Exodus 13–15

13The Lord spoke to Moses: ²“Consecrate every firstborn male ^yto Me, the firstborn from every womb among the Israelites, both man and domestic animal; it is Mine.”

³Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day when you came out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, for the Lord brought you out of here by the strength of His hand. Nothing leavened may be eaten. ^z4Today, in the month of Abib, ^abyou are leaving. ⁵When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, ^cwhich He swore to your fathers that He would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, ^dyou must carry out this ritual in this month. ^e6For seven days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord. ⁷Unleavened bread is to be eaten for those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, and no yeast may be found among you in all your territory. ⁸On that day explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ^f9Let it serve as a sign for you on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, ^ghso that the Lord’s instruction may be in your mouth; for the Lord brought you out of Egypt with a strong hand. ¹⁰Keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.

¹¹“When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, ¹²you are to present to the Lord every firstborn male of the womb. All firstborn offspring of the livestock you own that are males will be the Lord’s. ¹³You must redeem every firstborn of a donkey with a flock animal, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. However, you must redeem every firstborn among your sons. ⁱ

¹⁴“In the future, when your son ^jasks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘By the strength of His hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. ¹⁵When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man to the firstborn of livestock. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord all the firstborn of the womb that are males, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’ ¹⁶So let it be a sign on your hand and a symbol ^kon your forehead, for the Lord brought us out of Egypt by the strength of His hand.” ^l

The Route of the Exodus

¹⁷When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby; for God said, “The people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war.” ^m18So He led the people around toward the Red Sea along the road of the wilderness. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt in battle formation. ⁿ

¹⁹Moses took the bones of Joseph ^owith him, because Joseph had made the Israelites swear a solemn oath, saying, “God will certainly come to your aid; then you must take my bones with you from this place.”

²⁰They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. ²¹The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud ^pto lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night. ²²The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people.

14Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ²“Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you must camp in front of Baal-zephon, facing it by the sea. ^q3Pharaoh will say of the Israelites: They are wandering around the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in. ⁴I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” So the Israelites did this. ^r

The Egyptian Pursuit

⁵When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people and said: “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.” ⁶So he got his chariot ready and took his troops ^swith him; ⁷he took 600 of the best chariots and all the rest of the chariots of Egypt, with officers in each one. ⁸The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out triumphantly. ^tu9The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen, ^vand his army—chased ^wafter them and caught up with them as they camped by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

¹⁰As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians coming after them. Then the Israelites were terrified and cried out ^xto the Lord for help. ¹¹They said to Moses: “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? ¹²Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” ^y

¹³But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see ^zthe Lord’s salvation He will provide for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. ¹⁴The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet.” ^a

Escape through the Red Sea

¹⁵The Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to break camp. ¹⁶As for you, lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. ^b17I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen. ¹⁸The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

¹⁹Then the Angel of God, ^cwho was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them. ^d20It came between the Egyptian and Israelite forces. The cloud was there in the darkness, yet it lit up the night. ^eSo neither group came near the other all night long.

²¹Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided, ^f22and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left. ^g

²³The Egyptians set out in pursuit—all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen—and went into the sea after them. ²⁴Then during the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the Egyptian forces from the pillar of fire ^hand cloud, and threw them into confusion. ²⁵He caused their chariot wheels to swerve ^ijand made them drive ^kwith difficulty. “Let’s get away from Israel,” the Egyptians said, “because Yahweh is fighting for them against Egypt!”

²⁶Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen.” ²⁷So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal depth. While the Egyptians were trying to escape from it, the Lord threw them into the sea. ^l28The waters came back and covered the chariots ^mand horsemen, the entire army of Pharaoh, that had gone after them into the sea. None of them survived.

²⁹But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left. ³⁰That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed ⁿin Him and in His servant Moses.

Israel’s Song

15Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said:

I will sing to the Lord,

for He is highly exalted;

He has thrown the horse

and its rider into the sea.

²The Lord is my strength and my song; ^o

He has become my salvation. ^p

This is my God, and I will praise Him,

my father’s God, and I will exalt Him. ^q

³The Lord is a warrior; ^r

Yahweh is His name. ^s

⁴He threw Pharaoh’s chariots

and his army into the sea;

the elite of his officers

were drowned in the Red Sea. ^t

⁵The floods covered them;

they sank to the depths like a stone. ^u

⁶Lord, Your right hand is glorious in power.

Lord, Your right hand shattered the enemy. ^v

⁷You overthrew Your adversaries

by Your great majesty.

You unleashed Your burning wrath;

it consumed them like stubble. ^w

⁸The waters heaped up ^xat the blast of Your nostrils;

the currents stood firm like a dam.

The watery depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

⁹The enemy said:

“I will pursue, I will overtake,

I will divide the spoil. ^y

My desire will be gratified at their expense.

I will draw my sword;

my hand will destroy ^zthem.”

¹⁰But You blew with Your breath,

and the sea covered them.

They sank like lead

in the mighty waters.

¹¹Lord, who is like You among the gods?

Who is like You, glorious in holiness, ^a

revered with praises, performing wonders? ^b

¹²You stretched out Your right hand,

and the earth swallowed them.

¹³You will lead the people

You have redeemed

with Your faithful love;

You will guide them to Your holy dwelling

with Your strength. ^c

¹⁴When the peoples hear, they will shudder;

anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia.

¹⁵Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified; ^d

trembling will seize the leaders of Moab;

the inhabitants of Canaan will panic;

¹⁶and terror ^eand dread will fall on them.

They will be as still ^fas a stone

because of Your powerful arm

until Your people pass by, Lord,

until the people whom You purchased ^gpass by. ^h

¹⁷You will bring them in and plant them

on the mountain of Your possession; ⁱ

Lord, You have prepared the place

for Your dwelling;

Lord, ^jYour hands have established the sanctuary.

¹⁸The Lord will reign ^kforever and ever!

¹⁹When Pharaoh’s…