Exodus 12
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt. He said,
The Lord also said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:
2 “For you, this month will be the start of months, the first month of the year to you.
“This month will be for you the beginning of the months. It will be first in the months of the year.
3 Tell the assembly of Israel, 'On the tenth day of this month they must each take a lamb or young goat for themselves, each family doing this, a lamb for each household.
Speak to the entire assembly of the sons of Israel, and say to them: On the tenth day of this month, let everyone take a lamb, by their families and houses.
4 If the household is too small for a lamb, the man and his next door neighbor are to take lamb or young goat meat that will be enough for the number of the people. It should be enough for everyone to eat, so they must take enough meat to feed them all.
But if the number is less than may suffice to be able to consume the lamb, he shall accept his neighbor, who has been joined with his house according to the number of souls that may suffice to be able to eat the lamb.
5 Your lamb or young goat must be without blemish, a one-year-old male. You may take one of the sheep or goats.
And it shall be a lamb without blemish, a one year old male. According to this rite, you shall also take a young goat.
6 You must keep it until the fourteenth day of that month. Then the whole assembly of Israel must kill these animals at twilight.
And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month. And the entire multitude of the sons of Israel shall immolate it toward evening.
7 You must take some of the blood and put it on the two side doorposts and on the tops of the doorframes of the houses in which you will eat the meat.
And they shall take from its blood, and place it on both the door posts and the upper threshold of the houses, in which they will consume it.
8 You must eat the meat that night, after first roasting it over a fire. Eat it with bread made without yeast, along with bitter herbs.
And that night they shall eat the flesh, roasted by fire, and unleavened bread with wild lettuce.
9 Do not eat it raw or boiled in water. Instead, roast it over fire with its head, legs and inner parts.
You shall not consume anything from it raw, nor boiled in water, but only roasted by fire. You shall devour the head with its feet and entrails.
10 You must not let any of it be left over until morning. You must burn whatever is left over in the morning.
Neither shall there remain anything from it until morning. If anything will have been left over, you shall burn it with fire.
11 This is how you must eat it: with your belt fastened, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You must eat it hurriedly. It is Yahweh's Passover.
Now you shall consume it in this way: You shall gird your waist, and you shall have shoes on your feet, holding staves in your hands, and you shall consume it in haste. For it is the Passover (that is, the Crossing) of the Lord.
12 Yahweh says this: I will go through the land of Egypt in that night and attack all the firstborn of man and animal in the land of Egypt. I will bring punishment on all the gods of Egypt. I am Yahweh.
And I will cross through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man, even to cattle. And I will bring judgments against all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.
13 The blood will be a sign on your houses for my coming to you. When I see the blood, I will pass over you when I attack the land of Egypt. This plague will not come on you and destroy you.
But the blood will be for you as a sign in the buildings where you will be. And I will see the blood, and I will pass over you. And the plague will not be with you to destroy, when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 This day will become a memorial day for you, which you must observe as a festival for Yahweh. It will always be a law for you, throughout your people's generations, that you must observe this day.
Then you shall have this day as a memorial, and you shall celebrate it as a solemnity to the Lord, in your generations, as an everlasting devotion.
15 You will eat bread without yeast during seven days. On the first day you will remove the yeast from your houses. Whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person must be cut off from Israel.
For seven days, you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day there shall be no leaven in your houses. Whoever will consume anything leavened, from the first day, even until the seventh day, that soul shall perish from Israel.
16 On the first day there will be an assembly that is set apart to me, and on the seventh day there will be another such gathering. No work will be done on these days, except the cooking for everyone to eat. That must be the only work that may be done by you.
The first day shall be holy and solemn, and the seventh day shall be venerated with the same festivity. You shall do no work in these days, except that which pertains to the eating.
17 You must observe this Festival of Unleavened Bread because it is on this day that I will have brought your people, armed group by armed group, out of the land of Egypt. So you must observe this day throughout your people's generations. This will always be a law for you.
And you shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. For on this same day, I will lead your army out of the land of Egypt, and you shall keep this day, in your generations, as a perpetual ritual.
18 You must eat unleavened bread from twilight of the fourteenth day in the first month of the year, until twilight of the twenty-first day of the month.
In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, toward evening, you shall consume the unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the same month, toward evening.
19 During these seven days, no yeast must be found in your houses. Whoever eats bread made with yeast must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether that person is a foreigner or someone born in your land.
For seven days, there shall not be found leaven in your houses. Whoever will eat leaven, his soul will perish from the assembly of Israel, as much with the newcomers as with the natives of the land.
20 You must eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat bread made without yeast.'”
You shall not consume any leaven. In all your dwelling places, you shall eat unleavened bread.”
21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs or kids that will be enough to feed your families and kill the Passover lamb.
Then Moses called all the elders of the sons of Israel, and he said to them: “Go, taking an animal by your families, and sacrifice the Passover.
22 Then take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that will be in a basin. Apply the blood in the basin to the top of the doorframe and the two doorposts. None of you is to go out of the door of his house until the morning.
And dip a little bundle of hyssop in the blood which is at the entrance, and sprinkle the upper threshold with it, and both of the door posts. Let none of you go out of the door of his house until morning.
23 For Yahweh will pass through to attack the Egyptians. When he sees the blood on the top of the doorframe and on the two doorposts, he will pass over your door and not permit the destroyer to come into your houses to attack you.
