Exodus 14
14
The Israelites Cross the Red Sea
1At Etham the Lord said to Moses:
2Tell the people of Israel to turn back and camp across from Pi-Hahiroth near Baal-Zephon, between Migdol and the Red Sea.#14.2 Red Sea: Hebrew hayyam, “the Sea,” understood as yam suph, “Sea of Reeds” (see also the note at 13.18). 3The king#14.3 The king: See the note at 1.11. will think you were afraid to cross the desert and that you are wandering around, trying to find another way to leave the country. 4I will make the king stubborn again, and he will try to catch you. Then I will destroy him and his army. People everywhere will praise me for my victory, and the Egyptians will know that I really am the Lord.
The Israelites obeyed the Lord and camped where he told them.
5When the king of Egypt heard that the Israelites had finally left, he and his officials changed their minds and said, “Look what we have done! We let them get away, and they will no longer be our slaves.”
6The king got his war chariot and army ready. 7He commanded his officers in charge of his 600 best chariots and all his other chariots to start after the Israelites. 8The Lord made the king so stubborn that he went after them, while the Israelites proudly#14.8 proudly: Or “victoriously.” went on their way. 9But the king's horses and chariots and soldiers caught up with them while they were camping by the Red Sea near Pi-Hahiroth and Baal-Zephon.
10When the Israelites saw the king coming with his army, they were frightened and begged the Lord for help. 11They also complained to Moses, “Wasn't there enough room in Egypt to bury us? Is that why you brought us out here to die in the desert? Why did you bring us out of Egypt anyway? 12While we were there, didn't we tell you to leave us alone? We'd rather be slaves in Egypt than die in this desert!”
13But Moses answered, “Don't be afraid! Be brave, and you will see the Lord save you today. These Egyptians will never bother you again. 14The Lord will fight for you, and you won't have to do a thing.”
15The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you keep calling out to me for help? Tell the Israelites to move forward. 16Then hold your walking stick over the sea. The water will open up and make a road where they can walk through on dry ground. 17I will make the Egyptians so stubborn that they will go after you. Then I will be praised because of what happens to the king and his chariots and cavalry. 18The Egyptians will know for sure that I am the Lord.”
19All this time God's angel had gone ahead of Israel's army, but now he moved behind them. A large cloud had also gone ahead of them, 20but now it moved between the Egyptians and the Israelites. The cloud gave light to the Israelites, but made it dark for the Egyptians, and during the night they could not come any closer.
21 #
3 Macc 2.7. Moses stretched his arm over the sea, and the Lord sent a strong east wind that blew all night until there was dry land where the water had been. The sea opened up, 22#1 Co 10.1,2; He 11.29. and the Israelites walked through on dry land with a wall of water on each side.
23The Egyptian chariots and cavalry went after them. 24But before daylight the Lord looked down at the Egyptian army from the fiery cloud and made them panic. 25Their chariot wheels got stuck,#14.25 stuck: The Samaritan Hebrew text and two ancient translations; Hebrew “came off.” and it was hard for them to move. So the Egyptians said to one another, “Let's leave these people alone! The Lord is on their side and is fighting against us.”
26The Lord told Moses, “Stretch your arm toward the sea—the water will cover the Egyptians and their cavalry and chariots.” 27Moses stretched out his arm, and at daybreak the water rushed toward the Egyptians. They tried to run away, but the Lord drowned them in the sea. 28The water came and covered the chariots, the cavalry, and the whole Egyptian army that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them was left alive. 29But the sea had made a wall of water on each side of the Israelites, so they walked through on dry land.
30On that day, when the Israelites saw the bodies of the Egyptians washed up on the shore, they knew that the Lord had saved them. 31Because of the mighty power he had used against the Egyptians, the Israelites worshiped him and trusted him and his servant Moses.
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Exodus 14: CEV
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Exodus 14
14
Pharaoh Pursues Israel
1Then 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. 3Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are ⌞just⌟ wandering around. The desert is blocking their escape.’ 4I 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.
5When 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.” 6So Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his army with him. 7He took 600 of his best chariots as well as all the other chariots in Egypt, placing an officer in each of them. 8The Lord made Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) so stubborn that he pursued the Israelites, who were boldly leaving Egypt. 9The 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.
10As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians were coming after them. Terrified, the Israelites cried out to the Lord. 11They 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! 12Didn’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
13Moses 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. 14The Lord is fighting for you! So be still!”
15Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to start moving. 16Raise your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide the water. Then the Israelites will go through the sea on dry ground. 17I 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. 18The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I am honored for what I did to Pharaoh, his chariots, and his cavalry.”
19The 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 20between 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.
21Then 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, 22and 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.
23The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry followed them into the sea. 24Just before dawn, the Lord looked down from the column of fire and smoke and threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. 25He 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!”
26Then 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.”
27Moses 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. 28The 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.
29Meanwhile, the Israelites had gone through the sea on dry ground while the water stood like a wall on their right and on their left. 30That day the Lord saved Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. 31When 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.
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