January 22
Exodus 14:1 —
16:21
14
Jehovah now spoke to Moses, saying:
2 “Speak
to the sons of Israel, that they should turn back and encamp before Pihahiroth
between Migdol and the sea in view of Baal-zephon. In front of it YOU are to
encamp by the sea.
3 Then
Pharaoh will certainly say respecting the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering
in confusion in the land. The wilderness has closed in upon them.’
4 So
I shall indeed let Pharaoh’s heart become obstinate, and he will certainly
chase after them and I shall get glory for myself by means of Pharaoh and all
his military forces; and the Egyptians will certainly know that I am Jehovah.”
Accordingly they did just that.
5 Later
it was reported to the king of Egypt that the people had run away. Immediately
the heart of Pharaoh as well as his servants was changed regarding the people,
so that they said: “What is this that we have done, in that we have sent Israel
away from slaving for us?”
6 So
he proceeded to make his war chariots ready, and he took his people with him.
7 And
he proceeded to take six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of
Egypt and warriors upon every one of them.
8 Thus
Jehovah let the heart of Pharaoh the king of Egypt become obstinate, and he
went chasing after the sons of Israel, while the sons of Israel were going out
with uplifted hand.
9 And
the Egyptians went chasing after them, and all the chariot horses of Pharaoh
and his cavalrymen and his military forces were overtaking them while camping by
the sea, by Pihahiroth
in view of Baal-zephon.
10 When
Pharaoh got close by, the sons of Israel began to raise their eyes and here the
Egyptians were marching after them; and the sons of Israel got quite afraid and
began to cry out to Jehovah.
11 And
they proceeded to say to Moses: “Is it because there are no burial places at all
in Egypt that you have taken us here to die in the wilderness? What is this that
you have done to us in leading us out of Egypt?
12 Is
this not the word we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone, that we may
serve the Egyptians’? For it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than for us
to die in the wilderness.”
13 Then
Moses said to the people: “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and see the salvation of
Jehovah, which he will perform for YOU today. For the Egyptians whom YOU do see
today YOU will not see again, no, never again.
14 Jehovah
will himself fight for YOU, and YOU yourselves will be silent.”
15 Jehovah
now said to Moses: “Why do you keep crying out to me? Speak to the sons of
Israel that they should break camp.
16 As
for you, lift up your rod and stretch your hand out over the sea and split it
apart, that the sons of Israel may go through the midst of the sea on dry land.
17 As
for me, here I am letting the hearts of the Egyptians become obstinate, that
they may go in after them and that I may get glory for myself by means of Pharaoh
and all his military forces, his war chariots and his cavalrymen.
18 And
the Egyptians will certainly know that I am Jehovah when I get glory for myself
by means of Pharaoh, his war chariots and his cavalrymen.”
19 Then
the angel of the [true] God who was going ahead of the camp of Israel departed
and went to their rear, and the pillar of cloud departed from their van and
stood in the rear of them.
20 So
it came in between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. On the one
hand it proved to be a cloud together with darkness. On the other hand it kept
lighting up the night. And this group did not come near that group all night
long.
21 Moses
now stretched his hand out over the sea; and Jehovah began making the sea go
back by a strong east wind all night long and converting the sea basin into dry
ground, and the waters were being split apart.
22 At
length the sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on dry land, while
the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
23 And
the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all the horses of Pharaoh, his war
chariots and his cavalrymen began going in after them, into the midst of the
sea.
24 And
it came about during the morning watch that Jehovah began to look out upon the
camp of the Egyptians from within the pillar of fire and cloud, and he went
throwing the camp of the Egyptians into confusion.
25 And
he kept taking wheels off their chariots so that they were driving them with
difficulty; and the Egyptians began to say: “Let us flee from any contact with
Israel, because Jehovah certainly fights for them against the Egyptians.”
26 Finally
Jehovah said to Moses: “Stretch your hand out over the sea, that the waters may
come back over the Egyptians, their war chariots and their cavalrymen.”
27 Moses
at once stretched his hand out over the sea, and the sea began to come back to
its normal condition at the approaching of morning. All the while the Egyptians
were fleeing from encountering it, but Jehovah shook the Egyptians off into the
midst of the sea.
28 And
the waters kept coming back. Finally they covered the war chariots and the
cavalrymen belonging to all of Pharaoh’s military forces and who had gone into
the sea after them. Not so much as one among them was let remain.
29 As
for the sons of Israel, they walked on dry land in the midst of the seabed, and
the waters were for them a wall on their right hand and on their left.
30 Thus
on that day Jehovah saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel got
to see the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
31 Israel
also got to see the great hand that Jehovah put in action against the Egyptians;
and the people began to fear Jehovah and to put faith in Jehovah and in Moses
his servant.
15
At that time Moses and the sons of Israel proceeded to sing this song to Jehovah
and to say the following:
“Let me sing to Jehovah, for he has become highly exalted.
The horse and its rider he has pitched into the sea.
2 My
strength and [my] might is Jah, since he serves for my salvation.
This is my God, and I shall laud him; my father’s God, and I shall raise
him on high.
3 Jehovah
is a manly person of war. Jehovah is his name.
4 Pharaoh’s
chariots and his military forces he has cast into the sea,
And the choice of his warriors have been sunk in the Red Sea.
5 The
surging waters proceeded to cover them; down they went into the depths like a
stone.
6 Your
right hand, O Jehovah, is proving itself powerful in ability,
Your right hand, O Jehovah, can shatter an enemy.
7 And
in the abundance of your superiority you can throw down those who rise up
against you;
You send out your burning anger, it eats them up like stubble.
8 And
by a breath from your nostrils waters were heaped up;
They stood still like a dam of floods;
The surging waters were congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The
enemy said, ‘I shall pursue! I shall overtake!
