Exodus 14:1–14

Then 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