14 And the Lord said to Moses,
2 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.
3 For Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, They are entangled in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.
4 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.
5 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!
6 And he made ready his chariots and took his army,
7 And took 600 chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.
8 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)
9 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
- 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).
- Exodus 14:19 See footnote on Gen. 16:7; here the “Angel of God” is associated with the cloud (Exod. 13:21).