Exodus 12:15

ESV Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.
NIV For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. 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 from Israel.
NASB For 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, that person shall be cut off from Israel.
CSB You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you must remove yeast from your houses. Whoever eats what is leavened from the first day through the seventh day must be cut off from Israel.
NLT For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. On the first day of the festival, remove every trace of yeast from your homes. Anyone who eats bread made with yeast during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel.
KJV Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
NKJV 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, that person shall be cut off from Israel.

What does Exodus 12:15 mean?

Part of God's preparation to bring Israel out of Egyptian slavery (Exodus 1:8–14) was to make the nation ready for travel on the night of the first Passover (Exodus 12:8–11). This included preparing "unleavened" bread. Leavening is a rising agent, such as yeast. Cooking dough without yeast—or leaven—is much faster than waiting for it to expand and rise. When the Lord's final plague strikes (Exodus 11:4–6), Egyptians will demand Israel leave immediately (Exodus 12:33). The nation will begin their march out of Egypt carrying unleavened bread (Exodus 12:39).

The Lord has noted that Passover was to become a permanent celebration for the nation of Israel (Exodus 12:14). Following this would come a "Feast of Unleavened Bread" (Exodus 12:17). God's people would remember their liberation by eating unleavened bread for a week. Further, they were to scour their homes to remove all leaven—all yeast or similar rising agents—as a symbolic cleansing from sin (1 Corinthians 5:8). These instructions will be repeated for emphasis (Exodus 12:19–20).

Those who defied this requirement would be "cut off" from the nation of Israel. At the very least, this meant being excluded from covenant promises (Genesis 17:14). It implied being shunned and rejected from the camp and the community (Numbers 9:13). In an ancient world where people greatly depended on others for survival, this could easily lead to death. In some situations, being "cut off" seems to have included an explicit sentence of death (Leviticus 20:1–3).
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app: