Exodus 14:1–31

Then the Lord said to Moses, ²“Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol^l and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon.^{m 3}Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ ⁴And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,ⁿ and he will pursue them.^o But I will gain glory^p for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”^q So the Israelites did this.

⁵When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled,^r Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds^s about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” ⁶So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. ⁷He took six hundred of the best chariots,^t along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. ⁸The Lord hardened the heart^u of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.^{v 9}The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses^w and chariots, horsemen^a and troops^x—pursued the Israelites and overtook^y them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.^z

¹⁰As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried^a out to the Lord. ¹¹They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?^b What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? ¹²Didn’t we say to 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 in the desert!”^c

¹³Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid.^d Stand firm and you will see^e the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see^f again. ¹⁴The Lord will fight^g for you; you need only to be still.”^h

¹⁵Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me?ⁱ Tell the Israelites to move on. ¹⁶Raise your staff^j and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water^k so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷I will harden the hearts^l of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them.^m And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. ¹⁸The Egyptians will know that I am the Lordⁿ when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”

¹⁹Then the angel of God,^o who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud^p also moved from in front and stood behind^q them, ²⁰coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness^r to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

²¹Then Moses stretched out his hand^s over the sea,^t and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind^u and turned it into dry land.^v The waters were divided,^{w 22}and the Israelites went through the sea^x on dry ground,^y with a wall^z of water on their right and on their left.

²³The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen^a followed them into the sea. ²⁴During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud^b at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.^{c 25}He jammed^b the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting^d for them against Egypt.”^e

²⁶Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” ²⁷Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place.^f The Egyptians were fleeing toward^c it, and the Lord swept them into the sea.^{g 28}The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea.^h Not one of them survived.ⁱ

²⁹But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground,^j with a wall^k of water on their right and on their left. ³⁰That day the Lord saved^l Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. ³¹And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand^m of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people fearedⁿ the Lord and put their trust^o in him and in Moses his servant.