Exodus 11-19
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 11
1Now the Lord said to Moses, 'One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will assuredly drive you out from here completely. 2Speak now so that the people hear, that each man is to ask of his neighbor, and each woman of her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold.' 3And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Furthermore, the man Moses himself was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.
4Then Moses said, 'This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt,
5and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well.
6So there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again.
7But not even a dog will threaten any of the sons of Israel, nor anything from person to animal, so that you may learn how the Lord distinguishes between Egypt and Israel.’
8And all these servants of yours will come down to me and bow themselves before me, saying, ‘Go out, you and all the people who follow you,’ and after that I will go out.' And he left Pharaoh in the heat of anger.
9Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders will be multiplied in the land of Egypt.'
10So Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh; yet the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go out of his land.
Chapter 12
1Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year for you. 3Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are, each one, to take a lamb for themselves, according to the fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. 4Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; in proportion to what each one should eat, you are to divide the lamb. 5Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it at twilight. 7Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. 10And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall completely burn with fire. 11Now you shall eat it in this way: with your garment belted around your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in a hurry—it is the Lord’S Passover. 12For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and fatally strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the human firstborn to animals; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord. 13The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will come upon you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14‘Now this day shall be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.
15For 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.
16And on the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except for what must be eaten by every person—that alone may be prepared by you.
17You shall also keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your multitudes out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall keep this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance.
18In 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.
19For seven days there shall be no dough with yeast found in your houses; for whoever eats anything with yeast, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land.
20You shall not eat anything with yeast; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’?'
21Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, 'Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slaughter the Passover lamb.
22And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.
23For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; but when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to strike you.
24And you shall keep this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever.
25When you enter the land which the Lord will give you, as He has promised, you shall keep this rite.
26And when your children say to you, ‘ What does this rite mean to you?’
27then you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord because He passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians, but spared our homes.’?' And the people bowed low and worshiped.
29Now it came about at midnight that 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 in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle.
30And Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead.
31Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, 'Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the Lord, as you have said.
32Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.'
33The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in a hurry, for they said, 'We will all be dead.'
34So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders.
35Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing;
36and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Therefore they plundered the Egyptians.
37Now the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children.
38A mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock.
39And they baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread. For it had no yeast, since they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.
40Now the time that the sons of Israel had lived in Egypt was 430 years.
41And at the end of 430 years, on this very day, all the multitudes of the Lord departed from the land of Egypt.
43And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'This is the ordinance of the Passover: no foreigner is to eat it;
44but as for every slave that someone has purchased with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.
45A stranger or a hired worker shall not eat it.
46It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to bring any of the meat outside of the house, nor are you to break any bone of it.
47All the congregation of Israel are to celebrate this.
48But if a stranger resides with you and celebrates the Passover to the Lord, all of his males are to be circumcised, and then he shall come near to celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised male may eat it.
49The same law shall apply to the native as to the stranger who resides among you.'
50Then all the sons of Israel did so; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.
51And on that very day the Lord brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their multitudes.
Chapter 13
1Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the firstborn of every womb among the sons of Israel, among people and animals alike; it belongs to Me.'
3And Moses said to the people, 'Remember this day in which you departed from Egypt, from the house of slavery; for by a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. And nothing with yeast shall be eaten.
4On this day in the month of Abib, you are about to go out from here.
5And it shall be when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall perform this rite in this month.
6For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord.
7Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing with yeast shall be seen among you, nor shall any dough with yeast be seen among you in all your borders.
8And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘ It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
9And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.
10Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year.
11Now when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you,
12you shall devote to the Lord every firstborn of a womb, and every firstborn offspring of an animal that you own; the males belong to the Lord.
13But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn among your sons you shall redeem.
14And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
15And it came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord put to death every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborns to animal firstborns. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, every firstborn of a womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’
16So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.'
17Now 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, 'The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.'
18Therefore God led the people around by way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in battle formation from the land of Egypt.
19And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, 'God will certainly take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.'
20Then they set out from Succoth and camped in Etham, on the edge of the wilderness.
21And 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 travel by day and by night.
22He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from the presence of the people.
Chapter 14
1Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea. 3For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ 4And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.' And they did so.
5When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, 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?'
6So he had horses harnessed to his chariot and took his people with him;
7and he took six hundred select chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.
8So the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out boldly.
9Then 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, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
10As Pharaoh approached, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were coming after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord.
11Then 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, bringing us out of Egypt?
12Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘ 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!'
13But Moses said to the people, 'Do not fear! Stand by and see 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.
14The Lord will fight for you, while you keep silent.'
15Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward.
16As for you, lift up your staff and reach out with your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.
17And as for Me, behold, I will 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.
18Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots, and through his horsemen.'
19Then 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.
20So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night. Therefore the one did not approach the other all night.
21Then Moses reached out with his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.
22So the sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left.
23Then 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.
24But at the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion.
25He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians each said, 'Let me flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.'
26Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Reach out with your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.'
27So Moses reached out with his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
28The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained.
29But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left.
30So the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
31When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses.
Chapter 15
1Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying: 'I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. 2 The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him. 3The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name. 4Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has thrown into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 5The waters cover them; They went down into the depths like a stone. 6Your right hand, Lord, is majestic in power; Your right hand, Lord, destroys the enemy. 7And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise up against You; You send out Your burning anger, and it consumes them like chaff. 8At 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. 9The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoils; I shall be satisfied against them; I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.’ 10You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters. 11Who is like You among the gods, Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders? 12You reached out with Your right hand, The earth swallowed them. 13In Your faithfulness You have led the people whom You have redeemed; In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation. 14The peoples have heard, they tremble; Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. 15Then the chiefs of Edom were terrified; The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them; All the inhabitants of Canaan have despaired. 16Terror and dread fall upon them; By the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone, Until Your people pass over, Lord, Until the people pass over whom You have purchased. 17You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, The place, Lord, which You have made as Your dwelling, The sanctuary, Lord, which Your hands have established. 18The Lord shall reign forever and ever.'
22Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
23When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, because they were bitter; for that reason it was named Marah.
24So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, 'What are we to drink?'
25Then he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them.
26And He said, 'If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and listen to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer.'
Chapter 16
1Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. 2But the whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3The sons of Israel said to them, 'If only we had died by the Lord’S hand in the land of Egypt, 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!'
4Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Behold, 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 test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.
5On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.'
6So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, 'At evening you will know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt;
7and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, for He hears your grumblings against the Lord; and what are we, that you grumble against us?'
9Then Moses said to Aaron, 'Say to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, ‘Come forward before the Lord, for He has heard your grumblings.’?'
10And it came about, as Aaron spoke to the entire congregation of the sons of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
11And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
12I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘ At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’?'
13So it came about at evening that the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.
14When the layer of dew evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground.
15When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, 'What is it?' For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, 'It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.
16This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone gather as much as he will eat; you shall take an omer apiece according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.’?'
17The sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little.
18When they measured it by the omer, 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 as much as he would eat.
19Moses said to them, 'No one is to leave any of it until morning.'
20But 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.
21They gathered it morning by morning, everyone as much as he would eat; but when the sun became hot, it would melt.
22Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,
23then he said to them, 'This is what the Lord meant: Tomorrow is a Sabbath observance, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.'
24So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not stink nor was there a maggot in it.
