Exodus 12
1 Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
The Lord also said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:
2 “This month is the beginning of months for you; it shall be the first month of your year.
“This month will be for you the beginning of the months. It will be first in the months of the year.
3 Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man must select a lamb for his family, one per household.
Speak to the entire assembly of the sons of Israel, and say to them: On the tenth day of this month, let everyone take a lamb, by their families and houses.
4 If the household is too small for a whole lamb, they are to share with the nearest neighbor based on the number of people, and apportion the lamb accordingly.
But if the number is less than may suffice to be able to consume the lamb, he shall accept his neighbor, who has been joined with his house according to the number of souls that may suffice to be able to eat the lamb.
5 Your lamb must be an unblemished year-old male, and you may take it from the sheep or the goats.
And it shall be a lamb without blemish, a one year old male. According to this rite, you shall also take a young goat.
6 You must keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.
And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month. And the entire multitude of the sons of Israel shall immolate it toward evening.
7 They are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.
And they shall take from its blood, and place it on both the door posts and the upper threshold of the houses, in which they will consume it.
8 They are to eat the meat that night, roasted over the fire, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
And that night they shall eat the flesh, roasted by fire, and unleavened bread with wild lettuce.
9 Do not eat any of the meat raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over the fire—its head and legs and inner parts.
You shall not consume anything from it raw, nor boiled in water, but only roasted by fire. You shall devour the head with its feet and entrails.
10 Do not leave any of it until morning; before the morning you must burn up any part that is left over.
Neither shall there remain anything from it until morning. If anything will have been left over, you shall burn it with fire.
11 This is how you are to eat it: You must be fully dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. You are to eat in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover.
Now you shall consume it in this way: You shall gird your waist, and you shall have shoes on your feet, holding staves in your hands, and you shall consume it in haste. For it is the Passover (that is, the Crossing) of the Lord.
12 On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.
And I will cross through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man, even to cattle. And I will bring judgments against all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.
13 The blood on the houses where you are staying will distinguish them; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
But the blood will be for you as a sign in the buildings where you will be. And I will see the blood, and I will pass over you. And the plague will not be with you to destroy, when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 And this day will be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD, as a permanent statute for the generations to come.
Then you shall have this day as a memorial, and you shall celebrate it as a solemnity to the Lord, in your generations, as an everlasting devotion.
15 For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.
For seven days, you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day there shall be no leaven in your houses. Whoever will consume anything leavened, from the first day, even until the seventh day, that soul shall perish from Israel.
16 On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly, and another on the seventh day. You must not do any work on those days, except to prepare the meals—that is all you may do.
The first day shall be holy and solemn, and the seventh day shall be venerated with the same festivity. You shall do no work in these days, except that which pertains to the eating.
17 So you are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. You must keep this day as a permanent statute for the generations to come.
And you shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. For on this same day, I will lead your army out of the land of Egypt, and you shall keep this day, in your generations, as a perpetual ritual.
18 In the first month you are to eat unleavened bread, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day.
In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, toward evening, you shall consume the unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the same month, toward evening.
19 For seven days there must be no leaven found in your houses. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a foreigner or native of the land, must be cut off from the congregation of Israel.
For seven days, there shall not be found leaven in your houses. Whoever will eat leaven, his soul will perish from the assembly of Israel, as much with the newcomers as with the natives of the land.
20 You are not to eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes.”
You shall not consume any leaven. In all your dwelling places, you shall eat unleavened bread.”
21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and told them, “Go at once and select for yourselves a lamb for each family, and slaughter the Passover lamb.
Then Moses called all the elders of the sons of Israel, and he said to them: “Go, taking an animal by your families, and sacrifice the Passover.
22 Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin, and brush the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out the door of his house until morning.
And dip a little bundle of hyssop in the blood which is at the entrance, and sprinkle the upper threshold with it, and both of the door posts. Let none of you go out of the door of his house until morning.
23 When the LORD passes through to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway; so He will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.
For the Lord will cross through, striking the Egyptians. And when he will see the blood on the upper threshold, and on both the door posts, he will pass over the door of the house and not permit the Striker to enter into your houses or to do harm.
24 And you are to keep this command as a permanent statute for you and your descendants.
You shall keep this word as a law for you and for your sons, forever.
25 When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as He promised, you are to keep this service.
And when you have entered into the land that the Lord will give to you, just as he has promised, you shall observe these ceremonies.
