Exodus 13–15

The Law of the Firstborn

13Then the Lord said to Moses, ²“Give every firstborn male to me. Every firstborn male among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”

³Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, the day you left Egypt. You were slaves in that land, but the Lord with his great power brought you out of it. You must not eat bread made with yeast. ⁴Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving Egypt. ⁵The Lord will lead you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. This is the land he promised your ancestors he would give you, a fertile land. There you must celebrate this feast during the first month of every year. ⁶For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast, and on the seventh day there will be a feast to honor the Lord. ⁷So for seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast. There must be no bread made with yeast anywhere in your land. ⁸On that day you should tell your son: ‘We are having this feast because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹This feast will help you remember, like a mark on your hand or a reminder on your forehead. This feast will remind you to speak the Lord’s teachings, because the Lord used his great power to bring you out of Egypt. ¹⁰So celebrate this feast every year at the right time.

¹¹“And when the Lord takes you into the land of the Canaanites, the land he promised to give you and your ancestors, ¹²you must give him every firstborn male. Also every firstborn male animal must be given to the Lord. ¹³Buy back every firstborn donkey by offering a lamb. But if you don’t want to buy the donkey back, then break its neck. You must buy back from the Lord every firstborn of your sons.

¹⁴“From now on when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you will answer, ‘With his great power, the Lord brought us out from Egypt, the land where we were slaves. ¹⁵The king of Egypt was stubborn and refused to let us leave. But the Lord killed every firstborn male in Egypt, both human and animal. That is why I sacrifice every firstborn male animal to the Lord, and that is why I buy back each of my firstborn sons from the Lord.’ ¹⁶This feast is like a mark on your hand and a reminder on your forehead to help you remember that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his great power.”

The Way Out of Egypt

¹⁷When the king sent the people out of Egypt, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was the shortest way. God said, “If they have to fight, they might change their minds and go back to Egypt.” ¹⁸So God led them through the desert toward the Red Sea. The Israelites were dressed for fighting when they left the land of Egypt.

¹⁹Moses carried the bones of Joseph with him, because before Joseph died, he had made the Israelites promise to do this. He had said, “When God saves you, remember to carry my bones with you out of Egypt.”

²⁰The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the desert. ²¹The Lord showed them the way; during the day he went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud, and during the night he was in a pillar of fire to give them light. In this way they could travel during the day or night. ²²The pillar of cloud was always with them during the day, and the pillar of fire was always with them at night.

14Then the Lord said to Moses, ²“Tell the Israelites to turn back to Pi Hahiroth and to camp between Migdol and the Red Sea. Camp across from Baal Zephon, on the shore of the sea. ³The king will think, ‘The Israelites are lost, trapped by the desert.’ ⁴I will make the king stubborn again so he will chase after them, but I will defeat the king and his army. This will bring honor to me, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” The Israelites did just as they were told.

The King Chases the Israelites

⁵When the king of Egypt was told that the Israelites had left, he and his officers changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites leave. We have lost our slaves!” ⁶So the king prepared his war chariot and took his army with him. ⁷He took six hundred of his best chariots, together with all the other chariots of Egypt, each with an officer in it. ⁸The Lord made the king of Egypt stubborn, so he chased the Israelites, who were leaving victoriously. ⁹The Egyptians—with all the king’s horses, chariot drivers, and army—chased the Israelites. They caught up with them while they were camped by the Red Sea, near Pi Hahiroth and Baal Zephon.

¹⁰When the Israelites saw the king and his army coming after them, they were very frightened and cried to the Lord for help. ¹¹They said to Moses, “What have you done to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in the desert? There were plenty of graves for us in Egypt. ¹²We told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone; we will stay and serve the Egyptians.’ Now we will die in the desert.”

¹³But Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still and you will see the Lord save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again after today. ¹⁴You only need to remain calm; the Lord will fight for you.”

