Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
114 When Israel left Egypt,
when Jacob’s family left people who spoke a foreign language,
2 Judah became his holy place and Israel became his kingdom.
3 The Red Sea looked at this and ran away.
The Jordan River turned back.
4 The mountains jumped like rams.
The hills jumped like lambs.
5 Red Sea, why did you run away?
Jordan River, what made you turn back?
6 Mountains, what made you jump like rams?
Hills, what made you jump like lambs?
7 Earth, tremble in the presence of the Lord,
in the presence of the God of Jacob.
8 He turns a rock into a pool filled with water
and turns flint into a spring flowing with water.
Pharaoh Pursues Israel
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to go back and set up their camp facing Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. Set up your camp facing north—by the sea. 3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are ⌞just⌟ wandering around. The desert is blocking their escape.’ 4 I will make Pharaoh so stubborn that he will pursue them. Then, because of what I do to Pharaoh and his entire army, I will receive honor, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So that is what the Israelites did.
5 When Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) was told that the people had fled, he and his officials changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We’ve lost our slaves because we’ve let Israel go.” 6 So Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his army with him. 7 He took 600 of his best chariots as well as all the other chariots in Egypt, placing an officer in each of them. 8 The Lord made Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) so stubborn that he pursued the Israelites, who were boldly leaving Egypt. 9 The Egyptians pursued the Israelites. Pharaoh’s army, including all his horse-drawn chariots and cavalry, caught up with them as they were setting up their camp by the sea at Pi Hahiroth facing north.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians were coming after them. Terrified, the Israelites cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Did you bring us out into the desert to die because there were no graves in Egypt? Look what you’ve done by bringing us out of Egypt! 12 Didn’t we tell you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone! Let us go on serving the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
The Lord Divides the Red Sea
13 Moses answered the people, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still, and see what the Lord will do to save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again. 14 The Lord is fighting for you! So be still!”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to start moving. 16 Raise your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide the water. Then the Israelites will go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I am making the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow the Israelites. I will receive honor because of what I will do to Pharaoh, his entire army, his chariots, and cavalry. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I am honored for what I did to Pharaoh, his chariots, and his cavalry.”
9 “Jacob’s sons were jealous of their brother Joseph. They sold him into slavery, and he was taken to Egypt. But God was with Joseph 10 and rescued him from all his suffering. When Joseph stood in the presence of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt), God gave Joseph divine favor [a] and wisdom so that he became ruler of Egypt and of Pharaoh’s whole palace. 11 Then a famine throughout Egypt and Canaan brought a lot of suffering. Our ancestors couldn’t find any food. 12 When Jacob heard that Egypt had food, he sent our ancestors there. That was their first trip. 13 On the second trip, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his relatives, 75 people in all. 15 So Jacob went to Egypt, and he and our ancestors died there. 16 They were taken to Shechem for burial in the tomb that Abraham purchased in Shechem from Hamor’s sons.
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