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.”

15Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people of Israel to move on. 16Hold your wooden staff out. Reach your hand out over the Red Sea to part the water. Then the people can go through the sea on dry ground.

17“I will make the hearts of the Egyptians stubborn. They will go in after the Israelites. I will gain glory for myself because of what will happen to Pharaoh, his whole army, his chariots and his horsemen.

18“The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. I will gain glory because of what will happen to all of them.”

19The angel of God had been traveling in front of Israel’s army. Now he moved back and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved away from in front of them. Now it stood behind them. 20It came between the armies of Egypt and Israel. All through the night the cloud brought darkness to one side and light to the other. Neither army went near the other all night long.

21Then Moses reached his hand out over the Red Sea. All that night the Lord pushed the sea back with a strong east wind. He turned the sea into dry land. The waters were parted. 22The people of Israel went through the sea on dry ground. There was a wall of water on their right side and on their left.

23The Egyptians chased them. All of Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.

24Near the end of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud. He saw the Egyptian army and threw it into a panic. 25He kept their chariot wheels from turning freely. That made the chariots hard to drive.

The Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for Israel against Egypt.”

26Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Reach your hand out over the sea. The waters will flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27So Moses reached his hand out over the sea. At sunrise the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians tried to run away from the sea. But the Lord swept them into it. 28The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen. It covered the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the people of Israel into the sea. Not one of the Egyptians was left.

29But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground. There was a wall of water on their right side and on their left. 30That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of Egypt. Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31The Israelites saw the great power the Lord showed against the Egyptians. So they had respect for the Lord. They put their trust in him and in his servant Moses.