Exodus 12:21–51

The First Passover

²¹Moses called for all the leaders of Israel and said to them, “Each of you is to choose a lamb or a young goat and kill it, so that your families can celebrate Passover. ²²Take a sprig of hyssop, dip it in the bowl containing^k the animal’s blood, and wipe the blood on the doorposts and the beam above the door of your house. Not one of you is to leave the house until morning. ^23*When the Lord goes through Egypt to kill the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the beams and the doorposts and will not let the Angel of Death enter your houses and kill you. ²⁴You and your children must obey these rules for ever. ²⁵When you enter the land that the Lord has promised to give you, you must perform this ritual. ²⁶When your children ask you, ‘What does this ritual mean?’ ²⁷you will answer, ‘It is the sacrifice of Passover to honour the Lord, because he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. He killed the Egyptians, but spared us.’ ”

The Israelites knelt down and worshipped. ²⁸Then they went and did what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

The Death of the First-Born

^29*At midnight the Lord killed all the firstborn sons in Egypt, from the king’s son, who was heir to the throne, to the son of the prisoner in the dungeon; all the firstborn of the animals were also killed. ³⁰That night, the king, his officials, and all the other Egyptians were awakened. There was loud crying throughout Egypt, because there was not one home in which there was not a dead son. ³¹That same night the king sent for Moses and Aaron and said, “Get out, you and your Israelites! Leave my country; go and worship the Lord, as you asked. ³²Take your sheep, goats, and cattle, and leave. Also pray for a blessing on me.”

³³The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country; they said, “We will all be dead if you don’t leave.” ³⁴So the people filled their baking pans with unleavened dough, wrapped them in clothing, and carried them on their shoulders. ^35*The Israelites had done as Moses had said, and had asked the Egyptians for gold and silver jewellery and for clothing. ^36*The Lord made the Egyptians respect the people and give them what they asked for. In this way the Israelites carried away the wealth of the Egyptians.

The Israelites Leave Egypt

³⁷The Israelites set out on foot from Rameses for Sukkoth. There were about six hundred thousand men, not counting women and children. ³⁸A large number of other people and many sheep, goats, and cattle also went with them. ³⁹They baked unleavened bread from the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for they had been driven out of Egypt so suddenly that they did not have time to get their food ready or to prepare leavened dough.

^40*The Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years. ⁴¹On the day the 430 years ended, all the tribes of the Lord’s people left Egypt. ⁴²It was a night when the Lord kept watch to bring them out of Egypt; this same night is dedicated to the Lord for all time to come as a night when the Israelites must keep watch.

Regulations about Passover

⁴³The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the Passover regulations: no foreigner shall eat the Passover meal, ⁴⁴but any slave that you have bought may eat it if you circumcise him first. ⁴⁵No temporary resident or hired worker may eat it. ^46*The whole meal must be eaten in the house in which it was prepared; it must not be taken outside. And do not break any of the animal’s bones. ⁴⁷The whole community of Israel must celebrate this festival, ⁴⁸but no uncircumcised man may eat it. If a foreigner has settled among you and wants to celebrate Passover to honour the Lord, you must first circumcise all the males of his household. He is then to be treated like a native-born Israelite and may join in the festival. ⁴⁹The same regulations apply to native-born Israelites and to foreigners who settle among you.” ⁵⁰All the Israelites obeyed and did what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹On that day the Lord brought the Israelite tribes out of Egypt.