The First Passover

12 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: ² “This month will be the beginning of months, the first month [^Cin terms of both the calendar and its importance] of the year for you. ³ Tell the whole ·community [congregation; assembly] of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man must get one lamb for [^Leach family, a lamb for] ·the people in his house [^Leach household]. ⁴ If there are not enough people in his house to eat a whole lamb, he must share it with his closest neighbor, considering the number of people. There must be enough lamb for everyone to eat. ⁵ The lamb must be a one-year-old male that has ·nothing wrong with it [no blemish]. This animal can be either a young sheep or a young goat. ⁶ Take care of the animals until the fourteenth day of the month. On that day all the ·people of the community [assembly of the congregation] of Israel will ·kill [slaughter] them ·in the evening before dark [at twilight]. ⁷ The people must take some of the blood and put it on the ·sides and tops of the doorframes [doorposts and lintels] of the houses where they eat the lambs. ⁸ On this night they must roast the lamb over a fire. They must eat it with bitter herbs and ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread]. ⁹ Do not eat the lamb raw or boiled in water. Roast the whole lamb over a fire—with its head, legs, and inner organs. ¹⁰ You must not leave any of it until morning, but if any of it is left over until morning, you must burn it with fire.

¹¹ “This is the way you must eat it: ·You must be fully dressed as if you were going on a trip [^LWith your loins girded]. You must have your sandals on [^Lyour feet] and your walking stick in your hand. You must eat it in a hurry; this is the Lord’s Passover.

¹² “That night I will ·go [cross; pass] through the land of Egypt and ·kill [^Lstrike] all the firstborn animals and [^Lfirstborn] people in the land of Egypt. I will also ·punish [judge; have victory over] all the gods of Egypt [^Cthe spiritual forces (demons) who spiritually empower Egypt]. I am the Lord. ¹³ But the blood will be a sign on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you [^Cthe verb is related to the Hebrew word for Passover]. ·Nothing terrible will hurt [^LNo plague will destroy] you when I ·punish [^Lstrike] the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ “You are always to remember this day and celebrate it with a feast to the Lord. ·Your descendants are to honor the Lord with this feast from now on [^LYou are to observe it throughout your generations as a perpetual statute/ordinance/requirement]. ¹⁵ For this feast you must eat ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread] for seven days. On the first day, you are to remove all the ·yeast [leaven] from your houses. No one should eat ·any yeast [anything leavened] from the first day until the seventh day, or that person will be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶ You are to have ·holy meetings [sacred/solemn convocation] on the first and last days of the feast. You must not do any work on these days; the only work you may do is to prepare your meals. ¹⁷ You must ·celebrate [^Lkeep; guard] the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought your ·divisions of people [hosts; ^Ca military designation] out of Egypt. So all of your descendants must celebrate this day. This is a ·law that will last from now on [^Lperpetual statute/ordinance/requirement throughout your generations]. ¹⁸ In the first month of the year you are to eat ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread], from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day [^Cto commemorate their rapid departure; 12:39]. ¹⁹ For seven days there must not be any ·yeast [leaven] in your houses. Anybody who eats ·yeast [something leavened] during this time, either an ·Israelite [^Lnative citizen in the land] or ·non-Israelite [^Lalien; sojourner], must be cut off from the ·community [congregation; assembly] of Israel. ²⁰ During this feast you must not eat anything ·made with yeast [leavened]. You must eat only ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread] wherever you live.”

²¹ Then Moses called all the elders of Israel together and told them, “·Get the animals [^LGo, select/separate lambs] for your families and ·kill [slaughter] the lamb for the Passover. ²² Take a ·branch of the hyssop plant [^La bunch of hyssop], dip it into the bowl filled with blood, and then ·wipe [smear; ^Ltouch] the blood on the ·sides and tops of the doorframes [doorposts and lintel]. No one may ·leave that [^Lgo out of the door of his] house until morning. ²³ When the Lord ·goes [passes; crosses] through Egypt to ·kill [strike down; ^Lplague] the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the ·sides and tops of the doorframes [doorposts and lintel], and he will ·pass over [12:13] that house. He will not let the ·one who brings death [destroyer] come into your houses and ·kill [strike; plague] you.

