Exodus 13 - 14, Luke 24, Psalm 58 — 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.

Jesus Is Risen!

24^aNow on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. ²And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³but when they entered, they did not find the body of ^athe Lord Jesus. ⁴And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, ^atwo men suddenly ^bstood near them in dazzling clothing, ⁵and when the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? ⁶“He is not here, but He ^ahas ¹risen. Remember how He spoke to you ^bwhile He was still in Galilee, ⁷saying that ^athe Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” ⁸And ^athey remembered His words, ⁹and when they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰Now ^aMary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the rest of the women with them were there; they were telling these things to ^bthe apostles. ¹¹But these words appeared ¹to them as nonsense, and they ^awere not believing them. ¹²But Peter stood up and ^aran to the tomb; and stooping to look in, he *saw the linen wrappings ¹only. And he went away ^bby himself, marveling at what had happened.

The Road to Emmaus

¹³And behold, ^atwo of them were going that same day to a village named Emmaus, which was ¹sixty stadia from Jerusalem. ¹⁴And they were conversing with each other about all these things which had happened. ¹⁵And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus Himself approached and was going with them. ¹⁶But ^atheir eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. ¹⁷And He said to them, “What are these words that you are discussing with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸And one of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You ¹the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” ¹⁹And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about ^aJesus the Nazarene, who was a mighty ^bprophet in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, ²⁰and how the chief priests and our ^arulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. ²¹“But we were hoping that it was He who was going to ^aredeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. ²²“But also some women among us astounded us. ^aWhen they were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³and not finding His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. ²⁴“Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also said, but Him they did not see.” ²⁵And He said to them, “O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that ^athe prophets have spoken! ²⁶“^aWas it not necessary for the ¹Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” ²⁷Then beginning ¹with ^aMoses and ²with all the ^bprophets, He interpreted to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

²⁸And they approached the village where they were going, and ^aHe acted as though He were going farther. ²⁹But they urged Him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening, and the day ¹is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them. ³⁰And it happened that when He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and ^ablessed it, and after breaking it, He was giving it to them. ³¹Then their ^aeyes were opened and they recognized Him. And He vanished from ¹their sight. ³²And they said to one another, “¹Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He ^awas opening the Scriptures to us?” ³³And they stood up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and ^afound gathered together the eleven and ^bthose with them, ³⁴who were saying, “^aThe Lord has really risen and ^bhas appeared to Simon.” ³⁵And they were relating ¹their experiences on the road and how ^aHe was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

³⁶Now while they were telling these things, ^aHe Himself stood in their midst and *said to them, “Peace to you.” ³⁷But being startled and frightened, they were thinking that they were seeing ^aa spirit. ³⁸And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your ¹hearts? ³⁹“^aSee My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; ^btouch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” ⁴⁰And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. ⁴¹And while they still ^awere not believing because of their joy and were still marveling, He said to them, “^bHave you anything here to eat?” ⁴²They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, ⁴³and He took it and ^aate it before them.

⁴⁴Now He said to them, “^aThese are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the ^bLaw of Moses and the Prophets and ^cthe Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵Then He ^aopened their ¹minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶and He said to them, “^aThus it is written, that the ¹Christ would suffer and ^brise again from the dead the third day, ⁴⁷and that ^arepentance ¹for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed ²in His name to ^ball the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸“You are ^awitnesses of these things. ⁴⁹“And behold, ^aI am sending the promise of My Father upon you, but ^byou are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

The Ascension

⁵⁰And He led them out as far as ^aBethany, and lifting up His hands, He blessed them. ⁵¹And it happened that while He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵²And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ⁵³and were continually in the temple blessing God.

There Is a God Who Judges on Earth

For the choir director. ¹Al-tashheth. Of David. A ²Mikhtam.

Do you indeed ³speak righteousness, O ⁴gods?Do you ^ajudge ⁵with equity, O sons of men?²No, in heart you ^awork unrighteousness;On earth you ¹^,^bprepare a path for the violence of your hands.³The wicked are estranged ^afrom the womb;These who speak falsehood ^bwander in error from ¹birth.⁴They have venom like the ^avenom of a serpent;Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,⁵So that it ^adoes not hear the voice of ¹^,^bcharmers,Or a skillful caster of spells.⁶O God, ^ashatter their teeth in their mouth;Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Yahweh.⁷Let them ^aflow away like water that runs off;When he ¹^,^baims his arrows, let them be as ²headless shafts.⁸Let them be as a snail which ¹melts away as it goes along,Like the ^amiscarriages of a woman which never behold the sun.⁹Before your ^apots can feel the fire of thornsHe will ^bsweep them away with a whirlwind, the living and the burning alike.¹⁰The ^arighteous will be glad when he ^bbeholds the vengeance;He will ^cwash his feet in the blood of the wicked.¹¹And men will say, “Surely there is a ¹^,^areward for the righteous;Surely there is a God who ^bjudges ²on earth!”