Exodus 15

The Song of Moses

1 t Moses and the Israelites sang this song in praise of the Lord: I sing praises to the Lord for his great victory!
He has thrown the horses
and their riders
into the sea.

2 t2The Lord is my strength, the reason for my song,
because he has saved me.
I praise and honor the Lord— he is my God and the God
of my ancestors.

3 The Lord is his name, and he is a warrior!

4 He threw the chariots and army of Egypt’s king t into the Red Sea, t and he drowned the best
of the king’s officers.

5 They sank to the bottom just like stones.

6 With the tremendous force of your right arm, our Lord, you crushed your enemies.

7 What a great victory was yours, as you defeated everyone
who opposed you.
Your fiery anger wiped them out,
as though they were straw.

8 You were so furious that the sea piled up
like a wall,
and the ocean depths
curdled like cheese.

9 Your enemies boasted that they would
pursue and capture us,
divide up our possessions,
treat us as they wished,
then take out their swords
and kill us right there.

10 But when you got furious, they sank like lead,
swallowed by ocean waves.

11 Our Lord, no other gods compare with you—
Majestic and holy!
Fearsome and glorious!
Miracle worker!

12 When you signaled with your right hand,
your enemies were swallowed
deep into the earth.

13 The people you rescued were led by your powerful love
to your holy place.

14 Nations learned of this and trembled—
Philistines shook with horror.

15 The leaders of Edom and of Moab were terrified.
Everyone in Canaan fainted,

16 struck down by fear. Our Lord, your powerful arm kept them still as a rock
until the people you rescued
for your very own
had marched by.

17 You will let your people settle on your chosen mountain,
where you built your home
and your temple.

18 Our Lord, you will rule forever!

The Song of Miriam

19 The Lord covered the royal Egyptian cavalry and chariots with the sea, after the Israelites had walked safely through on dry ground.20 Miriam the sister of Aaron was a prophet. So she took her tambourine and led the other women out to play their tambourines and to dance.21 Then she sang to them: “Sing praises to the Lord for his great victory!
He has thrown the horses
and their riders into the sea.”

Bitter Water at Marah

22 After the Israelites left the Red Sea,t Moses led them through the Shur Desert for three days, before finding water.23 They did find water at Marah, but it was bitter, which is how that place got its name.t

24 The people complained and said, “Moses, what are we going to drink?”
25 Moses asked the Lord for help, and the Lord told him to throw a piece of wood into the water. Moses did so, and the water became fit to drink. At Marah the Lord tested his people and also gave them some laws and teachings.

26 Then he said, “I am the Lord your God, and I cure your diseases. If you obey me by doing right and by following my laws and teachings, I won’t punish you with the diseases I sent on the Egyptians.”

27 Later the Israelites came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees. So they camped there.

Exodus 16

The Lord Sends Food from Heaven

1 On the fifteenth day of the second month after the Israelites had escaped from Egypt, they left Elim and started through the western edge of the Sinai Desertt in the direction of Mount Sinai.2 There in the desert they started complaining to Moses and Aaron,

3 “We wish the Lord had killed us in Egypt. When we lived there, we could at least sit down and eat all the bread and meat we wanted. But you have brought us out here into this desert, where we are going to starve.”
4 t The Lord said to Moses, “I will send breadt down from heaven like rain. Each day the people can go out and gather only enough for that day. That’s how I will see if they obey me.

5 But on the sixth day of each week they must gather and cook twice as much.”
6 Moses and Aaron told the people, “This evening you will know that the Lord was the one who rescued you from Egypt.

7 And in the morning you will see his glorious power, because he has heard your complaints against him. Why should you grumble to us? Who are we?”

8 Then Moses continued, “You will know it is the Lord when he gives you meat each evening and more than enough bread each morning. He is really the one you are complaining about, not us—we are nobodies—but the Lord has heard your complaints.”

9 Moses turned to Aaron and said, “Bring the people together, because the Lord has heard their complaints.”
10 Aaron was speaking to them, when everyone looked out toward the desert and saw the bright glory of the Lord in a cloud.11 The Lord said to Moses,

12 “I have heard my people complain. Now tell them that each evening they will have meat and each morning they will have more than enough bread. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.”
13 That evening a lot of quails came and landed everywhere in the camp, and the next morning dew covered the ground.14 After the dew had gone, the desert was covered with thin flakes that looked like frost.15 t15 The people had never seen anything like this, and they started asking each other, “What is it?” t Moses answered, “This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.

