Exodus 14

Pharaoh Pursues Israel

1 Then the Lord said to Moses,2 “Tell the Israelites to go back and set up their camp facing Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. Set up your camp facing north—by the sea.3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are just wandering around. The desert is blocking their escape.’

4 I will make Pharaoh so stubborn that he will pursue them. Then, because of what I do to Pharaoh and his entire army, I will receive honor, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So that is what the Israelites did.
5 When Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) was told that the people had fled, he and his officials changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We’ve lost our slaves because we’ve let Israel go.”6 So Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his army with him.7 He took 600 of his best chariots as well as all the other chariots in Egypt, placing an officer in each of them.8 The Lord made Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) so stubborn that he pursued the Israelites, who were boldly leaving Egypt.

9 The Egyptians pursued the Israelites. Pharaoh’s army, including all his horse-drawn chariots and cavalry, caught up with them as they were setting up their camp by the sea at Pi Hahiroth facing north.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians were coming after them. Terrified, the Israelites cried out to the Lord.11 They said to Moses, “Did you bring us out into the desert to die because there were no graves in Egypt? Look what you’ve done by bringing us out of Egypt!

12 Didn’t we tell you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone! Let us go on serving the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

The Lord Divides the Red Sea

13 Moses answered the people, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still, and see what the Lord will do to save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again.

14 The Lord is fighting for you! So be still!”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to start moving.16 Raise your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide the water. Then the Israelites will go through the sea on dry ground.17 I am making the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow the Israelites. I will receive honor because of what I will do to Pharaoh, his entire army, his chariots, and cavalry.

18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I am honored for what I did to Pharaoh, his chariots, and his cavalry.”
19 The Messenger of God, who had been in front of the Israelites, moved behind them. So the column of smoke moved from in front of the Israelites and stood behind them

20 between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp. The column of smoke was there when darkness came, and it lit up the night. Neither side came near the other all night long.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord pushed back the sea with a strong east wind and turned the sea into dry ground. The water divided,

22 and the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground. The water stood like a wall on their right and on their left.
23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry followed them into the sea.24 Just before dawn, the Lord looked down from the column of fire and smoke and threw the Egyptian camp into a panic.

25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they could hardly move. Then the Egyptians shouted, “Let’s get out of here! The Lord is fighting for Israel! He’s against us!”
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water will flow back over the Egyptians, their chariots, and their cavalry.”27 Moses stretched his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the water returned to its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but the Lord swept them into the sea.

28 The water flowed back and covered Pharaoh’s entire army, as well as the chariots and the cavalry that had followed Israel into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29 Meanwhile, the Israelites had gone through the sea on dry ground while the water stood like a wall on their right and on their left.30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore.

31 When the Israelites saw the great power the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord and believed in him and in his servant Moses.

Exodus 15

The Song of Moses

1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:“I will sing to the Lord.He has won a glorious victory.He has thrown horses and their riders into the sea.2 The Lord is my strength and my song.He is my Savior.This is my God, and I will praise him,my father’s God, and I will honor him.3 The Lord is a warrior!The Lord is his name.4 He has thrown Pharaoh’s chariots and army into the sea.Pharaoh’s best officers were drowned in the Red Sea.5 The deep water covered them.They sank to the bottom like a rock.6 Your right hand, O Lord, wins glory because it is strong.Your right hand, O Lord, smashes your enemies.7 With your unlimited majesty, you destroyed those who attacked you.You sent out your burning anger.It burned them up like straw.8 With a blast from your nostrils, the water piled up.The waves stood up like a dam.The deep water thickened in the middle of the sea.9 “The enemy said, ‘I’ll pursue them!I’ll catch up with them!I’ll divide the loot!I’ll take all I want!I’ll use my sword!I’ll take all they have!’10 Your breath blew the sea over them.They sank like lead in the raging water.11 “Who is like you among the gods, O Lord?Who is like you?You are glorious because of your holinessand awe-inspiring because of your splendor.You perform miracles.12 You stretched out your right hand.The earth swallowed them.13 “Lovingly, you will lead the people you have saved.Powerfully, you will guide them to your holy dwelling.14 People will hear of it and tremble.The people of Philistia will be in anguish.15 The tribal leaders of Edom will be terrified.The powerful men of Moab will tremble.The people of Canaan will be deathly afraid.16 Terror and dread will fall on them.Because of the power of your arm, they will be petrifieduntil your people pass by, O Lord,until the people you purchased pass by.17 You will bring them and plant them on your own mountain,the place where you live, O Lord,the holy place that you built with your own hands, O Lord.18 The Lord will rule as king forever and ever.”19 When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry went into the sea, the Lord made the water of the sea flow back over them. However, the Israelites had gone through the sea on dry ground.

