Exodus 13–15

Unleavened Bread and Dedication of Firstborn to Commemorate the Rescue from Egypt

13And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Consecrate to me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the Israelites,^a among humans^b and among domestic animals;^c it belongs to me.”^{d 3}And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day when you went out from Egypt, from a house of slaves, because with strength of hand Yahweh brought you out from here, and food with yeast will not be eaten. ⁴Today you are going out in the month of Abib. ⁵And when Yahweh brings you to the land of the Canaanites^e and the Hittites^f and the Amorites^g and the Hivites^h and the Jebusitesⁱ—which he swore to your ancestors^j to give to you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you will perform this service in this month. ⁶Seven days you will eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day will be a feast for Yahweh. ⁷Unleavened bread will be eaten the seven days; food with yeast will not be seen for you; and yeast will not be seen for you in all your territory. ⁸And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘This is because of what Yahweh did for me when I came out from Egypt.’ ⁹And it will be as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes so that the law of Yahweh will be in your mouth, that with a strong hand Yahweh brought you out from Egypt. ¹⁰And you will keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.^k

¹¹“And when Yahweh brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as he swore to you and to your ancestors,^l and he gives it to you, ¹²you will hand over every first offspring of a womb to Yahweh, and every first offspring dropped by a domestic animal that will belong to you, the males will be for Yahweh. ¹³And every first offspring of a donkey you will redeem with small livestock, and if you will not redeem it, then you will break its neck, and every firstborn human among your sons you will redeem. ¹⁴And when your son asks you in the future,^m saying, ‘What is this?’ you will say to him, ‘With strength of hand Yahweh brought us out from Egypt, from a house of slaves. ¹⁵And when Pharaoh was stubborn to release us, Yahweh killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from firstborn human to firstborn domestic animal. Therefore I am sacrificing to Yahweh every first offspring of a womb, the males, and every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶And it will be as a sign on your hand and as symbolic ornaments between your eyes that with strength of hand Yahweh brought us out from Egypt.”

Summary of Travel

¹⁷And when Pharaoh released the people, God did not lead them the way of the land of the Philistines, though it was nearer, because God said, “Lest the people change their mind when they see war and return to Egypt.” ¹⁸So God led the people around by the way of the desert to the Red Sea,ⁿ and the Israelites^o went up in battle array from the land of Egypt. ¹⁹And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph^p had made the Israelites^q solemnly swear an oath, saying, “God will surely attend to you, and you will take up my bones from here with you.” ²⁰And they set out from Succoth, and they encamped at Etham on the edge of the desert. ²¹And Yahweh was going before them by day in a column of cloud to lead them on the way and by night in a column of fire to give light to them to go by day and night. ²²The column of cloud by day and the column of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

Yahweh Rescues Israel at the Red Sea

14And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Speak to the Israelites^a so that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea;^b before Baal Zephon, which is opposite it, you will camp by the sea. ³And Pharaoh will say of the Israelites,^c ‘They are wandering around in the land. The desert has closed in on them.’ ⁴And I will harden the heart of Pharaoh, and he will chase after them, and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and through all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” And they did so.

⁵And it was told to the king of Egypt that the people fled, and the heart of Pharaoh was changed and that of his servants toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have released Israel from serving us!” ⁶And he harnessed his chariot and took with him his people. ⁷And he took six hundred select chariots and all the chariots of Egypt and officers over all of them. ⁸And Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and he chased after the Israelites.^d (Now the Israelites^e were going out boldly.^f) ⁹And the Egyptians chased after them, and they overtook them encamped at the sea—all the horses of the chariots of Pharaoh and his charioteers and his army—at Pi-hahiroth before Baal Zephon.

¹⁰And Pharaoh approached, and the Israelites^g lifted their eyes, and there were the Egyptians traveling after them! And they were very afraid, and the Israelites^h cried out to Yahweh. ¹¹And they said to Moses, “Because there are no graves in Egypt? Is that why you have taken us to die in the desert? What is this you have done to us by bringing us out from Egypt! ¹²Isn’t this the word we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve Egypt!’ because serving Egypt is better for us than our dying in the desert.” ¹³And Moses said to the people, “You must not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will accomplish for you today, because the Egyptians whom you see today you will see never again. ¹⁴Yahweh will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”

¹⁵And Yahweh said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Speak to the Israelitesⁱ so that they set out.^{j 16}And you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it so that the Israelites^k can go in the middle of the sea on the dry land. ¹⁷And as for me, look, I am about to harden the heart of the Egyptians so that they come after them, and I will display my glory through Pharaoh and through all of his army, through his chariots and through his charioteers. ¹⁸And the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I display my glory through Pharaoh, through his chariots, and through his charioteers.”

¹⁹And the angel of God who was going before the camp of Israel set out and went behind them. And the column of cloud set out ahead of them, and it stood still behind them, ²⁰so that it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. And it was a dark cloud,^l but it gave light to the night,^m so that neither approached the otherⁿ all night.

²¹And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh moved the sea^o with a strong east wind all night, and he made the sea become dry ground, and the waters were divided. ²²And the Israelites^p entered the middle of the sea on the dry land. The waters were a wall for them on their right and on their left. ²³And the Egyptians gave chase^q and entered after them—all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his charioteers—into the middle of the sea. ²⁴And during the morning watch, Yahweh looked down to the Egyptian camp from in the column of fire and cloud, and he threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. ²⁵And he removed^r the wheels of their chariots so that they drove them with difficulty, and the Egyptians said, “We must flee away^s from Israel because Yahweh is fighting for them against Egypt.”

²⁶And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, and let the waters return over the Egyptians, over their chariots, and over their charioteers.” ²⁷And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned at daybreak^t to its normal level, and the Egyptians were fleeing because of it,^u and Yahweh swept the Egyptians into the middle of the sea. ²⁸And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the charioteers—all the army of Pharaoh coming after them into the sea. Not even^v one survived among them. ²⁹But the Israelites^w walked on the dry land in the middle of the sea. The waters were a wall for them on their right and on their left. ³⁰And Yahweh saved Israel on that day from the hand^x of Egypt, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore of the sea. ³¹And Israel saw the great hand^y that Yahweh displayed against Egypt, and the people feared Yahweh, and they believed in Yahweh and in Moses his servant.

Song of Victory at the Sea

15Then Moses and the Israelites^a sang this song to Yahweh, and they said,^b

“Let me sing to Yahweh because he is highly exalted;

the horse and its rider he hurled into the sea.

²Yah^c is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation;^d

this is my God, and I will praise him—the God of my father—and I will exalt him.

³Yahweh is a man of war; Yahweh is his name.

⁴The chariots of Pharaoh and his army he cast into the sea,

and his choice adjutants were sunk in the Red Sea.^e

⁵The deep waters covered them;

they went down into the depths like a stone.

⁶Yahweh, your right hand is glorious in power;

Yahweh, your right hand destroyed the enemy.

⁷And in the greatness of your majesty you overthrew those standing up to you;

you released your fierce anger, and it consumed them like stubble.

⁸And by the breath of your nostrils waters were piled up;

waves stood like a heap;

deep waters in the middle of the sea congealed.

⁹The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide plunder,

my desire will be full of them, I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.’

¹⁰You blew with your breath; the sea covered them;

they dropped like lead in the mighty waters.

¹¹Who is like you among the gods, Yahweh?

Who is like you—glorious in holiness, awesome in praiseworthy actions, doing wonders?^f

¹²You stretched out your right hand;

the earth swallowed them.

¹³In your loyal love you led the people whom you redeemed;

in your strength you guided them to the abode of your holiness.^g

¹⁴Peoples heard; they trembled;

anguish seized the inhabitants of Philistia.

¹⁵Then the chiefs of Edom were horrified; great distress seized the leaders of Moab;

all of the…