The Last Plague

11 Now the Lord said to Moses, “One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; (A)after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will assuredly drive you out from here completely. Speak now [a]so that the people hear, that (B)each man is to ask of his neighbor, and each woman of her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold.” And (C)the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. (D)Furthermore, the man Moses himself was [b]greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.

Then Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About (E)midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, and (F)all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well. So there shall be (G)a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again. (H)But not even a dog will [c]threaten any of the sons of Israel, nor anything from person to animal, so that you may [d]learn how the Lord distinguishes between Egypt and Israel.’ And (I)all these servants of yours will come down to me and bow themselves [e]before me, saying, ‘Go out, you and all the people who [f]follow you,’ and after that I will go out.” (J)And he left Pharaoh in the heat of anger.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “(K)Pharaoh will not listen to you, so (L)that My wonders will be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10 So (M)Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh; yet (N)the Lord [g]hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go out of his land.

The Passover Lamb

12 Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of [h]Egypt, (O)This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year for you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are, each one, to take a [i]lamb for themselves, according to the fathers’ households, a [j]lamb for [k]each household. Now if the household is too small for a [l]lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the [m]number of persons in them; in proportion to [n]what each one should eat, you are to [o]divide the lamb. Your [p]lamb shall be (P)an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. [q]You shall keep it until the (Q)fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it [r](R)at twilight. (S)Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel [s]of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh (T)that same night, (U)roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with (V)unleavened bread [t](W)and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather (X)roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with (Y)its entrails. 10 (Z)And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall completely burn with fire. 11 Now you shall eat it in this way: with your garment [u]belted around your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in a hurry—it is (AA)the Lords Passover. 12 For (AB)I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and fatally strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the human firstborn to animals; and (AC)against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—(AD)I am the Lord. 13 (AE)The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you [v]live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will come upon you [w]to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Feast of Unleavened Bread

14 ‘Now (AF)this day shall be (AG)a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as [x](AH)a permanent ordinance. 15 For (AI)seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove dough with yeast from your houses; for whoever eats anything with yeast from the first day until the seventh day, (AJ)that [y]person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 And (AK)on 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 for what must be eaten by every person—that alone may be [z]prepared by you. 17 You shall also keep (AL)the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this (AM)very day I brought your [aa]multitudes out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall keep this day throughout your generations as (AN)a [ab]permanent ordinance. 18 (AO)In 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 For (AP)seven days there shall be no dough with yeast found in your houses; for whoever eats anything with yeast, that [ac](AQ)person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 You shall not eat anything with yeast; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’”

21 Then (AR)Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and (AS)take for yourselves [ad]lambs according to your families, and slaughter (AT)the Passover lamb. 22 And (AU)you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and [ae]apply 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 (AV)the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; but when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will (AW)not allow the (AX)destroyer to come in to your houses to strike you. 24 And (AY)you shall keep 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 [af]promised, you shall keep this [ag]rite. 26 (AZ)And when your children say to you, ‘[ah]What does this rite mean to you?’ 27 then you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to (BA)the Lord because He passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians, but [ai]spared our homes.’” (BB)And 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 (BC)midnight that (BD)the Lord struck all (BE)the 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 (BF)cattle. 30 And Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was (BG)a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead. 31 Then (BH)he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Rise up, (BI)get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, [aj]worship the Lord, as you have said. 32 Take (BJ)both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.”

Exodus of Israel

33 (BK)The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in a hurry, for they said, “We will all be dead.” 34 So the people took (BL)their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders.

35 (BM)Now 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. Therefore they (BN)plundered the Egyptians.

37 Now the (BO)sons of Israel journeyed from (BP)Rameses to Succoth, about (BQ)six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children. 38 A (BR)mixed multitude also went up with them, [ak]along with flocks and herds, a (BS)very large number of livestock. 39 And they baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread. For it had no yeast, since they were (BT)driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they [al]prepared any provisions for themselves.

40 Now the time [am]that the sons of Israel had lived in Egypt was (BU)430 years. 41 And at the end of 430 years, on (BV)this very day, (BW)all the [an]multitudes of the Lord departed from the land of Egypt.

Ordinance of the Passover

42 (BX)It is a night [ao]to be observed for the Lord, for having brought them out of the land of Egypt; this night is for the Lord, [ap]to be observed by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations.

43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of (BY)the Passover: no [aq](BZ)foreigner is to eat it; 44 but as for every (CA)slave [ar]that someone has purchased with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. 45 (CB)A stranger or a hired worker shall not eat it. 46 It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to bring any of the meat outside of the house, (CC)nor are you to break any bone of it. 47 (CD)All the congregation of Israel are to [as]celebrate this. 48 But (CE)if a stranger resides with you and [at]celebrates the Passover to the Lord, all of his males are to be circumcised, and then he shall come near to [au]celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised male may eat it. 49 [av](CF)The same law shall [aw]apply to the native as to the stranger who resides 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 very day (CG)the Lord brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt (CH)according to their [ax]multitudes.

