Bible in 90 Days

I. Introduction: The Oppression of the Israelites in Egypt

Chapter 1

Jacob’s Descendants in Egypt. ¹ These are the names of the sons of Israel^[a] who, accompanied by their households, entered into Egypt with Jacob: ^2 [b]Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; ³ Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; ⁴ Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. ⁵ The total number of Jacob’s direct descendants^[c] was seventy.^(A) Joseph was already in Egypt.

⁶ Now Joseph and all his brothers and that whole generation died.^{(B) 7} But the Israelites were fruitful and prolific. They multiplied and became so very numerous that the land was filled with them.^[d]

The Oppression. ^8 (C)Then a new king, who knew nothing of Joseph,^[e] rose to power in Egypt. ⁹ He said to his people, “See! The Israelite people have multiplied and become more numerous than we are! ¹⁰ Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase;^[f] otherwise, in time of war they too may join our enemies to fight against us, and so leave the land.”

¹¹ Accordingly, they set supervisors over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor.^(D) Thus they had to build for Pharaoh^[g] the garrison cities of Pithom and Raamses. ¹² Yet the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians began to loathe the Israelites. ¹³ So the Egyptians reduced the Israelites to cruel slavery, ¹⁴ making life bitter for them with hard labor, at mortar^[h] and brick and all kinds of field work—cruelly oppressed in all their labor.

Command to the Midwives. ¹⁵ The king of Egypt told the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was called Shiphrah and the other Puah, ¹⁶ “When you act as midwives for the Hebrew women, look on the birthstool:^[i] if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she may live.” ¹⁷ The midwives, however, feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt had ordered them, but let the boys live. ¹⁸ So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this, allowing the boys to live?” ¹⁹ The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women. They are robust and give birth before the midwife arrives.” ²⁰ Therefore God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and grew very numerous. ²¹ And because the midwives feared God, God built up families for them. ²² Pharaoh then commanded all his people, “Throw into the Nile every boy that is born,^(E) but you may let all the girls live.”

Chapter 2

Birth and Adoption of Moses. ¹ Now a man^[j] of the house of Levi married a Levite woman,^{(F) 2} and the woman conceived and bore a son. Seeing what a fine child he was, she hid him for three months.^{(G) 3} But when she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket,^[k] daubed it with bitumen and pitch, and putting the child in it, placed it among the reeds on the bank of the Nile. ⁴ His sister stationed herself at a distance to find out what would happen to him.

⁵ Then Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe at the Nile, while her attendants walked along the bank of the Nile. Noticing the basket among the reeds, she sent her handmaid to fetch it. ⁶ On opening it, she looked, and there was a baby boy crying! She was moved with pity for him and said, “It is one of the Hebrews’ children.” ⁷ Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and summon a Hebrew woman to nurse the child for you?” ⁸ Pharaoh’s daughter answered her, “Go.” So the young woman went and called the child’s own mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.”^[l] So the woman took the child and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew,^[m] she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.^(H) She named him Moses; for she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

Moses’ Flight to Midian. ^11 (I)On one occasion, after Moses had grown up,^[n] when he had gone out to his kinsmen and witnessed their forced labor, he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own kinsmen. ¹² Looking about and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ The next day he went out again, and now two Hebrews were fighting! So he asked the culprit, “Why are you striking your companion?” ¹⁴ But he replied, “Who has appointed you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses became afraid and thought, “The affair must certainly be known.” ¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard of the affair, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to the land of Midian.^[o](J) There he sat down by a well.

¹⁶ Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷ But shepherds came and drove them away. So Moses rose up in their defense and watered their flock. ¹⁸ When they returned to their father Reuel,^[p] he said to them, “How is it you have returned so soon today?” ¹⁹ They answered, “An Egyptian^[q] delivered us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock!” ²⁰ “Where is he?” he asked his daughters. “Why did you leave the man there? Invite him to have something to eat.” ²¹ Moses agreed to stay with him, and the man gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage. ²² She conceived and bore a son, whom he named Gershom;^[r] for he said, “I am a stranger residing in a foreign land.”^(K)

II. The Call and Commission of Moses

The Burning Bush. ²³ A long time passed, during which the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their bondage and cried out, and from their bondage their cry for help went up to God.^{(L) 24} God heard their moaning and God was mindful of his covenant^(M) with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ²⁵ God saw the Israelites, and God knew….^[s]

Chapter 3

^1 [t]Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock beyond the wilderness, he came to the mountain of God, Horeb.^{[u] 2} There the angel of the Lord^[v] appeared to him as fire flaming out of a bush.^(N) When he looked, although the bush was on fire, it was not being consumed. ³ So Moses decided, “I must turn aside to look at this remarkable sight. Why does the bush not burn up?” ⁴ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called out to him from the bush: Moses! Moses! He answered, “Here I am.” ⁵ God said: Do not come near! Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.^{(O) 6} I am the God of your father,^[w] he continued, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.^(P) Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

The Call and Commission of Moses. ⁷ But the Lord said: I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry against their taskmasters, so I know well what they are suffering. ⁸ Therefore I have come down^[x] to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them up from that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.^{(Q) 9} Now indeed the outcry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰ Now, go! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.

¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I^[y] that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” ¹² God answered: I will be with you; and this will be your sign^[z] that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will serve God at this mountain. ¹³ “But,” said Moses to God, “if I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what do I tell them?” ¹⁴ God replied to Moses: I am who I am.^[aa] Then he added: This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.

¹⁵ God spoke further to Moses: This is what you will say to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.

¹⁶ Go and gather the elders of the Israelites, and tell them, The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I have observed you and what is being done to you in Egypt; ¹⁷ so I have decided to lead you up out of your affliction in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁸ They will listen to you. Then you and the elders of Israel will go to the king of Egypt and say to him:^(S) The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has come to meet us. So now, let us go a three days’ journey in the wilderness to offer sacrifice to the Lord, our God. ¹⁹ Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless his hand is forced. ²⁰ So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wondrous deeds I will do in its midst. After that he will let you go. ^21 (T)I will even make the Egyptians so well-disposed toward this people that, when you go, you will not go empty-handed. ²² Every woman will ask her neighbor and the resident alien in her house for silver and gold articles^[ab] and for clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians.

Chapter 4

¹ “But,” objected Moses, “suppose they do not believe me or listen to me? For they may say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” ² The Lord said to him: What is in your hand? “A staff,” he answered. ³ God said: Throw it on the ground. So he threw it on the ground and it became a snake,^(U) and Moses backed away from it. ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses: Now stretch out your hand and take hold of its tail. So he stretched out his hand and took hold of it, and it became a staff in his hand. ⁵ That is so they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did appear to you.

⁶ Again the Lord said to him: Put your hand into the fold of your garment. So he put his hand into the fold of his garment, and when he drew it out, there was his hand covered with scales, like snowflakes. ⁷ Then God said: Put your hand back into the fold of your garment. So he put his hand back into the fold of his garment, and when he drew it out, there it was again like his own flesh. ⁸ If they do not believe you or pay attention to the message of the first sign, they should believe the message of the second sign. ⁹ And if they do not believe even these two signs and do not listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry land. The water you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry land.^(V)

Aaron’s Office as Assistant. ¹⁰ Moses, however, said to the Lord, “If you please, my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and tongue.”^{(W) 11} The Lord said to him: Who gives one person speech? Who makes another mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹² Now go, I will assist you in speaking^[ac] and teach you what you are to say. ¹³ But he said, “If you please, my Lord, send someone else!”^{[ad] 14} Then the Lord became angry with Moses and said: I know there is your brother, Aaron the Levite, who is a good speaker; even now he is on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will truly be glad. ¹⁵ You will speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will assist both you and him in speaking and teach you both what you are to do. ¹⁶ He will speak to the people for you: he will be your spokesman,^[ae] and you will be as God to him.^{(X) 17} Take this staff^[af] in your hand; with it you are to perform the signs.

Moses’ Return to Egypt. ¹⁸ After this Moses returned to Jethro^[ag] his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my kindred in Egypt, to see whether they are still living.” Jethro replied to Moses, “Go in peace.” ¹⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses in Midian: Return to Egypt, for all those who sought your life are dead. ²⁰ So Moses took his wife and his sons, mounted them on the donkey, and started back to the land of Egypt. Moses took the staff of God with him. ²¹ The Lord said to Moses: On your return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart^[ah] and he will not let the people go. ^22 (Y)So you will say to Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord: Israel is my son, my firstborn. ²³ I said to you: Let my son go, that he may serve me. Since you refused to let him go, I will kill your son, your firstborn.^(Z)

^24 [ai]On the journey, at a place where they spent the night, the Lord came upon Moses and sought to put him to death. ^25 (AA)But Zipporah took a piece of flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and, touching his feet,^[aj] she said, “Surely you are a spouse of blood to me.” ²⁶ So God let Moses alone. At that time she said, “A spouse of blood,” in regard to the circumcision.

²⁷ The Lord said to Aaron: Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. So he went; when meeting him at the mountain of God, he kissed him. ²⁸ Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and all the signs he had commanded him to do. ²⁹ Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered all the elders of the Israelites. ³⁰ Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses, and he performed the signs before the people. ³¹ The people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had observed the Israelites and had seen their affliction,^[ak] they knelt and bowed down.

Chapter 5

Pharaoh’s Hardness of Heart. ¹ Afterwards, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Let my people go, that they may hold a feast^[al] for me in the wilderness.” ² Pharaoh answered, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord,^[am] and I will not let Israel go.” ³ They replied, “The God of the Hebrews has come to meet us. Let us go a three days’ journey in the wilderness, that we may offer sacrifice to the Lord, our God,^(AB) so that he does not strike us with the plague or the sword.” ⁴ The king of Egypt answered them, “Why, Moses and Aaron, do you make the people neglect their work? Off to your labors!” ⁵ Pharaoh continued, “Look how they are already more numerous^[an] than the people of the land, and yet you would give them rest from their labors!”