²⁴ “You must keep this ·command [word] as a ·law [statute; ordinance; requirement] for you and your ·descendants [sons; children] ·from now on [forever]. ²⁵ ·Do this [^LYou will keep/observe this ritual] when you go to the land the Lord has promised to give you [23:14–15; Lev. 23:5–8; Num. 9:1–14; Deut. 16:1–8; Josh. 5:10–11]. ²⁶ When your ·children [sons] ask you, ‘·Why are we doing these things [^LWhat does this ritual mean]?’ ²⁷ you will say, ‘This is the Passover sacrifice to honor the Lord. When we were in Egypt, the Lord passed over the houses of ·Israel [^Lthe sons/^Tchildren of Israel], and when he ·killed [struck down; plagued] the Egyptians, he ·saved [rescued; delivered] our homes.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped the Lord. ²⁸ They did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.

²⁹ At midnight the Lord ·killed [struck] all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt—from the firstborn of ·the king [^LPharaoh] who sat on the throne to the firstborn of the prisoner in ·jail [dungeon; ^Lpit]. Also, all the firstborn farm animals died. ³⁰ ·The king [^LPharaoh], his officers, and all the Egyptians got up during the night because someone had died in every house. So there was a loud outcry everywhere in Egypt.

Israel Leaves Egypt

³¹ During the night ·the king [^Lhe] called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Get up and leave my people. You and ·your people [^Lthe sons/^Tchildren of Israel] may do as you have asked; go and ·worship [serve] the Lord. ³² Take all of your flocks and herds as you have asked, and go. And also bless me.” ³³ The Egyptians also ·asked [^Lurged] the ·Israelites [^Lpeople] to hurry and leave, saying, “If you don’t leave, we will all die!”

³⁴ So the people took their dough before the ·yeast [leaven] was added. They wrapped the ·bowls for making dough [^Lkneading bowls] in clothing and carried them on their shoulders. ³⁵ The ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] did what Moses told them to do and asked their Egyptian neighbors for things made of silver and gold and for clothing. ³⁶ The Lord caused the Egyptians to think ·well [favorably] of them, and the Egyptians gave the people everything they asked for. So ·the Israelites took rich gifts from them [^Lthey plundered/picked clean the Egyptians].

³⁷ The ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] traveled from Rameses to Succoth [^Cboth were in the Nile Delta]. There were about six hundred thousand men ·walking [^Lon foot], not including the ·women and children [^Lchildren]. ³⁸ ·Many other people who were not Israelites [^LA mixed multiude] went with them, as well as a large number of sheep, goats, and cattle. ³⁹ ·The Israelites [^LThey] used the dough they had brought out of Egypt to bake loaves of ·bread without yeast [unleavened bread]. The dough ·had no yeast in it [was unleavened], because they had been ·rushed [driven] out of Egypt and had no time to get food ready for their trip.

⁴⁰ The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for four hundred thirty years; ⁴¹ on the very day the four hundred thirty years ended, the Lord’s ·divisions [hosts; 12:17] of people left Egypt. ⁴² That night the Lord kept watch to bring them out of Egypt, and so on this same night the Israelites are to keep watch to honor the Lord ·from now on [^Lthroughout their generations].

⁴³ The Lord told Moses and Aaron, “Here are the ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] for Passover: No foreigner is to eat the Passover. ⁴⁴ If someone buys a slave and circumcises him, the slave may eat the Passover. ⁴⁵ But neither ·a person who lives for a short time in your country [^Lalien; temporary resident] nor a hired worker may eat it.

