Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

God’s Rescue of Israel from Egypt.

Pharaoh in Pursuit

14 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp in front of ^(A)Pi-hahiroth, between ^(B)Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea. ³ For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ ⁴ And ^(C)I will ^[a]harden Pharaoh’s heart, and ^(D)he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and ^(E)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 fled, ^[b]Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this that we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” ⁶ So he had horses harnessed to his chariot and took his people with him; ⁷ and he took six hundred select chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. ⁸ So ^(F)the Lord ^[c]hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out ^[d](G)boldly. ⁹ Then ^(H)the Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them camping by the sea, ^(I)beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the sons of Israel ^[e]looked, and behold, the Egyptians were coming after them, and they became very frightened; ^(J)so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ Then ^(K)they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, ^[f]bringing us out of Egypt? ^12 (L)Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘^[g]Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness!”

The Sea Is Divided

¹³ But Moses said to the people, “^(M)Do not fear! ^[h]Stand by and see ^(N)the salvation of the Lord, which He will perform for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again, ever. ^14 (O)The Lord will fight for you, while ^(P)you keep silent.”

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. ¹⁶ As for you, lift up ^(Q)your staff and reach out with your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall ^[i]go through the midst of the sea on dry land. ¹⁷ And as for Me, behold, ^(R)I will ^[j]harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. ^18 (S)Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots, and through his horsemen.”

⁹ “The patriarchs ^(A)became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him, ¹⁰ and rescued him from all his afflictions, and ^(B)granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and his entire household.

¹¹ “Now ^(C)a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers ^[a]could find no food. ¹² But ^(D)when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. ¹³ And on the second visit, ^(E)Joseph ^[b]made himself known to his brothers, and ^(F)Joseph’s family was revealed to Pharaoh. ¹⁴ Then ^(G)Joseph sent word and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, ^(H)seventy-five ^[c](I)people in all. ¹⁵ And ^(J)Jacob went down to Egypt, and he and our fathers died there. ¹⁶ And they were brought back from there to ^[d](K)Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of ^[e]Hamor in ^[f]Shechem.