⁶ That very day Pharaoh gave the taskmasters of the people and their foremen^[ao] this order: ⁷ “You shall no longer supply the people with straw for their brickmaking^[ap] as before. Let them go and gather their own straw! ⁸ Yet you shall levy upon them the same quota of bricks as they made previously. Do not reduce it. They are lazy; that is why they are crying, ‘Let us go to offer sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Increase the work for the men, so that they attend to it and not to deceitful words.”

¹⁰ So the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and told the people, “Thus says Pharaoh,^[aq] ‘I will not provide you with straw. ¹¹ Go and get your own straw from wherever you can find it. But there will not be the slightest reduction in your work.’” ¹² The people, then, scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw, ¹³ while the taskmasters kept driving them on, saying, “Finish your work, the same daily amount as when the straw was supplied to you.” ¹⁴ The Israelite foremen, whom the taskmasters of Pharaoh had placed over them, were beaten, and were asked, “Why have you not completed your prescribed amount of bricks yesterday and today, as before?”

Complaint of the Foremen. ¹⁵ Then the Israelite foremen came and cried out to Pharaoh:^[ar] “Why do you treat your servants in this manner? ¹⁶ No straw is supplied to your servants, and still we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Look how your servants are beaten! It is you who are at fault.” ¹⁷ He answered, “Lazy! You are lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ Now off to work! No straw will be supplied to you, but you must supply your quota of bricks.”

¹⁹ The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble, having been told, “Do not reduce your daily amount of bricks!” ²⁰ So when they left Pharaoh they assailed Moses and Aaron, who were waiting to meet them, ²¹ and said to them, “The Lord look upon you and judge! You have made us offensive to Pharaoh and his servants, putting a sword into their hands to kill us.”

Renewal of God’s Promise. ²² Then Moses again had recourse to the Lord and said, “Lord, why have you treated this people badly? And why did you send me? ²³ From the time I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has treated this people badly, and you have done nothing to rescue your people.”

Chapter 6

¹ The Lord answered Moses: Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. For by a strong hand, he will let them go; by a strong hand,^[as] he will drive them from his land.

Confirmation of the Promise to the Ancestors. ^2 [at]Then God spoke to Moses, and said to him: I am the Lord. ³ As God the Almighty^[au] I appeared^(AC) to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but by my name, Lord, I did not make myself known to them. ⁴ I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they were residing as aliens.^{(AD) 5} Now that I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians have reduced to slavery, I am mindful of my covenant.^{(AE) 6} Therefore, say to the Israelites: I am the Lord. I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and will deliver you from their slavery. I will redeem you by my outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. ⁷ I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God;^(AF) and you will know that I, the Lord, am your God who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians ⁸ and I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your own possession—I, the Lord! ⁹ But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to him because of their dejection and hard slavery.

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ¹¹ Go, tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the Israelites leave his land. ¹² However, Moses protested to the Lord, “If the Israelites did not listen to me, how is it possible that Pharaoh will listen to me, poor speaker^[av](AG) that I am!” ¹³ But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron regarding the Israelites and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and charged them to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

Genealogy of Moses and Aaron. ¹⁴ These are the heads of their ancestral houses.^[aw] The sons of Reuben,^(AH) the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben. ¹⁵ The sons of Simeon:^(AI) Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon. ¹⁶ These are the names of the sons of Levi,^(AJ) in their genealogical order: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Levi lived one hundred and thirty-seven years.

¹⁷ The sons of Gershon,^(AK) by their clans: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁸ The sons of Kohath:^(AL) Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. Kohath lived one hundred and thirty-three years. ¹⁹ The sons of Merari:^(AM) Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of Levi in their genealogical order.

²⁰ Amram married his aunt^[ax] Jochebed,^(AN) who bore him Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. Amram lived one hundred and thirty-seven years. ²¹ The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg and Zichri. ²² The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan and Sithri. ²³ Aaron married Elisheba, Amminadab’s^(AO) daughter, the sister of Nahshon; she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ²⁴ The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These are the clans of the Korahites. ²⁵ Eleazar, Aaron’s son, married one of Putiel’s daughters, who bore him Phinehas.^[ay] These are the heads of the ancestral houses of the Levites by their clans. ²⁶ These are the Aaron and the Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out from the land of Egypt, company by company.” ²⁷ They are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out of Egypt—the same Moses and Aaron.

²⁸ When the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt ²⁹ the Lord said to Moses: I am the Lord. Say to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, all that I tell you. ³⁰ But Moses protested to the Lord, “Since I am a poor speaker, how is it possible that Pharaoh will listen to me?”

