Exodus 13:17-14:31

New American Standard Bible

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, “^(A)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 ^[a]Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up ^(B)in battle formation from the land of Egypt. ¹⁹ And Moses took ^(C)the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will certainly ^[b]take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.” ²⁰ Then they set out from ^(D)Succoth and camped in Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ And ^(E)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 ^[c]travel by day and by night. ^22 [d]He ^(F)did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from the presence of the people.

Pharaoh in Pursuit

14 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp in front of ^(G)Pi-hahiroth, between ^(H)Migdol 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 And ^(I)I will ^[e]harden Pharaoh’s heart, and ^(J)he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and ^(K)the 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, ^[f]Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this that we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” ⁶ So he had horses harnessed to his chariot 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 So ^(L)the Lord ^[g]hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out ^[h](M)boldly. ⁹ Then ^(N)the 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, ^(O)beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the sons of Israel ^[i]looked, and behold, the Egyptians were coming after them, and they became very frightened; ^(P)so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ Then ^(Q)they 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, ^[j]bringing us out of Egypt? ^12 (R)Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘^[k]Leave us alone so 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, “^(S)Do not fear! ^[l]Stand by and see ^(T)the salvation of the Lord, which He will perform for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again, ever. ^14 (U)The Lord will fight for you, while ^(V)you 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 ^(W)your staff and reach out with your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall ^[m]go through the midst of the sea on dry land. ¹⁷ And as for Me, behold, ^(X)I will ^[n]harden 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 (Y)Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots, and through his horsemen.”

¹⁹ Then ^(Z)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. ²⁰ So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud ^[o]along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night. Therefore the one did not approach the other all night.

^21 (AA)Then Moses reached out with his hand over the sea; and the Lord ^[p]swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into ^(AB)dry land, and ^(AC)the waters were divided. ²² So ^(AD)the sons of Israel ^[q]went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and ^(AE)the waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left. ²³ Then ^(AF)the 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 But at the morning watch, ^(AG)the Lord looked down on the ^[r]army of the Egyptians ^[s]through the pillar of fire and cloud, and brought the ^[t]army of the Egyptians into confusion. ²⁵ He ^[u]caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians each said, “Let me flee from Israel, ^(AH)for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “^(AI)Reach out with your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.” ²⁷ So Moses reached out with his hand over the sea, and ^(AJ)the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing ^[v]right into it; then the Lord ^[w](AK)overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. ²⁸ The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; ^(AL)not even one of them remained. ²⁹ But the sons of Israel walked on ^(AM)dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left.

^30 (AN)So the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel ^(AO)saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹ When Israel saw the great ^[x]power which the Lord had ^[y]used against the Egyptians, the people ^[z]feared the Lord, and ^(AP)they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses.