Exodus 13:1-10
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 13
Sign and Memorial.[a] 1 The Lord spoke to Moses, 2 “Consecrate each firstborn to me, whatever opens the womb in Israel, whether human or animal; it belongs to me.”
3 Moses said to the people, “Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt, your place of slavery. The Lord brought you out from there with a mighty hand. Therefore, do not eat what has been leavened. 4 This day you came out is in the month of Abib. 5 When the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, that he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall celebrate this rite in this month.
6 “For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh you shall celebrate a feast in honor of the Lord. 7 For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and there shall be nothing leavened with you. There shall be no leaven in all of your territory. 8 On that day you shall teach your son: ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when he brought me out of Egypt.’ 9 And it shall be a sign on your hand and a memorial before your eyes so that the law of the Lord may be upon your lips. With a mighty hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.[b] 10 You shall celebrate this rite at this time every year.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 13:1 The practice of offering the firstborn to God and of eating unleavened bread soon provided Israel with an opportunity of passing on to later generations the religious lesson learned from the events: namely, that what God did in the beginning he continues to do for his people.
- Exodus 13:9 Sign and memorial were understood in a material way. See Deut 6:8; 11:18; Mt 23:5 on the phylacteries worn on forehead or arm.