Chapter 7

¹ The Lord answered Moses: See! I have made you a god to Pharaoh,^(AP) and Aaron your brother will be your prophet.^{[az] 2} You will speak all that I command you. In turn, your brother Aaron will tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land. ³ Yet I will make Pharaoh so headstrong that, despite the many signs and wonders that I work in the land of Egypt, ⁴ Pharaoh will not listen to you. Therefore I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring my armies, my people the Israelites, out of the land of Egypt. ⁵ All Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of their midst.

⁶ This, then, is what Moses and Aaron did. They did exactly as the Lord had commanded them. ⁷ Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

III. The Contest with Pharaoh

The Staff Turned into a Serpent. ⁸ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ⁹ When Pharaoh demands of you, “Produce a sign or wonder,” you will say to Aaron: “Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, and it will turn into a serpent.”^{(AQ) 10} Then Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his servants, and it turned into a serpent. ¹¹ Pharaoh, in turn, summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians^(AR) of Egypt, did the same thing by their magic arts. ¹² Each one threw down his staff, and they turned into serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs. ¹³ Pharaoh, however, hardened his heart and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had foretold.

First Plague: Water Turned into Blood.^{[ba] 14} Then the Lord said to Moses: Pharaoh is obstinate^[bb] in refusing to let the people go. ¹⁵ In the morning, just when he sets out for the water, go to Pharaoh and present yourself by the bank of the Nile, holding in your hand the staff that turned into a snake.^{[bc] 16} Say to him: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you with the message: Let my people go to serve me in the wilderness. But as yet you have not listened. ¹⁷ Thus says the Lord: This is how you will know that I am the Lord. With the staff here in my hand, I will strike the water in the Nile and it will be changed into blood.^{(AS) 18} The fish in the Nile will die, and the Nile itself will stink so that the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile.

¹⁹ The Lord then spoke to Moses: Speak to Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—its streams, its canals, its ponds, and all its supplies of water—that they may become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the wooden pails and stone jars.

²⁰ This, then, is what Moses and Aaron did, exactly as the Lord had commanded. Aaron raised his staff and struck the waters in the Nile in full view of Pharaoh and his servants, and all the water in the Nile was changed into blood. ²¹ The fish in the Nile died, and the Nile itself stank so that the Egyptians could not drink water from it. There was blood throughout the land of Egypt. ²² But the Egyptian magicians did the same^[bd] by their magic arts. So Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. ²³ Pharaoh turned away and went into his house, with no concern even for this. ²⁴ All the Egyptians had to dig round about the Nile for drinking water, since they could not drink any water from the Nile.

Second Plague: The Frogs. ²⁵ Seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile. ²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses: Go to Pharaoh and tell him:^(AT) Thus says the Lord: Let my people go to serve me. ²⁷ If you refuse to let them go, then I will send a plague of frogs over all your territory. ²⁸ The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up and enter into your palace and into your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your servants, too, and among your people, even into your ovens and your kneading bowls. ²⁹ The frogs will come up over you and your people and all your servants.

Chapter 8

¹ The Lord then spoke to Moses: Speak to Aaron: Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams, the canals, and the ponds, and make frogs overrun the land of Egypt. ² So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ³ But the magicians did the same by their magic arts and made frogs overrun the land of Egypt.

⁴ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to remove the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” ⁵ Moses answered Pharaoh, “Please designate for me the time when I am to pray for you and your servants and your people, to get rid of the frogs from you and your houses. They will be left only in the Nile.” ⁶ “Tomorrow,” he said. Then Moses replied, “It will be as you have said, so that you may know that there is none like the Lord, our God. ⁷ The frogs will leave you and your houses, your servants and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.”

⁸ After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh’s presence, Moses cried out to the Lord on account of the frogs that he had inflicted on Pharaoh; ⁹ and the Lord did as Moses had asked. The frogs died off in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. ¹⁰ Heaps of them were piled up, and the land stank. ¹¹ But when Pharaoh saw there was a respite, he became obstinate and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

Third Plague: The Gnats. ¹² Thereupon the Lord spoke to Moses: Speak to Aaron: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it will turn into gnats^[be](AU) throughout the land of Egypt. ¹³ They did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and gnats came upon human being and beast alike. All the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the land of Egypt. ¹⁴ Though the magicians did the same thing to produce gnats by their magic arts, they could not do so.^(AV) The gnats were on human being and beast alike, ¹⁵ and the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.”^[bf] Yet Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

Fourth Plague: The Flies. ¹⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses: Early tomorrow morning present yourself to Pharaoh when he sets out toward the water, and say to him: Thus says the Lord: Let my people go to serve me. ¹⁷ For if you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies upon you and your servants and your people and your houses. The houses of the Egyptians and the very ground on which they stand will be filled with swarms of flies. ¹⁸ But on that day I will make an exception of the land of Goshen, where my people are, and no swarms of flies will be there, so that you may know that I the Lord am in the midst of the land. ¹⁹ I will make a distinction^[bg] between my people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow. ²⁰ This the Lord did. Thick swarms of flies entered the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants; throughout Egypt the land was devastated on account of the swarms of flies.^(AW)

