Exodus 14
1 Now YHWH spoke to Moses, saying,
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
2 "Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn back and camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal Zephon. You shall camp opposite it 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 Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, 'They are wandering in the land. The wilderness has boxed 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 Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. And I will gain glory because of Pharaoh and because of all his army, and the Egyptians shall know that I am YHWH." 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 when the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people, and they said, "What is this 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 Then he made ready his chariot, and took his army with him;
So the king got his chariot and his army ready.
7 and he took six hundred select chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and officers over all 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 YHWH hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel; and the children of Israel were going out triumphantly.
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, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, 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 When Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and look, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they were very afraid. So the children of Israel cried out to YHWH.
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 to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us 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 Isn't this the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians?' For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to 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 But Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, stand still, and see the salvation of God, which he will work for you today, for the Egyptians you see today, you will never, ever see again.
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 YHWH will fight for you, and you must be still."
Yahweh will fight for you! Just keep quiet. There is nothing else that you will have to do.”
15 Then YHWH said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the children of Israel to 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 And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the children of Israel will go through the midst of the sea on dry ground.
17 And as for me, look, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and 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 Then the Egyptians will know that I am YHWH, when I receive glory over Pharaoh, his chariots and 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 who was going in front of the camp of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of 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 So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness and it lit up the night so that the one did not come near the other all 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 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and YHWH pushed the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea into dry land, so 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 Then the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right 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 into the midst of the sea, all of Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
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 happened, in the morning watch, that YHWH looked down on the Egyptian camp through the pillar of fire and cloud and threw the camp into confusion.
Just before dawn, Yahweh looked down from the fiery cloud, and then he caused the Egyptian army to panic.
25 And he bound their chariot wheels so that they drove them with difficulty. And the Egyptians said, "Let's flee from before Israel, for YHWH fights for them against the Egypt."
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 Then YHWH said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the waters may flow back on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on 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 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak. Now the Egyptians were trying to escape from it, but YHWH shook off 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 Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea. None of them survived.
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 on dry ground in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them 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 YHWH saved Israel that day from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
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 When Israel saw the great power which YHWH used against the Egyptians, then the people feared YHWH, and they believed God and his servant Moses.
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.