For the Lord will cross through, striking the Egyptians. And when he will see the blood on the upper threshold, and on both the door posts, he will pass over the door of the house and not permit the Striker to enter into your houses or to do harm.
24 You must observe this event. This will always be a law for you and your descendants.
You shall keep this word as a law for you and for your sons, forever.
25 When you enter the land that Yahweh will give you, just as he has promised to do, you must observe this act of worship.
And when you have entered into the land that the Lord will give to you, just as he has promised, you shall observe these ceremonies.
26 When your children ask you, 'What does this act of worship mean?'
And when your sons will say to you, ‘What is the meaning of this religious observance?’
27 then you must say, 'It is the sacrifice of Yahweh's Passover, because Yahweh passed over the Israelites' houses in Egypt when he attacked the Egyptians. He set our households free.'” Then the people bowed down and worshiped Yahweh.
You shall say to them: ‘It is the victim of the crossing of the Lord, when he passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt, striking the Egyptians, and freeing our houses.’” And the people, bowing down, worshipped.
28 The Israelites went and did exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron.
And the sons of Israel, departing, did just as the Lord had instructed Moses and Aaron.
29 It happened at midnight that Yahweh attacked all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the person in prison and all the firstborn of cattle.
Then it happened, in the middle of the night: the Lord struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the captive woman who was in prison, and all the firstborn of the cattle.
30 Pharaoh got up in the night—he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians. There was loud lamenting in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not someone dead.
And Pharaoh rose up in the night, and all his servants, and all of Egypt. And there arose a great outcry in Egypt. For there was not a house in which no one lay dead.
31 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron in the night and said, “Get up, get out from among my people, you and the Israelites. Go, worship Yahweh, as you have said you wanted to do.
And Pharaoh, calling Moses and Aaron in the night, said: “Rise up and go forth from among my people, you and the sons of Israel. Go, sacrifice to the Lord, just as you say.
32 Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and also bless me.”
Your sheep and herds take along with you, as you requested, and as you go away, bless me.”
33 The Egyptians were in a great hurry to send them out of the land, for they said, “We will all die.”
And the Egyptians urged the people to go away from the land quickly, saying, “We will all die.”
34 So the people took their dough without adding any yeast. Their kneading bowls were already tied up in their clothes and on their shoulders.
Therefore, the people took bread dough before it was leavened. And tying it in their cloaks, they placed it on their shoulders.
35 Now the people of Israel did as Moses told them. They asked the Egyptians for articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing.
And the sons of Israel did just as Moses had instructed. And they petitioned the Egyptians for vessels of silver and of gold, and very many garments.
36 Yahweh made the Egyptians eager to please the Israelites. So the Egyptians gave them whatever they asked for. In this way, the Israelites plundered the Egyptians.
Then the Lord granted favor to the people in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they bestowed on them. And they despoiled the Egyptians.
37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. They numbered about 600,000 men on foot, in addition to the women and children.
And the sons of Israel set out from Rameses to Soccoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides little ones.
38 A mixed multitude also went with them, together with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock.
But also an innumerable mix of common people ascended with them, sheep and herds and animals of diverse kinds, exceedingly many.
39 They baked bread without yeast in the dough that they brought from Egypt. It was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and could not delay to prepare food.
And they baked the bread, which a little while ago they had taken out of Egypt as dough. And they made unleavened bread baked under ashes. For it was not able to be leavened, with the Egyptians compelling them to leave and not permitting them to cause any delay. Neither did they have occasion to prepare any meat.
40 The Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years.
Now the habitation of the sons of Israel, while they remained in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
41 At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all of Yahweh's armed groups went out from the land of Egypt.
Having been completed, on the same day all the army of the Lord departed from the land of Egypt.
42 This was a night to stay awake, for Yahweh to bring them out from the land of Egypt. This was Yahweh's night to be observed by all the Israelites throughout their people's generations.
This night is a worthy observance of the Lord, when he led them out of the land of Egypt. This all the sons of Israel must observe in their generations.
43 Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “Here is the rule for the Passover: No foreigner may share in eating it.
And the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron: “This is the religious observance of the Passover. No foreigner shall eat from it.
44 However, every Israelite's slave, bought with money, may eat it after you have circumcised him.
But every bought servant shall be circumcised, and so he may eat from it.
45 Foreigners and hired servants must not eat any of the food.
The newcomer and the hired hand shall not eat from it.
46 The food must be eaten in one house. You must not carry any of the meat out of the house, and you must not break any bone of it.
In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry its flesh outside, nor shall you break its bone.
47 All the community of Israel must observe the festival.
The entire assembly of the sons of Israel shall do this.
48 If a foreigner lives with you and wants to observe the Passover to Yahweh, all his male relatives must be circumcised. Then he may come and observe it. He will become like the people who were born in the land. However, no uncircumcised person may eat any of the food.
And if any sojourner will be willing to cross over into your settlement, and to keep the Passover of the Lord, all his males shall first be circumcised, and then he shall celebrate the rite. And he shall be just like a native of the land. But if any man is not circumcised, he shall not eat from it.
49 This same law will apply to both the native born and to the foreigner who lives among you.”
The law shall be the same for the native born and for the settler who sojourns with you.”
50 So all the Israelites did exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron.
And all the sons of Israel did just as the Lord had instructed Moses and Aaron.
51 It came about that very day that Yahweh brought Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armed groups.
And on the same day, the Lord led the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their companies.