⁴⁶ “The meal must be eaten inside a house; take none of the meat outside the house. Don’t break any of the bones. ⁴⁷ The whole ·community [congregation; assembly] of Israel ·must take part in this feast [^Lwill act thus]. ⁴⁸ A ·foreigner [sojourner; wanderer; resident alien] who ·lives [sojourns] with you may share in the Lord’s Passover if all the males in his house become circumcised. Then, since he will be like a ·citizen [native] of Israel, he may share in the meal. But a man who is not circumcised may not eat the Passover meal. ⁴⁹ The same ·rules [laws; instructions] apply to ·an Israelite born in the country [the native] or to a ·foreigner [sojourner, wanderer; resident alien] living there.”

⁵⁰ So all the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹ On that same day the Lord led the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] out of Egypt by their ·divisions [hosts; 12:17].

The Law of the Firstborn

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “·Give [Consecrate; Set apart] every firstborn male to me. ·Every firstborn male [^LWhoever is first to open the womb] among the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] belongs to me, whether human or animal.”

³ Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, the day you left Egypt. ·You were slaves in that land [^L…the house of slavery/bondage/service], but the Lord with his ·great power [^Lstrong hand] brought you out of it. You must not eat ·bread made with yeast [unleavened bread]. ⁴ Today, in the month of Abib [^Cthe first month of the year, March–April; 12:18], you are ·leaving Egypt [^Lcoming out]. ⁵ The Lord will ·lead [or bring] you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites [^Cvarious peoples who lived in the Promised Land]. This is the land he promised your ancestors he would give you [Gen. 12:1–3], a ·fertile land [^La land flowing with milk and honey; 3:8]. There you must ·celebrate this feast during the first month of every year [^Lkeep this observance in this month]. ⁶ For seven days you must eat ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread], and on the seventh day there will be a feast to honor the Lord. ⁷ So for seven days you must not eat any ·bread made with yeast [unleavened bread]. There must be no ·bread made with yeast [unleavened bread and no leaven will be] anywhere ·in your land [^Lwithin your borders]. ⁸ On that day you should tell your ·son [child]: ‘·We are having this feast [^LIt is] because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹ This feast will help you remember, like a ·mark [sign] on your hand or a reminder ·on your forehead [^Lbetween your eyes]. This feast will remind you to speak the Lord’s ·teachings [law; instructions], because the Lord used his ·great power [^Lstrong hand] to bring you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ ·So celebrate this feast every year at the right time [^LYou must observe/keep/guard this statute/ordinance/requirement as an appointed time for all time].

¹¹ “And when the Lord ·takes [brings] you into the land of the Canaanites, the land he promised to give you and your ancestors [Gen. 12:1–3], ¹² you must ·give him [^Lturn over to the Lord] ·every firstborn male [^Lall that first opens the womb]. Also every firstborn male animal must be given to the Lord. ¹³ ·Buy back [Redeem; Ransom] every firstborn donkey by offering a lamb. But if you don’t want to ·buy the donkey back [redeem/ransom it], then break its neck. You must ·buy back from the Lord [redeem; ransom] every firstborn of your sons.

¹⁴ “·From now on [In the future; ^LTomorrow] when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you will answer, ‘With his ·great power [strong hand], the Lord brought us out from Egypt, ·the land where we were slaves [^Lfrom the house of bondage]. ¹⁵ ·The king of Egypt [^LPharaoh] was stubborn and refused to let us leave. But the Lord killed every firstborn male in Egypt, both human and animal. That is why I sacrifice ·every firstborn male animal [^Levery male that first opens the womb] to the Lord, and that is why I ·buy back [redeem; ransom] each of my firstborn sons from the Lord.’ ¹⁶ This feast is like a ·mark [sign] on your hand and a ·reminder [phylactery; ^Clater a leather box containing Scripture worn on arm and forehead, though here perhaps figurative] ·on your forehead [^Lbetween your eyes] to help you remember that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his ·great power [^Lmighty hand].”

