Exodus 13–15

Setting Apart the Oldest Sons

13The Lord said to Moses, ²“Set apart for me the first boy born in every family. The oldest son of every Israelite mother belongs to me. Every male animal that is born first to its mother also belongs to me.”

³Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day. It’s the day you came out of Egypt. That’s the land where you were slaves. The Lord used his mighty hand to bring you out of Egypt. Don’t eat anything that has yeast in it. ⁴You are leaving today. It’s the month of Abib.

⁵“The Lord will bring you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites. He took an oath and promised your people of long ago that he would give that land to you. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey. When you get there, keep this holy day in this month.

⁶“For seven days eat bread that is made without yeast. On the seventh day hold a feast in the Lord’s honor. ⁷Eat bread that is made without yeast during those seven days. Nothing that has yeast in it should be found among you. No yeast should be seen anywhere inside your borders.

⁸“On that day talk to your son. Tell him, ‘I’m doing this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’

⁹“When you celebrate this day, it will be like a mark on your hand. It will be like a reminder on your forehead. The law of the Lord must be on your lips. The Lord used his mighty hand to bring you out of Egypt. ¹⁰Obey this law at the appointed time year after year.

¹¹“The Lord will bring you into the land of Canaan. He will give it to you, just as he promised he would. He even took an oath when he made the promise to you and your people of long ago.

¹²“After you arrive there, give to the Lord the oldest son of every mother. Every male animal that is born first to its mother among your livestock belongs to the Lord. ¹³By sacrificing a lamb, buy back every male donkey that is born first to its mother. But if you don’t buy the donkey back, break its neck. Buy back every oldest son.

¹⁴“In days to come, your son will ask you, ‘What does this mean?’

“When he does, say to him, ‘The Lord used his mighty hand to bring us out of Egypt. That’s the land where we were slaves. ¹⁵Pharaoh was stubborn. He refused to let us go. So the Lord killed every oldest son in Egypt. He also killed every male animal that was born first to its mother. That’s why I sacrifice to the Lord every male animal that was born first. And that’s why I buy back each oldest son for him.’

¹⁶“This day will be like a mark on your hand. It will be like a sign on your forehead. It will remind you that the Lord used his mighty hand to bring us out of Egypt.”

Israel Goes Through the Red Sea

¹⁷Pharaoh let the people go. The shortest road from Goshen to Canaan went through the Philistine country. But God didn’t lead them that way. God said, “If they have to go into battle, they might change their minds. They might return to Egypt.”

¹⁸So God led the people toward the Red Sea by taking them on a road through the desert. The Israelites were prepared for battle when they went up out of Egypt.

¹⁹Moses took the bones of Joseph along with him. Joseph had made the sons of Israel take an oath and make a promise. He had said, “I’m sure that God will come to help you. When he does, you must carry my bones up from this place with you.”

²⁰The people left Succoth. They camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.

²¹By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud. It guided them on their way. At night he led them with a pillar of fire. It gave them light. So they could travel by day or at night. ²²The pillar of cloud didn’t leave its place in front of the people during the day. And the pillar of fire didn’t leave its place at night.

14Then the Lord spoke to Moses. ²He said, “Tell the people of Israel to turn back. Have them camp near Pi Hahiroth between Migdol and the Red Sea. They must camp by the sea, right across from Baal Zephon. ³Pharaoh will think, ‘The people of Israel are wandering around the land. They don’t know which way to go. The desert is all around them.’

⁴“I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn. He will chase them. But I will gain glory for myself because of what will happen to Pharaoh and his whole army. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites camped by the Red Sea.

⁵The king of Egypt was told that the people had gotten away. Then Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We’ve let the people of Israel go! We’ve lost our slaves and all of the work they used to do for us!”

⁶So he had his chariot made ready. He took his army with him. ⁷He took 600 of the best chariots in Egypt. He also took along all of the other chariots. Officers were in charge of all of them.

