵ He made the wheels of their war-wagons come off, so it was hard for the wagons to be moved. So the Egyptians said, “Let us run away from Israel. For the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand over the sea. And the waters will flow over the Egyptians, and over their war-wagons and their horsemen.” ²⁷ And when the morning came, the Egyptians ran into the wall of water as the sea returned to the way it was before. The Lord destroyed the Egyptians in the sea. ²⁸ The waters returned and covered the war-wagons and the horsemen and Pharaoh’s whole army that had gone in the sea after them. Not even one of them was left. ²⁹ But the people of Israel walked on dry land through the sea. The waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left.

³⁰ So the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians. And Israel saw the Egyptians dead beside the sea. ³¹ Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians. And the people had fear of the Lord. They believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses.

15 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, “I will sing to the Lord, for He is praised for His greatness. He has thrown the horse and horseman into the sea. ² The Lord is my strength and song. He is the One Who saves me. He is my God and I will praise Him. He is my father’s God and I will honor Him. ³ The Lord is a fighter. The Lord is His name. ⁴ He has thrown Pharaoh’s war-wagons and army into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s leaders are under the Red Sea. ⁵ The water covers them. They went down in the deep water like a stone. ⁶ O Lord, Your right hand is great in power. O Lord, Your right hand destroys those who hate You. ⁷ In the greatness of Your power You destroy those who fight against You. You send Your burning anger and it burns them like straw. ⁸ The waters were lifted up by Your breath. The flowing waters stood up like a wall. The water became hard in the middle of the sea. ⁹ Those who hated us said, ‘I will go after them. I will catch them. I will divide the riches taken from them. My soul will have its way against them. I will take out my sword and my hand will destroy them.’ ¹⁰ You, Lord, blew with Your wind and the sea covered them. They went down like iron in the powerful sea. ¹¹ Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, great and holy, praised in fear, doing powerful works? ¹² You put out Your right hand, and the earth swallowed them. ¹³ You have led with loving-kindness the people You have made free. You have led them in Your strength to Your holy place. ¹⁴ The nations have heard of it, and they shake in fear. Pain has come upon the people of Philistia. ¹⁵ Now the leaders of Edom are afraid. The leaders of Moab shake in fear. All the people of Canaan have become weak. ¹⁶ Much fear comes upon them. They see Your strength, O Lord. They are afraid and do not move until Your people have passed by, the people You have bought and made free. ¹⁷ You will bring them in and put them on Your own mountain. It is the place, O Lord, where You have made Your house, the holy place, which Your hands have built. ¹⁸ The Lord will rule forever and ever.”

¹⁹ For Pharaoh’s horses and war-wagons and horsemen went in the sea. The Lord brought the waters of the sea upon them. But the people of Israel walked on dry land through the sea. ²⁰ Then Aaron’s sister Miriam, the woman who spoke for the Lord, took a timbrel in her hand. And all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing. ²¹ Miriam said to them, “Sing to the Lord, for He is praised for His greatness. He has thrown the horse and horseman into the sea.”

Bitter Water

²² Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea. They went into the Desert of Shur. They went three days in the desert and found no water. ²³ When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. So it was given the name Marah. ²⁴ The people complained to Moses, saying, “What can we drink?” ²⁵ Moses cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord made a Law for them and tested them. ²⁶ He said, “Listen well to the voice of the Lord your God. Do what is right in His eyes. Listen to what He tells you, and obey all His Laws. If you do this, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord Who heals you.”

²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy trees. They set up their tents there beside the water.

A Look at What Jesus Will Be Like ^(A)

17 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and his brother John. He led them up to a high mountain by themselves. ² He was changed in looks before them. His face was as bright as the sun. His clothes looked as white as light. ³ Moses and Elijah were seen talking with Jesus. ⁴ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You will let us, we will build three altars here. One will be for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

⁵ While Peter was speaking, a bright cloud came over them. A voice from the cloud said, “This is My much-loved Son, I am very happy with Him. Listen to Him!” ⁶ When the followers heard this, they got down on the ground on their faces and were very much afraid. ⁷ Jesus came and put His hand on them. He said, “Get up! Do not be afraid.” ⁸ When they looked up, they saw no one there but Jesus only. ⁹ As they came down from the mountain, Jesus told them in strong words, saying, “Do not tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”

The Followers Ask about Elijah

¹⁰ The followers asked Jesus, “Then why do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah must come first?” ¹¹ He said, “For sure, Elijah will come first and get things ready. ¹² But I tell you, Elijah has already come and they did not know him. They did to him whatever they wanted to do. In the same way the Son of Man will suffer from them also.” ¹³ Then the followers understood He was talking about John the Baptist.

A Boy with a Demon Is Healed ^(B)

¹⁴ When they came to many people, a man came up to Jesus and got on his knees. He said, ¹⁵ “Lord, have pity on my son. He is very sick and at times loses the use of his mind. Many times he falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶ I took him to Your followers but they were not able to heal him.”

¹⁷ Then Jesus said, “You people of this day have no faith and you are going the wrong way. How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” ¹⁸ Jesus spoke sharp words to the demon and the demon came out of him. At once the boy was healed.

¹⁹ The followers came to Jesus when He was alone. They said, “Why were we not able to put the demon out?” ²⁰ Jesus said to them, “Because you have so little faith. For sure, I tell you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to over there,’ and it would move over. You will be able to do anything. ²¹ *But this kind of demon does not go out but by prayer and by going without food so you can pray better.”

Jesus Tells of His Death the Second Time ^(C)

²² While they were still in Galilee, Jesus said to the followers, “The Son of Man will be handed over to men. ²³ They will kill Him, but He will be raised from the dead three days later.” The followers were very sad.

²⁴ They came to the city of Capernaum. Those who gathered the tax for the house of God came to Peter. They said, “Does not your Teacher pay tax money for the house of God?” ²⁵ Peter said, “Yes.” When Peter came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first. He said, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of this earth get their money or taxes, from their own people or from those of another country?” ²⁶ Peter said to Him, “From those of another country.” Then Jesus said, “Then their own people do not pay taxes. ²⁷ But so we will not make them to be troubled, go down to the lake and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that comes up. In its mouth you will find a piece of money. Take that and pay the tax for Me and yourself.”