Exodus 10:10–16:25

10 But he said to them, The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your alittle ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind.1 11 No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

12 Then the Lord said to Moses, bStretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and ceat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left. 13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 dThe locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, esuch a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. 15 They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and fthey ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, gI have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. 17 Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and hplead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me. 18 So ihe went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 19 And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them jinto the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. 20 But the Lord khardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.

21 Then the Lord said to Moses, lStretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be mdarkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt. 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but nall the people of Israel had light where they lived. 24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, oGo, serve the Lord; pyour little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind. 25 But Moses said, You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there. 27 But the Lord qhardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die. 29 Moses said, As you say! rI will not see your face again.

The Lord said to Moses, Yet sone plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. tWhen he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. Speak now in the hearing of the people, that uthey ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry. vAnd the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.

So Moses said, Thus says the Lord: wAbout midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is xbehind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. yThere shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. But not a dog shall growl zagainst any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord amakes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. And ball these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, Get out, you and all the people who follow you. And after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. Then the Lord said to Moses, cPharaoh will not listen to you, that dmy wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.

10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord ehardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, fThis month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb gaccording to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be hwithout blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the ifourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.2

Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the jtwo doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with kunleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but lroasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And myou shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with nyour belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. oIt is the Lord’s Passover. 12 For pI will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on qall the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: rI am the Lord. 13 sThe blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

14 This day shall be tfor you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a ustatute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. 15 vSeven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, wthat person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall hold a xholy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. 17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for yon this very day I brought your zhosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. 18 aIn the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 bFor seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, bthat person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, cwhether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.

21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, Go and select lambs for yourselves daccording to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of ehyssop and fdip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch gthe lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. hNone of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 iFor the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on gthe lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and jwill not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. 24 You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. 25 And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, kas he has promised, you shall keep this service. 26 And lwhen your children say to you, What do you mean by this service? 27 you shall say, mIt is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses. And the people nbowed their heads and worshiped.

28 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

29 oAt midnight the pLord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, qfrom the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was ra great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. 31 Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, Up, go out from among my people, sboth you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. 32 tTake your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!

33 uThe Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, We shall all be dead. 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. 35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had vasked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 wAnd the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that xthey let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

37 And the ypeople of Israel journeyed from zRameses to Succoth, aabout six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 A bmixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because uthey were thrust out of Egypt and ccould not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

40 The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of d430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a enight of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.

43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, 44 but every slave3 that is fbought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. 45 gNo foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. 46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and hyou shall not break any of its bones. 47 iAll the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 jIf a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he kshall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 49 There shall be lone law for the native and for the jstranger who sojourns among you.

50 All the people of Israel did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the mLord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their nhosts.

The Lord said to Moses, oConsecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.

Then Moses said to the people, pRemember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, qfor by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. rNo leavened bread shall be eaten. Today, in the month of sAbib, you are going out. And when the Lord brings you into tthe land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which uhe swore to your fathers to give you, a land vflowing with milk and honey, wyou shall keep this service in this month. xSeven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. yYou shall tell your son on that day, It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt. And it shall zbe to you as a sign on your hand and as aa memorial zbetween your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. 10 bYou shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.

11 When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, cas he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, 12 dyou shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord’s. 13 eEvery firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every ffirstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 gAnd when in time to come your son asks you, What does this mean? you shall say to him, hBy a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of islavery. 15 For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the jLord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but kall the firstborn of my sons I redeem. 16 lIt shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for mby a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.

17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did nnot lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, Lest the people ochange their minds when they see war and return to Egypt. 18 But God pled the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. 19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph4 had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, qGod will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here. 20 And rthey moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 21 And sthe Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

Then the Lord said to Moses, Tell the people of Israel to tturn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between uMigdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in. And vI will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will wget glory over Pharaoh and all his host, xand the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so.