25Then Moses said, 'Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field.
26Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.'
27Yet it came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.
28Then the Lord said to Moses, 'How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions?
29See, 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.'
30So the people rested on the seventh day.
31And the house of Israel named the bread manna, and it was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey.
32Then Moses said, 'This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘A 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.’?'
33And Moses said to Aaron, 'Take a jar and put a full omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept safe throughout your generations.'
34As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the Testimony, to be kept.
35And 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 an omer is a tenth of an ephah.)
Chapter 17
1Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. 2So the people quarreled with Moses and said, 'Give us water so that we may drink!' And Moses said to them, 'Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?' 3But the people were thirsty for water there; and they grumbled against Moses and said, 'Why is it that you have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?' 4So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, 'What am I to do with this people? A little more and they will stone me!' 5Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and 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. 7Then he named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the Lord, saying, 'Is the Lord among us, or not?'
8Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim.
9So Moses said to Joshua, 'Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.'
10Joshua did just as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11So it came about, when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed; but when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.
12And Moses’ hands were heavy. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. So his hands were steady until the sun set.
13And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
14Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.'
15And Moses built an altar and named it The Lord is My Banner;
16and he said, 'Because the Lord has sworn, the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.'
Chapter 18
1Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard about everything that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took in Moses’ wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away, 3and her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom, for Moses said, 'I have been a stranger in a foreign land.' 4And the other was named Eliezer, for he said, 'The God of my father was my help, and saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.'
5Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at the mountain of God.
6And he sent word to Moses: 'I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.'
7Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him; and they asked each other about their welfare, and went into the tent.
8Moses told his father-in-law everything that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had confronted them on the journey, and how the Lord had rescued them.
9And Jethro rejoiced over all the goodness which the Lord had done for Israel, in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians.
10So Jethro said, 'Blessed be the Lord who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods; indeed, it was proven when they acted insolently against the people.'
12Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
13And it came about the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning until the evening.
14Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, 'What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?'
15Moses said to his father-in-law, 'Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
16When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between someone and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.'
17Moses’ father-in-law then said to him, 'The thing that you are doing is not good.
18You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.
19Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You be the people’s representative before God, and you bring the disputes to God,
20then admonish them about the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do.
21Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
22Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that they will bring to you every major matter, but they will judge every minor matter themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will carry the burden with you.
23If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their places in peace.'
24So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything that he had said.
25Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
26Then they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult matter to Moses, but they would judge every minor matter themselves.
27Then Moses said goodbye to his father-in-law, and Jethro went his way to his own land.
Chapter 19
1In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain. 3And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, 'This is what you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: 4‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. 5Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; 6and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.'
7So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the Lord had commanded him.
8Then all the people answered together and said, 'All that the Lord has spoken we will do!' And Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord.
9Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also trust in you forever.' Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
10The Lord also said to Moses, 'Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their garments;
11and have them ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
12But you shall set boundaries for the people all around, saying, ‘ Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall certainly be put to death.
13No hand shall touch him, but he shall certainly be stoned or shot through; whether animal or person, the violator shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.'
14So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments.
15He also said to the people, 'Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.'
16So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud over the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
17And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the entire mountain quaked violently.
19When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him with thunder.
20Then the Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
21Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 'Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through to the Lord to stare, and many of them perish.
22Also have the priests who approach the Lord consecrate themselves, or else the Lord will break out against them.'
23And Moses said to the Lord, 'The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, ‘Set boundaries around the mountain and consecrate it.’?'
24Then the Lord said to him, 'Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, or He will break out against them.'
25So Moses went down to the people and told them.
King James Version
Chapter 11
1And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. 2Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.
4And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:
5And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.
6And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.
7But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.
8And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.
Chapter 12
1And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 10And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord'S passover.
12For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.
13And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
14And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
15Seven 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.
16And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
17And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.
18In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.
19Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.
20Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.
21Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.
22And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
23For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
24And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.
25And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.
26And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
27That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
28And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
29And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
30And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and 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.
31And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.
32Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.
33And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.
34And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.
35And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:
36And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
37And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.
38And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.
39And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.
40Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
41And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
42It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.
43And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:
44But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
45A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.
46In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.
47All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
48And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will 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 one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
49One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.
50Thus did all the children of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
51And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.
Chapter 13
1And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.
3And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.
4This day came ye out in the month Abib.
5And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month.
6Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord.
7Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.
8And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.
9And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord'S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt.
11And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee,
12That thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the Lord'S.
13And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.
14And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:
15And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the Lord slew 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 that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.
16And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt.
17And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
18But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.
20And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.
21And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
22He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
Chapter 14
1And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. 3For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. 4And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And they did so.
5And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?
6And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:
7And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.
8And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.
9But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.
10And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.
11And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?
12Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
13And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
14The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
15And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:
16But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
17And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
18And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
19And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
20And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
21And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
22And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
23And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
24And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,
25And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.
26And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.
27And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
28And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.
29But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
30Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.
31And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.
19For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
20And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.
21And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
22So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
23And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.
24And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
25And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,
26And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.
Chapter 16
1And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. 2And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: 3And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
4Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
5And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
6And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:
7And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord; for that he heareth your murmurings against the Lord: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?
10And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
11And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
12I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.
13And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.
14And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.
15And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.
16This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.
17And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
18And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
19And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
20Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
21And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
22And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
23And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
24And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.
25And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the Lord: to day ye shall not find it in the field.
26Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
27And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.
28And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
29See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
30So the people rested on the seventh day.
32And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.
33And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations.
34As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
35And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.
36Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.
Chapter 17
1And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. 2Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? 3And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
4And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.
5And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.
6Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?
8Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
9And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
10So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
12But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
13And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
14And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
15And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:
16For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
2Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back,
3And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:
4And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
5And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
6And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.
7And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.
8And Moses told his father in law all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the Lord delivered them.
9And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.
12And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.
13And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
14And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?
15And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:
16When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
17And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
18Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
19Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
20And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
21Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
22And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
23If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
24So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.
25And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
26And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
Chapter 19
1In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. 2For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
3And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
4Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
5Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
7And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.
8And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.
10And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
11And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
12And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:
13There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.
14And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.
15And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.
16And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
17And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
18And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
19And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
20And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
21And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish.
22And let the priests also, which come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them.
23And Moses said unto the Lord, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.
24And the Lord said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the Lord, lest he break forth upon them.
25So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 11
1The Lord said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you out of here. 2Now announce to the people that both men and women should ask their neighbors for silver and gold items." 3The Lord gave the people favor with the Egyptians. In addition, Moses himself was very highly regarded in the land of Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and the people.
4So Moses said, "This is what the Lord says: About midnight I will go throughout Egypt,
5and every firstborn male in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is at the grindstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock.
6Then there will be a great cry of anguish through all the land of Egypt such as never was before or ever will be again.
7But against all the Israelites, whether people or animals, not even a dog will snarl, so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.
8All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Get out, you and all the people who follow you. After that, I will get out." And he went out from Pharaoh’s presence fiercely angry.
9The Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt."
10Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his land.
Chapter 12
1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 2"This month is to be the beginning of months for you; it is the first month of your year. 3Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they must each select an animal of the flock according to their fathers’ families, one animal per family. 4If the household is too small for a whole animal, that person and the neighbor nearest his house are to select one based on the combined number of people; you should apportion the animal according to what each will eat. 5You must have an unblemished animal, a year-old male; you may take it from either the sheep or the goats. 6You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight. 7They must take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they eat them. 8They are to eat the meat that night; they should eat it, roasted over the fire along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9Do not eat any of it raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over fire—its head as well as its legs and inner organs. 10You must not leave any of it until morning; any part of it left until morning you must burn. 11Here is how you must eat it: You must be dressed for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord’s Passover.
12"I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the Lord; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt.
13The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14"This day is to be a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. You are to celebrate it throughout your generations as a permanent statute.
15You 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.
16You are to hold a sacred assembly on the first day and another sacred assembly on the seventh day. No work may be done on those days except for preparing what people need to eat—you may do only that.
17"You are to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread because on this very day I brought your military divisions out of the land of Egypt. You must observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent statute.
18You are to eat unleavened bread in the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day of the month until the evening of the twenty-first day.
19Yeast must not be found in your houses for seven days. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a resident alien or native of the land, must be cut off from the community of Israel.
20Do not eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes."
21Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go, select an animal from the flock according to your families, and slaughter the Passover animal.
22Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning.
23When the Lord passes through to strike Egypt and sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, he will pass over the door and not let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you.
24"Keep this command permanently as a statute for you and your descendants.
25When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, you are to observe this ceremony.
26When your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’
27you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians and spared our homes.’" So the people knelt low and worshiped.
28Then the Israelites went and did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.
29Now at midnight the Lord struck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock.
30During the night Pharaoh got up, he along with all his officials and all the Egyptians, and there was a loud wailing throughout Egypt because there wasn’t a house without someone dead.
31He summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, "Get out immediately from among my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship the Lord as you have said.
32Take even your flocks and your herds as you asked and leave, and also bless me."
33Now the Egyptians pressured the people in order to send them quickly out of the country, for they said, "We’re all going to die!"
34So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their clothes on their shoulders.
35The Israelites acted on Moses’s word and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold items and for clothing.
36And the Lord gave the people such favor with the Egyptians that they gave them what they requested. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.
37The Israelites traveled from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand able-bodied men on foot, besides their families.
38A mixed crowd also went up with them, along with a huge number of livestock, both flocks and herds.
39The people baked the dough they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves, since it had no yeast; for when they were driven out of Egypt, they could not delay and had not prepared provisions for themselves.
40The time that the Israelites lived in Egypt was 430 years.
41At the end of 430 years, on that same day, all the Lord’s military divisions went out from the land of Egypt.
42It was a night of vigil in honor of the Lord, because he would bring them out of the land of Egypt. This same night is in honor of the Lord, a night vigil for all the Israelites throughout their generations.
43The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner may eat it.
44But any slave a man has purchased may eat it, after you have circumcised him.
45A temporary resident or hired worker may not eat the Passover.
46It is to be eaten in one house. You may not take any of the meat outside the house, and you may not break any of its bones.
47The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.
48If an alien resides among you and wants to observe the Lord’s Passover, every male in his household must be circumcised, and then he may participate; he will become like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat it.
49The same law will apply to both the native and the alien who resides among you."
50Then all the Israelites did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.
51On that same day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt according to their military divisions.
Chapter 13
1The Lord spoke to Moses: 2"Consecrate every firstborn male to me, the firstborn from every womb among the Israelites, both man and domestic animal; it is mine."
3Then Moses said to the people, "Remember this day when you came out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, for the Lord brought you out of here by the strength of his hand. Nothing leavened may be eaten.
4Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out.
5When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers that he would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you must carry out this ceremony in this month.
6For seven days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord.
7Unleavened bread is to be eaten for those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, and no yeast may be found among you in all your territory.
8On that day explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
9Let it serve as a sign for you on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the Lord’s instruction may be in your mouth; for the Lord brought you out of Egypt with a strong hand.
10Keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.
11"When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you,
12you are to present to the Lord every firstborn male of the womb. All firstborn offspring of the livestock you own that are males will be the Lord’s.
13You must redeem every firstborn of a donkey with a flock animal, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. However, you must redeem every firstborn among your sons.
14"In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘By the strength of his hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
15When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of humans and the firstborn of livestock. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord all the firstborn of the womb that are males, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’
16So let it be a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead, for the Lord brought us out of Egypt by the strength of his hand."
17When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby; for God said, "The people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war."
18So he led the people around toward the Red Sea along the road of the wilderness. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt in battle formation.
20They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.
21The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night.
22The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people.
Chapter 14
1Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 2"Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you must camp in front of Baal-zephon, facing it by the sea. 3Pharaoh will say of the Israelites: They are wandering around the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in. 4I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord." So the Israelites did this.
5When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people and said: "What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us."
6So he got his chariot ready and took his troops with him;
7he took six hundred of the best chariots and all the rest of the chariots of Egypt, with officers in each one.
8The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out defiantly.
9The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen, and his army—chased after them and caught up with them as they camped by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
10As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians coming after them! The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help.
11They said to Moses: "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
12Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."
13But Moses said to the people, "Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.
14The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet."
15The Lord said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to break camp.
16As for you, lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.
17As for me, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen.
18The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen."
19Then the angel of God, who was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them.
20It came between the Egyptian and Israelite forces. There was cloud and darkness, it lit up the night, and neither group came near the other all night long.
21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided,
22and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left.
23The Egyptians set out in pursuit—all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen—and went into the sea after them.
24During the morning watch, the Lord looked down at the Egyptian forces from the pillar of fire and cloud, and threw the Egyptian forces into confusion.
25He caused their chariot wheels to swerve and made them drive with difficulty. "Let’s get away from Israel," the Egyptians said, "because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!"
26Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water may come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen."
27So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal depth. While the Egyptians were trying to escape from it, the Lord threw them into the sea.
28The water came back and covered the chariots and horsemen, plus the entire army of Pharaoh that had gone after them into the sea. Not even one of them survived.
29But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left.
30That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
31When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in him and in his servant Moses.
Chapter 15
1Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said: I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted; he has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea. 2The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
3The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.
4He threw Pharaoh’s chariots and his army into the sea; the elite of his officers were drowned in the Red Sea.
5The floods covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone.
6 Lord, your right hand is glorious in power. Lord, your right hand shattered the enemy.
7You overthrew your adversaries by your great majesty. You unleashed your burning wrath; it consumed them like stubble.
8The 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.
9The enemy said: "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil. My desire will be gratified at their expense. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them."
10But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 Lord, who is like you among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
12You stretched out your right hand, and the earth swallowed them.
13With your faithful love, you will lead the people you have redeemed; you will guide them to your holy dwelling with your strength.
14When the peoples hear, they will shudder; anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia.
15Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan will panic;
16terror and dread will fall on them. They will be as still as a stone because of your powerful arm until your people pass by, Lord, until the people whom you purchased pass by.
17You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your possession; Lord, you have prepared the place for your dwelling; Lord, your hands have established the sanctuary.
18The Lord will reign forever and ever!
19When Pharaoh’s horses with his chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the water of the sea back over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.
20Then the prophetess Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women came out following her with tambourines and dancing.
22Then Moses led Israel on from the Red Sea, and they went out to the Wilderness of Shur. They journeyed for three days in the wilderness without finding water.
23They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water at Marah because it was bitter—that is why it was named Marah.
24The people grumbled to Moses, "What are we going to drink?"
