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8 Then all these officials of yours will come down to me and, bowing low before me, say: Go away, you and all the people who follow you! After which, I shall go." ' And, hot with anger, he left Pharaoh's presence.
9 Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that more of my wonders may be displayed in Egypt.'
10 Moses and Aaron worked all these wonders in Pharaoh's presence, but Yahweh made Pharaoh stubborn, and he did not let the Israelites leave his country.
Extracted from Exodus, Chapter 12: 29 And at midnight Yahweh struck down all the first-born in Egypt from the first-born of Pharaoh, heir to his throne, to the first-born of the prisoner in the dungeon, and the first-born of all the livestock.
30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up in the night, and there was great wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without its dead.
31 It was still dark when Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, 'Up, leave my subjects, you and the Israelites! Go and worship Yahweh as you have asked!
32 And take your flocks and herds as you have asked, and go! And bless me too!'
33 The Egyptians urged the people on and hurried them out of the country because, they said, 'Otherwise we shall all be dead.' |
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Crossing the Red Sea Extracted from Exodus, Chapter 14: 1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,
2 'Tell the Israelites to turn back and pitch camp in front of Pi-Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, facing Baal-Zephon. You must pitch your camp opposite this place, beside the sea,
3 and then Pharaoh will think, "The Israelites are wandering to and fro in the countryside; the desert has closed in on them."
4 I shall then make Pharaoh stubborn and he will set out in pursuit of them; and I shall win glory for myself at the expense of Pharaoh and his whole army, and then the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.' And the Israelites did this.
13 Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid! Stand firm, and you will see what Yahweh will do to rescue you today: the Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
14 Yahweh will do the fighting for you; all you need to do is to keep calm.'
15 Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Why cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to march on.
16 Your part is to raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can walk through the sea on dry ground,
17 while I, for my part, shall make the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow them, and I shall win glory for myself at the expense of Pharaoh and all his army, chariots and horsemen.
18 And when I have won glory for myself at the expense of Pharaoh and his chariots and horsemen, the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.'
19 Then the angel of God, who preceded the army of Israel, changed station and followed behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from their front and took position behind them.
20 It came between the army of the Egyptians and the army of Israel. The cloud was dark, and the night passed without the one drawing any closer to the other the whole night long.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh drove the sea back with a strong easterly wind all night and made the sea into dry land. The waters were divided
22 and the Israelites went on dry ground right through the sea, with walls of water to right and left of them.
23 The Egyptians gave chase, and all Pharaoh's horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea after them.
24 In the morning watch, Yahweh looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud and threw the Egyptian army into confusion.
25 He so clogged their chariot wheels that they drove on only with difficulty, which made the Egyptians say, 'Let us flee from Israel, for Yahweh is fighting on their side against the Egyptians!' |
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The Pursuers Drowned Extracted from Exodus, Chapter 14:
26 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand over the sea and let the waters flow back on the Egyptians and on their chariots and their horsemen.'
27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and, as day broke, the sea returned to its bed. The fleeing Egyptians ran straight into it, and Yahweh overthrew the Egyptians in the middle of the sea.
28 The returning waters washed right over the chariots and horsemen of Pharaoh's entire army, which had followed the Israelites into the sea; not a single one of them was left.
29 The Israelites, however, had marched through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water to right and left of them.
30 That day, Yahweh rescued Israel from the clutches of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the sea-shore.
31 When Israel saw the mighty deed that Yahweh had performed against the Egyptians, the people revered Yahweh and put their faith in Yahweh and in Moses, his servant.
Song of Victory Extracted from Exodus, Chapter 15: 1 It was then that Moses and the Israelites sang this song in Yahweh's honour: I shall sing to Yahweh, for he has covered himself in glory, horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
2 Yahweh is my strength and my song, to him I owe my deliverance. He is my God and I shall praise him, my father's God and I shall extol him.
3 Yahweh is a warrior; Yahweh is his name.
4 Pharaoh's chariots and army he has hurled into the sea the pick of his officers have been drowned in the Sea of Reeds.
5 The ocean has closed over them; they have sunk to the bottom like a stone.
6 Your right hand, Yahweh, wins glory by its strength, your right hand, Yahweh, shatters your foes,
7 and by your great majesty you fell your assailants; you unleash your fury, it consumes them like chaff.
8 A blast from your nostrils and the waters piled high; the waves stood firm as a dyke; the bed of the sea became firm ground.
9 The enemy said, 'I shall give chase and overtake, 'I shall share out the spoil and glut myself on them, 'I shall draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.'
10 You blew with your breath, the sea closed over them; they sank like lead in the terrible waters.
11 Yahweh, who is like you, majestic in sanctity, who like you among the holy ones, fearsome of deed, worker of wonders?
12 You stretched your right hand out, the earth swallowed them!
13 In your faithful love you led out the people you had redeemed, in your strength you have guided them to your holy dwelling.
18 Yahweh will be king for ever and ever.
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