16 And he orders you to gather about two quarts for each person in your family—that should be more than enough.”
17 They did as they were told. Some gathered more and some gathered less,

18 t18 according to their needs, and none was left over.
19 Moses told them not to keep any overnight.

20 Some of them disobeyed, but the next morning what they kept was stinking and full of worms, and Moses was angry.
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and in the heat of the day the rest melted.22 However, on the sixth day of the week, everyone gathered enough to have four quarts, instead of two. When the leaders reported this to Moses,

23 t23 he told them that the Lord had said, “Tomorrow is the Sabbath, a sacred day of rest in honor of me. So gather all you want to bake or boil, and make sure you save enough for tomorrow.”
24 The people obeyed, and the next morning the food smelled fine and had no worms.25 “You may eat the food,” Moses said. “Today is the Sabbath in honor of the Lord, and there won’t be any of this food on the ground today.

26 You will find it there for the first six days of the week, but not on the Sabbath.”
27 A few of the Israelites did go out to look for some, but there was none.28 Then the Lord said, “Moses, how long will you people keep disobeying my laws and teachings?29 Remember that I was the one who gave you the Sabbath. That’s why on the sixth day I provide enough bread for two days. Everyone is to stay home and rest on the Sabbath.”

30 And so they rested on the Sabbath.
31 t The Israelites called the bread manna.t It was white like coriander seed and delicious as wafers made with honey.

32 Moses told the people that the Lord had said, “Store up two quarts of this manna, because I want future generations to see the food I gave you during the time you were in the desert after I rescued you from Egypt.”

33 t Then Moses told Aaron, “Put some manna in a jar and store it in the place of worship for future generations to see.”
34 Aaron followed the Lord’s instructions and put the manna in front of the sacred chest for safekeeping.

35-36 t35-36 The Israelites ate manna for forty years, before they came to the border of Canaan that was a settled land. t

Exodus 17

The Lord Gives Water from a Rock

1 (Numbers 20.1-13) t The Israelites left the desert and moved from one place to another each time the Lord ordered them to. Once they camped at Rephidim,t but there was no water for them to drink.

2 The people started complaining to Moses, “Give us some water!” Moses replied, “Why are you complaining to me and trying to put the Lord to the test?”

3 But the people were thirsty and kept on complaining, “Moses, did you bring us out of Egypt just to let us and our families and our animals die of thirst?”

4 Then Moses prayed to the Lord, “What am I going to do with these people? They are about to stone me to death!”
5 The Lord answered, “Take some of the leaders with you and go ahead of the rest of the people. Also take along the walking stick you used to strike the Nile River,

6 and when you get to the rock at Mount Sinai,t I will be there with you. Strike the rock with the stick, and water will pour out for the people to drink.” Moses did this while the leaders watched.
7 The people had complained and tested the Lord by asking, “Is the Lord really with us?” So Moses named that place Massah, which means “testing” and Meribah, which means “complaining.”

Israel Defeats the Amalekites

8 When the Israelites were at Rephidim, they were attacked by the Amalekites.

9 So Moses told Joshua, “Have some men ready to attack the Amalekites tomorrow. I will stand on a hilltop, holding this walking stick that has the power of God.”
10 Joshua led the attack as Moses had commanded, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur stood on the hilltop.11 The Israelites out-fought the Amalekites as long as Moses held up his arms, but they started losing whenever he had to lower them.12 Finally, Moses was so tired that Aaron and Hur got a rock for him to sit on. Then they stood beside him and supported his arms in the same position until sunset.

13 That’s how Joshua defeated the Amalekites.

14 t Afterwards, the Lord said to Moses, “Write an account of this victory and read it to Joshua. I want the Amalekites to be forgotten forever.”
15 Moses built an altar and named it “The Lord Gives Me Victory.”

16 Then Moses explained, “This is because I depended on the Lord.t But in future generations, the Lord will have to fight the Amalekites again.”