Chapter 12

The Passover Lamb

1 Now the Lord 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 1lamb for 2each 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 4divide the lamb.

5 ‘Your 1lamb shall be aan unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

6 ‘1You shall keep it until the afourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it 2bat 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 ‘They shall eat the flesh athat same night, broasted with fire, and they shall eat it with cunleavened bread 1dand 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 Lord’s Passover.

12 ‘For 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 the Lord.

13 ‘aThe blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you 1live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you 2to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Feast of Unleavened Bread

14 ‘Now athis day will be ba memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as 1ca permanent ordinance.

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 ‘aOn the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except what must be eaten 1by every person, that alone may be 2prepared by you.

17 ‘You shall also observe athe Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this bvery day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as ca 1permanent ordinance.

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 1bperson shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land.

20 ‘You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ”

21 Then aMoses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “1Go and btake for yourselves 2lambs according to your families, and slay cthe Passover lamb.

22 “aYou shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and 1apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.

A Memorial of Redemption

23 “For athe Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will bnot allow the cdestroyer to come in to your houses to smite you.

24 “And ayou shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever.

25 “When you enter the land which the Lord will give you, as He has 1promised, you shall observe this 2rite.

26 “aAnd when your children say to you, ‘1What does this rite mean to you?’

27 you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to athe Lord 1who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but 2spared our homes.’ ” bAnd the people bowed low and worshiped.

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

29 Now it came about at amidnight that bthe Lord 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 dungeon, and all the firstborn of dcattle.

30 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.

31 Then 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, 1worship the Lord, as you have said.

32 “Take aboth your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.”

Exodus of Israel

33 aThe Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, “We will all be dead.”

34 So the people took 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, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing;

36 and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they aplundered the Egyptians.

37 Now the asons of Israel journeyed from bRameses to Succoth, about csix hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children.

38 A amixed multitude also went up with them, 1along with flocks and herds, a bvery large number of livestock.

39 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.

40 Now the time 1that the sons of Israel lived in Egypt was afour hundred and thirty years.

41 And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, 1to athe very day, ball the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.

Ordinance of the Passover

42 aIt is a night 1to be observed for the Lord for having brought them out from the land of Egypt; this night is for the Lord, 1to be observed 2by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations.

43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of athe Passover: no 1bforeigner is to eat of it;

44 but every man’s aslave purchased with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat of it.

45 “aA sojourner or a hired servant shall not eat of it.

46 “It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to bring forth any of the flesh outside of the house, anor are you to break any bone of it.

47 “aAll the congregation of Israel are to 1celebrate this.

48 “But aif a 1stranger sojourns with you, and 2celebrates the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near to 3celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it.

49 “1aThe same law shall 2apply to the native as to the 3stranger who sojourns among you.”

50 Then all the sons of Israel did so; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

51 And on that same day athe Lord brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt 1bby their hosts.

Chapter 13

Consecration of the Firstborn

1 Then the Lord 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.”

3 Moses said to the people, “aRemember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of 1slavery; for bby 2a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. cAnd nothing leavened shall be eaten.

4 “On this day in the amonth of Abib, you are about to go forth.

5 “It shall be when the Lord 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 1observe this rite in this month.

6 “For aseven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord.

7 “Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and anothing leavened shall be seen 1among you, nor shall any leaven be seen 1among you in all your borders.

8 “aYou shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’

9 “And ait shall 1serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder 2on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with ba powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.

10 “Therefore, you shall akeep this ordinance at its appointed time from 1year to year.

11 “Now when athe Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as bHe swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you,

12 ayou shall 1devote to the Lord the first 2offspring of every womb, and 3the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to the Lord.

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 shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘bWith a 1powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of 2slavery.

15 ‘It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the aLord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, the first 1offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’

16 “So ait shall 1serve as a sign on your hand and as 2phylacteries 3on your forehead, for with a 4powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

God Leads the People

17 Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “aThe people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”

18 Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the 1Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up ain martial array from the land of Egypt.

19 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 carry my bones from here with you.”

20 Then they set out from aSuccoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness.

21 aThe Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might 1travel by day and by night.

22 1He adid not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

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.