Exodus 6-14

Lexham English Bible

Yahweh Discusses His Name and Israel’s Future

6 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, because with a strong hand he will release them, and with a strong hand he will drive them out from his land.”

² And God spoke to Moses, and he said to him, “I am Yahweh. ³ And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Shaddai,^[a] but by my name Yahweh I was not known to them. ⁴ And I not only established my covenant with them to give to them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojournings, in which they dwelt as aliens, ⁵ but also I myself heard the groaning of the Israelites,^[b] whom the Egyptians are making to work, and I remembered my covenant. ⁶ Therefore say to the Israelites,^[c] ‘I am Yahweh, and I will bring you out from under the forced labor^[d] of Egypt, and I will deliver you from their slavery, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great punishments. ⁷ And I will take you as my people,^[e] and I will be your God,^[f] and you will know that I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out from under the forced labor^[g] of Egypt. ⁸ And I will bring you to the land that I swore^[h] to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am Yahweh.”

⁹ And Moses spoke thus to the Israelites,^[i] but they did not listen to Moses, because of discouragement^[j] and because of hard work.

¹⁰ And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹ “Go, speak to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and let him release the Israelites^[k] from his land.” ¹² And Moses spoke before Yahweh, saying, “Look, the Israelites^[l] do not listen to me, and how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am a poor speaker?”^{[m] 13} And Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and he commanded them to go to the Israelites^[n] and to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites^[o] out from the land of Egypt.

The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron

¹⁴ These are the heads of their families.^[p]

The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, are Enoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These are the clans of Reuben.

¹⁵ And the sons of Simeon are Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jakin and Zohar and Shaul the son of the Canaanitess.^[q] These are the clans of Simeon.

¹⁶ And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their genealogies:^[r] Gershon and Kohath and Merari, and the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven years.^[s]

¹⁷ The sons of Gershon are Libni and Shimei according to their clans.

¹⁸ And the sons of Kohath are Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel, and the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three years.^[t]

¹⁹ And the sons of Merari are Mahli and Mushi. These are clans of the Levites according to their genealogies.^[u]

²⁰ And Amram took Jochebed his aunt for himself as a wife, and she bore for him Aaron and Moses, and the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven years.^[v]

²¹ And the sons of Izhar are Korah and Nepheg and Zikri.

²² And the sons of Uzziel are Mishael and Elzaphan and Sithri.

²³ And Aaron took Elisheba the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, for himself as a wife, and she bore for him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

²⁴ And the sons of Korah are Assir and Elkanah and Abiasaph. These are the clans of the Korahites.

²⁵ And Eleazar the son of Aaron took for himself one from the daughters of Putiel as a wife, and she bore for him Phinehas. These are the heads of the families^[w] of the Levites according to their clans.

²⁶ It was that Aaron and Moses to whom Yahweh said, “Bring the Israelites^[x] out from the land of Egypt according to their divisions.” ²⁷ They were those who spoke to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, in order to bring the Israelites^[y] out from Egypt. It was that Moses and Aaron.

²⁸ And so it was on a certain day^[z] Yahweh spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt. ²⁹ And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “I am Yahweh. Speak to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, all that I am speaking to you.” ³⁰ And Moses said before Yahweh, “Look, I am a poor speaker.^[aa] And how will Pharaoh listen to me?”

Yahweh Reviews Plans for Bringing the Israelites out of Egypt

7 And Yahweh said to Moses, “See, I have made you as a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. ² You will speak all that I will command you, and Aaron your brother will speak to Pharaoh, and he will release the Israelites^[ab] from his land. ³ And I myself will harden the heart of Pharaoh, and I will make my signs and my wonders numerous in the land of Egypt. ⁴ And Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I will put my hand into Egypt and bring out my divisions, my people, the Israelites,^[ac] from the land of Egypt with great punishments. ⁵ And the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I stretch out my hand over Egypt and bring the Israelites^[ad] out from their midst.”

⁶ And Moses and Aaron did it; as Yahweh commanded them, so they did. ⁷ (And Moses was eighty years old,^[ae] and Aaron was eighty-three years old^[af] when they spoke to Pharaoh.)

Provision of a Wonder: Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake

⁸ And Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ⁹ “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Do a wonder for yourselves,’ you will say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake.’” ¹⁰ And Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and they did so, as Yahweh had commanded. And Aaron threw his staff before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a snake.

