Exodus 13 - 16 — Legacy Standard Bible

Sanctifying the Firstborn

13Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²“^aSanctify to Me every firstborn, the first ¹offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.”

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

³And Moses said to the people, “^aRemember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of ¹slavery; for ^bby a strong hand Yahweh brought you out from this place. ^cAnd nothing leavened shall be eaten. ⁴“This day, in the ^amonth of Abib, you are going out. ⁵“And it shall be when Yahweh ^abrings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which ^bHe swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, ^cthat you shall ¹do this service in this month. ⁶“For ^aseven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to Yahweh. ⁷“Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and ^anothing leavened shall be seen ¹among you, nor shall any leaven be seen ²among you in all your borders. ⁸“^aAnd you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what Yahweh did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹“And ^ait will be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of Yahweh may be in your mouth; for with ^ba strong hand Yahweh brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰“Therefore, you shall ^akeep this statute at its appointed time from ¹year to year.

¹¹“And it will be when ^aYahweh brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as ^bHe swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, ¹²^aand you shall ¹devote to Yahweh the first ²offspring of every womb and ³the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to Yahweh. ¹³“But ^aevery first ¹offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and ^bevery firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. ¹⁴“^aAnd it will be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘^bWith a strong hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt, from the house of ¹slavery. ¹⁵‘And it happened, when Pharaoh hardened his heart with stiffness about letting us go, that ^aYahweh killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to Yahweh the males, the first ¹offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶“So ^ait will be as a sign on your hand and as ¹phylacteries between your eyes, for with a strong hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt.”

Pillars of Cloud and Fire

¹⁷Now it happened that when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not guide them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “^aLest the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” ¹⁸Hence God turned the people to the way of the wilderness to the ¹Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up ^ain battle array from the land of Egypt. ¹⁹And Moses took ^athe bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely ¹take care of you, and you shall bring up my bones from here with you.” ²⁰Then they set out from ^aSuccoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness. ²¹^aAnd Yahweh was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to guide them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might go by day and by night. ²²¹He ^adid not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

Israel Crosses the Red Sea

14Now Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Speak to the sons of Israel so that they 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“And Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering in confusion in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ ⁴“Thus ^aI will ¹harden Pharaoh’s heart with strength, and ^bhe will pursue them; and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and all his army, so that ^cthe Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” And they did so.

⁵Then the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” ⁶So he made his chariot ready and took his people with him; ⁷and he took six hundred choice chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. ⁸^aAnd Yahweh ¹hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, with strength, and he pursued the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out with an ²^,^bexalted hand. ⁹Then ^athe Egyptians pursued 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.

¹⁰Now Pharaoh drew near, and the sons of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very afraid; ^aso the sons of Israel cried out to Yahweh. ¹¹Then ^athey said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What is this you have done against us in 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 for us to die in the wilderness.” ¹³But Moses said to the people, “^aDo not fear! ¹Stand by and see ^bthe salvation of Yahweh which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. ¹⁴“^aYahweh will fight for you, and ^byou will keep silent.”

¹⁵Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Speak to the sons of Israel so that they go forward. ¹⁶“As for you, raise up ^ayour staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and split 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 with strength so that they will go in after them; and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. ¹⁸“^aThen the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh, when I am glorified through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen.”

¹⁹^aThen the 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. ²⁰So 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 Yahweh ¹swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea into ^bdry ground, so ^cthe waters were split. ²²^aSo the sons of Israel ¹went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and ^bthe waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. ²³Then ^athe Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea. ²⁴Then at the morning watch, ^aYahweh looked down on the camp of the Egyptians ¹through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the camp of the Egyptians into confusion. ²⁵And He ¹caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, “Let ²us flee from Israel, ^afor Yahweh is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”

²⁶Then Yahweh 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.” ²⁷So 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 Yahweh ²^,^boverthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. ²⁸And 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. ²⁹But the sons of Israel walked on ^adry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

³⁰^aThus Yahweh saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel ^bsaw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹Then Israel saw the great hand which Yahweh had ¹used against the Egyptians; and the people ²feared Yahweh, and ^athey believed in Yahweh and in His servant Moses.

The Song of Moses and Israel

15^aThen Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to Yahweh ¹and said, “²^,^bI will sing to Yahweh, for He ³is highly exalted;^cThe horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.

