Exodus 14
1 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn back and encamp before Pi-hachiroth, between Migdol and the sea; in front of Baal-zephon; opposite to this shall ye encamp by the sea.
“Tell the Israeli people to turn around and go back and set up their tents in front of Pi-Hahiroth [town]. That town is between Migdol and the sea, across from Baal-Zephon [town]. Set up your tents there, close to the sea.
3 And Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.
When the king [knows you have done that], he will think, ‘The Israeli people are confused. They are wandering around, and the desert blocks their path.’
4 And I will harden the heart of Pharaoh, that he shall follow after them; and I will get myself honor on Pharaoh, and on all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord; and they did so.
But I will make the king stubborn [again], and he will [take his army and] pursue you. Then my people will praise/thank me for winning a victory over the king and his army. And the Egyptians will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].” So [Moses/I told my people that, and] they did what he/I told them to do.
5 And it was told to the king of Egypt that the people had fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed with respect to the people, and they said, What is this which we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?
When someone told the king that the Israeli people had left [during the night], he and his officials changed their minds and said, “(What have we done?/What we have done was stupid!) [RHQ] The Israeli people will no longer be our slaves!”
6 And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him.
So the king got his chariot and his army ready.
7 And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.
Then he selected 600 of the best chariots, and in each chariot he placed a driver, a soldier, and a commander, and they left. Other chariots, with a driver and a soldier in each of them, also went along.
8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with a high hand.
Because Yahweh made the king of Egypt so stubborn that he and his army went to pursue the Israelis, who were leaving triumphantly,
9 And the Egyptians pursued after them, and they overtook them encamping by the sea, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, beside Pi-hachiroth, before Baal-zephon.
the Egyptian army, with all the king’s horses and chariots and horsemen, pursued the Israelis. They caught up with them as they were camped near the sea, close to Pi-Hahiroth, in front of Baal-Zephon [town].
10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they were greatly afraid; and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.
When the king’s army got near, the Israeli people were surprised to see that the Egyptians were marching toward them. They were terrified; so they cried out to Yahweh [to help them].
11 And they said unto Moses, Is it because there were no graves in Egypt, that thou hast taken us away to die in the wilderness? what is this which thou hast done to us, to bring us forth out of Egypt?
Then they said to Moses/me, “Is it because there were no places in Egypt [where we could] be buried that you have brought us here to die in this desert [RHQ]? Look what you have done to us by bringing us out of Egypt [RHQ]!
12 Is not this the word that we spoke unto thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? for it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.
That is what we told you when we were in Egypt! We said, ‘Leave us alone, and let us work for the Egyptians [RHQ]!’ It would have been better for us to be slaves for the Egyptians than to die here in the desert!”
13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will do for you today; for as ye have seen the Egyptians today, ye shall not see them again any more for ever.
Moses/I replied to the people, “Do not be afraid! Be brave, and see how Yahweh will rescue you! He will save you today, and the result will be that the Egyptians that you are looking at today—you will never see them again!
14 The Lord will fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
Yahweh will fight for you! Just keep quiet. There is nothing else that you will have to do.”
15 And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward;
Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Tell the people to stop crying out for me [to help them], and tell them to go forward. Lift up your stick and stretch it out toward the sea. The water will divide, so that all you Israeli people can go in the middle of the sea, walking on dry ground.
16 But do thou lift up thy staff, and stretch out thy hand over the sea, and divide it; and the children of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry ground.
17 And I, behold, I will harden the heart of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get myself honor on Pharaoh, and on all his host, on his chariots, and on his horsemen.
I will make the Egyptians stubborn, so that they will try to follow you. And then as a result of [what I will do to the] king and his army and his chariots and his horsemen, [my people] will praise/thank me.
18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have got myself honor on Pharaoh, on his chariots, and on his horsemen.
And when I have won a glorious [victory] over the king and his chariots and his horsemen, the [other] Egyptians will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].”
19 And the angel of God, that went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud removed from before them, and stood behind them;
Then the angel of God, who had been in front of the Israeli people, moved and went behind them. The tall bright cloud that had been in front of them also moved behind them,
20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness [to the first], but it gave light by night [to these]: and the one came not near unto the other all the night.
until it was between the Egyptian army and the Israeli people. The cloud caused the Egyptian army to be in the dark but it gave light for the Israelis. As a result, neither group could come near the other group during the whole night.
21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
[That evening], Moses/I stretched out his/my hand toward the sea. Then Yahweh sent a strong wind from the east. It blew all night and pushed the water apart, and it caused the ground between the water to dry up.
22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them, on their right hand, and on their left.
Then we Israeli people went on the dry land in the middle of the sea. The water was like a wall on each side of us, on the right side and on the left side.
23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen, to the midst of the sea.
Then the Egyptian army pursued them, and went after them into the middle of the sea, with their horses and their chariots and the chariot-drivers.
24 And it came to pass in the morning watch, that the Lord looked unto the camp of the Egyptians with the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and brought into confusion the camp of the Egyptians;
Just before dawn, Yahweh looked down from the fiery cloud, and then he caused the Egyptian army to panic.
25 And he took off the wheels of their chariots, and caused them to move onward with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.
He caused the wheels of the chariots to get stuck [in the mud], so that they could hardly move. So the Egyptians said, “Yahweh is fighting for the Israelis and against us; let’s get out of here!”
26 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thy hand over the sea, and the waters shall return over the Egyptians, over their chariots, and over their horsemen.
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Stretch out your arm toward the sea again. Then the water will come back on the Egyptians and on their chariots and their horsemen.”
27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned, when the morning appeared, to its strength; while the Egyptians were fleeing against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
So Moses/I stretched out his/my arm, and as the sun was rising, the water returned to its normal level. The Egyptians tried to escape, but Yahweh hurled them back into the sea.
28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen with all the host of Pharaoh that came after them into the sea: there remained of them not even one.
The water returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and the whole Egyptian army that had tried to follow us Israelis into the sea. Every one of the Egyptians drowned.
29 But the children of Israel walked upon dry ground in the midst of the sea; and the waters were unto them a wall on their right hand, and on their left.
But we Israeli people had already crossed through the sea by walking on dry ground, with the water being [like two] walls, one on the right side and one on the left side.
30 Thus the Lord saved Israel on that day out of the land of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the shore of the sea.
That is the way Yahweh saved the Israeli people from the Egyptian army on that day. The Israeli people saw the Egyptians lying dead, [with their bodies washed up] on the shore.
31 And Israel saw that great power which the Lord had shown on the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and then believed in the Lord, and in Moses his servant.
The Israelis saw what Yahweh did to the Egyptians by his great power [MTY], and they were in awe of Yahweh. They trusted in Yahweh and they also trusted Moses/me.
