The Law of the Firstborn

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “·Give [Consecrate; Set apart] every firstborn male to me. ·Every firstborn male [^LWhoever is first to open the womb] among the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] belongs to me, whether human or animal.”

³ Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, the day you left Egypt. ·You were slaves in that land [^L…the house of slavery/bondage/service], but the Lord with his ·great power [^Lstrong hand] brought you out of it. You must not eat ·bread made with yeast [unleavened bread]. ⁴ Today, in the month of Abib [^Cthe first month of the year, March–April; 12:18], you are ·leaving Egypt [^Lcoming out]. ⁵ The Lord will ·lead [or bring] you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites [^Cvarious peoples who lived in the Promised Land]. This is the land he promised your ancestors he would give you [Gen. 12:1–3], a ·fertile land [^La land flowing with milk and honey; 3:8]. There you must ·celebrate this feast during the first month of every year [^Lkeep this observance in this month]. ⁶ For seven days you must eat ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread], and on the seventh day there will be a feast to honor the Lord. ⁷ So for seven days you must not eat any ·bread made with yeast [unleavened bread]. There must be no ·bread made with yeast [unleavened bread and no leaven will be] anywhere ·in your land [^Lwithin your borders]. ⁸ On that day you should tell your ·son [child]: ‘·We are having this feast [^LIt is] because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹ This feast will help you remember, like a ·mark [sign] on your hand or a reminder ·on your forehead [^Lbetween your eyes]. This feast will remind you to speak the Lord’s ·teachings [law; instructions], because the Lord used his ·great power [^Lstrong hand] to bring you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ ·So celebrate this feast every year at the right time [^LYou must observe/keep/guard this statute/ordinance/requirement as an appointed time for all time].

¹¹ “And when the Lord ·takes [brings] you into the land of the Canaanites, the land he promised to give you and your ancestors [Gen. 12:1–3], ¹² you must ·give him [^Lturn over to the Lord] ·every firstborn male [^Lall that first opens the womb]. Also every firstborn male animal must be given to the Lord. ¹³ ·Buy back [Redeem; Ransom] every firstborn donkey by offering a lamb. But if you don’t want to ·buy the donkey back [redeem/ransom it], then break its neck. You must ·buy back from the Lord [redeem; ransom] every firstborn of your sons.

¹⁴ “·From now on [In the future; ^LTomorrow] when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you will answer, ‘With his ·great power [strong hand], the Lord brought us out from Egypt, ·the land where we were slaves [^Lfrom the house of bondage]. ¹⁵ ·The king of Egypt [^LPharaoh] was stubborn and refused to let us leave. But the Lord killed every firstborn male in Egypt, both human and animal. That is why I sacrifice ·every firstborn male animal [^Levery male that first opens the womb] to the Lord, and that is why I ·buy back [redeem; ransom] each of my firstborn sons from the Lord.’ ¹⁶ This feast is like a ·mark [sign] on your hand and a ·reminder [phylactery; ^Clater a leather box containing Scripture worn on arm and forehead, though here perhaps figurative] ·on your forehead [^Lbetween your eyes] to help you remember that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his ·great power [^Lmighty hand].”

The Way Out of Egypt

¹⁷ When ·the king [^LPharaoh] ·sent the people out of Egypt [^Llet the people go], God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was the shortest way. God said, “If they ·have to fight [^Lsee battle], they might change their minds and go back to Egypt.” ¹⁸ So God led them through the ·desert [wilderness] toward the ·Red [or Reed; 10:19] Sea. The Israelites were ·dressed for fighting [prepared for battle] when they left the land of Egypt.

¹⁹ Moses carried the bones of Joseph with him, because before Joseph died, he had made the ·Israelites [^Lsons of Israel; ^Chere Joseph’s brothers, the sons of Israel (Jacob)] promise to do this [Gen. 50:22–26]. He had said, “When God ·saves [shows concern toward; visits] you, remember to carry my bones with you out of Egypt.”