The Way Out of Egypt

¹⁷ When ·the king [^LPharaoh] ·sent the people out of Egypt [^Llet the people go], God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was the shortest way. God said, “If they ·have to fight [^Lsee battle], they might change their minds and go back to Egypt.” ¹⁸ So God led them through the ·desert [wilderness] toward the ·Red [or Reed; 10:19] Sea. The Israelites were ·dressed for fighting [prepared for battle] when they left the land of Egypt.

¹⁹ Moses carried the bones of Joseph with him, because before Joseph died, he had made the ·Israelites [^Lsons of Israel; ^Chere Joseph’s brothers, the sons of Israel (Jacob)] promise to do this [Gen. 50:22–26]. He had said, “When God ·saves [shows concern toward; visits] you, remember to carry my bones with you out of Egypt.”

²⁰ The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham [^Cits exact location is undetermined], on the edge of the ·desert [wilderness]. ²¹ The Lord showed them the way; during the day he went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud, and during the night he was in a pillar of fire to give them light. In this way they could travel during the day or night. ²² The pillar of cloud ·was always with [^Lnever withdrew from] them during the day, and the pillar of fire ·was always with [^Lnever withdrew from] them at night.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] to turn back to Pi Hahiroth and to camp between Migdol and the ·Red [or Reed; 10:19] Sea. Camp ·across from [opposite] Baal Zephon [^Cin the eastern Nile Delta; the exact locations of these sites are unknown], ·on the shore of [^Lby] the sea. ³ ·The king [^LPharaoh] will think, ‘The ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] are ·lost [wandering around], ·trapped [closed/shut in] by the ·desert [wilderness].’ ⁴ I will ·make the king stubborn [^Lharden the heart of Pharaoh] again so he will ·chase after [pursue] them, but I will ·defeat the king and his army, bringing honor to me [^Lgain glory over Pharaoh and over his army], and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” ·The Israelites [^LThey] did just as they were told.

The King Chases the Israelites

⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the ·Israelites [people] had ·left [or fled], he and his officers changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We have ·lost [sent away] the Israelites who served us!” ⁶ So ·the king [^Lhe] ·prepared [harnessed] his war chariot and took his army with him. ⁷ He took six hundred of his best chariots, together with all the other chariots of Egypt, each with an officer in it. ⁸ The Lord ·made the king of Egypt stubborn [^Lhardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt], so he ·chased [pursued] the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel], who were leaving ·victoriously [boldly; ^Lwith uplifted hand]. ⁹ The Egyptians—with all the king’s horses, chariot drivers, and army—·chased the Israelites [^Lpursued them]. They caught up with them while they were camped by the ·Red Sea [^LSea; 10:19], near Pi Hahiroth and Baal Zephon [14:1].

¹⁰ When the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] saw ·the king and his army [^LEgypt] coming after them, they were very frightened and cried to the Lord for help. ¹¹ They said to Moses, “What have you done to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in the ·desert [wilderness]? ·There were [^LWere there not…?] plenty of graves for us in Egypt. ¹² ·We told [^LDid we not tell…?] you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone; we will stay and serve the Egyptians.’ Now we will die in the desert.”

¹³ But Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still and you will see the Lord save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again after today. ¹⁴ You only need to remain ·calm [or still]; the Lord will fight for you [15:3].”

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Command the Israelites to ·start moving [get going; depart]. ¹⁶ Raise your ·walking stick [staff] and ·hold it [^Lextend/stretch your hand] over the sea so that the sea will split and the ·people [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] can ·cross it [^Lgo in the midst of the sea] on dry land. ¹⁷ I will ·make the Egyptians stubborn [^Lharden the hearts of the Egyptians] so they will ·chase the Israelites [^Lgo after them], but I will be ·honored [glorified] when I defeat ·the king [^LPharaoh] and all of his chariot drivers and chariots. ¹⁸ When I defeat ·the king [^LPharaoh], his chariot drivers, and chariots, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁹ Now the angel of God that usually traveled in front of ·Israel’s army [^Lthem] moved behind them. Also, the pillar of cloud [13:21] moved from in front of the people and stood behind them. ²⁰ So the cloud came between the camp of the Egyptians and camp of the Israelites. This made it dark for the Egyptians but gave light to the Israelites. So the cloud kept ·the two armies [^Lthem] apart all night.

