Exodus 14
1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,
2 “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.
“Speak to the sons of Israel, and they turn back and encamp before Pi-Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Ba‘al-Zephon; you encamp in front of it by the sea,
3 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.’
and Pharaoh has said of the sons of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness has shut on them;
4 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.
and I have strengthened the heart of Pharaoh, and he has pursued after them, and I am honored by Pharaoh, and by all his force, and the Egyptians have known that I [am] YHWH”; and they do so.
5 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!”
And it is declared to the king of Egypt that the people have fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants is turned against the people, and they say, “What [is] this we have done, that we have sent Israel away from our service?”
6 So the king got his chariot and his army ready.
And he harnesses his chariot, and he has taken his people with him,
7 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.
and he takes six hundred chosen chariots, even all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over them all;
8 Because Yahweh made the king of Egypt so stubborn that he and his army went to pursue the Israelis, who were leaving triumphantly,
and YHWH strengthens the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursues after the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel are going out with a high hand,
9 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].
and the Egyptians pursue after them, and all the chariot horses of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his force, overtake them, encamping by the sea, by Pi-Hahiroth, before Ba‘al-Zephon.
10 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].
And Pharaoh has drawn near, and the sons of Israel lift up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians are journeying after them, and they fear exceedingly, and the sons of Israel cry to YHWH.
11 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]!
And they say to Moses, “Because there are no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in a wilderness? What is this you have done to us—to bring us out from Egypt?
12 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!”
Is this not the word which we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, Cease from us, and we serve the Egyptians; for [it is] better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in a wilderness?”
13 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!
And Moses says to the people, “Do not fear, station yourselves, and see the salvation of YHWH, which He does for you today; for as you have seen the Egyptians today, you add no more to see them for all time;
14 Yahweh will fight for you! Just keep quiet. There is nothing else that you will have to do.”
YHWH fights for you, and you keep silent.”
15 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.
And YHWH says to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Speak to the sons of Israel, and they journey;
and you, lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand toward the sea, and cleave it, and the sons of Israel go into the midst of the sea on dry land.
17 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.
And I—behold, I am strengthening the heart of the Egyptians, and they go in after them, and I am honored by Pharaoh, and by all his force, by his chariots, and by his horsemen;
18 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].”
and the Egyptians have known that I [am] YHWH, in My being honored by Pharaoh, by his chariots, and by his horsemen.”
19 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,
And the Messenger of God, who is going before the camp of Israel, journeys and goes at their rear; and the pillar of the cloud journeys from their front, and stands at their rear,
20 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.
and comes in between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and the cloud and the darkness are, and he enlightens the night, and the one has not drawn near to the other all the night.
21 [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.
And Moses stretches out his hand toward the sea, and YHWH causes the sea to go on by a strong east wind all the night, and makes the sea become dry ground, and the waters are cleaved,
22 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.
and the sons of Israel go into the midst of the sea on dry land, and the waters [are] a wall to them, on their right and on their left.
23 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.
And the Egyptians pursue, and go in after them (all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen) into the midst of the sea,
24 Just before dawn, Yahweh looked down from the fiery cloud, and then he caused the Egyptian army to panic.
and it comes to pass, in the morning watch, that YHWH looks to the camp of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubles the camp of the Egyptians,
25 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!”
and turns aside the wheels of their chariots, and they lead them with difficulty, and the Egyptians say, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for YHWH is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”
26 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.”
And YHWH says to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sea, and the waters turn back on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.”
27 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.
And Moses stretches out his hand toward the sea, and the sea turns back, at the turning of the morning, to its perennial flow, and the Egyptians are fleeing at its coming, and YHWH shakes off the Egyptians in the midst of the sea,
28 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.
and the waters turn back, and cover the chariots and the horsemen, even all the force of Pharaoh, who are coming in after them into the sea—there has not been left even one of them.
29 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.
And the sons of Israel have gone on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters [are] a wall to them, on their right and on their left;
30 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.
and YHWH saves Israel out of the hand of the Egyptians in that day, and Israel sees the Egyptians dead on the seashore,
31 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.
and Israel sees the great hand with which YHWH has worked against the Egyptians, and the people fear YHWH, and remain steadfast in YHWH, and in His servant Moses.