25So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he threw it into the water, the water became drinkable. The Lord made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah, and he tested them there.
26He said, "If you will carefully obey the Lord your God, do what is right in his sight, pay attention to his commands, and keep all his statutes, I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you."
Chapter 16
1The entire Israelite community departed from Elim and came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt. 2The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!"
4Then the Lord said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.
5On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days."
6So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites: "This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
7and in the morning you will see the Lord’s glory because he has heard your complaints about him. For who are we that you complain about us?"
8Moses continued, "The Lord will give you meat to eat this evening and all the bread you want in the morning, for he has heard the complaints that you are raising against him. Who are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord."
9Then Moses told Aaron, "Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your complaints.’"
10As Aaron was speaking to the entire Israelite community, they turned toward the wilderness, and there in a cloud the Lord’s glory appeared.
11The Lord spoke to Moses,
12"I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them: At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat bread until you are full. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God."
13So at evening quail came and covered the camp. In the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp.
14When the layer of dew evaporated, there were fine flakes on the desert surface, as fine as frost on the ground.
15When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, "What is it?" because they didn’t know what it was. Moses told them, "It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.
16This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather as much of it as each person needs to eat. You may take two quarts per individual, according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.’"
17So the Israelites did this. Some gathered a lot, some a little.
18When they measured it by quarts, the person who gathered a lot had no surplus, and the person who gathered a little had no shortage. Each gathered as much as he needed to eat.
19Moses said to them, "No one is to let any of it remain until morning."
20But they didn’t listen to Moses; some people left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. Therefore Moses was angry with them.
21They gathered it every morning. Each gathered as much as he needed to eat, but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
22On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts apiece, and all the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses.
23He told them, "This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil, and set aside everything left over to be kept until morning.’"
24So they set it aside until morning as Moses commanded, and it didn’t stink or have maggots in it.
25"Eat it today," Moses said, "because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. Today you won’t find any in the field.
26For six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none."
27Yet on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they did not find any.
28Then the Lord said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commands and instructions?
29Understand that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he will give you two days’ worth of bread. Each of you stay where you are; no one is to leave his place on the seventh day."
30So the people rested on the seventh day.
31The house of Israel named the substance manna. It resembled coriander seed, was white, and tasted like wafers made with honey.
32Moses said, "This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Two quarts of it are to be preserved throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’"
33Moses told Aaron, "Take a container and put two quarts of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be preserved throughout your generations."
34As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron placed it before the testimony to be preserved.
35The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate manna until they reached the border of the land of Canaan.
36(They used a measure called an omer, which held two quarts. )
5The Lord answered Moses, "Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take the staff you struck the Nile with in your hand and go.
6I am going to stand there in front of you on the rock at Horeb; when you hit the rock, water will come out of it and the people will drink." Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7He named the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites complained, and because they tested the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"
8At Rephidim, Amalek came and fought against Israel.
9Moses said to Joshua, "Select some men for us and go fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with God’s staff in my hand."
10Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought against Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11While Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but whenever he put his hand down, Amalek prevailed.
12When Moses’s hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down.
13So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army with the sword.
15And Moses built an altar and named it, "The Lord Is My Banner."
16He said, "Indeed, my hand is lifted up toward the Lord’s throne. The Lord will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation."
2Now Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, had taken in Zipporah, Moses’s wife, after he had sent her back,
3along with her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom (because Moses had said, "I have been a resident alien in a foreign land")
4and the other Eliezer (because he had said, "The God of my father was my helper and rescued me from Pharaoh’s sword").
5Moses’s father-in-law Jethro, along with Moses’s wife and sons, came to him in the wilderness where he was camped at the mountain of God.
6He sent word to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons."
7So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and then kissed him. They asked each other how they had been and went into the tent.
8Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships that confronted them on the way, and how the Lord rescued them.
9Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the Lord had done for Israel when he rescued them from the power of the Egyptians.
10"Blessed be the Lord," Jethro exclaimed, "who rescued you from the power of Egypt and from the power of Pharaoh. He has rescued the people from under the power of Egypt!
11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because he did wonders when the Egyptians acted arrogantly against Israel."
13The next day Moses sat down to judge the people, and they stood around Moses from morning until evening.
14When Moses’s father-in-law saw everything he was doing for them he asked, "What is this thing you’re doing for the people? Why are you alone sitting as judge, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?"
15Moses replied to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
16Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I make a decision between one man and another. I teach them God’s statutes and laws."
17"What you’re doing is not good," Moses’s father-in-law said to him.
18"You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can’t do it alone.
19Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you. You be the one to represent the people before God and bring their cases to him.
20Instruct them about the statutes and laws, and teach them the way to live and what they must do.
21But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating dishonest profit. Place them over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.
22They should judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you every major case but judge every minor case themselves. In this way you will lighten your load, and they will bear it with you.
23If you do this, and God so directs you, you will be able to endure, and also all these people will be able to go home satisfied."
24Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
25So Moses chose able men from all Israel and made them leaders over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.
26They judged the people at all times; they would bring the hard cases to Moses, but they would judge every minor case themselves.
Chapter 19
1In the third month from the very day the Israelites left the land of Egypt, they came to the Sinai Wilderness. 2They traveled from Rephidim, came to the Sinai Wilderness, and camped in the wilderness. Israel camped there in front of the mountain.
3Moses went up the mountain to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain: "This is what you must say to the house of Jacob and explain to the Israelites:
4‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.
5Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine,
6and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites."
7After Moses came back, he summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him.
8Then all the people responded together, "We will do all that the Lord has spoken." So Moses brought the people’s words back to the Lord.
9The Lord said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you and will always believe you." Moses reported the people’s words to the Lord,
10and the Lord told Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes
11and be prepared by the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
12Put boundaries for the people all around the mountain and say: Be careful that you don’t go up on the mountain or touch its base. Anyone who touches the mountain must be put to death.
13No hand may touch him; instead he will be stoned or shot with arrows and not live, whether animal or human. When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they may go up the mountain."
14Then Moses came down from the mountain to the people and consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.
15He said to the people, "Be prepared by the third day. Do not have sexual relations with women."
16On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people in the camp shuddered.
17Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the Lord came down on it in fire. Its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently.
19As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder.
20The Lord came down on Mount Sinai at the top of the mountain. Then the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and he went up.
21The Lord directed Moses, "Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the Lord; otherwise many of them will die.
22Even the priests who come near the Lord must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out in anger against them."
23Moses responded to the Lord, "The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, since you warned us: Put a boundary around the mountain and consecrate it."
24And the Lord replied to him, "Go down and come back with Aaron. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out in anger against them."
25So Moses went down to the people and told them.
New Living Translation
Chapter 11
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 'I will strike Pharaoh and the land of Egypt with one more blow. After that, Pharaoh will let you leave this country. In fact, he will be so eager to get rid of you that he will force you all to leave. 2Tell all the Israelite men and women to ask their Egyptian neighbors for articles of silver and gold.' 3(Now the Lord had caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the people of Israel. And Moses was considered a very great man in the land of Egypt, respected by Pharaoh’s officials and the Egyptian people alike.)
4Moses had announced to Pharaoh, 'This is what the Lord says: At midnight tonight I will pass through the heart of Egypt.
