Exodus 13
1 Yahweh said to Moses/me,
And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,
2 “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.”
“Sanctify to Me every firstborn, opening any womb among the sons of Israel, among man and among beast; it [is] Mine.”
3 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.
And Moses says to the people, “Remember this day [in] which you have gone out from Egypt, from the house of servants, for by strength of hand YHWH has brought you out from this, and anything fermented is not eaten;
4 You are leaving Egypt on this day, which is the first day of the month that is [named] Abib.
you are going out today, in the month of Abib.
5 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].
And it has been, when YHWH brings you to the land of the Canaanite, and of the Hittite, and of the Amorite, and of the Hivite, and of the Jebusite, which He has sworn to your fathers to give to you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you have done this service in this month.
6 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.
Seven days you eat unleavened things, and in the seventh day [is] a celebration to YHWH;
7 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.
unleavened things are eaten the seven days, and anything fermented is not seen with you; indeed, leaven is not seen with you in all your border.
8 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.
And you have declared to your son in that day, saying, [It is] because of what YHWH did to me, in my going out from Egypt,
9 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.
and it has been to you for a sign on your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, so that the Law of YHWH is in your mouth, for by a strong hand YHWH has brought you out from Egypt;
10 So you must celebrate this festival every year at the time [Yahweh] has appointed.’
and you have kept this statute at its appointed time from days to days.
11 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,
And it has been, when YHWH brings you to the land of the Canaanite as He has sworn to you and to your fathers, and has given it to you,
12 you must dedicate to Yahweh the firstborn males of all your animals. These all will belong to Yahweh.
that you have caused everyone opening a womb to pass over to YHWH, and every firstling—the increase of beasts which you have: the males [are] YHWH’s.
13 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.
And every firstling of a donkey you ransom with a lamb, and if you do not ransom [it], then you have beheaded it; and you ransom every firstborn of man among your sons.
14 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.
And it has been, when your son asks you hereafter, saying, What [is] this? That you have said to him, By strength of hand YHWH has brought us out from Egypt, from a house of servants;
15 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.’
indeed, it comes to pass, when Pharaoh has been pained to send us away, that YHWH slays every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man even to the firstborn of beast; therefore I am sacrificing to YHWH all opening a womb who [are] males, and I ransom every firstborn of my sons;
16 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].”
and it has been for a token on your hand, and for frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand YHWH has brought us out of Egypt.”
17 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.”
And it comes to pass in Pharaoh’s sending the people away, that God has not led them the way of the land of the Philistines, for it [is] near; for God said, “Lest the people sigh in their seeing war, and have turned back toward Egypt”;
18 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].
and God turns around the people the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea, and the sons of Israel have gone up by fifties from the land of Egypt.
19 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.”
And Moses takes the bones of Joseph with him, for he certainly caused the sons of Israel to swear, saying, “God certainly inspects you, and you have brought up my bones from this [place] with you.”
20 The Israeli people left Succoth and traveled to Etham, at the edge of the desert, and they set up their tents there.
And they journey from Succoth, and encamp in Etham at the extremity of the wilderness,
21 [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.
and YHWH is going before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give light to them, to go by day and by night;
22 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.
He does not remove the pillar of the cloud by day, and the pillar of the fire by night, [from] before the people.
