Exodus 14-17

New International Reader's Version

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses. ² He 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. ³ Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land. They don’t know which way to go. The desert is all around them.’ ⁴ I will make Pharaoh 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.

⁵ The king of Egypt was told that the people had escaped. 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 the work they used to do for us!” ⁶ So he had his chariot made ready. He took his army with him. ⁷ He took 600 of the best chariots in Egypt. He also took along all the other chariots. Officers were in charge of all of them. ⁸ The Lord made Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, stubborn. So he chased the Israelites as they were marching out boldly. ⁹ The Egyptians went after the Israelites. All Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen and troops chased them. They caught up with the Israelites as they camped by the sea. The Israelites were near Pi Hahiroth, across from Baal Zephon.

¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked back. There were the Egyptians marching after them! The Israelites were terrified. They cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ They 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? ¹² We 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!”

¹³ Moses 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. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you. Just be still.”

¹⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people of Israel to move on. ¹⁶ Hold out your walking stick. Reach out your hand over the Red Sea to divide the water. Then the people can go through the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷ I will make the Egyptians stubborn. They will go in after the Israelites. I will gain glory for myself because of what will happen to Pharaoh, his army, chariots and horsemen. ¹⁸ The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. I will gain glory because of what will happen to Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”

¹⁹ The 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. ²⁰ It 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.

²¹ Then Moses reached out his hand 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 divided. ²² The people of Israel went through the sea on dry ground. There was a wall of water on their right side and on their left.

²³ The Egyptians chased them. All Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. ²⁴ Near 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. ²⁵ He jammed the wheels of their chariots. 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.”

²⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Reach out your hand over the sea. The waters will flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” ²⁷ So Moses reached out his hand 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. ²⁸ The 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.

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

The Song of Moses and Miriam

15 Here is the song that Moses and the people of Israel sang to the Lord. They said,

¹⁹ Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the Red Sea. The Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them. But the people of Israel walked through the sea on dry ground. ²⁰ Aaron’s sister Miriam was a prophet. She took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed her. They played tambourines and danced. ²¹ Miriam sang to them,

The Waters of Marah and Elim

²² Then Moses led Israel away from the Red Sea. They went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert. They didn’t find any water there. ²³ When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink its water. It was bitter. That’s why the place is named Marah. ²⁴ The people told Moses they weren’t happy with him. They said, “What are we supposed to drink?”

²⁵ Then Moses cried out to the Lord. The Lord showed him a stick. Moses threw it into the water. The water became fit to drink.

There the Lord gave a ruling and instruction for the people. And there he tested them. ²⁶ He said, “I am the Lord your God. Listen carefully to me. Do what is right in my eyes. Pay attention to my commands. Obey all my rules. If you do, I will not send on you any of the sicknesses I sent on the Egyptians. I am the Lord who heals you.”

²⁷ The people came to Elim. It had 12 springs and 70 palm trees. They camped there near the water.

The Lord Gives Israel Food Every Day

16 The whole community of Israel started out from Elim. They came to the Desert of Sin. It was between Elim and Sinai. They arrived there on the 15th day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. ² In the desert the whole community told Moses and Aaron they weren’t happy with them. ³ The Israelites said to them, “We wish the Lord had put us to death in Egypt. There we sat around pots of meat. We ate all the food we wanted. But you have brought us out into this desert. You must want this entire community to die of hunger.”

⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people must go out each day. Have them gather enough bread for that day. Here is how I will test them. I will see if they will follow my directions. ⁵ On the sixth day they must prepare what they bring in. On that day they must gather twice as much as on the other days.”

⁶ So Moses and Aaron spoke to all the people of Israel. They said, “In the evening you will know that the Lord brought you out of Egypt. ⁷ And in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord. He has heard you say you aren’t happy with him. Who are we? Why are you telling us you aren’t happy with us?” ⁸ Moses also said, “You will know that the Lord has heard you speak against him. He will give you meat to eat in the evening. He’ll give you all the bread you want in the morning. But who are we? You aren’t speaking against us. You are speaking against the Lord.”

⁹ Then Moses told Aaron, “Talk to the whole community of Israel. Say to them, ‘Come to the Lord. He has heard you speak against him.’ ”

¹⁰ While Aaron was talking to the whole community of Israel, they looked toward the desert. There was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud!

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the people of Israel talking about how unhappy they are. Tell them, ‘When the sun goes down, you will eat meat. In the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”

¹³ That evening quail came and covered the camp. In the morning the ground around the camp was covered with dew. ¹⁴ When the dew was gone, thin flakes appeared on the desert floor. They looked like frost on the ground. ¹⁵ The people of Israel saw the flakes. They asked each other, “What’s that?” They didn’t know what it was.