²¹ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go sacrifice to your God within the land.” ²² But Moses replied, “It is not right to do so, for what we sacrifice to the Lord, our God, is abhorrent to the Egyptians.^[bh] If we sacrifice what is abhorrent to the Egyptians before their very eyes, will they not stone us? ²³ We must go a three days’ journey in the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord, our God, as he commands us.” ²⁴ Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord, your God, in the wilderness, provided that you do not go too far away. Pray for me.” ²⁵ Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you I will pray to the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, his servants, and his people. Pharaoh, however, must not act deceitfully again and refuse to let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” ²⁶ When Moses left Pharaoh, he prayed to the Lord; ²⁷ and the Lord did as Moses had asked, removing the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his servants, and his people. Not one remained. ²⁸ But once more Pharaoh became obstinate and would not let the people go.

Chapter 9

Fifth Plague: The Pestilence. ¹ Then the Lord said to Moses: Go to Pharaoh and tell him: Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to serve me. ² For if you refuse to let them go and persist in holding them, ³ the hand of the Lord will strike your livestock in the field—your horses, donkeys, camels, herds and flocks—with a very severe pestilence. ⁴ But the Lord will distinguish between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that nothing belonging to the Israelites will die. ⁵ And the Lord set a definite time, saying: Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land. ⁶ And on the next day the Lord did it. All the livestock of the Egyptians died,^(AX) but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. ⁷ But although Pharaoh found upon inquiry that not even so much as one of the livestock of the Israelites had died, he remained obstinate and would not let the people go.

Sixth Plague: The Boils. ⁸ So the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Each of you take handfuls of soot from a kiln, and in the presence of Pharaoh let Moses scatter it toward the sky. ⁹ It will turn into fine dust over the whole land of Egypt and cause festering boils^[bi] on human being and beast alike throughout the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ So they took the soot from a kiln and appeared before Pharaoh. When Moses scattered it toward the sky, it caused festering boils on human being and beast alike. ¹¹ Because of the boils the magicians could not stand in Moses’ presence, for there were boils on the magicians as well as on the rest of the Egyptians. ¹² But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said to Moses.

Seventh Plague: The Hail. ¹³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses: Early tomorrow morning present yourself to Pharaoh and say to him: Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to serve me, ¹⁴ for this time I will unleash all my blows upon you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me anywhere on earth. ¹⁵ For by now I should have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with such pestilence that you would have vanished from the earth. ¹⁶ But this is why I have let you survive: to show you^[bj] my power and to make my name resound throughout the earth!^{(AY) 17} Will you continue to exalt yourself over my people and not let them go? ¹⁸ At this time tomorrow, therefore, I am going to rain down such fierce hail as there has never been in Egypt from the day it was founded up to the present. ¹⁹ Therefore, order your livestock and whatever else you have in the open fields to be brought to a place of safety. Whatever human being or animal is found in the fields and is not brought to shelter will die when the hail comes down upon them. ²⁰ Those of Pharaoh’s servants who feared the word of the Lord hurried their servants and their livestock off to shelter. ²¹ But those who did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left their servants and their livestock in the fields.

²² The Lord then said to Moses: Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that hail may fall upon the entire land of Egypt, on human being and beast alike and all the vegetation of the fields in the land of Egypt. ²³ So Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent forth peals of thunder and hail.^(AZ) Lightning flashed toward the earth, and the Lord rained down hail upon the land of Egypt. ²⁴ There was hail and lightning flashing here and there through the hail, and the hail was so fierce that nothing like it had been seen in Egypt since it became a nation. ²⁵ Throughout the land of Egypt the hail struck down everything in the fields, human being and beast alike; it struck down all the vegetation of the fields and splintered every tree in the fields. ²⁶ Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, was there no hail.

²⁷ Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time! The Lord is the just one, and I and my people are the ones at fault. ²⁸ Pray to the Lord! Enough of the thunder^[bk] and hail! I will let you go; you need stay no longer.” ²⁹ Moses replied to him, “As soon as I leave the city I will extend my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail so that you may know that the earth belongs to the Lord. ³⁰ But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.”

³¹ Now the flax and the barley were ruined, because the barley was in ear and the flax in bud. ³² But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they grow later.

³³ When Moses had left Pharaoh and gone out of the city, he extended his hands to the Lord. The thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured down upon the earth. ³⁴ But Pharaoh, seeing that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, sinned again and became obstinate, both he and his servants. ³⁵ In the hardness of his heart, Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.

Chapter 10

Eighth Plague: The Locusts. ¹ Then the Lord said to Moses: Go to Pharaoh, for I have made him and his servants obstinate in order that I may perform these signs of mine among them ² and that you may recount to your son and grandson how I made a fool of the Egyptians and what signs I did among them, so that you may know that I am the Lord.^(BA)

³ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: How long will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go to serve me. ⁴ For if you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. ⁵ They will cover the surface of the earth, so that the earth itself will not be visible. They will eat up the remnant you saved undamaged from the hail, as well as all the trees that are growing in your fields. ⁶ They will fill your houses and the houses of your servants and of all the Egyptians—something your parents and your grandparents have not seen from the day they appeared on this soil until today.” With that he turned and left Pharaoh.

⁷ But Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will he be a snare for us? Let the people go to serve the Lord, their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is being destroyed?” ⁸ So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, who said to them, “Go, serve the Lord, your God. But who exactly will go?” ⁹ Moses answered, “With our young and old we must go; with our sons and daughters, with our flocks and herds we must go. It is a pilgrimage feast of the Lord for us.” ¹⁰ “The Lord help you,”^[bl] Pharaoh replied, “if I let your little ones go with you! Clearly, you have some evil in mind. ¹¹ By no means! Just you men go and serve the Lord.^[bm] After all, that is what you have been asking for.” With that they were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.

^12 (BB)The Lord then said to Moses: Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon it and eat up all the land’s vegetation, whatever the hail has left. ¹³ So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord drove an east wind^[bn] over the land all that day and all night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. ¹⁴ The locusts came up over the whole land of Egypt and settled down over all its territory. Never before had there been such a fierce swarm of locusts, nor will there ever be again. ¹⁵ They covered the surface of the whole land, so that it became black. They ate up all the vegetation in the land and all the fruit of the trees the hail had spared. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant in the fields throughout the land of Egypt.

¹⁶ Pharaoh hurriedly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord, your God, and against you. ¹⁷ But now, do forgive me my sin only this once, and pray to the Lord, your God, only to take this death from me.” ¹⁸ When Moses left Pharaoh, he prayed to the Lord, ¹⁹ and the Lord caused the wind to shift to a very strong west wind, which took up the locusts and hurled them into the Red Sea.^[bo] Not a single locust remained within the whole territory of Egypt. ²⁰ Yet the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.

Ninth Plague: The Darkness. ^21 (BC)Then the Lord said to Moses: Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that over the land of Egypt there may be such darkness^[bp] that one can feel it. ²² So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was dense darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days. ²³ People could not see one another, nor could they get up from where they were, for three days. But all the Israelites had light where they lived.

²⁴ Pharaoh then summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, serve the Lord. Only your flocks and herds will be detained. Even your little ones may go with you.” ²⁵ But Moses replied, “You also must give us sacrifices and burnt offerings to make to the Lord, our God. ²⁶ Our livestock also must go with us. Not an animal must be left behind, for some of them we will select for service^[bq] to the Lord, our God; but we will not know with which ones we are to serve the Lord until we arrive there.” ²⁷ But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them go. ²⁸ Pharaoh said to Moses, “Leave me, and see to it that you do not see my face again! For the day you do see my face you will die!” ²⁹ Moses replied, “You are right! I will never see your face again.”

Chapter 11

Tenth Plague: The Death of the Firstborn. ¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses: One more plague I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. After that he will let you depart. In fact, when he finally lets you go, he will drive you away. ^2 (BD)Instruct the people that every man is to ask his neighbor, and every woman her neighbor, for silver and gold articles and for clothing. ³ The Lord indeed made the Egyptians well-disposed toward the people; Moses himself was very highly regarded by Pharaoh’s servants and the people in the land of Egypt.

⁴ Moses then said, “Thus says the Lord: About midnight I will go forth through Egypt.^{(BE) 5 (BF)}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-girl who is at the handmill,^[br] as well as all the firstborn of the animals. ⁶ Then there will be loud wailing throughout the land of Egypt, such as has never been, nor will ever be again. ⁷ But among all the Israelites, among human beings and animals alike, not even a dog will growl, so that you may know that the Lord distinguishes between Egypt and Israel. ⁸ All these servants of yours will then come down to me and bow down before me, saying: Leave, you and all your followers!^(BG) Then I will depart.” With that he left Pharaoh’s presence in hot anger.

⁹ The Lord said to Moses: Pharaoh will not listen to you so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. ¹⁰ Thus, although Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders in Pharaoh’s presence, the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go from his land.

Chapter 12

The Passover Ritual Prescribed.^{[bs] 1} The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: ^2 [bt]This month will stand at the head of your calendar; you will reckon it the first month of the year.^{(BH) 3} Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month every family must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household. ⁴ If a household is too small for a lamb, it along with its nearest neighbor will procure one, and apportion the lamb’s cost^[bu] in proportion to the number of persons, according to what each household consumes. ⁵ Your lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You may take it from either the sheep or the goats. ⁶ You will keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole community of Israel assembled, it will be slaughtered during the evening twilight. ⁷ They will take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ⁸ They will consume its meat that same night, eating it roasted with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ⁹ Do not eat any of it raw or even boiled in water, but roasted, with its head and shanks and inner organs. ¹⁰ You must not keep any of it beyond the morning; whatever is left over in the morning must be burned up.

