Exodus 14:1–14

Then 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.”