Death of the Firstborn Announced(A)

11 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. (B)Afterward he will let you go from here. (C)When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether. Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, (D)articles of silver and articles of gold.” (E)And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man (F)Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.

Then Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: (G)‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; and (H)all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. (I)Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, (J)such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again. (K)But against none of the children of Israel (L)shall a dog [a]move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.’ And (M)all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will go out.” (N)Then he went out from Pharaoh in great anger.

But the Lord said to Moses, (O)“Pharaoh will not heed you, so that (P)My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10 So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; (Q)and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

The Passover Instituted(R)

12 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, (S)“This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the (T)tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be (U)without[b] blemish, a male [c]of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the (V)fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that (W)night; (X)roasted in fire, with (Y)unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but (Z)roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. 10 (AA)You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11 And thus you shall eat it: [d]with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. (AB)It is the Lord’s Passover.

12 ‘For I (AC)will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and (AD)against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: (AE)I am the Lord. 13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

14 ‘So this day shall be to you (AF)a memorial; and you shall keep it as a (AG)feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast (AH)by an everlasting ordinance. 15 (AI)Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, (AJ)that [e]person shall be [f]cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day there shall be (AK)a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. 17 So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for (AL)on this same day I will have brought your [g]armies (AM)out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. 18 (AN)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 (AO)seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ”

21 Then (AP)Moses called for all the (AQ)elders of Israel and said to them, (AR)“Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 (AS)And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and (AT)strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 (AU)For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the (AV)blood on the [h]lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and (AW)not allow (AX)the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 And you shall (AY)observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, (AZ)just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 (BA)And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 that you shall say, (BB)‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ ” So the people (BC)bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and (BD)did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn(BE)

29 (BF)And it came to pass at midnight that (BG)the Lord struck all 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 [i]in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of (BH)livestock. 30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

The Exodus

31 Then he (BI)called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, (BJ)both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the Lord as you have (BK)said. 32 (BL)Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.”

33 (BM)And the Egyptians (BN)urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. 35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians (BO)articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 (BP)And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus (BQ)they plundered the Egyptians.

37 Then (BR)the children of Israel journeyed from (BS)Rameses to Succoth, about (BT)six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. 38 A (BU)mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of (BV)livestock. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because (BW)they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.

40 Now the [j]sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in [k]Egypt was (BX)four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that (BY)all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It is (BZ)a [l]night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.

Passover Regulations(CA)

43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is (CB)the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. 44 But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have (CC)circumcised him, then he may eat it. 45 (CD)A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it. 46 In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, (CE)nor shall you break one of its bones. 47 (CF)All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 And (CG)when a stranger [m]dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. 49 (CH)One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.”

50 Thus all the children of Israel did; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. 51 (CI)And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt (CJ)according to their armies.

The Firstborn Consecrated

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (CK)“Consecrate[n] to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”

The Feast of Unleavened Bread(CL)

And Moses said to the people: (CM)“Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of [o]bondage; for (CN)by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. (CO)No leavened bread shall be eaten. (CP)On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. And it shall be, when the Lord (CQ)brings you into the (CR)land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He (CS)swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, (CT)that you shall keep this service in this month. (CU)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 seven days. And (CV)no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. And you shall (CW)tell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.’ It shall be as (CX)a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. 10 (CY)You shall therefore keep this [p]ordinance in its season from year to year.

The Law of the Firstborn

11 “And it shall be, when the Lord (CZ)brings you into the land of the (DA)Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 (DB)that you shall [q]set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s. 13 But (DC)every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons (DD)you shall redeem. 14 (DE)So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, (DF)‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that (DG)the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 It shall be as (DH)a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

The Wilderness Way(DI)

17 Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people (DJ)change their minds when they see war, and (DK)return to Egypt.” 18 So God (DL)led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.

19 And Moses took the (DM)bones of (DN)Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, (DO)“God will surely [r]visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”

20 So (DP)they took their journey from (DQ)Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. 21 And (DR)the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 11:7 sharpen
  2. Exodus 12:5 perfect or sound
  3. Exodus 12:5 a year old
  4. Exodus 12:11 Made ready to travel
  5. Exodus 12:15 soul
  6. Exodus 12:15 Put to death
  7. Exodus 12:17 hosts
  8. Exodus 12:23 Crosspiece at top of door
  9. Exodus 12:29 in prison
  10. Exodus 12:40 Length of the stay
  11. Exodus 12:40 Sam., LXX Egypt and Canaan
  12. Exodus 12:42 night of vigil
  13. Exodus 12:48 As a resident alien
  14. Exodus 13:2 Set apart
  15. Exodus 13:3 Lit. slaves
  16. Exodus 13:10 regulation
  17. Exodus 13:12 Lit. cause to pass over
  18. Exodus 13:19 give attention to

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.