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14 And the Lord said to Moses,

Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the [Red] Sea, before [a]Baal-zephon. You shall encamp opposite it by the sea.

For Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, They are entangled in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.

I will harden (make stubborn, strong) Pharaoh’s heart, that he will pursue them, and I will gain honor and glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so.

It was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, What is this we have done? We have let Israel go from serving us!

And he made ready his chariots and took his army,

And took 600 chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.

The Lord made hard and strong the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, for [they] left proudly and defiantly.(A)

The Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the [Red] Sea by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

10 When Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked up, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and the Israelites were exceedingly frightened and cried out to the Lord.

11 And they said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you treated us this way and brought us out of Egypt?

12 Did we not tell you in Egypt, Let us alone; let us serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.

13 Moses told the people, Fear not; stand still (firm, confident, undismayed) and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians you have seen today you shall never see again.

14 The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest.

15 The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to Me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward!

16 Lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the Israelites shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

17 And I, behold, I will harden (make stubborn and strong) the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall go [into the sea] after them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and horsemen.

18 The Egyptians shall know and realize that I am the Lord when I have gained honor and glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.

19 And the [b]Angel of God Who went before the host of Israel moved and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before them and stood behind them,

20 Coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. It was a cloud and darkness to the Egyptians, but it gave light by night to the Israelites; and the one host did not come near the other all night.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night and made the sea dry land; and the waters were divided.

22 And the Israelites went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

24 And in the morning watch the Lord through the pillar of fire and cloud looked down on the host of the Egyptians and discomfited [them],

25 And bound (clogged, took off) their chariot wheels, making them drive heavily; and the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians!

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and horsemen.

27 So Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength and normal flow when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled into it [being met by it]; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians and shook them off into the midst of the sea.

28 The waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that pursued them; not even one of them remained.

29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore.

31 And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did against the Egyptians, and the people [reverently] feared the Lord and trusted in (relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord and to His servant Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 14:2 Melvin Grove Kyle has said that travelers who follow the coast of the Red Sea along the line of the exodus need no other guidebook than the Bible. The whole topography corresponds to that mentioned in the Biblical account (Floyd E. Hamilton, The Basis of Christian Faith).
  2. Exodus 14:19 See footnote on Gen. 16:7; here the “Angel of God” is associated with the cloud (Exod. 13:21).

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol(A) and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon.(B) Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,(C) and he will pursue them.(D) But I will gain glory(E) for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”(F) So the Israelites did this.

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled,(G) Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds(H) about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. He took six hundred of the best chariots,(I) along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. The Lord hardened the heart(J) of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.(K) The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses(L) and chariots, horsemen[a] and troops(M)—pursued the Israelites and overtook(N) them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.(O)

10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried(P) out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?(Q) What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”(R)

13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid.(S) Stand firm and you will see(T) the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see(U) again. 14 The Lord will fight(V) for you; you need only to be still.”(W)

15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me?(X) Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff(Y) and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water(Z) so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts(AA) of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them.(AB) And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord(AC) when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”

19 Then the angel of God,(AD) who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud(AE) also moved from in front and stood behind(AF) them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness(AG) to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand(AH) over the sea,(AI) and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind(AJ) and turned it into dry land.(AK) The waters were divided,(AL) 22 and the Israelites went through the sea(AM) on dry ground,(AN) with a wall(AO) of water on their right and on their left.

23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen(AP) followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud(AQ) at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.(AR) 25 He jammed[b] the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting(AS) for them against Egypt.”(AT)

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place.(AU) The Egyptians were fleeing toward[c] it, and the Lord swept them into the sea.(AV) 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea.(AW) Not one of them survived.(AX)

29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground,(AY) with a wall(AZ) of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved(BA) Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand(BB) of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared(BC) the Lord and put their trust(BD) in him and in Moses his servant.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 14:9 Or charioteers; also in verses 17, 18, 23, 26 and 28
  2. Exodus 14:25 See Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint and Syriac; Masoretic Text removed
  3. Exodus 14:27 Or from