¹¹ And Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did likewise with their secret arts. ¹² Each threw down his staff, and they became snakes, and Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³ And Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had said.

Plague One: Blood

¹⁴ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is insensitive;^[ag] he refuses to release the people. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Look, he is going out to the water, and you must wait to meet him on the bank of the Nile, and you must take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. ¹⁶ And you must say to him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, “Release my people that they may serve me in the desert, and, look, you have not listened until now.” ¹⁷ Thus says Yahweh, “By this you will know that I am Yahweh. Look, I am about to strike with the staff that is in my hand the water that is in the Nile, and it will be changed to blood. ¹⁸ And the fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile.”’”

¹⁹ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch your hand out over the waters of Egypt and over their rivers, over their canals, and over their pools and over all of their reservoirs of water, so that they become blood,’ and blood will be in all the land of Egypt and in vessels of wood and of stone.”

²⁰ And Moses and Aaron did so, as Yahweh had commanded, and he raised the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile before the eyes of Pharaoh and before the eyes of his servants, and all of the water that was in the Nile was changed to blood. ²¹ And the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, and the Egyptians were not able to drink water from the Nile, and the blood was in all the land of Egypt.

²² And the magicians of Egypt did likewise with their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken. ²³ And Pharaoh turned and went to his house, and he did not take also this to heart.^{[ah] 24} And all of the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they were unable to drink from the water of the Nile.

²⁵ And seven days passed after Yahweh struck the Nile.

Plague Two: Frogs

8 ^[ai] And Yahweh said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Release my people so that they may serve me.” ² And if you are refusing to release, look, I am going to plague all of your territory with frogs. ³ And the Nile will swarm with frogs, and they will go up and come into your house and into your bedroom^[aj] and onto your bed and into the house of your servants and among your people and into your ovens and into your kneading troughs. ⁴ And the frogs will go up against you and against your people and against all of your servants.’”

⁵ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals, and over the pools, and bring up the frogs on the land of Egypt.’” ⁶ And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs went up and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷ And the magicians did likewise with their secret arts, and they brought up frogs over the land of Egypt.

⁸ And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to Yahweh, and let him remove the frogs from me and from my people, and let me release the people so that they can sacrifice to Yahweh.” ⁹ And Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor^[ak] over me. When shall I pray for you and for your servants and for your people to cut off the frogs from you and from your houses? They will be left only in the Nile.” ¹⁰ And he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “Let it be according to your word so that you will know that there is no one like Yahweh our God. ¹¹ And the frogs will depart from you and from your house and from your servants. They will be left only in the Nile.”

¹² And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to Yahweh over the matter of the frogs that he had brought on Pharaoh. ¹³ And Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died from the houses, from the courtyards, and from the fields. ¹⁴ And they piled them in countless heaps,^[al] and the land stank. ¹⁵ And Pharaoh saw that there was relief, and he made his heart insensitive,^[am] and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

Plague Three: Gnats

¹⁶ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land, and it will become gnats^[an] in all the land of Egypt.’” ¹⁷ And he did so, and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and he struck the dust of the land, and it became gnats on the humans and on the animals; all of the dust of the land became gnats in all the land of Egypt. ¹⁸ And the magicians did so with their secret arts to bring out the gnats, but they were not able, and the gnats were on the humans and on the animals. ¹⁹ And the magicians said to Pharaoh, “It is the finger of God.” But the heart of Pharaoh was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

Plague Four: Flies

²⁰ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Start early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Look, he is going out to the water, and you must say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Release my people so that they may serve me.” ²¹ But if you are not about to release my people, look, I am about to send out flies among you and among your servants and among your people and in your houses; and the houses of Egypt will fill up with the flies and also the ground that they are on. ²² But on that day I will distinguish^[ao] the land of Goshen, where my people are staying, by there not being flies there, so that you will know that I am Yahweh in the midst of the land. ²³ And I will put a distinction between my people and your people; this sign will be tomorrow.’”

²⁴ And Yahweh did so, and a severe^[ap] swarm of flies came to the house of Pharaoh and the house of his servants and in all the land of Egypt; the land was ruined because of the flies. ²⁵ And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and he said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.” ²⁶ And Moses said, “To do so is not right, because we will sacrifice to Yahweh our God a thing detestable to the Egyptians. Look, if we sacrifice before their eyes the thing detestable to the Egyptians, will they not stone us? ²⁷ We will go a journey of three days into the desert, and we will sacrifice to Yahweh our God according to what he says to us.”

