Exodus 14:1–14

Then 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.”