Exodus 13

1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh said to Moses/me,

2 "Set apart to me all the firstborn. Whatever is first from the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal; it is mine."

“Set apart all the firstborn males in order that they may belong to me. The firstborn males of the Israeli people and of their animals will be mine.”

3 And Moses said to the people, "Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for with a mighty hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.

Moses/I said to the people, “Do not forget this day! This is the day that you are leaving Egypt. This is the day you [are freed from] being their slaves. Yahweh has brought you out of Egypt by his great power [MTY]. Do not eat any bread that has yeast in it [whenever you celebrate] this day.

4 On this day, in the month of Abib, you are going out.

You are leaving Egypt on this day, which is the first day of the month that is [named] Abib.

5 And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanite, and the Hethite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Girgashite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you must keep this ceremony in this month.

Later, when Yahweh brings you into the land where the descendants of Canaan, Heth, Amor, Hiv, and Jebus [now live], the land that he solemnly promised to give to you, a land that will be very good for raising livestock and growing crops [MTY], you must celebrate this festival during this month [every year].

6 Six days you are to eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day is a feast to the LORD.

For seven days the bread that you eat must not have any yeast in it. On the seventh day there must be a festival to [honor] Yahweh.

7 Unleavened bread is to be eaten throughout the seven days. Nothing leavened is to be seen among you, nor is any leaven to be seen among you in all your territory.

For seven days do not eat bread that has yeast in it. You should not have any yeast or bread made with yeast anywhere in your land.

8 And you are to tell your son on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'

On the day [the festival starts], you must tell your children, ‘[We are doing this to remember] what Yahweh did for our ancestors when they left Egypt.

9 And it shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a reminder between your eyes, so that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth, for with a mighty hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.

This ritual will remind you how Yahweh brought your ancestors out of Egypt with his great power [MTY]. [The ritual will be like something] you tie on your forehead or on your wrist. It will remind you to recite to others what Yahweh has instructed you.

10 Therefore you are to keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year.

So you must celebrate this festival every year at the time [Yahweh] has appointed.’

11 "And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you,

Yahweh will bring you into the land where the descendants of Canaan live, just as he promised you and your ancestors that he would do. When he gives that land to you,

12 that you are to set apart to the LORD everything that is first from the womb. Every firstborn male animal belongs to the LORD.

you must dedicate to Yahweh the firstborn males of all your animals. These all will belong to Yahweh.

13 Every firstborn of a donkey you are to redeem with a lamb, but if you will not redeem it, then you must break its neck. And every firstborn of man among your sons you must redeem.

You may keep the firstborn male donkeys, but you must buy them back by sacrificing a lamb as a substitute for the donkey. If you do not want to buy back the donkey, you must [kill it by] breaking its neck. You must also buy back every one of your own firstborn sons.

14 And it shall be, when your son asks you in the future, saying, 'What is this?' then you are to tell him, 'With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of slavery.

In the future, when one of your children asks, ‘What does this mean?’, you must say to him, ‘Yahweh brought our ancestors out of Egypt with his great power [MTY], and freed us from being slaves there.

15 And it happened, when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, that the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of people and the firstborn of animals. This is why I am sacrificing to the LORD any male that is first from the womb of an animal, but all my firstborn sons I redeem.'

The king of Egypt stubbornly refused to let them leave his country, so Yahweh killed all the firstborn males in Egypt, both the boys and the firstborn of their livestock. That is why we now sacrifice to Yahweh all the firstborn of our livestock, but we buy back our own firstborn sons.’

16 So it will be as a sign on your hand and at the front of a headband around your forehead, for with a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt."

I repeat that this ritual will remind you about how Yahweh brought our [ancestors] out of Egypt by his great power [MTY]; it will be like something you tie on your wrist or on your forehead [to remind you of that].”

17 Then it came to pass when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearby, for God said, "Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt."

When the king [of Egypt] let the [Israeli] people go, God did not lead them to go through the land of the Philistines. That was a shorter way, but God said, “It would be bad if my people change their minds when they realize that they will have to fight [the Philistines to take their land], and then [decide to] return to Egypt.”

18 So God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up from the land of Egypt prepared for battle.

Instead, God led them to go around through the desert toward the Red Sea (OR, the Gulf of Suez). When the Israeli people left Egypt, they were carrying weapons to fight [their enemies].

19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the children of Israel swear an oath, saying, "God will surely attend to you, and you are to carry my bones up with you from this place."

Moses/I [had them] take along the bones of Joseph with them/us, because Joseph long ago had made the Israeli people promise solemnly that they would do that. He had said to them, “God will enable your descendants to leave Egypt. When that happens, you must carry my bones with you.”

20 Then they set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.

The Israeli people left Succoth and traveled to Etham, at the edge of the desert, and they set up their tents there.

21 And God went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them on their way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day and by night.

[When they traveled] during the daytime, Yahweh went in front of them in a tall [white] cloud to show them the way. During the night, he went in front of them in a tall cloud that looked like a fire. By doing that, he enabled them to travel in the daytime and also at nighttime.

22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire at night from in front of the people.

The tall cloud did not leave them. It was always in front of them, as a bright white cloud in the daytime and like a fire at night.