²⁸ And Pharaoh said, “I myself will release you, and you will sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the desert. Only surely you must not go far. Pray for me.” ²⁹ And Moses said, “Look, I am going out from you, and I will pray to Yahweh so that the flies depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh again deceive us by not releasing the people to sacrifice to Yahweh.”

³⁰ And Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to Yahweh. ³¹ And Yahweh did according to the word of Moses and removed the flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one was left. ³² And Pharaoh made his heart insensitive^[aq] also this time, and he did not release the people.

Plague Five: Livestock Death

9 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, “Release my people so that they may serve me.” ² But if you are refusing to release and you still are keeping hold of them, ³ look, the hand of Yahweh is about to be present with a very severe^[ar] plague on your livestock that are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the cattle, and on the sheep and goats. ⁴ But Yahweh will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and not a thing will die from all that belongs to the Israelites.’”^{[as] 5} And Yahweh set an appointed time, saying, “Tomorrow Yahweh will do this thing in the land.”

⁶ And Yahweh did this thing the next day; all the livestock of Egypt died, but from the livestock of the Israelites^[at] not one died. ⁷ And Pharaoh sent to check, and it turned out^[au] not even one from the livestock of Israel had died, but Pharaoh’s heart was insensitive,^[av] and he did not release the people.

Plague Six: Painful Sores

⁸ And Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron, “Take for yourselves full handfuls of soot from a smelting furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heavens before the eyes of Pharaoh. ⁹ And it will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and it will become on humans and on animals a skin sore sprouting blisters in all the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰ And they took the soot of the smelting furnace, and they stood before Pharaoh, and Moses sprinkled it toward the heavens, and it became skin sores sprouting blisters on humans and on animals. ¹¹ And the magicians were not able to stand before Moses because of the skin sores, for the skin sores were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. ¹² And Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken to Moses.

Plague Seven: Hail

¹³ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Start early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Look, he is going out to the water, and you must say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, “Release my people so that they may serve me. ¹⁴ For at this time I am sending all of my plagues to you personally^[aw] and among your servants and among your people so that you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth. ¹⁵ For now I could have stretched out my hand, and I could have struck you and your people with the plague, and you would have perished from the earth. ¹⁶ But for the sake of this I have caused you to stand—for the sake of showing you my strength and in order to proclaim my name in all the earth. ¹⁷ Still you are behaving haughtily to my people by not releasing them. ¹⁸ Look, about this time tomorrow, I am going to cause very severe^[ax] hail to rain, the like of which has not been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. ¹⁹ And now send word; bring into safety your livestock and all that belongs to you in the field. The hail will come down on every human and animal that is found in the field and not gathered into the house, and they will die.”’”

²⁰ Anyone from the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of Yahweh caused his servants and livestock to flee to the houses. ²¹ But whoever did not give regard to^[ay] the word of Yahweh abandoned his servants and his livestock in the field.

²² And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand to the heavens, and let there be hail in all the land of Egypt, on human and on animal and on all the vegetation of the field in the land of Egypt.” ²³ And Moses stretched out his staff to the heavens, and Yahweh gave thunder^[az] and hail, and fire went to the earth, and Yahweh caused hail to rain on the land of Egypt. ²⁴ And there was hail, and fire was flashing back and forth in the midst of the very severe hail, the like of which was not in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. ²⁵ And the hail struck in all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, from human to animal, and the hail struck all the vegetation of the field and smashed every tree of the field. ²⁶ Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites^[ba] were, there was no hail.

²⁷ And Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time. Yahweh is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. ²⁸ Pray to Yahweh. The thunder of God and hail are enough,^[bb] and I will release you, and you will no longer have to stay.”^{[bc] 29} And Moses said to him, “At my leaving the city, I will spread out my hands to Yahweh. The thunder will stop, and the hail will be no more, so that you will know that the earth belongs to Yahweh. ³⁰ But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the presence of Yahweh God.”

³¹ And the flax and the barley were struck, because the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. ³² But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, because they are late-ripening.