5All the firstborn sons will die in every family in Egypt, from the oldest son of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, to the oldest son of his lowliest servant girl who grinds the flour. Even the firstborn of all the livestock will die.
6Then a loud wail will rise throughout the land of Egypt, a wail like no one has heard before or will ever hear again.
7But among the Israelites it will be so peaceful that not even a dog will bark. Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites.
8All the officials of Egypt will run to me and fall to the ground before me. ‘Please leave!’ they will beg. ‘Hurry! And take all your followers with you.’ Only then will I go!' Then, burning with anger, Moses left Pharaoh.
9Now the Lord had told Moses earlier, 'Pharaoh will not listen to you, but then I will do even more mighty miracles in the land of Egypt.'
10Moses and Aaron performed these miracles in Pharaoh’s presence, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he wouldn’t let the Israelites leave the country.
Chapter 12
1While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the Lord gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: 2From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you. 3Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household. 4If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat. 5The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects.
6Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight.
7They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal.
8That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast.
9Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal — including the head, legs, and internal organs — must be roasted over a fire.
10Do not leave any of it until the next morning. Burn whatever is not eaten before morning.
11These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover.
12On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord!
13But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the Lord. This is a law for all time.
15For 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.
16On the first day of the festival and again on the seventh day, all the people must observe an official day for holy assembly. No work of any kind may be done on these days except in the preparation of food.
17Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. This festival will be a permanent law for you; celebrate this day from generation to generation.
18The bread you eat must be made without yeast from the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day of that month.
19During those seven days, there must be no trace of yeast in your homes. Anyone who eats anything made with yeast during this week will be cut off from the community of Israel. These regulations apply both to the foreigners living among you and to the native-born Israelites.
20During those days you must not eat anything made with yeast. Wherever you live, eat only bread made without yeast.'
21Then Moses called all the elders of Israel together and said to them, 'Go, pick out a lamb or young goat for each of your families, and slaughter the Passover animal.
22Drain the blood into a basin. Then take a bundle of hyssop branches and dip it into the blood. Brush the hyssop across the top and sides of the doorframes of your houses. And no one may go out through the door until morning.
23For the Lord will pass through the land to strike down the Egyptians. But when he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the Lord will pass over your home. He will not permit his death angel to enter your house and strike you down.
24Remember, these instructions are a permanent law that you and your descendants must observe forever.
25When you enter the land the Lord has promised to give you, you will continue to observe this ceremony.
26Then your children will ask, ‘What does this ceremony mean?’
27And you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. And though he struck the Egyptians, he spared our families.’' When Moses had finished speaking, all the people bowed down to the ground and worshiped.
28So the people of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded through Moses and Aaron.
29And that night at midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn son of the prisoner in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed.
30Pharaoh and all his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died.
31Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron during the night. 'Get out!' he ordered. 'Leave my people — and take the rest of the Israelites with you! Go and worship the Lord as you have requested.
32Take your flocks and herds, as you said, and be gone. Go, but bless me as you leave.'
33All the Egyptians urged the people of Israel to get out of the land as quickly as possible, for they thought, 'We will all die!'
34The Israelites took their bread dough before yeast was added. They wrapped their kneading boards in their cloaks and carried them on their shoulders.
35And the people of Israel did as Moses had instructed; they asked the Egyptians for clothing and articles of silver and gold.
36The Lord caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. So they stripped the Egyptians of their wealth!
37That night the people of Israel left Rameses and started for Succoth. There were about 600,000 men, plus all the women and children.
38A rabble of non-Israelites went with them, along with great flocks and herds of livestock.
39For bread they baked flat cakes from the dough without yeast they had brought from Egypt. It was made without yeast because the people were driven out of Egypt in such a hurry that they had no time to prepare the bread or other food.
40The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years.
41In fact, it was on the last day of the 430th year that all the Lord’s forces left the land.
42On this night the Lord kept his promise to bring his people out of the land of Egypt. So this night belongs to him, and it must be commemorated every year by all the Israelites, from generation to generation.
43Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'These are the instructions for the festival of Passover. No outsiders are allowed to eat the Passover meal.
44But any slave who has been purchased may eat it if he has been circumcised.
45Temporary residents and hired servants may not eat it.
46Each Passover lamb must be eaten in one house. Do not carry any of its meat outside, and do not break any of its bones.
47The whole community of Israel must celebrate this Passover festival.
48If there are foreigners living among you who want to celebrate the Lord’s Passover, let all their males be circumcised. Only then may they celebrate the Passover with you like any native-born Israelite. But no uncircumcised male may ever eat the Passover meal.
49This instruction applies to everyone, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner living among you.'
50So all the people of Israel followed all the Lord’s commands to Moses and Aaron.
51On that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt like an army.
Chapter 13
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 2Dedicate to me every firstborn among the Israelites. The first offspring to be born, of both humans and animals, belongs to me.'
3So Moses said to the people, 'This is a day to remember forever — the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. Today the Lord has brought you out by the power of his mighty hand. (Remember, eat no food containing yeast.)
4On this day in early spring, in the month of Abib, you have been set free.
5You must celebrate this event in this month each year after the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. (He swore to your ancestors that he would give you this land — a land flowing with milk and honey.)
6For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. Then on the seventh day, celebrate a feast to the Lord.
7Eat bread without yeast during those seven days. In fact, there must be no yeast bread or any yeast at all found within the borders of your land during this time.
8On the seventh day you must explain to your children, ‘I am celebrating what the Lord did for me when I left Egypt.’
9This annual festival will be a visible sign to you, like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the Lord: ‘With a strong hand, the Lord rescued you from Egypt.’
10So observe the decree of this festival at the appointed time each year.
11This is what you must do when the Lord fulfills the promise he swore to you and to your ancestors. When he gives you the land where the Canaanites now live,
12you must present all firstborn sons and firstborn male animals to the Lord, for they belong to him.
13A firstborn donkey may be bought back from the Lord by presenting a lamb or young goat in its place. But if you do not buy it back, you must break its neck. However, you must buy back every firstborn son.
14And in the future, your children will ask you, ‘What does all this mean?’ Then you will tell them, ‘With the power of his mighty hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt, the place of our slavery.
15Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, so the Lord killed all the firstborn males throughout the land of Egypt, both people and animals. That is why I now sacrifice all the firstborn males to the Lord — except that the firstborn sons are always bought back.’
16This ceremony will be like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. It is a reminder that the power of the Lord’s mighty hand brought us out of Egypt.'
17When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, 'If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.'
18So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle.
20The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.
21The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night.
22And the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.
Chapter 14
1Then the Lord gave these instructions to Moses: 2Order the Israelites to turn back and camp by Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea. Camp there along the shore, across from Baal-zephon. 3Then Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are confused. They are trapped in the wilderness!’ 4And once again I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after you. I have planned this in order to display my glory through Pharaoh and his whole army. After this the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord!' So the Israelites camped there as they were told.
5When word reached the king of Egypt that the Israelites had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds. 'What have we done, letting all those Israelite slaves get away?' they asked.
6So Pharaoh harnessed his chariot and called up his troops.
7He took with him 600 of Egypt’s best chariots, along with the rest of the chariots of Egypt, each with its commander.
8The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, so he chased after the people of Israel, who had left with fists raised in defiance.
