Exodus 13:17-17:16
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.
The Song of Moses and Israel
15 (AQ)Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, [aa]saying:
“[ab](AR)I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted;
(AS)The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.
2 [ac](AT)The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
(AU)This is my God, and I will praise Him;
(AV)My father’s God, and I will (AW)exalt Him.
3 (AX)The Lord is a warrior;
[ad](AY)The Lord is His name.
4 (AZ)Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has thrown into the sea;
And the choicest of his officers are [ae]drowned in the [af]Red Sea.
5 The waters cover them;
(BA)They went down into the depths like a stone.
6 (BB)Your right hand, Lord, is majestic in power;
(BC)Your right hand, Lord, destroys the enemy.
7 And in the greatness of Your [ag]excellence You (BD)overthrow those who rise up against You;
(BE)You send out Your burning anger, and it (BF)consumes them like chaff.
8 (BG)At the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up,
(BH)The flowing waters stood up like a heap;
The depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 (BI)The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will (BJ)divide the spoils;
[ah]I shall [ai]be satisfied against them;
I will draw my sword, my hand will [aj]destroy them.’
10 (BK)You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them;
(BL)They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 (BM)Who is like You among the gods, Lord?
Who is like You, (BN)majestic in holiness,
(BO)Awesome in praises, (BP)working wonders?
12 (BQ)You reached out with Your right hand,
The earth swallowed them.
13 In Your [ak]faithfulness You have (BR)led the people whom You have (BS)redeemed;
In Your strength You have guided them (BT)to Your holy habitation.
14 (BU)The peoples have heard, they tremble;
Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the (BV)chiefs of Edom were terrified;
(BW)The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them;
(BX)All the inhabitants of Canaan have despaired.
16 (BY)Terror and dread fall upon them;
(BZ)By the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone,
Until Your people pass over, Lord,
Until the people pass over whom You (CA)have purchased.
17 (CB)You will bring them and (CC)plant them in (CD)the mountain of Your inheritance,
(CE)The place, Lord, which You have made as Your dwelling,
(CF)The sanctuary, Lord, which Your hands have established.
18 (CG)The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”
19 (CH)For the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the sons of Israel walked on (CI)dry land through the midst of the sea.
20 (CJ)Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took the (CK)tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with [al](CL)dancing. 21 And Miriam answered them,
“(CM)Sing to the Lord, for He [am]is highly exalted;
The horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea.”
The Lord Provides Water
22 (CN)Then Moses [an]led Israel from the [ao]Red Sea, and they went out into (CO)the wilderness of (CP)Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to (CQ)Marah, they could not drink the waters [ap]of Marah, because they were [aq]bitter; for that reason it was named [ar]Marah. 24 So the people (CR)grumbled at Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” 25 Then he (CS)cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him (CT)a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet.
There He (CU)made for them a statute and regulation, and there He (CV)tested them. 26 And He said, “(CW)If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and listen (CX)to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, (CY)I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, (CZ)the Lord, am your healer.”
27 Then they came to (DA)Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy date palms, and they camped there beside the waters.
The Lord Provides Manna
16 Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of (DB)Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on (DC)the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. 2 But the whole congregation of the sons of Israel (DD)grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The sons of Israel said to them, “(DE)If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, (DF)when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread until we were full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this entire assembly with hunger!”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, (DG)I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, so that I may (DH)test them, whether or not they will walk in My [as]instruction. 5 (DI)On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, “At evening [at](DJ)you will know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt; 7 and in the morning [au]you will see (DK)the glory of the Lord, for (DL)He hears your grumblings against the Lord; and (DM)what are we, that you grumble against us?”
The Lord Provides Meat
8 And Moses said, “This will happen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread to the full in the morning; for the Lord hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are (DN)not against us but against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, ‘(DO)Come forward before the Lord, for He has heard your grumblings.’” 10 And it came about, as Aaron spoke to the entire congregation of the sons of Israel, that they [av]looked toward the wilderness, and behold, (DP)the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “(DQ)I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘[aw]At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and (DR)you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 So it came about at evening that (DS)the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning (DT)there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 (DU)When the layer of dew [ax]evaporated, behold, on the [ay]surface of the wilderness (DV)there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground. 15 When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “[az]What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “(DW)It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is [ba]what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone gather [bb]as much as he will eat; you shall take [bc](DX)an omer apiece according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.’” 17 The sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little. 18 When they measured it by the [bd]omer, (DY)the one who had gathered much did not have too much, and the one who had gathered little did not have too little; everyone gathered [be]as much as he would eat. 19 Moses said to them, “(DZ)No one is to leave any of it until morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank; and Moses was angry with them. 21 They gathered it morning by morning, everyone [bf]as much as he would eat; but when the sun became hot, it would melt.
The Sabbath
22 (EA)Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, [bg]two omers for each one. When all the (EB)leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 then he said to them, “This is what the Lord [bh]meant: (EC)Tomorrow is a Sabbath observance, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and (ED)all that is left over [bi]put aside to be kept until morning.” 24 So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and (EE)it did not stink nor was there a maggot in it. 25 Then Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 (EF)Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be [bj]none.”
27 Yet it came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(EG)How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My [bk]instructions? 29 See, [bl]the Lord has given you the Sabbath; for that reason He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain, everyone, in his place; no one is to leave his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 And the house of (EH)Israel named the bread [bm]manna, and it was like (EI)coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey. 32 Then Moses said, “This is [bn]what the Lord has commanded: ‘A [bo]full omer of it is to be kept safe throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” 33 And Moses said to Aaron, “(EJ)Take a jar and put a [bp]full omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept safe throughout your generations.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before (EK)the Testimony, to be kept. 35 And (EL)the sons of Israel ate the manna for forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (Now (EM)an [bq]omer is a tenth of an ephah.)