³³ And Moses went from Pharaoh out of the city, and he spread his hands to Yahweh, and the thunder and the hail stopped, and rain did not pour on the earth. ³⁴ And Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder stopped, and he again sinned^[bd] and made his heart insensitive,^[be] he and his servants. ³⁵ And Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not release the Israelites,^[bf] as Yahweh had said by the agency of Moses.^[bg]

Plague Eight: Locusts

10 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart insensitive^[bh] and the heart of his servants in order to put these signs of mine in his midst, ² so that you will tell in the ears of your child and your grandchild^[bi] that I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and so that you will tell about my signs that I have done among them, and so you will know that I am Yahweh.”

³ And Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and they said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, ‘Until when will you refuse to submit before me? Release my people so that they may serve me. ⁴ But if you are refusing to release my people, look, I am about to bring locusts into your territory tomorrow. ⁵ And they will cover the surface of the land, and no one will be able to see the land, and they will eat the remainder of what is left—what is left over for you from the hail—and they will eat every sprouting tree belonging to you from the field. ⁶ And your houses will be full, and the houses of all your servants and the houses of all Egypt, something that your fathers and your grandfathers^[bj] never saw from the day they were on the earth until this day.’” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

⁷ And the servants of Pharaoh said to him, “Until when will this be a snare for us? Release the men so that they may serve Yahweh their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?” ⁸ And Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Serve Yahweh your God. Who are the ones going?^{[bk] 9} And Moses said, “With our young and with our old we will go; with our sons and with our daughters, with our sheep and goats and with our cattle we will go because it is the feast of Yahweh for us.” ¹⁰ And he said to them, “Let Yahweh be thus with you as soon as I release you and your dependents.^[bl] See that evil is before your faces. ¹¹ No indeed;^[bm] just the men^[bn] go and serve Yahweh, since this is what you are seeking.” And he drove them out from the presence of Pharaoh.

¹² And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt with the locusts so that they may come up over the land of Egypt, and let them eat all the vegetation of the land, all that the hail left behind.” ¹³ And Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and Yahweh drove an east wind into the land all that day and all night. The morning came, and the east wind had brought the locusts. ¹⁴ And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and they settled in all the territory of Egypt, very severe.^[bo] Before it there were not locusts like them, nor will there be after it. ¹⁵ And they covered the surface of all the land, and the land was dark with them, and they ate all the vegetation of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left, and no green was left in the trees nor in the vegetation of the field in all the land of Egypt.

¹⁶ And Pharaoh hurried to call Moses and Aaron, and he said, “I have sinned against Yahweh your God and against you. ¹⁷ And now forgive my sin surely this time, and pray to Yahweh your God so that he may only remove from me this death.” ¹⁸ And he went out from Pharaoh, and he prayed to Yahweh. ¹⁹ And Yahweh turned a very strong west wind^[bp] and lifted up the locusts and thrust them into the Red Sea,^[bq] and not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt. ²⁰ And Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not release the Israelites.^[br]

Plague Nine: Darkness

²¹ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the heavens so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt and so that a person can feel darkness.” ²² And Moses stretched out his hand toward the heavens, and there was darkness of night in all the land of Egypt for three days. ²³ No one could see his brother, and because of it no one could move from where they were^[bs] for three days, but there was light for the Israelites^[bt] in their dwellings.

²⁴ And Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve Yahweh. Only your sheep and goats and your cattle must be left behind. Your dependents^[bu] may also go with you.” ²⁵ And Moses said, “Even if you yourself put into our hand sacrifices and burnt offerings and we offer them to Yahweh our God, ²⁶ our livestock must also go with us. Not a hoof can be left because we must take from them to serve Yahweh our God. And we will not know with what we are to serve Yahweh until we come there.” ²⁷ And Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to release them. ²⁸ And Pharaoh said to him, “Go from me. Be careful^[bv] not to see my face again, because on the day of your seeing my face you will die.” ²⁹ And Moses said, “That is right.^[bw] I will not again see your face.”^[bx]

Announcement of the Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

11 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Still one plague I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterward he will release you from here. At the moment of his releasing, he will certainly drive you completely out from here. ² Speak in the ears of the people, and let them ask, a man from his neighbor and a woman from her neighbor, for objects of silver and objects of gold.” ³ And Yahweh gave the people favor in the eyes of Egypt. Also the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the eyes of the servants of Pharaoh and in the eyes of the people.