9The Egyptians chased after them with all the forces in Pharaoh’s army — all his horses and chariots, his charioteers, and his troops. The Egyptians caught up with the people of Israel as they were camped beside the shore near Pi-hahiroth, across from Baal-zephon.
10As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the Lord,
11and they said to Moses, 'Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt?
12Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’'
13But Moses told the people, 'Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again.
14The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.'
15Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!
16Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground.
17And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will charge in after the Israelites. My great glory will be displayed through Pharaoh and his troops, his chariots, and his charioteers.
18When my glory is displayed through them, all Egypt will see my glory and know that I am the Lord!'
19Then the angel of God, who had been leading the people of Israel, moved to the rear of the camp. The pillar of cloud also moved from the front and stood behind them.
20The cloud settled between the Egyptian and Israelite camps. As darkness fell, the cloud turned to fire, lighting up the night. But the Egyptians and Israelites did not approach each other all night.
21Then Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the Lord opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into dry land.
22So the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side!
23Then the Egyptians — all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and charioteers — chased them into the middle of the sea.
24But just before dawn the Lord looked down on the Egyptian army from the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw their forces into total confusion.
25He twisted their chariot wheels, making their chariots difficult to drive. 'Let’s get out of here — away from these Israelites!' the Egyptians shouted. 'The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!'
26When all the Israelites had reached the other side, the Lord said to Moses, 'Raise your hand over the sea again. Then the waters will rush back and cover the Egyptians and their chariots and charioteers.'
27So as the sun began to rise, Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the water rushed back into its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but the Lord swept them into the sea.
28Then the waters returned and covered all the chariots and charioteers — the entire army of Pharaoh. Of all the Egyptians who had chased the Israelites into the sea, not a single one survived.
29But the people of Israel had walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, as the water stood up like a wall on both sides.
30That is how the Lord rescued Israel from the hand of the Egyptians that day. And the Israelites saw the bodies of the Egyptians washed up on the seashore.
31When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Lord had unleashed against the Egyptians, they were filled with awe before him. They put their faith in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
Chapter 15
1Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord: 'I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea. 2The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him — my father’s God, and I will exalt him! 3The Lord is a warrior; Yahweh is his name! 4Pharaoh’s chariots and army he has hurled into the sea. The finest of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 5The deep waters gushed over them; they sank to the bottom like a stone.
6'Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power. Your right hand, O Lord, smashes the enemy.
7In the greatness of your majesty, you overthrow those who rise against you. You unleash your blazing fury; it consumes them like straw.
8At 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.
9'The enemy boasted, ‘I will chase them and catch up with them. I will plunder them and consume them. I will flash my sword; my powerful hand will destroy them.’
10But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11'Who is like you among the gods, O Lord — glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders?
12You raised your right hand, and the earth swallowed our enemies.
13'With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed. In your might, you guide them to your sacred home.
14The peoples hear and tremble; anguish grips those who live in Philistia.
15The leaders of Edom are terrified; the nobles of Moab tremble. All who live in Canaan melt away;
16terror and dread fall upon them. The power of your arm makes them lifeless as stone until your people pass by, O Lord, until the people you purchased pass by.
17You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain — the place, O Lord, reserved for your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.
18The Lord will reign forever and ever!'
22Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for three days without finding any water.
23When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means 'bitter').
25So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink. It was there at Marah that the Lord set before them the following decree as a standard to test their faithfulness to him.
26He said, 'If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.'
Chapter 16
1Then the whole community of Israel set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt. 2There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron.
4Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.
5On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.'
6So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, 'By evening you will realize it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
7In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaints, which are against him, not against us. What have we done that you should complain about us?'
8Then Moses added, 'The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread to satisfy you in the morning, for he has heard all your complaints against him. What have we done? Yes, your complaints are against the Lord, not against us.'
9Then Moses said to Aaron, 'Announce this to the entire community of Israel: ‘Present yourselves before the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’'
10And as Aaron spoke to the whole community of Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness. There they could see the awesome glory of the Lord in the cloud.
11Then the Lord said to Moses,
12I have heard the Israelites’ complaints. Now tell them, ‘In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’'
13That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp. And the next morning the area around the camp was wet with dew.
14When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground.
15The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. 'What is it?' they asked each other. They had no idea what it was. And Moses told them, 'It is the food the Lord has given you to eat.
16These are the Lord’s instructions: Each household should gather as much as it needs. Pick up two quarts for each person in your tent.'
17So the people of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot, some only a little.
18But when they measured it out, everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed.
19Then Moses told them, 'Do not keep any of it until morning.'
20But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them.
21After this the people gathered the food morning by morning, each family according to its need. And as the sun became hot, the flakes they had not picked up melted and disappeared.
22On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much as usual — four quarts for each person instead of two. Then all the leaders of the community came and asked Moses for an explanation.
23He told them, 'This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the Lord. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow.'
24So they put some aside until morning, just as Moses had commanded. And in the morning the leftover food was wholesome and good, without maggots or odor.
25Moses said, 'Eat this food today, for today is a Sabbath day dedicated to the Lord. There will be no food on the ground today.
26You may gather the food for six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. There will be no food on the ground that day.'
27Some of the people went out anyway on the seventh day, but they found no food.
28The Lord asked Moses, 'How long will these people refuse to obey my commands and instructions?
29They must realize that the Sabbath is the Lord’s gift to you. That is why he gives you a two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days. On the Sabbath day you must each stay in your place. Do not go out to pick up food on the seventh day.'
30So the people did not gather any food on the seventh day.
33Moses said to Aaron, 'Get a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. Then put it in a sacred place before the Lord to preserve it for all future generations.'
34Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded Moses. He eventually placed it in the Ark of the Covenant — in front of the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant.
35So the people of Israel ate manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
4Then Moses cried out to the Lord, 'What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!'
5The Lord said to Moses, 'Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you.
6I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.' So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on.
8While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them.
9Moses commanded Joshua, 'Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.'
10So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill.
11As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage.
12Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset.
13As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.
14After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, 'Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.'
15Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means 'the Lord is my banner').
16He said, 'They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now the Lord will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.'
2Earlier, Moses had sent his wife, Zipporah, and his two sons back to Jethro, who had taken them in.
3(Moses’ first son was named Gershom, for Moses had said when the boy was born, 'I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.'
4His second son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, 'The God of my ancestors was my helper; he rescued me from the sword of Pharaoh.')
5Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, now came to visit Moses in the wilderness. He brought Moses’ wife and two sons with him, and they arrived while Moses and the people were camped near the mountain of God.
6Jethro had sent a message to Moses, saying, 'I, Jethro, your father-in-law, am coming to see you with your wife and your two sons.'
7So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. He bowed low and kissed him. They asked about each other’s welfare and then went into Moses’ tent.
8Moses told his father-in-law everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and Egypt on behalf of Israel. He also told about all the hardships they had experienced along the way and how the Lord had rescued his people from all their troubles.
9Jethro was delighted when he heard about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel as he rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians.
10Praise the Lord,' Jethro said, 'for he has rescued you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. Yes, he has rescued Israel from the powerful hand of Egypt!
11I know now that the Lord is greater than all other gods, because he rescued his people from the oppression of the proud Egyptians.'
15Moses replied, 'Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God.
16When a dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who settles the case between the quarreling parties. I inform the people of God’s decrees and give them his instructions.'