26 When your children ask you, ‘What does this service mean to you?’
And when your sons will say to you, ‘What is the meaning of this religious observance?’
27 you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck down the Egyptians and spared our homes.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped.
You shall say to them: ‘It is the victim of the crossing of the Lord, when he passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt, striking the Egyptians, and freeing our houses.’” And the people, bowing down, worshipped.
28 And the Israelites went and did just what the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.
And the sons of Israel, departing, did just as the Lord had instructed Moses and Aaron.
29 Now at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the firstborn among the livestock.
Then it happened, in the middle of the night: the Lord struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the captive woman who was in prison, and all the firstborn of the cattle.
30 During the night Pharaoh got up—he and all his officials and all the Egyptians—and there was loud wailing in Egypt; for there was no house without someone dead.
And Pharaoh rose up in the night, and all his servants, and all of Egypt. And there arose a great outcry in Egypt. For there was not a house in which no one lay dead.
31 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Get up, leave my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested.
And Pharaoh, calling Moses and Aaron in the night, said: “Rise up and go forth from among my people, you and the sons of Israel. Go, sacrifice to the Lord, just as you say.
32 Take your flocks and herds as well, just as you have said, and depart! And bless me also.”
Your sheep and herds take along with you, as you requested, and as you go away, bless me.”
33 And in order to send them out of the land quickly, the Egyptians urged the people on. “For otherwise,” they said, “we are all going to die!”
And the Egyptians urged the people to go away from the land quickly, saying, “We will all die.”
34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, carrying it on their shoulders in kneading bowls wrapped in clothing.
Therefore, the people took bread dough before it was leavened. And tying it in their cloaks, they placed it on their shoulders.
35 Furthermore, the Israelites acted on Moses’ word and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold, and for clothing.
And the sons of Israel did just as Moses had instructed. And they petitioned the Egyptians for vessels of silver and of gold, and very many garments.
36 And the LORD gave the people such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that they granted their request. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.
Then the Lord granted favor to the people in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they bestowed on them. And they despoiled the Egyptians.
37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth with about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children.
And the sons of Israel set out from Rameses to Soccoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides little ones.
38 And a mixed multitude also went up with them, along with great droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.
But also an innumerable mix of common people ascended with them, sheep and herds and animals of diverse kinds, exceedingly many.
39 Since their dough had no leaven, the people baked what they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves. For when they had been driven out of Egypt, they could not delay and had not prepared any provisions for themselves.
And they baked the bread, which a little while ago they had taken out of Egypt as dough. And they made unleavened bread baked under ashes. For it was not able to be leavened, with the Egyptians compelling them to leave and not permitting them to cause any delay. Neither did they have occasion to prepare any meat.
40 Now the duration of the Israelites’ stay in Egypt was 430 years.
Now the habitation of the sons of Israel, while they remained in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD’s divisions went out of the land of Egypt.
Having been completed, on the same day all the army of the Lord departed from the land of Egypt.
42 Because the LORD kept a vigil that night to bring them out of the land of Egypt, this same night is to be a vigil to the LORD, to be observed by all the Israelites for the generations to come.
This night is a worthy observance of the Lord, when he led them out of the land of Egypt. This all the sons of Israel must observe in their generations.
43 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: No foreigner is to eat of it.
And the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron: “This is the religious observance of the Passover. No foreigner shall eat from it.
44 But any slave who has been purchased may eat of it, after you have circumcised him.
But every bought servant shall be circumcised, and so he may eat from it.
45 A temporary resident or hired hand shall not eat the Passover.
The newcomer and the hired hand shall not eat from it.
46 It must be eaten inside one house. You are not to take any of the meat outside the house, and you may not break any of the bones.
In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry its flesh outside, nor shall you break its bone.
47 The whole congregation of Israel must celebrate it.
The entire assembly of the sons of Israel shall do this.
48 If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover, all the males in the household must be circumcised; then he may come near to celebrate it, and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised man may eat of it.
And if any sojourner will be willing to cross over into your settlement, and to keep the Passover of the Lord, all his males shall first be circumcised, and then he shall celebrate the rite. And he shall be just like a native of the land. But if any man is not circumcised, he shall not eat from it.
49 The same law shall apply to both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.”
The law shall be the same for the native born and for the settler who sojourns with you.”
50 Then all the Israelites did this—they did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.
And all the sons of Israel did just as the Lord had instructed Moses and Aaron.
51 And on that very day the LORD brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their divisions.
And on the same day, the Lord led the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their companies.
