Exodus 15:8
ESV
At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
NIV
By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood up like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
NASB
At the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up, The flowing waters stood up like a heap; The depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
CSB
The water heaped up at the blast from your nostrils; the currents stood firm like a dam. The watery depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
NLT
At the blast of your breath, the waters piled up! The surging waters stood straight like a wall; in the heart of the sea the deep waters became hard.
KJV
And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
NKJV
And with the blast of Your nostrils The waters were gathered together; The floods stood upright like a heap; The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
What does Exodus 15:8 mean?
Moses and Israel are celebrating (Exodus 15:1–7). God has rescued them from slavery (Exodus 12:40–41). He has also thwarted an Egyptian attack (Exodus 14:5–9) by miraculously opening a dry path through the sea (Exodus 14:22).These references to God's "nostrils" are both poetic and literal. When the waters of the sea were divided (Exodus 14:16), God brought an east wind (Exodus 14:21). An entirely natural wind might have split the sea into walls on either side. But such a wind would tear away any person trying to walk. Using His power, however, the Lord divided the water into two walls on either side of a now-dry sea floor.
Some miracles are harder to describe than others. Here, phrasing gives a unique level of detail. This verse describes the stacked-up water as "congealed." This Hebrew word is also used to refer to the way milk thickens as it ages (Job 10:10). Stews and soups can also "congeal" as they cool and become stiff. Hebrew has entirely different terms for "ice" and "freezing." So, the water did not appear hard or icy. Rather, the effect reminded the Israelites of curdling milk. It would have been stunning to see the depths of the sea divided and solidified in this way.
