Exodus 14

Modern

Literal

Pharaoh Pursues the Israelites

¹Then the LORD said to Moses,

¹And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal-zephon.

²“Speak to the sons of Israel, that they turn back and camp before the face of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and between the sea, before the face of Baal-zephon. Before it you shall camp by the sea.

³For Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, ‘They are wandering the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in.’

³And Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed in on them.’

⁴And I will harden^a Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. But I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.”

So this is what the Israelites did.

⁴And I will strengthen the heart of Pharaoh, and he will pursue after them. And I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that Egypt shall know that I am YHWH.” And they did so.

⁵When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.”

⁵And it was told to the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people, and they said, “What is this that we have done, that we have sent out Israel from serving us?”

⁶So Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his army with him.

⁶And he harnessed his chariot, and he took his people with him.

⁷He took 600 of the best chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.

⁷And he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over all of them.

⁸And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out defiantly.^a

⁸And YHWH strengthened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel were going out with hand held high.

⁹The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon.

⁹And Egypt pursued after them—and all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh and his horsemen and his army—and overtook them camping by the sea by Pi-hahiroth before the face of Baal-zephon.

¹⁰As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified and cried out to the LORD.

¹⁰And Pharaoh drew near, and the sons of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, Egypt was journeying after them, and they were very afraid. And the sons of Israel cried out to YHWH.

¹¹They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us into the wilderness to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?

¹¹And they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? What is this you have done to us, to bring us out from Egypt?

¹²Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

¹²Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone, and we will serve Egypt.’? For it is better for us to serve Egypt than to die in the wilderness.”

¹³But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.

¹³And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of YHWH, which He will do for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see never again, unto eternity.

¹⁴The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

¹⁴YHWH will fight for you, and you—you shall be silent.”

Parting the Red Sea

¹⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.

¹⁵And YHWH said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the sons of Israel, and they shall journey on.

¹⁶And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.

¹⁶And you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the sons of Israel shall go in the midst of the sea on the dry land.

¹⁷And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. Then I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army and chariots and horsemen.

¹⁷And I, behold, I will strengthen the heart of the Egyptians, and they will come in after them. And I will gain honor through Pharaoh and through all his army, through his chariots, and through his horsemen.

¹⁸The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I am honored through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

¹⁸And the Egyptians shall know that I am YHWH, when I have gained honor for Myself through Pharaoh, through his chariots, and through his horsemen.”

¹⁹And the angel^a of God, who had gone before the camp of Israel, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from before them and stood behind them,

¹⁹And the angel of God, who was going before the face of the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before their face and stood behind them.

²⁰so that it came between the camps of Egypt and Israel. The cloud was there in the darkness, but it lit up the night.^a So all night long neither camp went near the other.

²⁰And it came between the camp of Egypt and between the camp of Israel; and it was the cloud and the darkness, and it gave light by the night. And this one did not come near to the other all the night.

²¹Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,

²¹And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and YHWH drove back the sea by a strong east wind all that night, and He made the sea into the dry land, and the waters were divided.

²²and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.

²²And the sons of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were a wall to them from their right and from their left.

²³And the Egyptians chased after them—all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen—and followed them into the sea.

²³And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them—all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen—into the midst of the sea.

²⁴At morning watch, however, the LORD looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud, and He threw their camp into confusion.

²⁴And it came to pass in the watch of the morning that YHWH looked down to the camp of Egypt through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He threw into confusion the camp of Egypt.

²⁵He caused their chariot wheels to wobble,^a so that they had difficulty driving. “Let us flee from the Israelites,” said the Egyptians, “for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!”

²⁵And He turned aside the wheel of their chariots, and made it drive with heaviness. And Egypt said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for YHWH is fighting for them against Egypt.”

²⁶Then 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.”

²⁶And YHWH said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, and the waters shall return upon Egypt, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.”

²⁷So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state. As the Egyptians were retreating, the LORD swept them into the sea.

²⁷And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength at the turning of the morning. And Egypt was fleeing toward it, and YHWH shook Egypt in the midst of the sea.

²⁸The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

²⁸And the waters returned and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, to all the army of Pharaoh that had come in after them into the sea. Not so much as one of them remained.

²⁹But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.

²⁹And the sons of Israel had walked on the dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them from their right and from their left.

³⁰That day the LORD saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore.

³⁰And YHWH saved Israel on that day out of the hand of Egypt, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the edge of the sea.

³¹When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.

³¹And Israel saw the great hand which YHWH had done against Egypt, and the people feared YHWH, and they believed in YHWH and in Moses His servant.