Exodus 13–15

The Firstborn Consecrated

13Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^2a“Consecrate ¹to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

³And Moses said to the people: ^b“Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of ²bondage; for ^cby strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. ^dNo leavened bread shall be eaten. ^4eOn this day you are going out, in the month Abib. ⁵And it shall be, when the Lord ^fbrings you into the ^gland of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He ^hswore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, ⁱthat you shall keep this service in this month. ^6jSeven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. ⁷Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And ^kno leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. ⁸And you shall ^ltell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.’ ⁹It shall be as ^ma sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ⁿYou shall therefore keep this ³ordinance in its season from year to year.

The Law of the Firstborn

¹¹“And it shall be, when the Lord ^obrings you into the land of the ^pCanaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, ^12qthat you shall ⁴set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s. ¹³But ^revery firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons ^syou shall redeem. ^14tSo it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ^u‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ¹⁵And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that ^vthe Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶It shall be as ^wa sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

The Wilderness Way

¹⁷Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people ^xchange their minds when they see war, and ^yreturn to Egypt.” ¹⁸So God ^zled the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁹And Moses took the ^abones of ^bJoseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, ^c“God will surely ⁵visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”

²⁰So ^dthey took their journey from ^eSuccoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. ²¹And ^fthe Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. ²²He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

The Red Sea Crossing

14Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²“Speak to the children of Israel, ^athat they turn and camp before ^bPi Hahiroth, between ^cMigdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. ³For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ^d‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’ ⁴Then ^eI will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I ^fwill gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, ^gthat the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

⁵Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and ^hthe heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” ⁶So he ¹made ready his chariot and took his people with him. ⁷Also, he took ⁱsix hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. ⁸And the Lord ^jhardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and ^kthe children of Israel went out with boldness. ⁹So the ^lEgyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.

¹⁰And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel ^mcried out to the Lord. ¹¹ⁿThen they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? ^12oIs this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

¹³And Moses said to the people, ^p“Do not be afraid. ^qStand still, and see the ^rsalvation ²of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall ^ssee again no more forever. ^14tThe Lord will fight for you, and you shall ^uhold ³your peace.”

¹⁵And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. ¹⁶But ^vlift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. ¹⁷And I indeed will ^wharden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will ^xgain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. ¹⁸Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

¹⁹And the Angel of God, ^ywho went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. ²⁰So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

²¹Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and ^zmade the sea into dry land, and the waters were ^adivided. ²²So ^bthe children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were ^ca wall to them on their right hand and on their left. ²³And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

²⁴Now it came to pass, in the morning ^dwatch, that ^ethe Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He ⁴troubled the army of the Egyptians. ²⁵And He ⁵took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord ^ffights for them against the Egyptians.”

²⁶Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” ²⁷And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea ^greturned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the Lord ^hoverthrew ⁶the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. ²⁸Then ⁱthe waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. ²⁹But ^jthe children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

³⁰So the Lord ^ksaved ⁷Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel ^lsaw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹Thus Israel saw the great ⁸work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and ^mbelieved the Lord and His servant Moses.

The Song of Moses

15Then ^aMoses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying:

“I will ^bsing to the Lord,

For He has triumphed gloriously!

The horse and its rider

He has thrown into the sea!

²The Lord is my strength and ^csong,

And He has become my salvation;

He is my God, and ^dI will praise Him;

My ^efather’s God, and I ^fwill exalt Him.

³The Lord is a man of ^gwar;

The Lord is His ^hname.

⁴ⁱPharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;

^jHis chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.

⁵The depths have covered them;

^kThey sank to the bottom like a stone.

⁶“Your ^lright hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power;

Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces.

⁷And in the greatness of Your ^mexcellence

You have overthrown those who rose against You;

You sent forth ⁿYour wrath;

It ^oconsumed them ^plike stubble.

⁸And ^qwith the blast of Your nostrils

The waters were gathered together;

^rThe floods stood upright like a heap;

The depths ¹congealed in the heart of the sea.

^9sThe enemy said, ‘I will pursue,

I will overtake,

I will ^tdivide the spoil;

My desire shall be satisfied on them.

I will draw my sword,

My hand shall destroy them.’

¹⁰You blew with Your wind,

The sea covered them;

They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

¹¹“Who ^uis like You, O Lord, among the ²gods?

Who is like You, ^vglorious in holiness,

Fearful in ^wpraises, ^xdoing wonders?

¹²You stretched out Your right hand;

The earth swallowed them.

¹³You in Your mercy have ^yled forth

The people whom You have redeemed;

You have guided them in Your strength…