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (CI)Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the firstborn of every womb among the sons of Israel, among people and animals alike; it belongs to Me.”

And Moses said to the people, “(CJ)Remember this day in which you departed from Egypt, from the house of [ay]slavery; for (CK)by [az]a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. (CL)And nothing with yeast shall be eaten. On this day in the (CM)month of Abib, you are about to go out from here. And it shall be when the Lord (CN)brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which (CO)He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, (CP)that you shall [ba]perform this rite in this month. For (CQ)seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and (CR)nothing with yeast shall [bb]be seen among you, nor shall any dough with yeast [bc]be seen among you in all your borders. And (CS)you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ And (CT)it shall [bd]serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder [be]on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with (CU)a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. 10 Therefore, you shall (CV)keep this ordinance at its appointed time from [bf]year to year.

11 “Now when (CW)the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as (CX)He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 (CY)you shall [bg]devote to the Lord every firstborn of a womb, and every firstborn offspring of an animal that you own; the males belong to the Lord. 13 But (CZ)every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and (DA)every [bh]firstborn among your sons you shall redeem. 14 (DB)And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘(DC)With [bi]a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of [bj]slavery. 15 And it came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the (DD)Lord put to death every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborns to animal firstborns. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, every firstborn of a womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 So (DE)it shall [bk]serve as a sign on your hand and as [bl]phylacteries [bm]on your forehead, for with [bn]a powerful 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, “(DF)The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” 18 Therefore God led the people around by way of the wilderness to the [bo]Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up (DG)in battle formation from the land of Egypt. 19 And Moses took (DH)the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will certainly [bp]take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.” 20 Then they set out from (DI)Succoth and camped in Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 21 And (DJ)the 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, so that they might [bq]travel by day and by night. 22 [br]He (DK)did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from the presence of the people.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 11:2 Lit in the ears of the people that
  2. Exodus 11:3 Lit very great
  3. Exodus 11:7 Lit move its tongue
  4. Exodus 11:7 Lit know
  5. Exodus 11:8 Lit to
  6. Exodus 11:8 Lit are at your feet
  7. Exodus 11:10 Lit made strong
  8. Exodus 12:1 Lit Egypt, saying
  9. Exodus 12:3 Or kid
  10. Exodus 12:3 Or kid
  11. Exodus 12:3 Lit the
  12. Exodus 12:4 Or kid
  13. Exodus 12:4 Or amount
  14. Exodus 12:4 Lit each man’s eating
  15. Exodus 12:4 Lit compute for
  16. Exodus 12:5 Or kid
  17. Exodus 12:6 Lit It shall be to you for a guarding
  18. Exodus 12:6 Lit between the two evenings
  19. Exodus 12:7 Lit upon
  20. Exodus 12:8 Lit in addition to
  21. Exodus 12:11 I.e., for travel
  22. Exodus 12:13 Lit are
  23. Exodus 12:13 Lit for destruction
  24. Exodus 12:14 Or an eternal
  25. Exodus 12:15 Lit soul
  26. Exodus 12:16 Lit done
  27. Exodus 12:17 Lit armies
  28. Exodus 12:17 Or eternal
  29. Exodus 12:19 Lit soul
  30. Exodus 12:21 Lit sheep
  31. Exodus 12:22 Lit cause to touch
  32. Exodus 12:25 Lit spoken
  33. Exodus 12:25 Lit service
  34. Exodus 12:26 Lit What is this service to you?
  35. Exodus 12:27 Lit delivered
  36. Exodus 12:31 Or serve
  37. Exodus 12:38 Lit and
  38. Exodus 12:39 Lit made
  39. Exodus 12:40 Or of the sons of Israel who lived
  40. Exodus 12:41 Lit armies
  41. Exodus 12:42 Or of vigil
  42. Exodus 12:42 Or of vigil
  43. Exodus 12:43 Lit son of a stranger
  44. Exodus 12:44 Lit of a man, an acquisition of money
  45. Exodus 12:47 Lit perform
  46. Exodus 12:48 Lit performs
  47. Exodus 12:48 Lit perform
  48. Exodus 12:49 Lit One law
  49. Exodus 12:49 Lit be
  50. Exodus 12:51 I.e., multitudes in battle formation
  51. Exodus 13:3 Lit slaves
  52. Exodus 13:3 Lit strength of hand
  53. Exodus 13:5 Lit serve this service
  54. Exodus 13:7 Lit appear to you
  55. Exodus 13:7 Lit appear to you
  56. Exodus 13:9 Lit be for
  57. Exodus 13:9 Lit between your eyes
  58. Exodus 13:10 Lit days to days
  59. Exodus 13:12 Lit cause to pass over
  60. Exodus 13:13 Lit firstborn of a human
  61. Exodus 13:14 Lit strength of hand
  62. Exodus 13:14 Lit slaves
  63. Exodus 13:16 Lit be for
  64. Exodus 13:16 Or frontlet-bands
  65. Exodus 13:16 Lit between your eyes
  66. Exodus 13:16 Lit strength of hand
  67. Exodus 13:18 Lit Sea of Reeds
  68. Exodus 13:19 Lit visit
  69. Exodus 13:21 Lit go
  70. Exodus 13:22 Or The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart

The Plague on the Firstborn

11 Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go(A) from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely.(B) Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.”(C) (The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed(D) toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded(E) in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.)