Moses said to them, “It’s the bread the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶ Here is what the Lord has commanded. He has said, ‘Everyone should gather as much as they need. Take three pounds for each person who lives in your tent.’ ”

¹⁷ The people of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot, and some gathered a little. ¹⁸ When they measured it out, the one who gathered a lot didn’t have too much. And the one who gathered a little had enough. Everyone gathered only what they needed.

¹⁹ Then Moses said to them, “Don’t keep any of it until morning.”

²⁰ Some of them didn’t pay any attention to Moses. They kept part of it until morning. But it was full of maggots and began to stink. So Moses became angry with them.

²¹ Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed. But by the hottest time of the day, the thin flakes had melted away. ²² On the sixth day, the people gathered twice as much. It amounted to six pounds for each person. The leaders of the community came and reported that to Moses. ²³ He said to them, “Here is what the Lord commanded. He said, ‘Tomorrow will be a day of rest. It will be a holy Sabbath day. It will be set apart for the Lord. So bake what you want to bake. Boil what you want to boil. Save what is left. Keep it until morning.’ ”

²⁴ So they saved it until morning, just as Moses commanded. It didn’t stink or get maggots in it. ²⁵ “Eat it today,” Moses said. “Today is a Sabbath day to honor the Lord. You won’t find any flakes on the ground today. ²⁶ Gather them for six days. But on the seventh day there won’t be any. It’s the Sabbath day.”

²⁷ In spite of what Moses said, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather the flakes. But they didn’t find any. ²⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “How long will all of you refuse to obey my commands and my teachings? ²⁹ Keep in mind that I have given you the Sabbath day. That is why on the sixth day I give you bread for two days. Everyone must stay where they are on the seventh day. No one can go out.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seeds. It tasted like wafers made with honey. ³² Moses said, “Here is what the Lord has commanded. He has said, ‘Get three pounds of manna. Keep it for all time to come. Then those who live after you will see the bread I gave you to eat in the desert. I gave it to you when I brought you out of Egypt.’ ”

³³ So Moses said to Aaron, “Get a jar. Put three pounds of manna in it. Then place it in front of the Lord. Keep it there for all time to come.”

³⁴ Aaron did exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses. He put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law. He put it there so it would be kept for all time to come. ³⁵ The Israelites ate manna for 40 years. They ate it until they came to a land where people were living. They ate it until they reached the border of Canaan.

³⁶ The jar had three pounds of manna in it.

Water Out of the Rock

17 The whole community of Israel started out from the Desert of Sin. They traveled from place to place, just as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim. But there wasn’t any water for the people to drink. ² So they argued with Moses. They said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses replied, “Why are you arguing with me? Why are you testing the Lord?”

³ But the people were thirsty for water there. So they told Moses they weren’t happy with him. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt? Did you want us, our children and our livestock to die of thirst?”

⁴ Then Moses cried out to the Lord. He said, “What am I going to do with these people? They are almost ready to kill me by throwing stones at me.”

⁵ The Lord answered Moses. “Go out in front of the people. Take some of the elders of Israel along with you. Take in your hand the walking stick you used when you struck the Nile River. Go. ⁶ I will stand there in front of you by the rock at Mount Horeb. Hit the rock. Then water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses hit the rock while the elders of Israel watched. ⁷ Moses called the place Massah and Meribah. That’s because the people of Israel argued with him there. They also tested the Lord. They asked, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Joshua Wins the Battle Over the Amalekites

⁸ The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. ⁹ Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men. Then go out and fight against the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill. I’ll stand there holding the walking stick God gave me.”

¹⁰ So Joshua fought against the Amalekites, just as Moses had ordered. Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses held up his hand, the Israelites were winning. But every time he lowered his hands, the Amalekites began to win. ¹² When Moses’ arms got tired, Aaron and Hur got a stone and put it under him. Then he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands. Aaron was on one side, and Hur was on the other. Moses’ hands remained steady until sunset. ¹³ So Joshua destroyed the Amalekite army with swords.

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is something to be remembered. So write it on a scroll. Make sure Joshua knows you have done it. I will completely erase the memory of the Amalekites from the earth.”

¹⁵ Then Moses built an altar. He called it The Lord Is My Banner. ¹⁶ He said, “The Amalekites opposed the authority of the Lord. So the Lord will fight against the Amalekites for all time to come.”