²¹ Then Moses ·held [extended; stretched] his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind, making the sea become dry ground. The water was split, ²² and the ·Israelites [^Lthe sons/^Tchildren of Israel] went through the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

²³ Then all ·the king’s [^LPharaoh’s] horses, chariots, and chariot drivers ·followed [pursued] them into the sea. ²⁴ ·When morning came [^LAt the morning watch], the Lord looked down from the pillar of cloud and fire at the Egyptian army and made them panic. ²⁵ He clogged their chariot wheels,^[a] making it hard to ·drive the chariots [^Lturn]. The Egyptians shouted, “Let’s ·get away [flee] from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them and against Egypt [15:3].”

²⁶ Then the Lord told Moses, “·Hold [Extend; Stretch] your hand over the sea so that the water will come back over the Egyptians, their chariots, and chariot drivers.” ²⁷ So Moses ·raised [extended; stretched] his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its ·place [or normal depth]. The Egyptians tried to ·run [flee] from it, but the Lord ·swept them away [tossed; overthrew them] into the sea. ²⁸ The water returned, covering the chariots, chariot drivers, and all ·the king’s [^LPharaoh’s] army that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them ·survived [remained].

²⁹ But the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] crossed the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. ³⁰ So that day the Lord saved the Israelites from the Egyptians, and the Israelites saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. ³¹ When the Israelites saw ·the great power the Lord had used [^Lwhat God did with his strong hand] against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they ·trusted [had confidence in] the Lord and his servant Moses.

The Song of Moses

15 Then Moses and the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] sang this song to the Lord:

¹⁹ The horses, chariot drivers, and chariots of ·the king of Egypt [^LPharaoh] went into the sea, and the Lord ·covered them with [^Lreturned on them the] water from the sea. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry land. ²⁰ Then Aaron’s sister Miriam, a prophetess, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed her, playing tambourines and dancing. ²¹ Miriam told them:

Bitter Water Becomes Good

²² Moses led the Israelites away from the ·Red [or Reed; 10:19] Sea into the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Shur. They traveled for three days in the ·desert [wilderness] but found no water. ²³ Then they came to Marah, where there was water, but they could not drink it because it was too bitter. (That is why the place was named Marah [^CHebrew for “bitter”].) ²⁴ The people ·grumbled [complained] to Moses and asked, “What will we drink?”

²⁵ So Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a ·tree [or piece of wood]. When Moses threw the ·tree [or piece of wood] into the water, the water became ·good to drink [^Lsweet].

There the Lord gave the people a ·rule [statute; ordinance; requirement] and a law to live by, and there he tested ·their loyalty to him [^Lthem]. ²⁶ He said, “You must ·obey [or listen to the voice of] the Lord your God and do what ·he says is right [^Lis right in his eyes/sight]. If you obey all his ·commands [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and keep his rules, I will not bring on you any of the ·sicknesses [diseases] I brought on the Egyptians. I am the Lord ·who heals you [your physician].”

²⁷ Then the people traveled to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. So the people camped there near the water.

The People Demand Food

16 The whole ·Israelite community [^Lcongregation/assembly of the sons/^Tchildren of Israel] left Elim and came to the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Sin, which was between Elim and Sinai; they arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt. ² Then the whole ·Israelite community [congregation; ^Lassembly of the sons/^Tchildren of Israel] ·grumbled [complained] to Moses and Aaron in the ·desert [wilderness]. ³ ·They [^LThe sons/^Tchildren of Israel] said to them, “It would have been better if the [^Lhand of the] Lord had killed us in the land of Egypt. There we ·had meat to eat and [^Lsat by the fleshpots and ate] all the ·food [bread] we wanted. But you have brought us into this ·desert [wilderness] to starve ·us [^Lall this assembly/crowd] to death.”