²⁰ The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham [^Cits exact location is undetermined], on the edge of the ·desert [wilderness]. ²¹ The Lord showed them the way; during the day he went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud, and during the night he was in a pillar of fire to give them light. In this way they could travel during the day or night. ²² The pillar of cloud ·was always with [^Lnever withdrew from] them during the day, and the pillar of fire ·was always with [^Lnever withdrew from] them at night.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] to turn back to Pi Hahiroth and to camp between Migdol and the ·Red [or Reed; 10:19] Sea. Camp ·across from [opposite] Baal Zephon [^Cin the eastern Nile Delta; the exact locations of these sites are unknown], ·on the shore of [^Lby] the sea. ³ ·The king [^LPharaoh] will think, ‘The ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] are ·lost [wandering around], ·trapped [closed/shut in] by the ·desert [wilderness].’ ⁴ I will ·make the king stubborn [^Lharden the heart of Pharaoh] again so he will ·chase after [pursue] them, but I will ·defeat the king and his army, bringing honor to me [^Lgain glory over Pharaoh and over his army], and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” ·The Israelites [^LThey] did just as they were told.

The King Chases the Israelites

⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the ·Israelites [people] had ·left [or fled], he and his officers changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We have ·lost [sent away] the Israelites who served us!” ⁶ So ·the king [^Lhe] ·prepared [harnessed] his war chariot and took his army with him. ⁷ He took six hundred of his best chariots, together with all the other chariots of Egypt, each with an officer in it. ⁸ The Lord ·made the king of Egypt stubborn [^Lhardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt], so he ·chased [pursued] the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel], who were leaving ·victoriously [boldly; ^Lwith uplifted hand]. ⁹ The Egyptians—with all the king’s horses, chariot drivers, and army—·chased the Israelites [^Lpursued them]. They caught up with them while they were camped by the ·Red Sea [^LSea; 10:19], near Pi Hahiroth and Baal Zephon [14:1].

¹⁰ When the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] saw ·the king and his army [^LEgypt] coming after them, they were very frightened and cried to the Lord for help. ¹¹ They said to Moses, “What have you done to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in the ·desert [wilderness]? ·There were [^LWere there not…?] plenty of graves for us in Egypt. ¹² ·We told [^LDid we not tell…?] you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone; we will stay and serve the Egyptians.’ Now we will die in the desert.”

¹³ But Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still and you will see the Lord save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again after today. ¹⁴ You only need to remain ·calm [or still]; the Lord will fight for you [15:3].”

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Command the Israelites to ·start moving [get going; depart]. ¹⁶ Raise your ·walking stick [staff] and ·hold it [^Lextend/stretch your hand] over the sea so that the sea will split and the ·people [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] can ·cross it [^Lgo in the midst of the sea] on dry land. ¹⁷ I will ·make the Egyptians stubborn [^Lharden the hearts of the Egyptians] so they will ·chase the Israelites [^Lgo after them], but I will be ·honored [glorified] when I defeat ·the king [^LPharaoh] and all of his chariot drivers and chariots. ¹⁸ When I defeat ·the king [^LPharaoh], his chariot drivers, and chariots, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁹ Now the angel of God that usually traveled in front of ·Israel’s army [^Lthem] moved behind them. Also, the pillar of cloud [13:21] moved from in front of the people and stood behind them. ²⁰ So the cloud came between the camp of the Egyptians and camp of the Israelites. This made it dark for the Egyptians but gave light to the Israelites. So the cloud kept ·the two armies [^Lthem] apart all night.

²¹ Then Moses ·held [extended; stretched] his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind, making the sea become dry ground. The water was split, ²² and the ·Israelites [^Lthe sons/^Tchildren of Israel] went through the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

²³ Then all ·the king’s [^LPharaoh’s] horses, chariots, and chariot drivers ·followed [pursued] them into the sea. ²⁴ ·When morning came [^LAt the morning watch], the Lord looked down from the pillar of cloud and fire at the Egyptian army and made them panic. ²⁵ He clogged their chariot wheels,^[a] making it hard to ·drive the chariots [^Lturn]. The Egyptians shouted, “Let’s ·get away [flee] from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them and against Egypt [15:3].”

²⁶ Then the Lord told Moses, “·Hold [Extend; Stretch] your hand over the sea so that the water will come back over the Egyptians, their chariots, and chariot drivers.” ²⁷ So Moses ·raised [extended; stretched] his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its ·place [or normal depth]. The Egyptians tried to ·run [flee] from it, but the Lord ·swept them away [tossed; overthrew them] into the sea. ²⁸ The water returned, covering the chariots, chariot drivers, and all ·the king’s [^LPharaoh’s] army that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them ·survived [remained].

²⁹ But the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] crossed the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. ³⁰ So that day the Lord saved the Israelites from the Egyptians, and the Israelites saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. ³¹ When the Israelites saw ·the great power the Lord had used [^Lwhat God did with his strong hand] against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they ·trusted [had confidence in] the Lord and his servant Moses.