17This is not good!' Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed.
18You’re going to wear yourself out — and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.
19Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him.
20Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives.
21But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.
22They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you.
23If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.'
24Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and followed his suggestions.
25He chose capable men from all over Israel and appointed them as leaders over the people. He put them in charge of groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.
26These men were always available to solve the people’s common disputes. They brought the major cases to Moses, but they took care of the smaller matters themselves.
Chapter 19
1Exactly two months after the Israelites left Egypt, they arrived in the wilderness of Sinai. 2After breaking camp at Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and set up camp there at the base of Mount Sinai.
3Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, 'Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel:
4‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.
5Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.
6And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.'
7So Moses returned from the mountain and called together the elders of the people and told them everything the Lord had commanded him.
8And all the people responded together, 'We will do everything the Lord has commanded.' So Moses brought the people’s answer back to the Lord.
9Then the Lord said to Moses, 'I will come to you in a thick cloud, Moses, so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you. Then they will always trust you.' Moses told the Lord what the people had said.
10Then the Lord told Moses, 'Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing.
11Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch.
12Mark off a boundary all around the mountain. Warn the people, ‘Be careful! Do not go up on the mountain or even touch its boundaries. Anyone who touches the mountain will certainly be put to death.
13No hand may touch the person or animal that crosses the boundary; instead, stone them or shoot them with arrows. They must be put to death.’ However, when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, then the people may go up on the mountain. '
14So Moses went down to the people. He consecrated them for worship, and they washed their clothes.
15He told them, 'Get ready for the third day, and until then abstain from having sexual intercourse.'
16On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled.
17Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently.
19As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply.
20The Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain.
English Standard Version
Chapter 11
1The Lord said to Moses, "Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. 2Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry." 3And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh 's servants and in the sight of the people.
4So Moses said, "Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt,
5and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle.
6There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again.
7But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’
8And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out." And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.
9Then the Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt."
Chapter 12
1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2"This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers ' houses, a lamb for a household. 4And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
7"Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.
8They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.
9Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts.
10And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.
11In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord 's Passover.
12For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord.
13The 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 no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
14"This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.
15Seven 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.
16On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you.
17And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever.
18In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.
19For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land.
20You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread."
21Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb.
22Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.
23For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.
24You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever.
25And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service.
26And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’
27you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord 's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’" And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
28Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
29At midnight the Lord struck down 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 in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.
30And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead.
31Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, "Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said.
32Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!"
33The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, "We shall all be dead."
34So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders.
35The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing.
36And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
37And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.
38A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds.
39And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.
40The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years.
41At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
42It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.
43And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it,
44but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him.
45No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it.
46It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones.
47All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
48If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.
49There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you."
50All the people of Israel did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.
51And on that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
Chapter 13
1The Lord said to Moses, 2"Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine."
3Then Moses said to the people, "Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.
4Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out.
5And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month.
6Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord.
7Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory.
8You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
9And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.
10You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.
11"When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you,
12you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord 's.
13Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.
14And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
15For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’
16It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt."
17When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, "Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt."
18But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle.
19Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here."
20And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness.
21And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
22The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
Chapter 14
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 2"Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. 3For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ 4And I will harden Pharaoh 's heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord." And they did so.
5When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, "What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?"
6So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him,
7and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.
8And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly.
9The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh 's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
10When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord.
11They said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?
12Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."
13And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.
14The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."
15The Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.
16Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.
17And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen.
18And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen."
19Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them,
20coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.
21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
22And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
23The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh 's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
24And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic,
25clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians."
26Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen."
27So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.
28The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained.
29But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
30Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
31Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
2 The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father 's God, and I will exalt him.
3The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.
4 "Pharaoh 's chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
5The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power, your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
7In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.
8At 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.
9The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’
10You blew with your wind; the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 "Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
12You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them.
13"You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
14 The peoples have heard; they tremble; pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
15Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
16Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone, till your people, O Lord, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased.
17You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.
18 The Lord will reign forever and ever."
19For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea.
20Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing.
21And Miriam sang to them: "Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea."
22Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
23When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.
24And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"
25And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them,
Chapter 16
1They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3and the people of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
4Then the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day 's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.
5On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily."
6So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, "At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
7and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?"
8And Moses said, "When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him — what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord."
9Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’"
10And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
11And the Lord said to Moses,
12"I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’"
13In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp.
14And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground.
15When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.
16This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’"
17And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less.
18But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.
19And Moses said to them, "Let no one leave any of it over till the morning."
20But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.
21Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
22On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,
23he said to them, "This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’"
24So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it.
25Moses said, "Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field.
26Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none."
27On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.
28And the Lord said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?
29See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day."
30So the people rested on the seventh day.
31Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
32Moses said, "This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’"
33And Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations."
34As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony to be kept.
35The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
36(An omer is the tenth part of an ephah.)
Chapter 17
1All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?" 3But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" 4So Moses cried to the Lord, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me." 5And the Lord said to Moses, "Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink." And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"
8Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.
9So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand."
10So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.
12But Moses ' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
13And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
14Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."
15And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner,
16saying, "A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."
Chapter 18
1Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses ' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2Now Jethro, Moses ' father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses ' wife, after he had sent her home, 3along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land"), 4and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, "The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh"). 5Jethro, Moses ' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God. 6And when he sent word to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her," 7Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. 8Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel 's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. 9And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10Jethro said, "Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people."
12And Jethro, Moses ' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses ' father-in-law before God.
13The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening.
14When Moses ' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, "What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?"
15And Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God;
16when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws."
17Moses ' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good.
18You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.
19Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God,
20and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do.
21Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
22And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.
23If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace."
24So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.
25Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
26And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves.
27Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went away to his own country.
Chapter 19
1On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, 3while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles ' wings and brought you to myself. 5Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel."
7So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him.
8All the people answered together and said, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do." And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.
9And the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever." When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord,
10the Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments
11and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
12And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.
13No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain."
14So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments.
15And he said to the people, "Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman."
16On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
17Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.
18Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
19And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.
20The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
21And the Lord said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish.
22Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them."
23And Moses said to the Lord, "The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’"
24And the Lord said to him, "Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them."
25So Moses went down to the people and told them.
New International Version
Chapter 11
1Now the Lord had said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. 2Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold." 3(The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.)
4So Moses said, "This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt.
5Every firstborn 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, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.
6There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again.
7But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.
8All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave." Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.
9The Lord had said to Moses, "Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt."
10Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.
Chapter 12
1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2"This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4If 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. 5The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11This 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; it is the Lord’s Passover.
12"On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.
13The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
14"This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.
15For 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.
16On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work 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, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.
18In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day.
19For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel.
20Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread."
21Then 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 lamb.
22Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning.
23When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.
24"Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.
25When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony.
26And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’
27then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’ " Then the people bowed down and worshiped.
28The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.
29At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn 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 as well.
30Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.
31During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested.
32Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me."
33The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. "For otherwise," they said, "we will all die!"
34So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing.
35The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing.
36The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.
37The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Sukkoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.
38Many other people went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.
39With 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 of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.
40Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years.
41At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt.
42Because 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.
43The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the regulations for the Passover meal: "No foreigner may eat it.
44Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised him,
45but a temporary resident or a hired worker 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.
47The 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. No uncircumcised male may eat it.
49The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you."
50All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.
51And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.
Chapter 13
1The Lord said to Moses, 2"Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal."