¹⁵Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Command the Israelites to start moving. ¹⁶Raise your walking stick and hold it over the sea so that the sea will split and the people can cross it on dry land. ¹⁷I will make the Egyptians stubborn so they will chase the Israelites, but I will be honored when I defeat the king and all of his chariot drivers and chariots. ¹⁸When I defeat the king, his chariot drivers, and chariots, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁹Now the angel of God that usually traveled in front of Israel’s army moved behind them. Also, the pillar of cloud moved from in front of the people and stood behind them. ²⁰So the cloud came between the Egyptians and the Israelites. This made it dark for the Egyptians but gave light to the Israelites. So the cloud kept the two armies apart all night.

²¹Then Moses held his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind, making the sea become dry ground. The water was split, ²²and the Israelites went through the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

²³Then all the king’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers followed them into the sea. ²⁴When morning came, the Lord looked down from the pillar of cloud and fire at the Egyptian army and made them panic. ²⁵He kept the wheels of the chariots from turning, making it hard to drive the chariots. The Egyptians shouted, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them and against Egypt.”

²⁶Then the Lord told Moses, “Hold your hand over the sea so that the water will come back over the Egyptians, their chariots, and chariot drivers.” ²⁷So Moses raised his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its place. The Egyptians tried to run from it, but the Lord swept them away into the sea. ²⁸The water returned, covering the chariots, chariot drivers, and all the king’s army that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

²⁹But the Israelites crossed the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. ³⁰So that day the Lord saved the Israelites from the Egyptians, and the Israelites saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. ³¹When the Israelites saw the great power the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord, and they trusted him and his servant Moses.

The Song of Moses

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

“I will sing to the Lord,

because he is worthy of great honor.

He has thrown the horse and its rider

into the sea.

²The Lord gives me strength and makes me sing;

he has saved me.

He is my God,

and I will praise him.

He is the God of my ancestors,

and I will honor him.

³The Lord is a warrior;

the Lord is his name.

⁴The chariots and soldiers of the king of Egypt

he has thrown into the sea.

The king’s best officers

are drowned in the Red Sea.

⁵The deep waters covered them,

and they sank to the bottom like a rock.

⁶Your right hand, Lord,

is amazingly strong.

Lord, your right hand

broke the enemy to pieces.

⁷In your great victory

you destroyed those who were against you.

Your anger destroyed them,

like fire burning straw.

⁸Just a blast of your breath,

and the waters piled up.

The moving water stood like a wall;

the deep waters became solid in the middle of the sea.

⁹“The enemy bragged,

‘I’ll chase them and catch them.

I’ll take all their riches;

I’ll take all I want.

I’ll pull out my sword,

and my hand will destroy them.’

¹⁰But you blew on them with your breath

and covered them with the sea.

They sank like lead

in the raging water.

¹¹“Are there any gods like you, Lord?

There are no gods like you.

You are wonderfully holy,

amazingly powerful,

a worker of miracles.

¹²You reached out with your right hand,

and the earth swallowed our enemies.

¹³You keep your loving promise

and lead the people you have saved.

With your strength you will guide them

to your holy place.

¹⁴“The other nations will hear this and tremble with fear;

terror will take hold of the Philistines.

¹⁵The leaders of the tribes of Edom will be very frightened;

the powerful men of Moab will shake with fear;

the people of Canaan will lose all their courage.

¹⁶Terror and horror will fall on them.

When they see your strength,

they will be as still as a rock.

They will be still until your people pass by, Lord.

They will be still until the people you have taken as your own pass by.

¹⁷You will lead your people and place them

on your very own mountain,

the place that you, Lord, made for yourself to live,

the temple, Lord, that your hands have made.

¹⁸The Lord will be king forever!”

¹⁹The horses, chariot drivers, and chariots of the king of Egypt went into the sea, and the Lord covered them with water from the sea. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry land. ²⁰Then Aaron’s sister Miriam, a prophetess, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed…