Exodus 13

Chapter 13

Consecration of the Firstborn

¹Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

²“^aSanctify to Me every firstborn, the first ¹offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.”

³Moses said to the people, “^aRemember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of ¹slavery; for ^bby ²a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. ^cAnd nothing leavened shall be eaten.

⁴“On this day in the ^amonth of Abib, you are about to go forth.

⁵“It shall be when the Lord ^abrings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, which ^bHe swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, ^cthat you shall ¹observe this rite in this month.

⁶“For ^aseven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord.

⁷“Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and ^anothing leavened shall be seen ¹among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders.

⁸“^aYou shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’

⁹“And ^ait shall ¹serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder ²on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with ^ba powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.

¹⁰“Therefore, you shall ^akeep this ordinance at its appointed time from ¹year to year.

¹¹“Now when ^athe Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as ^bHe swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you,

^12ayou shall ¹devote to the Lord the first ²offspring of every womb, and ³the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to the Lord.

¹³“But ^aevery first ¹offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and ^bevery firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.

¹⁴“^aAnd it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘^bWith a ¹powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of ²slavery.

¹⁵‘It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the ^aLord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, the first ¹offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’

¹⁶“So ^ait shall ¹serve as a sign on your hand and as ²phylacteries ³on your forehead, for with a ⁴powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

God Leads the People

¹⁷Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “^aThe people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”

¹⁸Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the ¹Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up ^ain martial array from the land of Egypt.

¹⁹Moses took ^athe bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely ¹take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.”

²⁰Then they set out from ^aSuccoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness.

^21aThe Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might ¹travel by day and by night.

²²¹He ^adid not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.