CHAPTER 13
“Consecrate
to Me
every
firstborn male.
The firstborn
from every
womb
among the Israelites
belongs
to Me,
both of man
and beast.”
So Moses
told
the people,
“Remember
this
day,
the day
you came out
of Egypt,
out of the house
of slavery;
for
the LORD
brought you out
of it
by the strength
of His hand.
And nothing
leavened
shall be eaten.
And
when
the LORD
brings
you into
the land
of the Canaanites,
Hittites,
Amorites,
Hivites,
and Jebusites—
the land
He swore
to your fathers
that He would give
you,
a land
flowing
with milk
and honey—
you shall keep
this
service
in this
month.
For seven
days
you are to eat
unleavened bread,
and on the seventh
day
there shall be a feast
to the LORD.
Unleavened bread
shall be eaten
during those seven
days.
Nothing
leavened
may be found among you,
nor shall
yeast
be found
anywhere within
your
borders.
And on that
day
you are to explain
to your son,
‘This is because of
what
the LORD
did
for me
when I came out
of Egypt.’
It shall be
a sign
for you
on
your hand
and a reminder
on your forehead
that
the law
of the LORD
is to be
on your lips.
For
with a mighty
hand
the LORD
brought you out
of Egypt.
And
after
the LORD
brings
you into
the land
of the Canaanites
and gives it to you,
as
He swore
to you
and your fathers,
you are to present
to the LORD
the firstborn male
of every
womb.
All
the firstborn
males
of your
livestock
belong to the LORD.
You must redeem
every
firstborn
donkey
with a lamb,
and if
you do not
redeem it,
you are to break its neck.
And every
firstborn
of your sons
you must redeem.
In the future,
when
your son
asks you,
‘What
does this
mean?’
you are to tell
him,
‘With a mighty
hand
the LORD
brought us out
of Egypt,
out of the house
of slavery.
And
when
Pharaoh
stubbornly refused
to let us go,
the LORD
killed
every
firstborn
in the land
of Egypt,
both
of man
and
beast.
This is why
I
sacrifice
to the LORD
the firstborn
male
of every
womb,
but I redeem
all
the firstborn
of my sons.'
So it shall serve as
a sign
on
your hand
and a symbol
on your forehead,
for
with a mighty
hand
the LORD
brought us out
of Egypt.”
When Pharaoh
let the people
go,
God
did not
lead them
along the road
through the land
of the Philistines,
though
it
was shorter.
For
God
said,
“If the people face
war,
they
might change their minds
and return
to Egypt."
So God
led the people
around
by the way
of the wilderness
toward the Red
Sea.
And the Israelites
left
the land
of Egypt
arrayed for battle.
Moses
took
the bones
of Joseph
with him
because
Joseph had made the sons
of Israel
swear a solemn oath
when he said,
“God
will surely attend to you,
and you shall carry
my bones
with you
from this place.”
And the LORD
went
before them
in a pillar
of cloud
to guide
their way
by day,
and in a pillar
of fire
to give them light
at night,
so that they could travel
by day
or night.
Neither
the pillar
of cloud
by day
nor the pillar
of fire
by night
left
its place before
the people.