Exodus 12:21–51

²¹Then ^xMoses called for all the ^yelders of Israel and said to them, ^z“Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. ^22aAnd you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and ^bstrike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. ^23cFor the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the ^dblood on the ⁷lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and ^enot allow ^fthe destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. ²⁴And you shall ^gobserve this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. ²⁵It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, ^hjust as He promised, that you shall keep this service. ²⁶ⁱAnd it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ ²⁷that you shall say, ^j‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ ” So the people ^kbowed their heads and worshiped. ²⁸Then the children of Israel went away and ^ldid so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

^29mAnd it came to pass at midnight that ⁿthe Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was ⁸in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of ^olivestock. ³⁰So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

The Exodus

³¹Then he ^pcalled for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, ^qboth you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the Lord as you have ^rsaid. ^32sAlso take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.”

^33tAnd the Egyptians ^uurged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” ³⁴So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. ³⁵Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians ^varticles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. ^36wAnd the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus ^xthey plundered the Egyptians.

³⁷Then ^ythe children of Israel journeyed from ^zRameses to Succoth, about ^asix hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. ³⁸A ^bmixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of ^clivestock. ³⁹And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because ^dthey were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.

⁴⁰Now the ⁹sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in ¹Egypt was ^efour hundred and thirty years. ⁴¹And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that ^fall the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. ⁴²It is ^ga ²night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.

Passover Regulations

⁴³And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is ^hthe ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. ⁴⁴But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have ⁱcircumcised him, then he may eat it. ^45jA sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it. ⁴⁶In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, ^knor shall you break one of its bones. ^47lAll the congregation of Israel shall keep it. ⁴⁸And ^mwhen a stranger ³dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. ⁴⁹ⁿOne law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.”

⁵⁰Thus all the children of Israel did; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. ^51oAnd it came to pass, on that very same day, that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt ^paccording to their armies.