¹¹ This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you will eat it in a hurry. It is the Lord’s Passover. ¹² For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every firstborn in the land, human being and beast alike, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt—I, the Lord!^{(BI) 13} But for you the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thereby, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you.^(BJ)

¹⁴ This day will be a day of remembrance for you, which your future generations will celebrate with pilgrimage to the Lord; you will celebrate it as a statute forever. ¹⁵ For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. From the very first day you will have your houses clear of all leaven. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day to the seventh will be cut off^[bv] from Israel. ¹⁶ On the first day you will hold a sacred assembly, and likewise on the seventh. On these days no sort of work shall be done, except to prepare the food that everyone needs. ¹⁷ Keep, then, the custom of the unleavened bread,^(BK) since it was on this very day that I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. You must observe this day throughout your generations as a statute forever. ¹⁸ From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day of this month you will eat unleavened bread. ¹⁹ For seven days no leaven may be found in your houses; for anyone, a resident alien or a native, who eats leavened food will be cut off from the community of Israel. ²⁰ You shall eat nothing leavened; wherever you dwell you may eat only unleavened bread.

Promulgation of the Passover. ²¹ Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and procure lambs for your families, and slaughter the Passover victims. ^22 (BL)Then take a bunch of hyssop,^[bw] and dipping it in the blood that is in the basin, apply some of this blood to the lintel and the two doorposts. And none of you shall go outdoors until morning. ²³ For when the Lord goes by to strike down the Egyptians, seeing the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door and not let the destroyer come into your houses to strike you down.

²⁴ “You will keep this practice forever as a statute for yourselves and your descendants. ²⁵ Thus, when you have entered the land which the Lord will give you as he promised, you must observe this rite. ^26 (BM)When your children ask you, ‘What does this rite of yours mean?’ ²⁷ you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice for the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt; when he struck down the Egyptians, he delivered our houses.’”

Then the people knelt and bowed down, ²⁸ and the Israelites went and did exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

Death of the Firstborn. ^29 (BN)And so at midnight the Lord struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the firstborn of the animals. ³⁰ Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians; and there was loud wailing throughout Egypt, for there was not a house without its dead.

Permission to Depart. ³¹ During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Leave my people at once, you and the Israelites! Go and serve the Lord as you said. ³² Take your flocks, too, and your herds, as you said, and go; and bless me, too!”^[bx]

³³ The Egyptians, in a hurry to send them away from the land, urged the people on, for they said, “All of us will die!” ³⁴ The people, therefore, took their dough before it was leavened, in their kneading bowls wrapped in their cloaks on their shoulders. ^35 (BO)And the Israelites did as Moses had commanded: they asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. ³⁶ Indeed the Lord had made the Egyptians so well-disposed toward the people that they let them have whatever they asked for. And so they despoiled the Egyptians.

Departure from Egypt. ³⁷ The Israelites set out from Rameses^(BP) for Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, not counting the children. ³⁸ A crowd of mixed ancestry^[by] also went up with them, with livestock in great abundance, both flocks and herds. ³⁹ The dough they had brought out of Egypt they baked into unleavened loaves. It was not leavened, because they had been driven out of Egypt and could not wait. They did not even prepare food for the journey.

⁴⁰ The time the Israelites had stayed in Egypt^[bz] was four hundred and thirty years.^{(BQ) 41} At the end of four hundred and thirty years, on this very date, all the armies of the Lord left the land of Egypt. ⁴² This was a night of vigil for the Lord, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt; so on this night all Israelites must keep a vigil for the Lord throughout their generations.

Law of the Passover. ⁴³ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: This is the Passover statute. No foreigner may eat of it. ⁴⁴ However, every slave bought for money you will circumcise; then he may eat of it. ⁴⁵ But no tenant or hired worker may eat of it. ⁴⁶ It must be eaten in one house; you may not take any of its meat outside the house.^(BR) You shall not break any of its bones.^{[ca] 47} The whole community of Israel must celebrate this feast. ⁴⁸ If any alien^(BS) residing among you would celebrate the Passover for the Lord, all his males must be circumcised, and then he may join in its celebration just like the natives. But no one who is uncircumcised may eat of it. ⁴⁹ There will be one law^[cb] for the native and for the alien residing among you.

⁵⁰ All the Israelites did exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹ On that same day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt company by company.

Chapter 13

Consecration of Firstborn. ¹ The Lord spoke to Moses and said: ² Consecrate to me every firstborn; whatever opens the womb among the Israelites,^(BT) whether of human being or beast, belongs to me.