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the ymind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us? So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, and took zsix hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. And vthe Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while athe people of Israel were going out defiantly. The bEgyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them cencamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel dcried out to the Lord. 11 They esaid to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what fwe said to you in Egypt: Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness. 13 And Moses said to the people, gFear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For hthe Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 iThe Lord will fight for you, and you have only jto be silent.

15 The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 kLift up your staff, and kstretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And lI will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and mI will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians nshall know that I am the Lord, mwhen I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.

19 oThen the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night5 without one coming near the other all night.

21 Then Moses kstretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by pa strong east wind all night and qmade the sea dry land, and the waters were rdivided. 22 And sthe people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being ta wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, 25 clogging6 their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, Let us flee from before Israel, for the uLord fights for them against the Egyptians.

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, vStretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 27 wSo Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea xreturned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord ythrew7 the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The zwaters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, anot one of them remained. 29 But the bpeople of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

30 Thus the Lord csaved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 dIsrael saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they ebelieved in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Then Moses and the people of Israel fsang this song to the Lord, saying,

gI will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

the horse and his rider8 he has thrown into the sea.

hThe Lord is my strength and my isong,

and he has become jmy salvation;

this is my God, and I will praise him,

kmy father’s God, and lI will exalt him.

The Lord is ma man of war;

nthe Lord is his name.

oPharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,

and his chosen pofficers were sunk in the Red Sea.

The qfloods covered them;

they rwent down into the depths like a stone.

sYour right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,

your right hand, O Lord, tshatters the enemy.

In the ugreatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;

you send out your fury; it vconsumes them like stubble.

At the wblast of your nostrils the waters piled up;

the xfloods stood up in a heap;

the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.

The enemy said, yI will pursue, I will overtake,

I zwill divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.

I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.

10  You ablew with your wind; the bsea covered them;

they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

11  cWho is like you, O Lord, among the gods?

Who is like you, majestic in holiness,

awesome in dglorious deeds, edoing wonders?

12  You stretched out fyour right hand;

the earth swallowed them.

13  You have gled in your steadfast love the people whom hyou have redeemed;

you have iguided them by your strength to your holy abode.

14  jThe peoples have heard; they tremble;

pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.

15  Now are the chiefs of Edom kdismayed;

trembling seizes the leaders of lMoab;

mall the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.

16  Terror and ndread fall upon them;

because of the greatness of your arm, they are still oas a stone,

till your people, O Lord, pass by,

till the people pass by whom pyou have purchased.

17  You will bring them in and qplant them on your own mountain,

the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,

rthe sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.

18  sThe Lord will reign forever and ever.

19 For when tthe horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, uthe Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. 20 Then vMiriam wthe prophetess, the xsister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and yall the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them:

zSing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of aShur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to bMarah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.9 24 And the people cgrumbled against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 25 And he dcried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log,10 and he ethrew it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord11 made for them a statute and a rule, and there he ftested them, 26 saying, gIf you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the hdiseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, iyour healer.

27 Then jthey came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.

They kset out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel lgrumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, mWould that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, nwhen we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

Then the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I am about to rain obread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may ptest them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, qit will be twice as much as they gather daily. So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, rAt evening syou shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the tglory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For uwhat are we, that you grumble against us? And Moses said, When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against himvwhat are we? Your grumbling is not wagainst us but against the Lord.

Then Moses xsaid to Aaron, Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, yCome near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling. 10 And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the tglory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 And the Lord said to Moses, 12 I zhave heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, At atwilight you shall eat meat, and bin the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.

13 In the evening cquail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning ddew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, eWhat is it?12 For they fdid not know what it was. And Moses said to them, gIt is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an homer,13 according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent. 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, iwhoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. 19 And Moses said to them, Let no one leave any of it over till the morning. 20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and jit bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

22 On kthe sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 he said to them, This is what the Lord has commanded: Tomorrow is a day of lsolemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning. 24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and mit did not stink, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, Eat it today, for ltoday is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field.

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2 View All Leviticus 19:27