⁸The Lord made the heart of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, stubborn. So he chased the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. ⁹The Egyptians went after the Israelites. All of Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen and troops went after them. They caught up with them as they camped by the sea. The Israelites were near Pi Hahiroth, across from Baal Zephon.

¹⁰As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up. There were the Egyptians marching after them! The Israelites were terrified. They cried out to the Lord.

¹¹They said to Moses, “Why did you bring us to the desert to die? Weren’t there any graves in Egypt? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? ¹²We told you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians.’ It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die here in the desert!”

¹³Moses answered the people. He said, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm. You will see how the Lord will save you today. Do you see those Egyptians? You will never see them again. ¹⁴The Lord will fight for you. Just be still.”

¹⁵Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people of Israel to move on. ¹⁶Hold your wooden staff out. Reach your hand out over the Red Sea to part the water. Then the people can go through the sea on dry ground.

¹⁷“I will make the hearts of the Egyptians stubborn. They will go in after the Israelites. I will gain glory for myself because of what will happen to Pharaoh, his whole army, his chariots and his horsemen.

¹⁸“The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. I will gain glory because of what will happen to all of them.”

¹⁹The angel of God had been traveling in front of Israel’s army. Now he moved back and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved away from in front of them. Now it stood behind them. ²⁰It came between the armies of Egypt and Israel. All through the night the cloud brought darkness to one side and light to the other. Neither army went near the other all night long.

²¹Then Moses reached his hand out over the Red Sea. All that night the Lord pushed the sea back with a strong east wind. He turned the sea into dry land. The waters were parted. ²²The people of Israel went through the sea on dry ground. There was a wall of water on their right side and on their left.

²³The Egyptians chased them. All of Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.

²⁴Near the end of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud. He saw the Egyptian army and threw it into a panic. ²⁵He kept their chariot wheels from turning freely. That made the chariots hard to drive.

The Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for Israel against Egypt.”

²⁶Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Reach your hand out over the sea. The waters will flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” ²⁷So Moses reached his hand out over the sea. At sunrise the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians tried to run away from the sea. But the Lord swept them into it. ²⁸The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen. It covered the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the people of Israel into the sea. Not one of the Egyptians was left.

²⁹But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground. There was a wall of water on their right side and on their left. ³⁰That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of Egypt. Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. ³¹The Israelites saw the great power the Lord showed against the Egyptians. So they had respect for the Lord. They put their trust in him and in his servant Moses.

The Song of Moses and Miriam

15Here is the song that Moses and the people of Israel sang to the Lord. They said,

“I will sing to the Lord.

He is greatly honored.

He has thrown Pharaoh’s horses and their riders

into the Red Sea.

²The Lord gives me strength. I sing about him.

He has saved me.

He is my God. I will praise him.

He is my father’s God. I will honor him.

³The Lord goes into battle.

The Lord is his name.

⁴He has thrown Pharaoh’s chariots and army

into the Red Sea.

Pharaoh’s best officers

drowned in the sea.

⁵The deep waters covered them.

They sank to the bottom like a stone.

⁶“Lord, your right hand

was majestic and powerful.

Lord, your right hand

destroyed your enemies.

⁷Because of your great majesty,

you threw down those who opposed you.

Your burning anger blazed out.

It burned them up like straw.

⁸The powerful blast from your nose

piled up the waters.

The rushing waters stood firm like a wall.

The deep waters stood up in the middle of the sea.

⁹“Your enemies bragged,

‘We will chase Israel. We will catch them.

We’ll divide up what we take from them.

We’ll eat them alive.

We’ll pull our swords out.

Our powerful hands will destroy them.’

¹⁰But you blew with your breath.

The Red Sea covered your enemies.

They sank like lead

in the mighty waters.

¹¹“Lord, who among the gods is like you?

Who is like you?

You are majestic and holy.

Your glory fills me with wonder.

You do wonderful miracles.

¹²You reached out your right hand.

The earth swallowed up the Egyptians.

¹³“Because your love is faithful,

you will lead the people you have set free.

Because you are so strong,…