⁴ And Moses said, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘About the middle of the night I will go out through the midst of Egypt, ⁵ and every firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the slave woman who is behind the pair of millstones and every firstborn animal.^{[by] 6} And there will be a great cry of distress in all the land of Egypt, the like of which has not been nor will be again.^{[bz] 7} But against all the Israelites,^[ca] from a man to an animal, a dog will not even bark,^[cb] so that you will know that Yahweh makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ ⁸ And all of these your servants will come down to me and bow to me, saying, ‘Go out, you and all the people who are at your feet.’ And afterward I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in great anger.^[cc]

⁹ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my wonders may multiply^[cd] in the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰ And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not release the Israelites^[ce] from his land.

Instructions for the Feast of Passover

12 And Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, ² “This month will be the beginning of months; it will be for you the first of the months of the year. ³ Speak to all the community of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month, they will each take for themselves a lamb for the family,^[cf] a lamb for the household. ⁴ And if the household is too small for a lamb, he and the neighbor nearest to his house will take one according to the number of persons;^[cg] you will count out portions of the lamb according to how much each one can eat.^{[ch] 5} The lamb for you must be a male, without defect, in its first year; you will take it from the sheep or from the goats.

⁶ “You will keep it^[ci] until the fourteenth day of this month, and all the assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter it at twilight.^{[cj] 7} And they will take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel on the houses in which they eat it. ⁸ And they will eat the meat on this night; they will eat it fire-roasted and with unleavened bread on bitter herbs.^{[ck] 9} You must not eat any of it raw or boiled, boiled in the water, but rather roasted with fire, its head with its legs and with its inner parts. ¹⁰ And you must not leave any of it until morning; anything left from it until morning you must burn in the fire. ¹¹ And this is how you will eat it—with your waists fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you will eat it in haste. It is Yahweh’s Passover.

¹² “And I will go through the land of Egypt during this night, and I will strike all of the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human to animal, and I will do punishments among all of the gods of Egypt. I am Yahweh. ¹³ And the blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and I will see the blood, and I will pass over you, and there will not be a destructive plague among you when I strike the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ “And this day will become a memorial for you, and you will celebrate it as a religious feast for Yahweh throughout your generations; you will celebrate it as a lasting statute. ¹⁵ You will eat unleavened bread for seven days. Surely on the first day you shall remove yeast from your houses, because anyone who eats food with yeast from the first day until the seventh day—that person will be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶ It will be for you on the first day a holy assembly^[cl] and on the seventh day a holy assembly;^[cm] no work will be done on them; only what is eaten by every person, it alone will be prepared for you.

¹⁷ “And you will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought out your divisions from the land of Egypt, and you will keep this day for your generations as a lasting statute. ¹⁸ On the first day, on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, you will eat unleavened bread until the evening of the twenty-first day of the month. ¹⁹ For seven days yeast must not be found in your houses, because anyone eating food with yeast^[cn] will be cut off from the community of Israel—whether an alien or a native of the land. ²⁰ You will eat no food with yeast; in all of your dwellings you will eat unleavened bread.”

²¹ And Moses called all the elders of Israel, and he said to them, “Select and take for yourselves sheep for your clans and slaughter the Passover sacrifice. ²² And take a bunch of hyssop and dip it into the blood that is in the basin and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts. And you will not go out, anyone from the doorway of his house, until morning. ²³ And Yahweh will go through to strike Egypt, and he will see the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, and Yahweh will pass over the doorway and will not allow the destroyer to come to your houses to strike you.

²⁴ “And you will keep this event as a rule for you and for your children forever.^{[co] 25} And^[cp] when you come into the land that Yahweh will give to you, as he said, you will keep this religious custom.^{[cq] 26} And^[cr] when your children say to you, ‘What is this religious custom^[cs] for you?’^{[ct] 27} you will say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice for Yahweh, who passed over the houses of the Israelites^[cu] in Egypt when he struck Egypt; and he delivered our houses.’” And the people knelt down and they worshiped. ²⁸ And the Israelites^[cv] went, and they did as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron; so they did.

Death of Firstborn and Deliverance from Egypt

²⁹ And^[cw] in the middle of the night, Yahweh struck all of the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the prison house and every firstborn of an animal. ³⁰ And Pharaoh got up at night, he and all his servants and all Egypt, and a great cry of distress was in Egypt because there was not a house where there was no one dead. ³¹ And he called Moses and Aaron at night, and he said, “Get up, go out from the midst of my people, both you as well as the Israelites,^[cx] and go, serve Yahweh, as you have said. ³² Take both your sheep and goats as well as your cattle, and go, and bless also me.”

