< Exodus 14 >

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
And the Lord said to Moses,
2 “Speak to the sons of Israel. Let them turn back and encamp away from the region of Pihahiroth, which is between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal-zephon. In its sight you shall place your camp, above the sea.
Give orders to the children of Israel to go back and put up their tents before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon, opposite to which you are to put up your tents by the sea.
3 And Pharaoh will say about the sons of Israel, ‘They have been confined by the land; the desert has enclosed them.’
And Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are wandering without direction, they are shut in by the waste land.
4 And I will harden his heart, and so he will pursue you. And I will be glorified in Pharaoh, and in all his army. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.
And I will make Pharaoh's heart hard, and he will come after them and I will be honoured over Pharaoh and all his army, so that the Egyptians may see that I am the Lord. And they did so.
5 And it was reported to the king of the Egyptians that the people had fled. And the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed about the people, and they said, “What did we intend to do, so that we released Israel from serving us?”
And word came to Pharaoh of the flight of the people: and the feeling of Pharaoh and of his servants about the people was changed, and they said, Why have we let Israel go, so that they will do no more work for us?
6 Therefore, he harnessed his chariot, and he took all his people with him.
So he had his war-carriage made ready and took his people with him:
7 And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and whatever chariots were in Egypt, and also the leaders of the whole army.
And he took six hundred carriages, all the carriages of Egypt, and captains over all of them.
8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he pursued the sons of Israel. But they were taken away by an exalted hand.
And the Lord made the heart of Pharaoh hard, and he went after the children of Israel: for the children of Israel had gone out without fear.
9 And when the Egyptians followed the footsteps of those who preceded them, they found them in a camp above the sea. All the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and the entire army, were in Pihahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon.
But the Egyptians went after them, all the horses and carriages of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them in their tents by the sea, by Pihahiroth, before Baal-zephon.
10 And when Pharaoh had drawn near, the sons of Israel, lifting up their eyes, saw the Egyptians behind them. And they were very afraid. And they cried out to the Lord.
And when Pharaoh came near, the children of Israel, lifting up their eyes, saw the Egyptians coming after them, and were full of fear; and their cry went up to God.
11 And they said to Moses: “Perhaps there were no graves in Egypt, for which reason you took us to die in the wilderness. What is it that you intended to do, in leading us out of Egypt?
And they said to Moses, Was there no resting-place for the dead in Egypt, that you have taken us away to come to our death in the waste land? why have you taken us out of Egypt?
12 Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying: Withdraw from us, so that we may serve the Egyptians? For it was much better to serve them, than to die in the wilderness.”
Did we not say to you in Egypt, Let us be as we are, working for the Egyptians? for it is better to be the servants of the Egyptians than to come to our death in the waste land.
13 And Moses said to the people: “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and see the great wonders of the Lord, which he will do today. For the Egyptians, whom you now see, will never again be seen, forever.
But Moses said, Keep where you are and have no fear; now you will see the salvation of the Lord which he will give you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again.
14 The Lord will fight on your behalf, and you will remain silent.”
The Lord will make war for you, you have only to keep quiet.
15 And the Lord said to Moses: “Why cry out to me? Tell the sons of Israel to continue on.
And the Lord said to Moses, Why are you crying out to me? give the children of Israel the order to go forward.
16 Now, lift up your staff, and extend your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the sons of Israel may walk through the midst of the sea on dry ground.
And let your rod be lifted up and your hand stretched out over the sea, and it will be parted in two; and the children of Israel will go through on dry land.
17 Then I will harden the heart of the Egyptians, so as to pursue you. And I will be glorified in Pharaoh, and in all his army, and in his chariots, and in his horsemen.
And I will make the heart of the Egyptians hard, and they will go in after them: and I will be honoured over Pharaoh and over his army, his war-carriages, and his horsemen.
18 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I will be glorified in Pharaoh, and in his chariots, as well as in his horsemen.”
And the Egyptians will see that I am the Lord, when I get honour over Pharaoh and his war-carriages and his horsemen.
19 And the Angel of God, who preceded the camp of Israel, lifting himself up, went behind them. And the pillar of cloud, together with him, left the front for the rear
Then the angel of God, who had been before the tents of Israel, took his place at their back; and the pillar of cloud, moving from before them, came to rest at their back:
20 and stood between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. And it was a dark cloud, yet it illuminated the night, so that they could not succeed at approaching one another at any time all that night.
And it came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel; and there was a dark cloud between them, and they went on through the night; but the one army came no nearer to the other all the night.
21 And when Moses had extended his hand over the sea, the Lord took it away by an intense burning wind, blowing throughout the night, and he turned it into dry ground. And the water was divided.
And when Moses' hand was stretched out over the sea, the Lord with a strong east wind made the sea go back all night, and the waters were parted in two and the sea became dry land.
22 And the sons of Israel went in through the midst of the dried sea. For the water was like a wall at their right hand and at their left hand.
And the children of Israel went through the sea on dry land: and the waters were a wall on their right side and on their left.
23 And the Egyptians, pursuing them, went in after them, along with all of the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots and horsemen, through the midst of the sea.
Then the Egyptians went after them into the middle of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses and his war-carriages and his horsemen.
24 And now the morning watch had arrived, and behold, the Lord, looking down upon the camp of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of cloud, put to death their army.
And in the morning watch, the Lord, looking out on the armies of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud, sent trouble on the army of the Egyptians;
25 And he overturned the wheels of the chariots, and they were carried into the deep. Therefore, the Egyptians said: “Let us flee from Israel. For the Lord fights on their behalf against us.”
And made the wheels of their war-carriages stiff, so that they had hard work driving them: so the Egyptians said, Let us go in flight from before the face of Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.
26 And the Lord said to Moses: “Extend your hand over the sea, so that the waters may return on the Egyptians, over their chariots and horsemen.”
And the Lord said to Moses, Let your hand be stretched out over the sea, and the waters will come back again on the Egyptians, and on their war-carriages and on their horsemen.
27 And when Moses had extended his hand opposite the sea, it was returned, at first light, to its former place. And the fleeing Egyptians met with the waters, and the Lord immersed them in the midst of the waves.
And when Moses' hand was stretched out over the sea, at dawn the sea came flowing back, meeting the Egyptians in their flight, and the Lord sent destruction on the Egyptians in the middle of the sea.
28 And the waters were returned, and they covered the chariots and horsemen of the entire army of Pharaoh, who, in following, had entered into the sea. And not so much as one of them was left alive.
And the waters came back, covering the war-carriages and the horsemen and all the army of Pharaoh which went after them into the middle of the sea; not one of them was to be seen.
29 But the sons of Israel continued directly through the midst of the dried sea, and the waters were to them like a wall on the right and on the left.
But the children of Israel went through the sea walking on dry land, and the waters were a wall on their right side and on their left.
30 And so the Lord freed Israel on that day from the hand of the Egyptians.
So that day the Lord gave Israel salvation from the hands of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the sea's edge.
31 And they saw the Egyptians dead on the shore of the sea and the great hand that the Lord had exercised against them. And the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in Moses his servant.
And Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done against the Egyptians, and the fear of the Lord came on the people and they had faith in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

< Exodus 14 >