Water in the Rock
17 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by [br]stages from the wilderness of (EN)Sin, according to the [bs]command of the Lord, and camped at (EO)Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So the people (EP)quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water so that we may drink!” And Moses said to them, “(EQ)Why do you quarrel with me? (ER)Why do you test the Lord?” 3 But the people were thirsty for water there; and [bt]they (ES)grumbled against Moses and said, “Why is it that you have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill [bu]us and [bv]our children and [bw](ET)our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What am I to do with this people? A (EU)little more and they will stone me!” 5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of (EV)the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which (EW)you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at (EX)Horeb; and (EY)you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 Then he named the place [bx](EZ)Massah and [by](FA)Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they (FB)tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?”
Miraculous Battle against Amalek
8 Then (FC)Amalek came and fought against Israel at (FD)Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to (FE)Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with (FF)the staff of God in my hand.” 10 Joshua did just as Moses [bz]told him, [ca]and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and (FG)Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 So it came about, when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed; but when he let his hand [cb]down, Amalek prevailed. 12 And Moses’ hands were heavy. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur (FH)supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. So his hands were steady until the sun set. 13 And Joshua [cc]defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(FI)Write this in [cd]a book as a memorial and [ce]recite it to Joshua, [cf]that (FJ)I will utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an (FK)altar and named it (FL)The Lord is My Banner; 16 and he said, “[cg](FM)Because the Lord has sworn, the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 13:18 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Exodus 13:19 Lit visit
- Exodus 13:21 Lit go
- Exodus 13:22 Or The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart
- Exodus 14:4 Lit make strong
- Exodus 14:5 Lit the heart of Pharaoh...was changed
- Exodus 14:8 Lit made strong
- Exodus 14:8 Lit with a high hand
- Exodus 14:10 Lit lifted up their eyes
- Exodus 14:11 Lit so as to bring
- Exodus 14:12 Lit Cease from us
- Exodus 14:13 Or Take your stand
- Exodus 14:16 Lit enter the
- Exodus 14:17 Lit make strong
- Exodus 14:20 Lit and the darkness
- Exodus 14:21 Lit caused to go
- Exodus 14:22 Lit entered the
- Exodus 14:24 Lit camp
- Exodus 14:24 Or in
- Exodus 14:24 Lit camp
- Exodus 14:25 Or removed
- Exodus 14:27 Lit to meet it
- Exodus 14:27 Lit shook off
- Exodus 14:31 Lit hand
- Exodus 14:31 Lit done
- Exodus 14:31 Or revered
- Exodus 15:1 Lit and said, saying
- Exodus 15:1 Or Let me sing
- Exodus 15:2 Heb Yah
- Exodus 15:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Exodus 15:4 Lit sunk
- Exodus 15:4 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Exodus 15:7 Or exaltation
- Exodus 15:9 Lit My soul
- Exodus 15:9 Lit be filled with them
- Exodus 15:9 Or dispossess; or drive them out
- Exodus 15:13 Or mercy
- Exodus 15:20 Lit dances
- Exodus 15:21 Or has triumphed gloriously
- Exodus 15:22 Lit caused Israel to journey
- Exodus 15:22 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Exodus 15:23 Lit from
- Exodus 15:23 Heb Marim
- Exodus 15:23 I.e., bitterness
- Exodus 16:4 Or law
- Exodus 16:6 Lit and you
- Exodus 16:7 Lit and you
- Exodus 16:10 Lit turned
- Exodus 16:12 Lit Between the two evenings
- Exodus 16:14 Lit had gone up
- Exodus 16:14 Lit face of
- Exodus 16:15 Heb Man hu, cf. v 31
- Exodus 16:16 Lit the thing which
- Exodus 16:16 Lit according to his eating
- Exodus 16:16 Lit an omer for a head; about 3 qt. or 2.8 liters
- Exodus 16:18 About 3 qt. or 2.8 liters
- Exodus 16:18 Lit according to his eating
- Exodus 16:21 Lit according to his eating
- Exodus 16:22 About 6 qt. or 5.6 liters
- Exodus 16:23 Lit spoke
- Exodus 16:23 Lit lay up for you
- Exodus 16:26 Lit none on it
- Exodus 16:28 Or laws
- Exodus 16:29 Lit for the Lord
- Exodus 16:31 Heb man, cf. v 15
- Exodus 16:32 Lit the thing which
- Exodus 16:32 About 3 qt. or 2.8 liters
- Exodus 16:33 About 3 qt. or 2.8 liters
- Exodus 16:36 About 3 qt. or 2.8 liters
- Exodus 17:1 Lit their journeyings
- Exodus 17:1 Lit mouth
- Exodus 17:3 Lit the people
- Exodus 17:3 Lit me
- Exodus 17:3 Lit my
- Exodus 17:3 Lit my
- Exodus 17:7 I.e., test
- Exodus 17:7 I.e., quarrel
- Exodus 17:10 Lit said to
- Exodus 17:10 Lit to fight
- Exodus 17:11 Lit rest
- Exodus 17:13 Lit weakened
- Exodus 17:14 Lit the book
- Exodus 17:14 Lit place it in the ears of
- Exodus 17:14 Or for
- Exodus 17:16 Or Because a hand is against the throne of the Lord; lit Because a hand upon the throne of Yah
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Bible Gateway Recommends