So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight(F) I will go throughout Egypt.(G) Every firstborn(H) son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill,(I) and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing(J) throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction(K) between Egypt and Israel. All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go,(L) you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave.”(M) Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.

The Lord had said to Moses, “Pharaoh will refuse to listen(N) to you—so that my wonders(O) may be multiplied in Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart,(P) and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.

The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread(Q)

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month is to be for you the first month,(R) the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb[a](S) for his family, one for each household.(T) If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect,(U) and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month,(V) when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.(W) Then they are to take some of the blood(X) and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night(Y) they are to eat the meat roasted(Z) over the fire, along with bitter herbs,(AA) and bread made without yeast.(AB) Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs.(AC) 10 Do not leave any of it till morning;(AD) if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste;(AE) it is the Lord’s Passover.(AF)

12 “On that same night I will pass through(AG) Egypt and strike down(AH) every firstborn(AI) of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods(AJ) of Egypt. I am the Lord.(AK) 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over(AL) you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.(AM)

14 “This is a day you are to commemorate;(AN) for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.(AO) 15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast.(AP) On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off(AQ) from Israel. 16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work(AR) at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.

17 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread,(AS) because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt.(AT) Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.(AU) 18 In the first month(AV) you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner(AW) or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off(AX) from the community of Israel. 20 Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live,(AY) you must eat unleavened bread.”(AZ)

21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover(BA) lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop,(BB) dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood(BC) on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. 23 When the Lord goes through the land to strike(BD) down the Egyptians, he will see the blood(BE) on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over(BF) that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer(BG) to enter your houses and strike you down.

24 “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance(BH) for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land(BI) that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children(BJ) ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover(BK) sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”(BL) Then the people bowed down and worshiped.(BM) 28 The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded(BN) Moses and Aaron.

29 At midnight(BO) the Lord(BP) struck down all the firstborn(BQ) in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock(BR) as well. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing(BS) in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

The Exodus

31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship(BT) the Lord as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds,(BU) as you have said, and go. And also bless(BV) me.”

33 The Egyptians urged the people to hurry(BW) and leave(BX) the country. “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!”(BY) 34 So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs(BZ) wrapped in clothing. 35 The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold(CA) and for clothing.(CB) 36 The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed(CC) toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered(CD) the Egyptians.

37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses(CE) to Sukkoth.(CF) There were about six hundred thousand men(CG) on foot, besides women and children. 38 Many other people(CH) went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 With the dough the Israelites had brought from Egypt, they baked loaves of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out(CI) of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.

40 Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt[b] was 430 years.(CJ) 41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions(CK) left Egypt.(CL) 42 Because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the Lord for the generations to come.(CM)

Passover Restrictions

43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover meal:(CN)

“No foreigner(CO) may eat it. 44 Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised(CP) him, 45 but a temporary resident or a hired worker(CQ) may not eat it.

46 “It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.(CR) 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.

48 “A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land.(CS) No uncircumcised(CT) male may eat it. 49 The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner(CU) residing among you.”

50 All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded(CV) Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt(CW) by their divisions.(CX)

Consecration of the Firstborn

13 The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me every firstborn male.(CY) The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”

Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt,(CZ) out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand.(DA) Eat nothing containing yeast.(DB) Today, in the month of Aviv,(DC) you are leaving. When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites,(DD) Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites(DE)—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey(DF)—you are to observe this ceremony(DG) in this month: For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival(DH) to the Lord. Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. On that day tell your son,(DI) ‘I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand(DJ) and a reminder on your forehead(DK) that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand.(DL) 10 You must keep this ordinance(DM) at the appointed time(DN) year after year.

11 “After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites(DO) and gives it to you, as he promised on oath(DP) to you and your ancestors,(DQ) 12 you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord.(DR) 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey,(DS) but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.(DT) Redeem(DU) every firstborn among your sons.(DV)

14 “In days to come, when your son(DW) asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.(DX) 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’(DY) 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead(DZ) that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”

Crossing the Sea

17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”(EA) 18 So God led(EB) the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.[c] The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.(EC)

19 Moses took the bones of Joseph(ED) with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.”[d](EE)

20 After leaving Sukkoth(EF) they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.(EG) 21 By day the Lord went ahead(EH) of them in a pillar of cloud(EI) to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left(EJ) its place in front of the people.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 12:3 The Hebrew word can mean lamb or kid; also in verse 4.
  2. Exodus 12:40 Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint Egypt and Canaan
  3. Exodus 13:18 Or the Sea of Reeds
  4. Exodus 13:19 See Gen. 50:25.