3Then Moses said to the people, "Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast.
4Today, in the month of Aviv, you are leaving.
5When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you are to observe this ceremony in this month:
6For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the Lord.
7Eat 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.
8On that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
9This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand.
10You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.
11"After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors,
12you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord.
13Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.
14"In days to come, when your son 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.
15When 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.’
16And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand."
17When 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."
18So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.
20After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.
21By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud 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.
22Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
Chapter 14
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 2"Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. 3Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ 4And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord." So the Israelites did this.
5When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!"
6So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him.
7He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.
8The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.
9The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.
10As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.
11They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
12Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
13Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
14The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."
15Then the Lord said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.
16Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.
17I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.
18The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen."
19Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them,
20coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.
21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided,
22and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
23The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.
24During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.
25He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt."
26Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen."
27Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea.
28The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
30That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.
31And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
Chapter 15
1Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: "I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea. 2"The Lord is my strength and my defense ; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name. 4Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 5The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone.
6Your right hand, Lord, was majestic in power. Your right hand, Lord, shattered the enemy.
7"In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble.
8By 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.
9The enemy boasted, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.’
10But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?
12"You stretch out your right hand, and the earth swallows your enemies.
13In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.
14The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
15The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away;
16terror and dread will fall on them. By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone— until your people pass by, Lord, until the people you bought pass by.
17You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance— the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.
18"The Lord reigns for ever and ever."
19When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.
20Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing.
22Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.
23When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah. )
24So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?"
25Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.
26He said, "If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you."
Chapter 16
1The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death."
4Then the Lord said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.
5On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days."
6So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt,
7and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?"
8Moses also said, "You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord."
11The Lord said to Moses,
12"I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’ "
13That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.
14When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor.
15When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.
16This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’ "
17The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little.
18And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.
21Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.
22On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses.
23He said to them, "This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’ "
24So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it.
25"Eat it today," Moses said, "because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today.
26Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any."
27Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none.
28Then the Lord said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?
29Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out."
30So the people rested on the seventh day.
31The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.
32Moses said, "This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’ "
34As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved.
35The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.
5The Lord answered Moses, "Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
6I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"
8The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.
9Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."
10So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.
11As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.
12When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
13So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
15Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner.
16He said, "Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."
2After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her
3and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, "I have become a foreigner in a foreign land";
4and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, "My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh."
5Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God.
6Jethro had sent word to him, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons."
7So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent.
8Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them.
9Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians.
10He said, "Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians.
11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly."
12Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
13The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.
14When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?"
15Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.
16Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions."
17Moses’ father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good.
18You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.
19Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him.
20Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave.
21But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
22Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.
23If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied."
24Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
25He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
26They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.
Chapter 19
1On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.
3Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel:
4‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.
5Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,
6you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."
7So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak.
8The people all responded together, "We will do everything the Lord has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.
10And the Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes
11and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
12Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death.
13They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain."
14After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.
15Then he said to the people, "Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations."
16On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.
17Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
19As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.
20The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up
21and the Lord said to him, "Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish.
22Even the priests, who approach the Lord, must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them."
New King James Version
Chapter 11
1And the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether. 2Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold.” 3And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.
4Then Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt;
5and 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.
6Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again.
7But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.’
8And 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.” Then he went out from Pharaoh in great anger.
9But the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not heed you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”
10So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land.
Chapter 12
1Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2“This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4And 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. 5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7And 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. 8Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. 10You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.
12‘For I 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 against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.
13Now 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 a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.
15Seven 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.
16On the first day there shall be 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.
17So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.
18In 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.
19For 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.
20You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ”
21Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb.
22And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and 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.
23For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.
24And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever.
25It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service.
26And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’
27that you shall say, ‘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 bowed their heads and worshiped.
28Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
29And it came to pass at midnight that 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 in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock.
30So 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.
31Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the Lord as you have said.
32Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.”
33And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.”
34So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders.
35Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing.
36And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
37Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children.
38A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock.
39And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.
40Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.
41And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
42It is a 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.
43And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it.
44But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.
45A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it.
46In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones.
47All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
48And when a stranger 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.
49One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.”
50Thus all the children of Israel did; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
51And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies.
Chapter 13
1Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”
3And Moses said to the people: “Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.
4On this day you are going out, in the month Abib.
5And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month.
6Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord.
7Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters.
8And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘ This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.’
9It shall be as 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.
10You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.
11“And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you,
12that you shall 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.
13But 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 you shall redeem.
14So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
15And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that 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.’
16It shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”
17Then 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 change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”
18So God 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.
20So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness.
21And 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.
22He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.
Chapter 14
1Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2“Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. 3For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’ 4Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.
5Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”
6So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him.
7Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them.
8And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness.
9So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.
10And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.
11Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?
12Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”
13And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.
14The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
15And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.
16But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
17And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen.
18Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
19And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.
20So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.
21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.
22So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
23And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
24Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians.
25And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”
26Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.”
27And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
28Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.
29But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
30So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
31Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses.
Chapter 15
1Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying: “I will sing to the Lord, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! 2The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him. 3The Lord is a man of war; The Lord is His name. 4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. 5The depths have covered them; They sank to the bottom like a stone. 6“Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces. 7And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You; You sent forth Your wrath; It consumed them like stubble. 8And 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. 9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, My hand shall destroy them.’ 10You blew with Your wind, The sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters. 11“Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? 12You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them. 13You in Your mercy have led forth The people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength To Your holy habitation. 14“The people will hear and be afraid; Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; The mighty men of Moab, Trembling will take hold of them; All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away. 16 Fear and dread will fall on them; By the greatness of Your arm They will be as still as a stone, Till Your people pass over, O Lord, Till the people pass over Whom You have purchased. 17You will bring them in and plant them In the mountain of Your inheritance, In the place, O Lord, which You have made For Your own dwelling, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established. 18“The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”
22So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
23Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.
24And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
25So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them,
26and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”
Chapter 16
1And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. 2Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
4Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.
5And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”
6Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening you shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt.
7And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord; for He hears your complaints against the Lord. But what are we, that you complain against us?”
8Also Moses said, “ This shall be seen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the Lord hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord.”
9Then Moses spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for He has heard your complaints.’ ”
10Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
11And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
12“I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”
13So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp.
14And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
15So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.
16This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.’ ”
17Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less.
18So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one’s need.
19And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.”
20Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.
21So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.
22And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
23Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’ ”
24So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.
25Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field.
26Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”
27Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none.
28And the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?
29See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”
30So the people rested on the seventh day.
32Then Moses said, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it, to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’ ”
33And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations.”
34As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
35And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
36Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.
6Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
8Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
9And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.”
10So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
12But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
13So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
14Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”
15And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner;
16for he said, “Because the Lord has sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Chapter 18
1And Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people—that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, 3with her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land”) 4and the name of the other was Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”); 5and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God. 6Now he had said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.”
7So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they went into the tent.
8And Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them.
9Then Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the Lord had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10And Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them.”
12Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
13And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening.
14So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”
15And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
16When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”
17So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good.
18Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself.
19Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God.
20And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do.
21Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
22And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you.
23If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.”
24So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.
25And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
26So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.
Chapter 19
1In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. 2For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain.
3And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:
4‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.
5Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
6And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
7So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him.
8Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord.
10Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes.
11And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
12You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.
13Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”
14So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes.
15And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.”
16Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
17And Moses brought th e people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
19And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice.
20Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