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will cause ·food [bread] to fall like rain from ·the sky [heaven] for all of you. Every day the people must go out and gather what they need for that day. I want to ·see if the people will do what I teach them [^Ltest them to see if they will walk in my law/instruction or not]. ⁵ On the sixth day of each week, they are to gather twice as much as they gather on other days. Then they are to prepare it.”

⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel]: “This evening you will know that the Lord is the one who brought you out of Egypt. ⁷ Tomorrow morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard you ·grumble [complain] against him. ·We are nothing, so you are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord [^LFor what are we that you grumble/complain against us?].” ⁸ And Moses said, “Each evening the Lord will give you meat to eat, and every morning he will give you all the bread you want, because he has heard you ·grumble [complain] against him. You are not grumbling against ·Aaron and me, because we are nothing; you are grumbling [^Lus, but] against the Lord.”

⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Speak to the whole ·community of the Israelites [^Lcongregation/assembly of the sons/^Tchildren of Israel], and say to them, ‘·Meet together in the presence of [^LDraw near] the Lord, because he has heard your ·grumblings [complaints].’”

¹⁰ While Aaron was speaking to the whole ·community of the Israelites [^Lcongregation/assembly of the sons/^Tchildren of Israel], they ·looked [^Lturned] toward the ·desert [wilderness]. There the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud.

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the ·grumblings [complaints] of the ·people [sons/^Tchildren] of Israel. So tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and every morning you will eat all the bread you want. Then you will know I am the Lord your God.’”

¹³ That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning [^La layer of] dew lay around the camp. ¹⁴ When the [^Llayer of] dew ·was gone [evaporated; ^Lwent up], thin flakes like frost were on the ·desert [wilderness] ground. ¹⁵ When the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] saw it, they asked each other, “What is it?” because they did not know what it was.

So Moses told them, “This is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶ The Lord has commanded, ‘Each one of you must gather what he needs, about ·two quarts [^Lan omer] for every person in your ·family [^Lown tent].’”

¹⁷ So the ·people [^Lsons; children] of Israel did this; some people gathered much, and some gathered little. ¹⁸ Then they measured it [^Lby omer]. The person who gathered more did not have too much, nor did the person who gathered less have too little. Each person gathered just as much as he needed.

¹⁹ Moses said to them, “Don’t ·keep any of it to eat [^Lleave any of it until] the next day.” ²⁰ But some of the people did not listen to Moses and kept part of it to eat the next morning. It became full of worms and ·began to stink [spoiled], so Moses was angry with those people.

²¹ Every morning each person gathered as much food as he needed, but when the sun became hot, it melted away.

²² On the sixth day the people gathered twice as much food—·four quarts [^Ltwo omers] for every person. When all the leaders of the ·community [congregation; assembly] came and told this to Moses, ²³ he said to them, “This is what the Lord ·commanded [^Lsaid], because tomorrow is the Sabbath, the Lord’s holy day of rest. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil today. Save the rest of the food until tomorrow morning.”

²⁴ So the people saved it until the next morning, as Moses had commanded, and none of it ·began to stink [spoiled] or have worms in it. ²⁵ Moses told the people, “Eat ·the food you gathered yesterday [^Lit today]. Today is a Sabbath, ·the Lord’s day of rest [^L…of the Lord]; you will not find any out in the field today. ²⁶ You should gather ·the food [^Lit] for six days, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day. On that day ·there will not be any food on the ground [^Lit will not be on it].”

²⁷ On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather food, but they couldn’t find any. ²⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you people refuse to ·obey [keep] my commands and ·teachings [instructions; laws]? ²⁹ Look, the Lord has ·made the Sabbath a day of rest for you [^Lgiven to you the Sabbath]. So on the sixth day he will give you enough food for two days, but on the seventh day each of you must stay where you are. Do not go anywhere.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ The ·people [^Lhouse] of Israel called the food manna [^Cbased on the Hebrew phrase, “What is it?”; 16:15]. It was like ·small white seeds [^Lcoriander seeds, white] and tasted like wafers made with honey.

³² Then Moses said, “·The Lord said [^LThis is the word/thing the Lord has commanded], ‘·Save [Keep; ^LFill] ·two quarts [^Lan omer] of this food ·for your descendants [^Lthroughout your generations]. Then they can see the food I gave you to eat in the ·desert [wilderness] when I brought you out of Egypt.’”

³³ Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and fill it with ·two quarts [^Lan omer] of manna. Then place it before the Lord, and ·save [keep] it ·for your descendants [^Lthroughout your generations].” ³⁴ So Aaron did what the Lord had commanded Moses. He put ·the jar of manna [^Lit] in front of the ·Agreement [^LTestimony; ^Cthe Ark, named for the Ten Commandments placed in it] to keep it safe. ³⁵ The ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] ate manna for forty years, until they came to the land where they settled—the edge of the land of Canaan [Josh. 5:12]. ³⁶ The measure they used for the manna was ·two quarts [^Lan omer], or one-tenth of an ephah [^Can ephah is about 20 quarts].

Water from a Rock

17 The whole ·Israelite community [congregation/assembly of the sons/^Tchildren of Israel] left the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Sin and ·traveled from place to place [journeyed by stages], as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink. ² So the people ·quarreled with [accused; made a case against] Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses said to them, “Why do you ·quarrel with [accuse; make a case against] me? Why are you ·testing [putting on trial] the Lord?”

³ But the people were very thirsty for water, so they ·grumbled [complained] against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Was it to kill us, our children, and our farm animals with thirst?”

⁴ So Moses cried to the Lord, “What can I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me to death.”

⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Go ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Carry with you the ·walking stick [staff] that you used to strike the Nile River [14:21]. Now go! ⁶ I will stand in front of you on a rock at ·Mount Sinai [^LHoreb; ^Canother name for Sinai; 3:1]. ·Hit [Strike] that rock with the ·stick [staff], and water will come out of it so that the people can drink.” Moses did these things as the elders of Israel watched. ⁷ He named that place Massah [^CHebrew for “test”], because the Israelites tested the Lord when they asked, “Is the Lord with us or not?” He also named it Meribah [^CHebrew for “quarrel”], because they ·quarreled [accused; made a case].

The Amalekites Fight Israel

⁸ At Rephidim the Amalekites came and fought the Israelites. ⁹ So Moses said to Joshua, “·Choose [Select] some men and go and fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill, ·holding [extending; stretching out] the ·walking stick [staff] of God in my hands.”

¹⁰ Joshua ·obeyed Moses [^Ldid as Moses said] and went to fight the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses ·held [raised] his hands up, the Israelites would ·win the fight [prevail], but when Moses put his hands down, the Amalekites ·would win [prevailed; ^Cthe staff represented the presence of God, who fought for Israel]. ¹² Later, when Moses’ arms became ·tired [^Lheavy], the men put a large rock under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands—Aaron on one side and Hur on the other. They kept his hands steady until the sun went down. ¹³ So Joshua defeated ·the Amalekites [^LAmalek and his people] ·in this battle [^Lwith the sword].

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write about this battle in a ·book [or scroll] ·so people will remember [^Las a memorial]. And ·be sure to tell [^Lplace this in the ear of] Joshua, because I will completely ·destroy [annihilate; blot out] the Amalekites from ·the earth [^Lunder heaven; Deut. 25:17–19].”

¹⁵ Then Moses built an altar and named it ·The Lord Is My Banner [^LYahweh Nissi]. ¹⁶ Moses said, “I lifted my hands toward the Lord’s throne. The Lord will fight against the Amalekites forever.”