³³ And the Egyptians urged the people in order to hurry their release^[cy] from the land, because they said, “All of us will die!”^{[cz] 34} And the people lifted up their dough before it had yeast; their kneading troughs were wrapped up in their cloaks on their shoulder. ³⁵ And the Israelites^[da] did according to the word of Moses, and they asked from the Egyptians for objects of silver and objects of gold and for clothing. ³⁶ And Yahweh gave the people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they granted their requests, and they plundered the Egyptians.

³⁷ And the Israelites^[db] set out from Rameses to Succoth; the men were about six hundred thousand on foot,^[dc] besides dependents. ³⁸ And also a mixed multitude^[dd] went up with them and sheep and goats and cattle, very numerous livestock. ³⁹ And they baked the dough that they had brought out from Egypt as cakes, unleavened bread, because it had no yeast when they were driven out from Egypt, and they were not able to delay, and also they had not made provisions for themselves.

⁴⁰ And the period of dwelling of the Israelites^[de] that they dwelled in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. ⁴¹ And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, on this exact day, all of Yahweh’s divisions went out from the land of Egypt. ⁴² It is a night of vigils^[df] belonging to Yahweh for bringing them out from the land of Egypt; it is this night belonging to Yahweh with vigils for all of the Israelites^[dg] throughout their generations.

⁴³ And Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: No foreigner may eat it. ⁴⁴ But any slave of a man, an acquisition by money, and you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. ⁴⁵ A temporary resident and a hired worker may not eat it. ⁴⁶ It will be eaten in one house; you will not bring part of the meat out from the house to the outside; and you will not break a bone of it. ⁴⁷ All of the community of Israel will prepare it. ⁴⁸ And when an alien dwells with you and he wants to prepare the Passover for Yahweh, every male belonging to him must be circumcised, and then he may come near to prepare it, and he will be as the native of the land, but any uncircumcised man may not eat it. ⁴⁹ One law will be for the native and for the alien who is dwelling in your midst.”

⁵⁰ And all the Israelites^[dh] did as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron; so they did. ⁵¹ And it was on exactly this day Yahweh brought the Israelites^[di] out from the land of Egypt by their divisions.

Unleavened Bread and Dedication of Firstborn to Commemorate the Rescue from Egypt

13 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Consecrate to me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the Israelites,^[dj] among humans^[dk] and among domestic animals;^[dl] it belongs to me.”^{[dm] 3} And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day when you went out from Egypt, from a house of slaves, because with strength of hand Yahweh brought you out from here, and food with yeast will not be eaten. ⁴ Today you are going out in the month of Abib. ⁵ And when Yahweh brings you to the land of the Canaanites^[dn] and the Hittites^[do] and the Amorites^[dp] and the Hivites^[dq] and the Jebusites^[dr]—which he swore to your ancestors^[ds] to give to you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you will perform this service in this month. ⁶ Seven days you will eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day will be a feast for Yahweh. ⁷ Unleavened bread will be eaten the seven days; food with yeast will not be seen for you; and yeast will not be seen for you in all your territory. ⁸ And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘This is because of what Yahweh did for me when I came out from Egypt.’ ⁹ And it will be as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes so that the law of Yahweh will be in your mouth, that with a strong hand Yahweh brought you out from Egypt. ¹⁰ And you will keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.^[dt]

¹¹ “And when Yahweh brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as he swore to you and to your ancestors,^[du] and he gives it to you, ¹² you will hand over every first offspring of a womb to Yahweh, and every first offspring dropped by a domestic animal that will belong to you, the males will be for Yahweh. ¹³ And every first offspring of a donkey you will redeem with small livestock, and if you will not redeem it, then you will break its neck, and every firstborn human among your sons you will redeem. ¹⁴ And when your son asks you in the future,^[dv] saying, ‘What is this?’ you will say to him, ‘With strength of hand Yahweh brought us out from Egypt, from a house of slaves. ¹⁵ And when Pharaoh was stubborn to release us, Yahweh killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from firstborn human to firstborn domestic animal. Therefore I am sacrificing to Yahweh every first offspring of a womb, the males, and every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶ And it will be as a sign on your hand and as symbolic ornaments between your eyes that with strength of hand Yahweh brought us out from Egypt.”