The Song of Miriam

20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women, dancing with tambourines, followed her.

21 Miriam sang to them:
“Sing to the Lord.He has won a glorious victory.He has thrown horses and their riders into the sea.”

God Provides Water for the Israelites

22 Moses led Israel away from the Red Sea into the desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.23 When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink the water because it tasted bitter. That’s why the place was called Marah [Bitter Place].

24 The people complained about Moses by asking, “What are we supposed to drink?”
25 Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showedt him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.There the Lord set down laws and rules for them to live by, and there he tested them.

26 He said, “If you will listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what he considers right, if you pay attention to his commands and obey all his laws, I will never make you suffer any of the diseases I made the Egyptians suffer, because I am the Lord, who heals you.”
27 Next, they went to Elim, where there were 12 springs and 70 palm trees. They camped there by the water.

Exodus 16

The Lord Provides Manna and Quails for the Israelites to Eat

1 The whole community of Israelites moved from Elim and came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai. This was on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt.2 In the desert the whole community complained about Moses and Aaron.

3 The Israelites said to them, “If only the Lord had let us die in Egypt! There we sat by our pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted! You brought us out into this desert to let us all starve to death!”
4 The Lord said to Moses, “I’m going to send you food from heaven like rain. Each day the people should go out and gather only what they need for that day. In this way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.

5 But on the sixth day when they prepare what they bring home, it should be twice as much as they gather on other days.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt.7 In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard you complaining about him. Why are you complaining about us?”

8 Moses also said, “The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and all the food you want in the morning. The Lord has heard you complaining about him. Who are we? You’re not complaining about us but about the Lord.”
9 Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community of Israelites, ‘Come into the Lord’s presence. He has heard you complaining.’ ”10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole community of Israelites, they looked toward the desert. Suddenly, they saw the glory of the Lord in the column of smoke.11 The Lord said to Moses,

12 “I’ve heard the Israelites complaining. Tell them, ‘At dusk you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat all the food you want. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”
13 That evening quails came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.14 When the dew was gone, the ground was covered with a thin layer of flakes like frost on the ground.

15 When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other, “What is this?” because they didn’t know what it was.
Moses said to them, “It’s the food the Lord has given you to eat.

16 This is what the Lord has commanded: Each of you should gather as much as you can eat. Take two quarts for each person in your tent.”
17 So that is what the Israelites did. Some gathered more, some less.

18 They measured it into two-quart containers. Those who had gathered more didn’t have too much. Those who had gathered less didn’t have too little. They gathered as much as they could eat.
19 Then Moses said to them, “No one may keep any of it until morning.”20 But some of them didn’t listen to Moses. They kept part of it until morning, and it was full of worms and smelled bad. So Moses was angry with them.21 Each morning they gathered as much food as they could eat. When the sun was hot, it melted away.

22 But on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts per person. All the leaders of the community came to Moses and told him about it.
23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord said: Tomorrow is a day of worship, a holy day of worship dedicated to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil. Save all that’s left over, and keep it until tomorrow morning.”24 So they saved it until the next morning as Moses had commanded, but it didn’t smell or have worms in it.25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a day of worship dedicated to the Lord. You won’t find anything on the ground today.

26 You can gather food on six days, but on the seventh day, the day of worship, you won’t find any.”
27 On the seventh day some people went out to gather food, but they didn’t find any.28 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to do what I have commanded and instructed you to do?29 Remember: The Lord has given you this day of worship. That’s why he gives you enough food on the sixth day for two days. On the seventh day you may not leave. Everyone, stay where you are.”

30 So the people never worked on the seventh day of the week.
31 The Israelites called the food manna . It was like coriander seeds. It was white and tasted like wafers made with honey.32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: Take two quarts of manna to be kept for your descendants. This way they will see the food that I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.”33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, put two quarts of manna in it, and put it in the Lord’s presence to be kept for your descendants.”

34 Aaron put the jar of manna in front of the words of God’s promise to be kept there, as the Lord commanded Moses.
35 The Israelites ate manna for 40 years until they came to a place to settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of Canaan.36 (Now, the standard dry measure at that time held 20 quarts.)