Exodus 12 - 15 — Legacy Standard Bible

The Passover Lamb

12Now Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron in the land of ¹Egypt, ²“^aThis month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. ³“Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a ¹lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a ²lamb for ³each household. ⁴‘Now if the household is too small for a ¹lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the ²number of persons in them; according to ³what each man should eat, you are to ⁴apportion the lamb. ⁵‘Your ¹lamb shall be ^aa male, without blemish, a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ⁶‘¹And you shall keep it until the ^afourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall slaughter it ²^,^bat twilight. ⁷‘^aMoreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel ¹of the houses in which they eat it. ⁸‘And they shall eat the flesh ^athat night, ^broasted with fire, and they shall eat it with ^cunleavened bread ¹^,^dand bitter herbs. ⁹‘Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather ^aroasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with ^bits entrails. ¹⁰‘^aAnd you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. ¹¹‘Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is ^athe Passover of Yahweh. ¹²‘And ^aI will go through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and ^bagainst all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—^cI am Yahweh. ¹³‘^aAnd the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and I will see the blood, and I will pass over you, and there shall be no plague among you ¹to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

¹⁴‘Now ^athis day will be ^ba memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to Yahweh; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as ¹^,^ca perpetual statute. ¹⁵‘^aSeven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall ¹remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, ^bthat ²person shall be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶‘^aNow on the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you; no work at all shall be done on them, except what must be eaten ¹by every person, that alone may be done by you. ¹⁷‘You shall also keep ^athe Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this ^bvery day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall keep this day throughout your generations as ¹^,^ca perpetual statute. ¹⁸‘^aIn the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. ¹⁹‘^aSeven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that ¹^,^bperson shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. ²⁰‘You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your places of habitation you shall eat unleavened bread.’”

²¹Then ^aMoses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “¹Bring out and ^btake for yourselves ²lambs according to your families and slaughter ^cthe Passover lamb. ²²“^aAnd you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and ¹touch some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the doorway of his house until morning. ²³“And ^aYahweh will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and He will see the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, and Yahweh will pass over the doorway and will ^bnot allow the ^cdestroyer to come into your houses to smite you. ²⁴“And ^ayou shall keep this event as a statute for you and your children forever. ²⁵“And it will be, when you enter the land which Yahweh will give you, as He has ¹promised, you shall keep this new ²slavery. ²⁶“^aAnd it will be when your children say to you, ‘¹What is the meaning of this new slavery to you?’ ²⁷that you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to ^aYahweh who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but delivered our homes.’” ^bAnd the people bowed low and worshiped.

²⁸Then the sons of Israel went and did so; just as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

Death of the Firstborn of Egypt

²⁹Now it happened at ^amidnight that ^bYahweh struck all ^cthe firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the ¹dungeon, and all the firstborn of ^dcattle. ³⁰Then Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was ^aa great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead. ³¹Then ^ahe called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Rise up, ^bget out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, ¹serve Yahweh, as you have spoken. ³²“Take ^aboth your flocks and your herds, as you have spoken, and go, and bless me also.”

Israel Goes Out from Egypt

³³^aAnd the Egyptians strongly pressed the people to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, “We will all be dead.” ³⁴So the people took up ^atheir dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders.

³⁵^aNow the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses—they had asked from the Egyptians for articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; ³⁶and Yahweh had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they ^aplundered the Egyptians.

³⁷And the ^asons of Israel journeyed from ^bRameses to Succoth, about ^csix hundred thousand men on foot, aside from the little ones. ³⁸A ¹^,^aforeign multitude also went up with them, ²along with flocks and herds, a ^bvery ³large number of livestock. ³⁹And they baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread. For it had not become leavened, since they were ^adriven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they ¹prepared any provisions for themselves.

⁴⁰Now the time ¹that the sons of Israel lived in Egypt was ^a430 years. ⁴¹And it happened at the end of 430 years, ¹to ^athe very day, that ^ball the hosts of Yahweh went out from the land of Egypt. ⁴²^aIt is a night to be kept for Yahweh for having brought them out from the land of Egypt; this night is for Yahweh, to be kept ¹by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations.

The Statute of the Passover

⁴³And Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of ^athe Passover: no ¹^,^bforeigner shall eat of it; ⁴⁴but every man’s ^aslave purchased with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat of it. ⁴⁵“^aA foreign resident or a hired person shall not eat of it. ⁴⁶“It shall be eaten in a single house; you shall not bring forth any of the flesh outside of the house, ^aand you shall not break any bone of it. ⁴⁷“^aAll the congregation of Israel shall ¹celebrate this. ⁴⁸“But ^aif a sojourner sojourns with you and ¹celebrates the Passover to Yahweh, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near to ²celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it. ⁴⁹“¹^,^aThe same law shall ²apply to the native as to the sojourner who sojourns among you.”

⁵⁰So all the sons of Israel did; as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron, thus they did. ⁵¹And on that same day ^aYahweh brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt ¹^,^bby their hosts.

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.