²“¹^,^aYah is my strength and song,And He has become my salvation;^bThis is my God, and I will praise Him;^cMy father’s God, and I will ^dextol Him.³“^aYahweh is a warrior;^bYahweh is His name.⁴“^aPharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;And the choicest of his officers are sunk in the ¹Red Sea.⁵“The deeps cover them;^aThey went down into the depths like a stone.⁶“^aYour right hand, O Yahweh, is majestic in power,^bYour right hand, O Yahweh, shatters the enemy.⁷“And in the greatness of Your ¹exaltation You ^apull down those who rise up against You;^bYou send forth Your burning anger, and it ^cdevours them as chaff.⁸“^aAnd at the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up,^bThe flowing waters stood up like a heap;The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.⁹“^aThe enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will ^bdivide the spoil;My ¹desire shall be fulfilled against them;I will draw out my sword, my hand will dispossess them.’¹⁰“^aYou blew with Your wind, the sea covered them;^bThey sank like lead in the ¹mighty waters.¹¹“^aWho is like You among the gods, O Yahweh?Who is like You, ^bmajestic in holiness,^cFearsome in praises, ^dworking wonders?¹²“^aYou stretched out Your right hand,The earth swallowed them.¹³“In Your lovingkindness You have ^aguided the people whom You have ^bredeemed;In Your strength You have led them ^cto Your holy habitation.¹⁴“^aThe peoples have heard, they tremble;Anguish has seized the inhabitants of Philistia.¹⁵“Then the ^achiefs of Edom were dismayed;^bThe leaders of Moab, trembling seizes them;^cAll the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.¹⁶“^aTerror and dread fall upon them;^bBy the greatness of Your arm they are still as stone;Until Your people pass over, O Yahweh,Until the people pass over whom You ^chave purchased.¹⁷“^aYou will bring them and ^bplant them in ^cthe mountain of Your inheritance,^dThe place, O Yahweh, which You have made for You to inhabit,^eThe sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.¹⁸“^aYahweh shall reign forever and ever.”

¹⁹^aFor the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, and Yahweh brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the sons of Israel walked on ^bdry land through the midst of the sea.

²⁰^aAnd Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took the ^btambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with ¹^,^cdancing. ²¹And Miriam answered them, “^aSing to Yahweh, for He ¹is highly exalted;The horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea.”

Yahweh Sweetens the Water

²²^aThen Moses ¹had Israel set out from the ²Red Sea, and they went out into ^bthe wilderness of ^cShur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. ²³And they came to ^aMarah, but they could not drink the waters ¹of Marah, for they were ²bitter; therefore it was named ³Marah. ²⁴So the people ^agrumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” ²⁵Then he ^acried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh showed him ^ba tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There He ^cset for them a statute and a judgment, and there He ^dtested them. ²⁶And He said, “^aIf you will earnestly listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear ^bto His commandments, and keep all His statutes, ^cI will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, ^dYahweh, am your healer.”

²⁷Then they came to ^aElim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy date palms, and they camped there beside the waters.

Yahweh Rains Bread from Heaven

16Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of ^aSin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on ^bthe fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. ²And the whole congregation of the sons of Israel ^agrumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. ³And the sons of Israel said to them, “^aWould that we had died by the hand of Yahweh in the land of Egypt, ^bwhen we sat by the pots of ¹meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to put this whole assembly to death with hunger.”

⁴Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, ^aI will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may ^btest them, whether or not they will walk in My ¹law. ⁵“^aNow it will be on the sixth day, they shall prepare what they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” ⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, “At evening ¹^,^ayou will know that Yahweh has brought you out of the land of Egypt; ⁷and in the morning ¹you will see ^athe glory of Yahweh, for ^bHe hears your grumblings against Yahweh; and ^cwhat are we, that you grumble against us?”

Yahweh Gives Meat and Bread

⁸And Moses said, “This will happen when Yahweh gives you ¹meat to eat in the evening and bread to the full in the morning; for Yahweh hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are ^anot against us but against Yahweh.”

⁹Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, ‘^aCome near before Yahweh, for He has heard your grumblings.’” ¹⁰Now it happened as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, that they turned toward the wilderness, and behold, ^athe glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud. ¹¹And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ¹²“^aI have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘¹At twilight you shall eat ²meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread, so that ^byou shall know that I am Yahweh your God.’”

¹³So it happened at evening that ^athe quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning ^bthere was a layer of dew around the camp. ¹⁴^aThen the layer of dew ¹evaporated, and behold, on the ²surface of the wilderness ^bthere was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground. ¹⁵And the sons of Israel saw it and said to one another, “¹What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “^aIt is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat. ¹⁶“This is ¹what Yahweh has commanded, ‘Gather of it every man ²as much as he should eat; you shall take an ³^,^aomer apiece according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.’” ¹⁷And the sons of Israel did so; some gathered much and some little. ¹⁸And they measured it with an ¹omer, and ^ahe who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered ²as much as he should eat. ¹⁹And Moses said to them, “^aLet no man leave any of it until morning.” ²⁰But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them. ²¹So they gathered it morning by morning, every man ¹as much as he should eat; but the sun would grow hot, and it would melt.

Yahweh Gives Bread for Two Days

²²^aNow it happened that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. Then all the ^bleaders of the congregation came and told Moses. ²³And he said to them, “This is what Yahweh has spoken: ^aTomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to Yahweh. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and ^ball that is in excess ¹put aside to be kept until morning.” ²⁴So they ¹put it aside until morning, as Moses had commanded, and ^ait did not become foul nor was there any worm in it. ²⁵And Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to Yahweh; today you will not find it in the field. ²⁶“^aSix days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be ¹none.”

²⁷Now it happened on the seventh day, that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. ²⁸Then Yahweh said to Moses, “^aHow long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My ¹laws? ²⁹“See, Yahweh has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” ³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹And the house of ^aIsrael named it ¹manna, and it was like ^bcoriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey. ³²Then Moses said, “This is ¹what Yahweh has commanded, ‘Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” ³³And Moses said to Aaron, “^aTake a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and place it before Yahweh to be kept throughout your generations.” ³⁴As Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before ^athe Testimony to be kept. ³⁵^aAnd the sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. ³⁶(Now ^aan ¹omer is a tenth of an ²ephah.)