Summary of Travel

¹⁷ And when Pharaoh released the people, God did not lead them the way of the land of the Philistines, though it was nearer, because God said, “Lest the people change their mind when they see war and return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ So God led the people around by the way of the desert to the Red Sea,^[dw] and the Israelites^[dx] went up in battle array from the land of Egypt. ¹⁹ And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph^[dy] had made the Israelites^[dz] solemnly swear an oath, saying, “God will surely attend to you, and you will take up my bones from here with you.” ²⁰ And they set out from Succoth, and they encamped at Etham on the edge of the desert. ²¹ And Yahweh was going before them by day in a column of cloud to lead them on the way and by night in a column of fire to give light to them to go by day and night. ²² The column of cloud by day and the column of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

Yahweh Rescues Israel at the Red Sea

14 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the Israelites^[ea] so that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea;^[eb] before Baal Zephon, which is opposite it, you will camp by the sea. ³ And Pharaoh will say of the Israelites,^[ec] ‘They are wandering around in the land. The desert has closed in on them.’ ⁴ And I will harden the heart of Pharaoh, and he will chase after them, and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and through all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” And they did so.

⁵ And it was told to the king of Egypt that the people fled, and the heart of Pharaoh was changed and that of his servants toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have released Israel from serving us!” ⁶ And he harnessed his chariot and took with him his people. ⁷ And he took six hundred select chariots and all the chariots of Egypt and officers over all of them. ⁸ And Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and he chased after the Israelites.^[ed] (Now the Israelites^[ee] were going out boldly.^[ef]) ⁹ And the Egyptians chased after them, and they overtook them encamped at the sea—all the horses of the chariots of Pharaoh and his charioteers and his army—at Pi-hahiroth before Baal Zephon.

¹⁰ And Pharaoh approached, and the Israelites^[eg] lifted their eyes, and there were the Egyptians traveling after them! And they were very afraid, and the Israelites^[eh] cried out to Yahweh. ¹¹ And they said to Moses, “Because there are no graves in Egypt? Is that why you have taken us to die in the desert? What is this you have done to us by bringing us out from Egypt! ¹² Isn’t this the word we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve Egypt!’ because serving Egypt is better for us than our dying in the desert.” ¹³ And Moses said to the people, “You must not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will accomplish for you today, because the Egyptians whom you see today you will see never again. ¹⁴ Yahweh will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”

¹⁵ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Speak to the Israelites^[ei] so that they set out.^{[ej] 16} And you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it so that the Israelites^[ek] can go in the middle of the sea on the dry land. ¹⁷ And as for me, look, I am about to harden the heart of the Egyptians so that they come after them, and I will display my glory through Pharaoh and through all of his army, through his chariots and through his charioteers. ¹⁸ And the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I display my glory through Pharaoh, through his chariots, and through his charioteers.”

¹⁹ And the angel of God who was going before the camp of Israel set out and went behind them. And the column of cloud set out ahead of them, and it stood still behind them, ²⁰ so that it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. And it was a dark cloud,^[el] but it gave light to the night,^[em] so that neither approached the other^[en] all night.

²¹ And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh moved the sea^[eo] with a strong east wind all night, and he made the sea become dry ground, and the waters were divided. ²² And the Israelites^[ep] entered the middle of the sea on the dry land. The waters were a wall for them on their right and on their left. ²³ And the Egyptians gave chase^[eq] and entered after them—all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his charioteers—into the middle of the sea. ²⁴ And during the morning watch, Yahweh looked down to the Egyptian camp from in the column of fire and cloud, and he threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. ²⁵ And he removed^[er] the wheels of their chariots so that they drove them with difficulty, and the Egyptians said, “We must flee away^[es] from Israel because Yahweh is fighting for them against Egypt.”

²⁶ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, and let the waters return over the Egyptians, over their chariots, and over their charioteers.” ²⁷ And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned at daybreak^[et] to its normal level, and the Egyptians were fleeing because of it,^[eu] and Yahweh swept the Egyptians into the middle of the sea. ²⁸ And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the charioteers—all the army of Pharaoh coming after them into the sea. Not even^[ev] one survived among them. ²⁹ But the Israelites^[ew] walked on the dry land in the middle of the sea. The waters were a wall for them on their right and on their left. ³⁰ And Yahweh saved Israel on that day from the hand^[ex] of Egypt, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore of the sea. ³¹ And Israel saw the great hand^[ey] that Yahweh displayed against Egypt, and the people feared Yahweh, and they believed in Yahweh and in Moses his servant.