I shall divide spoil! My soul will be filled with them!
I shall draw my sword! My hand will drive them away!’
10 You
blew with your breath, the sea covered them;
They sank like lead in majestic waters.
11 Who
among the gods is like you, O Jehovah?
Who is like you, proving yourself mighty in holiness?
The One to be feared with songs of praise, the One doing marvels.
12 You
stretched out your right hand, the earth proceeded to swallow them up.
13 You
in your loving-kindness have led the people whom you have recovered;
You in your strength will certainly conduct them to your holy abiding
place.
14 Peoples
must hear, they will be agitated;
Birth pangs must take hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 At
that time the sheiks of Edom will indeed be disturbed;
As for the despots of Moab, trembling will take hold on them.
All the inhabitants of Canaan will indeed be disheartened.
16 Fright
and dread will fall upon them.
Because of the greatness of your arm they will be motionless like a
stone,
Until your people pass by, O Jehovah,
Until the people whom you have produced pass by.
17 You
will bring them and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance,
An established place that you have made ready for you to inhabit, O
Jehovah,
A sanctuary, O Jehovah, that your hands have established.
18 Jehovah
will rule as king to time indefinite, even forever.
19 When
Pharaoh’s horses with his war chariots and his cavalrymen went into the sea,
Then Jehovah brought back the waters of the sea upon them,
While the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the
sea.”
20 And
Miriam
the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, proceeded to take a tambourine in her hand; and
all the women began going out with her with tambourines and in dances.
21 And
Miriam
kept responding to the men:
“Sing to Jehovah, for he has become highly exalted.
The horse and its rider he has pitched into the sea.”
22 Later
Moses caused Israel to depart from the Red Sea and they went out to the
wilderness of Shur and marched on for three days in the wilderness, but they did
not find water.
23 In
time they came to Marah, but they were not able to drink the water from Marah
because it was bitter. That is why he called its name Marah.
24 And
the people began to murmur against Moses, saying: “What are we to drink?”
25 Then
he cried out to Jehovah. So Jehovah directed him to a tree, and he threw it into
the water and the water became sweet.
There He established for them a regulation and a case for judgment and there he
put them to the test.
26 And
he went on to say: “If you will strictly listen to the voice of Jehovah your God
and will do what is right in his eyes and will indeed give ear to his
commandments and keep all his regulations, I shall put none of the maladies upon
you that I put upon the Egyptians; because I am Jehovah who is healing you.”
27 After
that they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy
palm trees. So they went camping there by the water.
16
Later
they departed from Elim, and the entire assembly of the sons of Israel finally
came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the
fifteenth day of the second month after their coming out of the land of Egypt.
2 And
the entire assembly of the sons of Israel began to murmur against Moses and
Aaron in the wilderness.
3 And
the sons of Israel kept saying to them: “If only we had died by Jehovah’s hand
in the land of Egypt while we were sitting by the pots of meat, while we were
eating bread to satisfaction, because YOU have brought us out into this
wilderness to put this whole congregation to death by famine.”
4 Then
Jehovah said to Moses: “Here I am raining down bread for YOU from the heavens;
and the people must go out and pick up each his amount day for day, in order
that I may put them to the test as to whether they will walk in my law or not.
5 And
it must occur on the sixth day that they must prepare what they will bring in,
and it must prove double what they keep picking up day by day.”
6 So
Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel: “At evening YOU will certainly
know that it is Jehovah who has brought YOU out from the land of Egypt.
7 And
in the morning YOU will indeed see Jehovah’s glory, because he has heard YOUR
murmurings against Jehovah. And what are we that YOU should murmur against us?”
8 And
Moses continued: “It will be when Jehovah gives YOU in the evening meat to eat
and in the morning bread to satisfaction, because Jehovah has heard YOUR
murmurings that YOU are murmuring against him. And what are we? YOUR murmurings
are not against us, but against Jehovah.”
9 And
Moses went on to say to Aaron: “Say to the entire assembly of the sons of
Israel, ‘Come near before Jehovah, because he has heard YOUR murmurings.’”
10 Then
it occurred that as soon as Aaron had spoken to the entire assembly of the sons
of Israel, they turned and faced toward the wilderness, and, look! Jehovah’s
glory appeared in the cloud.
11 And
Jehovah spoke further to Moses, saying:
12 “I
have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘Between
the two evenings YOU will eat meat and in the morning YOU will be satisfied with
bread; and YOU will certainly know that I am Jehovah YOUR God.’”
13 Accordingly
it occurred that in the evening the quails began to come up and cover the camp,
and in the morning there had developed a layer of dew round about the camp.
14 In
time the layer of dew evaporated and here upon the surface of the wilderness
there was a fine flaky thing, fine like hoarfrost upon the earth.
15 When
the sons of Israel got to see it, they began to say to one another: “What is
it?” For they did not know what it was. Hence Moses said to them: “It is the
bread that Jehovah has given YOU for food.
16 This
is the word that Jehovah has commanded, ‘Pick up some of it, each one in
proportion to his eating. YOU are to take an omer measure for each individual
according to the number of the souls that each of YOU has in his tent.’”
17 And
the sons of Israel began to do so; and they went picking it up, some gathering
much and some gathering little.
18 When
they would measure it by the omer, he that had gathered much had no surplus and
he that had gathered little had no shortage. They picked it up each one in
proportion to his eating.
19 Then
Moses said to them: “Let nobody leave any of it until the morning.”
20 But
they did not listen to Moses. When some men would leave some of it until the
morning, it would breed worms and stink; so that Moses became indignant at them.
21 And
they would pick it up morning by morning, each one in proportion to his eating.
When the sun got hot, it melted.