Exodus 15:11–27

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 her, playing tambourines and dancing. ²¹Miriam told them:

“Sing to the Lord,

because he is worthy of great honor;

he has thrown the horse and its rider

into the sea.”

Bitter Water Becomes Good

²²Moses led the Israelites away from the Red Sea into the Desert of Shur. They traveled for three days in the desert but found no water. ²³Then they came to Marah, where there was water, but they could not drink it because it was too bitter. (That is why the place was named Marah. ⁿ) ²⁴The people grumbled to Moses and asked, “What will we drink?”

²⁵So Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When Moses threw the tree into the water, the water became good to drink.

There the Lord gave the people a rule and a law to live by, and there he tested their loyalty to him. ²⁶He said, “You must obey the Lord your God and do what he says is right. If you obey all his commands and keep his rules, I will not bring on you any of the sicknesses I brought on the Egyptians. I am the Lord who heals you.”

²⁷Then the people traveled to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. So the people camped there near the water.