Exodus 14
14
Pharaoh Pursues Israel
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 2“Tell the Israelites to go back and set up their camp facing Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. Set up your camp facing north—by the sea. 3Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are ⌞just⌟ wandering around. The desert is blocking their escape.’ 4I will make Pharaoh so stubborn that he will pursue them. Then, because of what I do to Pharaoh and his entire army, I will receive honor, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So that is what the Israelites did.
5When Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) was told that the people had fled, he and his officials changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We’ve lost our slaves because we’ve let Israel go.” 6So Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his army with him. 7He took 600 of his best chariots as well as all the other chariots in Egypt, placing an officer in each of them. 8The Lord made Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) so stubborn that he pursued the Israelites, who were boldly leaving Egypt. 9The Egyptians pursued the Israelites. Pharaoh’s army, including all his horse-drawn chariots and cavalry, caught up with them as they were setting up their camp by the sea at Pi Hahiroth facing north.
10As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians were coming after them. Terrified, the Israelites cried out to the Lord. 11They said to Moses, “Did you bring us out into the desert to die because there were no graves in Egypt? Look what you’ve done by bringing us out of Egypt! 12Didn’t we tell you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone! Let us go on serving the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
The LORD Divides the Red Sea
13Moses answered the people, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still, and see what the Lord will do to save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again. 14The Lord is fighting for you! So be still!”
15Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to start moving. 16Raise your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide the water. Then the Israelites will go through the sea on dry ground. 17I am making the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow the Israelites. I will receive honor because of what I will do to Pharaoh, his entire army, his chariots, and cavalry. 18The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I am honored for what I did to Pharaoh, his chariots, and his cavalry.”
19The Messenger of God, who had been in front of the Israelites, moved behind them. So the column of smoke moved from in front of the Israelites and stood behind them 20between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp. The ⌞column of⌟ smoke was there when darkness came, and it lit up the night. Neither side came near the other all night long.
21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord pushed back the sea with a strong east wind and turned the sea into dry ground. The water divided, 22and the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground. The water stood like a wall on their right and on their left.
23The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry followed them into the sea. 24Just before dawn, the Lord looked down from the column of fire and smoke and threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. 25He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they could hardly move. Then the Egyptians shouted, “Let’s get out of here! The Lord is fighting for Israel! He’s against us!”
26Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water will flow back over the Egyptians, their chariots, and their cavalry.”
27Moses stretched his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the water returned to its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but the Lord swept them into the sea. 28The water flowed back and covered Pharaoh’s entire army, as well as the chariots and the cavalry that had followed Israel into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29Meanwhile, the Israelites had gone through the sea on dry ground while the water stood like a wall on their right and on their left. 30That day the Lord saved Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. 31When the Israelites saw the great power the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord and believed in him and in his servant Moses.
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Exodus 14: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Exodus 14
14
1Then the Lord spoke to Moses. 2He said, “Tell the people of Israel to turn back. Have them camp near Pi Hahiroth between Migdol and the Red Sea. They must camp by the sea, right across from Baal Zephon. 3Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land. They don’t know which way to go. The desert is all around them.’ 4I will make Pharaoh stubborn. He will chase them. But I will gain glory for myself because of what will happen to Pharaoh and his whole army. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites camped by the Red Sea.
5The king of Egypt was told that the people had escaped. Then Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We’ve let the people of Israel go! We’ve lost our slaves and all the work they used to do for us!” 6So he had his chariot made ready. He took his army with him. 7He took 600 of the best chariots in Egypt. He also took along all the other chariots. Officers were in charge of all of them. 8The Lord made Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, stubborn. So he chased the Israelites as they were marching out boldly. 9The Egyptians went after the Israelites. All Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen and troops chased them. They caught up with the Israelites as they camped by the sea. The Israelites were near Pi Hahiroth, across from Baal Zephon.
10As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked back. There were the Egyptians marching after them! The Israelites were terrified. They cried out to the Lord. 11They said to Moses, “Why did you bring us to the desert to die? Weren’t there any graves in Egypt? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12We told 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 here in the desert!”
13Moses answered the people. He said, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm. You will see how the Lord will save you today. Do you see those Egyptians? You will never see them again. 14The Lord will fight for you. Just be still.”
15Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people of Israel to move on. 16Hold out your walking stick. Reach out your hand over the Red Sea to divide the water. Then the people can go through the sea on dry ground. 17I will make the Egyptians stubborn. They will go in after the Israelites. I will gain glory for myself because of what will happen to Pharaoh, his army, chariots and horsemen. 18The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. I will gain glory because of what will happen to Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”
19The angel of God had been traveling in front of Israel’s army. Now he moved back and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved away from in front of them. Now it stood behind them. 20It came between the armies of Egypt and Israel. All through the night the cloud brought darkness to one side and light to the other. Neither army went near the other all night long.
21Then Moses reached out his hand over the Red Sea. All that night the Lord pushed the sea back with a strong east wind. He turned the sea into dry land. The waters were divided. 22The people of Israel went through the sea on dry ground. There was a wall of water on their right side and on their left.
23The Egyptians chased them. All Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24Near the end of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud. He saw the Egyptian army and threw it into a panic. 25He jammed the wheels of their chariots. That made the chariots hard to drive. The Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for Israel against Egypt.”
26Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Reach out your hand over the sea. The waters will flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27So Moses reached out his hand over the sea. At sunrise the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians tried to run away from the sea. But the Lord swept them into it. 28The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen. It covered the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the people of Israel into the sea. Not one of the Egyptians was left.
29But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground. There was a wall of water on their right side and on their left. 30That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of Egypt. The Israelites saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31The Israelites saw the amazing power the Lord showed against the Egyptians. So the Israelites had great respect for the Lord and put their trust in him. They also put their trust in his servant Moses.
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