Exodus 13

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Then the LORD said to Moses,

2 Sanctify to me every first-born, first produced, opening every womb among the children of Israel both of man and beast: it is mine.

“Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The firstborn from every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, both of man and beast.”

3 And Moses said to the people, Remember this day, in which ye came forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for with a strong hand the Lord brought you forth thence; and leaven shall not be eaten.

So Moses told the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD brought you out of it by the strength of His hand. And nothing leavened shall be eaten.

4 For on this day ye go forth in the month of new [corn].

Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving.

5 And it shall come to pass when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land of the Chananites, and the Chettites, and Amorites, and Evites, and Jebusites, and Gergesites, and Pherezites, which he sware to thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt perform this service in this month.

And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites—the land He swore to your fathers that He would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you shall keep this service in this month.

6 Six days ye shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day is a feast to the Lord.

For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD.

7 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; nothing leavened shall be seen with thee, neither shalt thou have leaven in all thy borders.

Unleavened bread shall be eaten during those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, nor shall leaven be found anywhere within your borders.

8 And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying, Therefore the Lord dealt thus with me, as I was going out of Egypt.

And on that day you are to explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’

9 And it shall be to thee a sign upon thy hand and a memorial before thine eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in thy mouth, for with a strong hand the Lord God brought thee out of Egypt.

It shall be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the Law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For with a mighty hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.

10 And preserve ye this law according to the times of the seasons, from year to year.

Therefore you shall keep this statute at the appointed time year after year.

11 And it shall come to pass when the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land of the Chananites, as he sware to thy fathers, and shall give it thee,

And after the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as He swore to you and your fathers,

12 that thou shalt set apart every [offspring] opening the womb, the males to the Lord, every one that opens the womb out of the herds or among thy cattle, as many as thou shalt have: thou shalt sanctify the males to the Lord.

you are to present to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD.

13 Every [offspring] opening the womb of the ass thou shalt change for a sheep; and if thou wilt not change it, thou shalt redeem it: every first-born of man of thy sons shalt thou redeem.

You must redeem every firstborn donkey with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. And every firstborn of your sons you must redeem.

14 And if thy son should ask thee hereafter, saying, What is this? then thou shalt say to him, With a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

15 And when Pharao hardened [his heart so as not] to send us away, he slew every first-born in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man and the first-born of beast; therefore do I sacrifice every [offspring] that opens the womb, the males to the Lord, and every first-born of my sons I will redeem.

And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of man and beast. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’

16 And it shall be for a sign upon thy hand, and immovable before thine eyes, for with a strong hand the Lord brought thee out of Egypt.

So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead, for with a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”

17 And when Pharao sent forth the people, God led them not by the way of the land of the Phylistines, because it was near; for God said, Lest at any time the people repent when they see war, and return to Egypt.

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, though it was shorter. For God said, “If the people face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”

18 And God led the people round by the way to the wilderness, to the Red Sea: and in the fifth generation the children of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt.

So God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt arrayed for battle.

19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had solemnly adjured the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones hence with you.

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear a solemn oath when he said, “God will surely attend to you, and then you must carry my bones with you from this place.”

20 And the children of Israel departed from Socchoth, and encamped in Othom by the wilderness.

They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.

21 And God led them, in the day by a pillar of cloud, to show them the way, and in the night by a pillar of fire.

And the LORD went before them in a pillar of cloud to guide their way by day, and in a pillar of fire to give them light by night, so that they could travel by day or night.

22 And the pillar of cloud failed not by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, before all the people.

Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place before the people.