Exodus 12:21–51

²¹Then Moses called for all the leaders of Israel. He said to them, “Pick out a lamb or a young goat for your families, and kill the Passover animal. ²²Take the branch of a hyssop plant, dip it in the blood which is in a bowl, and put some of the blood on the top and sides of the doorframes ⸤of your houses⸥. No one may leave the house until morning. ²³The Lord will go throughout Egypt to kill the Egyptians. When he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, he will pass over that doorway, and he will not let the destroyer come into your home to kill you. 

²⁴“You must follow these instructions. They are a permanent law for you and your children. ²⁵When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. ²⁶When your children ask you what this ceremony means to you, ²⁷you must answer, ‘It’s the Passover sacrifice in the Lord’s honor. The Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he killed the Egyptians.’ ” 

Then the people knelt, bowing with their faces touching the ground. ²⁸The Israelites did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 

²⁹At midnight the Lord killed every firstborn male in Egypt from the firstborn son of Pharaoh who ruled the land to the firstborn son of the prisoner in jail, and also every firstborn animal. ³⁰Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the ⸤other⸥ Egyptians got up during the night. There was loud crying throughout Egypt because in every house someone had died. 

Pharaoh Allows the Israelites to Leave Egypt

³¹Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron during the night. He said, “You and the Israelites must leave my people at once. Go, worship the Lord as you asked. ³²Take your flocks and herds, too, as you asked. Just go! And bless me, too!” 

³³The Egyptians begged the people to leave the country quickly. They said, “Soon we’ll all be dead!” ³⁴So the people picked up their bread dough before it had risen and carried it on their shoulders in bowls, wrapped up in their clothes. 

³⁵The Israelites did what Moses had told them and asked the Egyptians for gold and silver jewelry and for clothes. ³⁶The Lord made the Egyptians generous to the people, and they gave them what they asked for. So the Israelites stripped Egypt of its wealth. 

The Israelites Leave Egypt

³⁷The Israelites left Rameses to go to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, plus all the women and children. ³⁸Many other people also went with them, along with large numbers of sheep, goats, and cattle. 

³⁹With the dough they had brought from Egypt, they baked round, flat bread. The dough hadn’t risen because they’d been thrown out of Egypt and had no time to prepare food for the trip. 

⁴⁰The Israelites had been living in Egypt for 430 years. ⁴¹After exactly 430 years all the Lord’s people left Egypt in organized family groups. ⁴²That night the Lord kept watch to take them out of Egypt. (All Israelites in future generations must keep watch on this night, since it is dedicated to the Lord.) 

Rules for the Passover

⁴³The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the rules for the Passover: 

“No foreigner may eat the Passover meal. 

⁴⁴“Any male slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised him. 

⁴⁵“No foreigner visiting you may eat it. 

“No hired worker may eat it. 

⁴⁶“The meal must be eaten inside one house. Never take any of the meat outside the house. 

“Never break any of the bones. 

⁴⁷“The whole community of Israel must celebrate the Passover. 

⁴⁸“Foreigners may want to celebrate the Lord’s Passover. First, every male in the household must be circumcised. Then they may celebrate the Passover like native-born Israelites. But no uncircumcised males may ever eat the Passover meal. ⁴⁹The same instructions apply to native-born Israelites as well as foreigners.” 

⁵⁰All the Israelites did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹That very day the Lord brought all the Israelites out of Egypt in organized family groups.