Exodus 14
1 The Lord told Moses,
And the Lord said to Moses,
2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and set up camp near Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to camp beside the sea, opposite Baal-zephon.
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 Pharaoh will conclude about the Israelites: ‘They're wandering about the country in confusion—the desert has blocked them from leaving.’
And Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are wandering without direction, they are shut in by the waste land.
4 I will give Pharaoh a stubborn attitude so that he will chase after them to get them back. But I will gain respect through what happens to Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did as they were instructed.
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 When the king of Egypt found out that the Israelites had left in a hurry, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about what had happened and said, “What have we done? We have let all these Israelite slaves go!”
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 So Pharaoh had his chariot made ready and set out with his army.
So he had his war-carriage made ready and took his people with him:
7 He took 600 of his best chariots along with all the other chariots of Egypt, each with their officer-in-charge.
And he took six hundred carriages, all the carriages of Egypt, and captains over all of them.
8 The Lord gave Pharaoh, king of Egypt, a stubborn attitude so he chased after the Israelites, who were leaving with their fists raised in triumph.
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 The Egyptians set out in pursuit—all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and soldiers. They caught up with the Israelites while they were camped beside the sea near Pi-hahiroth, 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 The Israelites looked back and saw Pharaoh and the Egyptian army approaching. They were absolutely terrified and cried out to the Lord for help.
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 They complained to Moses, “Were there no graves in Egypt that you had to bring us out here in the desert to die? What have you done to us by making us leave 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 Didn't we tell you back in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we can go on being slaves to the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to be Egyptian slaves than to die here in the desert!”
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 But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand where you are and you will see how the Lord will save you today. The Egyptians you see right now, you will never see again!
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 is going to fight for you—you don't need to do anything.”
The Lord will make war for you, you have only to keep quiet.
15 The Lord told Moses, “Why are you crying out to me for help? Tell the Israelites to move forward.
And the Lord said to Moses, Why are you crying out to me? give the children of Israel the order to go forward.
16 You are to pick up your walking stick and hold it out in your hand over the sea. Divide it so the Israelites can walk through 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 I will give Egyptians a stubborn, hard-hearted attitude so that they will chase in after them. Then I will gain respect through what happens to Pharaoh and all his army, chariots, and 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 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain respect through Pharaoh, his chariots, and 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 The angel of God, who had been leading the Israelites, moved behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front of them and stood behind them,
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 so that it was positioned between the Egyptian and Israelite camps. Though the cloud was in darkness on one side, but it lit up the night on the other. No one from either camp went near the other during the 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 Then Moses held out his hand over the sea, and all through the night the Lord forced the sea back with a strong east wind, and turned the bottom of the sea into dry land. So 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 Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water to their right and left.
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 The Egyptians chased after them—all Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and horsemen. They followed the Israelites into 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 But at the end of the night the Lord looked down on the Egyptian army from the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw them into a panic.
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 He made their chariot wheels get stuck so it was hard for them to drive. The Egyptians shouted out, “Retreat! We must run from the Israelites because the Lord is fighting for them 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 Then the Lord told Moses, “Hold out your hand over the sea, so that the water will pour back over the Egyptians and 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 So Moses held out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to normal. As the Egyptians retreated, the Lord swept them into the sea.
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 The water poured back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the whole of Pharaoh's army that had chased after the Israelites into the sea. Not a single one of them survived.
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 Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water to their right and 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 The Lord saved the Israelites from the threat of the Egyptians—the Israelites saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.
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 When the Israelites saw the great power that the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they were in awe of the Lord, and they trusted in him and in his servant Moses.
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.
