Chapter 14

Pharaoh in Pursuit

1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp before aPi-hahiroth, between bMigdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea.

3 “For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’

4 “Thus aI will 1harden Pharaoh’s heart, and bhe will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and cthe Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, 1Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”

6 So he made his chariot ready and took his people with him;

7 and he took six hundred select chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.

8 aThe Lord 1hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out 2bboldly.

9 Then athe Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them camping by the sea, bbeside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

10 As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel 1looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; aso the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord.

11 Then athey said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, 1bringing us out of Egypt?

12 “aIs this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘1Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

The Sea Is Divided

13 But Moses said to the people, “aDo not fear! 1Stand by and see bthe salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.

14 “aThe Lord will fight for you while byou keep silent.”

15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward.

16 “As for you, lift up ayour staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall 1go through the midst of the sea on dry land.

17 “As for Me, behold, aI will 1harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.

18 “aThen the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen.”

19 aThe angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them.

20 So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud 1along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night. Thus the one did not come near the other all night.

21 aThen Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord 1swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into bdry land, so cthe waters were divided.

22 aThe sons of Israel 1went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and bthe waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

23 Then athe Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea.

24 At the morning watch, athe Lord looked down on the 1army of the Egyptians 2through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the 1army of the Egyptians into confusion.

25 He 1caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, “Let 2us flee from Israel, afor the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “aStretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.”

27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and athe sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing 1right into it; then the Lord 2boverthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, 1even Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; anot even one of them remained.

29 But the sons of Israel walked on adry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

30 aThus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel bsaw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.

31 When Israel saw the great 1power which the Lord had 2used against the Egyptians, the people 3feared the Lord, and athey believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses.