13 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Consecrate every firstborn male(A) to Me, the firstborn from every womb among the Israelites, both man and domestic animal; it is Mine.”

Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day when you came out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, for the Lord brought you out of here by the strength of His hand. Nothing leavened may be eaten.(B) Today, in the month of Abib,[a](C) you are leaving. When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites,[b] which He swore to your fathers that He would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey,(D) you must carry out this ritual in this month.(E) For seven days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord. Unleavened bread is to be eaten for those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, and no yeast may be found among you in all your territory. On that day explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’(F) Let it serve as a sign for you on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead,[c](G) so that the Lord’s instruction may be in your mouth; for the Lord brought you out of Egypt with a strong hand. 10 Keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.

11 “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 you are to present to the Lord every firstborn male of the womb. All firstborn offspring of the livestock you own that are males will be the Lord’s. 13 You must redeem every firstborn of a donkey with a flock animal, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. However, you must redeem every firstborn among your sons.(H)

14 “In the future, when your son(I) asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘By the strength of His hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man to the firstborn of livestock. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord all the firstborn of the womb that are males, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’ 16 So let it be a sign on your hand and a symbol[d] on your forehead, for the Lord brought us out of Egypt by the strength of His hand.”(J)

The Route of the Exodus

17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby; for God said, “The people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war.”(K) 18 So He led the people around toward the Red Sea along the road of the wilderness. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt in battle formation.(L)

19 Moses took the bones of Joseph(M) with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites swear a solemn oath, saying, “God will certainly come to your aid; then you must take my bones with you from this place.”

20 They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud(N) to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 13:4 March–April; called Nisan in the post-exilic period; Neh 2:1; Est 3:7
  2. Exodus 13:5 DSS, Sam, LXX, Syr add Girgashites and Perizzites; Jos 3:10
  3. Exodus 13:9 Lit reminder between your eyes
  4. Exodus 13:16 Or phylactery

Consecration of the Firstborn

13 The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me every firstborn male.(A) The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”

Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt,(B) out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand.(C) Eat nothing containing yeast.(D) Today, in the month of Aviv,(E) you are leaving. When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites,(F) Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites(G)—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey(H)—you are to observe this ceremony(I) in this month: For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival(J) to the Lord. Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. On that day tell your son,(K) ‘I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand(L) and a reminder on your forehead(M) that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand.(N) 10 You must keep this ordinance(O) at the appointed time(P) year after year.

11 “After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites(Q) and gives it to you, as he promised on oath(R) to you and your ancestors,(S) 12 you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord.(T) 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey,(U) but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.(V) Redeem(W) every firstborn among your sons.(X)

14 “In days to come, when your son(Y) asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.(Z) 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’(AA) 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead(AB) that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”

Crossing the Sea

17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”(AC) 18 So God led(AD) the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.[a] The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.(AE)

19 Moses took the bones of Joseph(AF) with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.”[b](AG)

20 After leaving Sukkoth(AH) they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.(AI) 21 By day the Lord went ahead(AJ) of them in a pillar of cloud(AK) to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left(AL) its place in front of the people.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 13:18 Or the Sea of Reeds
  2. Exodus 13:19 See Gen. 50:25.