^3 (BU)Moses said to the people, “Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt, out of a house of slavery. For it was with a strong hand that the Lord brought you out from there. Nothing made with leaven may be eaten. ⁴ This day on which you are going out is in the month of Abib.^{[cc] 5} Therefore, when the Lord, your God, has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perrizites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you will perform the following service^[cd] in this month. ⁶ For seven days you will eat unleavened bread, and the seventh day will also be a festival to the Lord. ⁷ Unleavened bread may be eaten during the seven days, but nothing leavened and no leaven may be found in your possession in all your territory. ⁸ And on that day you will explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹ It will be like a sign^[ce] on your hand and a reminder on your forehead,^(BV) so that the teaching of the Lord will be on your lips: with a strong hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ You will keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.

¹¹ “When the Lord, your God, has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, just as he swore to you and your ancestors, and gives it to you, ^12 (BW)you will dedicate to the Lord every newborn that opens the womb; and every firstborn male of your animals will belong to the Lord. ¹³ Every firstborn of a donkey you will ransom with a sheep. If you do not ransom it, you will break its neck. Every human firstborn of your sons you must ransom. ¹⁴ And when your son asks you later on, ‘What does this mean?’ you will tell him, ‘With a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of a house of slavery. ¹⁵ When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, the firstborn of human being and beast alike. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord every male that opens the womb, and why I ransom every firstborn of my sons.’ ¹⁶ It will be like a sign on your hand and a band on your forehead that with a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”^(BX)

IV. The Deliverance of the Israelites from Pharaoh and Victory at the Sea

Toward the Red Sea. ¹⁷ Now, when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the Philistines’ land,^[cf] though this was the nearest; for God said: If the people see that they have to fight, they might change their minds and return to Egypt. ¹⁸ Instead, God rerouted them toward the Red Sea by way of the wilderness road, and the Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt arrayed for battle. ¹⁹ Moses also took Joseph’s bones^(BY) with him, for Joseph had made the Israelites take a solemn oath, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you must bring my bones up with you from here.”

²⁰ Setting out from Succoth, they camped at Etham^(BZ) near the edge of the wilderness.

^21 (CA)The Lord preceded them, in the daytime by means of a column of cloud to show them the way, and at night by means of a column of fire^[cg] to give them light. Thus they could travel both day and night. ²² Neither the column of cloud by day nor the column of fire by night ever left its place in front of the people.

Chapter 14

¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ² Speak to the Israelites: Let them turn about and camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea.^(CB) Camp in front of Baal-zephon,^[ch] just opposite, by the sea. ³ Pharaoh will then say, “The Israelites are wandering about aimlessly in the land. The wilderness has closed in on them.” ⁴ I will so harden Pharaoh’s heart that he will pursue them. Thus I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.

This the Israelites did. ^5 (CC)When it was reported to the king of Egypt that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart about the people. “What in the world have we done!” they said. “We have released Israel from our service!” ⁶ So Pharaoh harnessed his chariots and took his army with him. ⁷ He took six hundred select chariots and all the chariots of Egypt, with officers^[ci] on all of them. ⁸ The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites while they were going out in triumph. ⁹ The Egyptians pursued them—all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, his horsemen,^[cj] and his army—and caught up with them as they lay encamped by the sea, at Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

Crossing the Red Sea. ¹⁰ Now Pharaoh was near when the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians had set out after them. Greatly frightened, the Israelites cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ To Moses they said, “Were there no burial places in Egypt that you brought us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² Did we not tell you this in Egypt, when we said, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? Far better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” ¹³ But Moses answered the people, “Do not fear! Stand your ground and see the victory the Lord will win for you today. For these Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses: Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to set out. ¹⁶ And you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea, and split it in two, that the Israelites may pass through the sea on dry land. ¹⁷ But I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and his horsemen. ¹⁸ The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.

¹⁹ The angel of God,^[ck] who had been leading Israel’s army, now moved and went around behind them. And the column of cloud, moving from in front of them, took up its place behind them, ²⁰ so that it came between the Egyptian army and that of Israel. And when it became dark, the cloud illumined the night; and so the rival camps did not come any closer together all night long.^{[cl] 21 (CD)}Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind all night long and turned the sea into dry ground. The waters were split, ²² so that the Israelites entered into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water as a wall to their right and to their left.

Rout of the Egyptians. ²³ The Egyptians followed in pursuit after them—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen—into the midst of the sea. ²⁴ But during the watch just before dawn, the Lord looked down from a column of fiery cloud upon the Egyptian army and threw it into a panic; ²⁵ and he so clogged their chariot wheels that they could drive only with difficulty. With that the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

²⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses: Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and their horsemen. ²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal flow. The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward it when the Lord cast the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. ^28 (CE)As the water flowed back, it covered the chariots and the horsemen. Of all Pharaoh’s army which had followed the Israelites into the sea, not even one escaped. ²⁹ But the Israelites had walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, with the water as a wall to their right and to their left. ³⁰ Thus the Lord saved Israel on that day from the power of Egypt. When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore ³¹ and saw the great power that the Lord had shown against Egypt, the people feared the Lord. They believed in the Lord^(CF) and in Moses his servant.

Chapter 15

¹ Then Moses and the Israelites sang^(CG) this song to the Lord:^[cm]