Exodus 14

₁The Lord said to Moses: ₂‘Tell the Israelites to turn_around and go back to the town of Pi-Hahiroth and put up their tents there, between Migdol and the sea. They must camp near the sea and near Baal-Zephon. ₃Then Pharaoh will think that the Israelites do not know where to go. He will say they are lost in the desert. ₄I will make Pharaoh stubborn and he will go after the Israelites and chase them. I will defeat Pharaoh and kill all of his soldiers. Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.’ The Israelites did what Moses told them.

₅When they told Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, that the Israelites had fled, he and his officials said: ‘We have made a mistake. We let the Israelites go and now they are not our slaves anymore.’

₆So Pharaoh took his war-chariot and his soldiers with him. ₇He took 600 of Egypt's best war-chariots with him. There were 3 men in each war-chariot. ₈The Lord made Pharaoh, king of Egypt, stubborn. He followed_and_chased the Israelites, but the Lord protected the Israelites when they went away. ₉The Egyptians with their war-chariots and the soldiers came near the Israelites, who were camping at the sea at Pi-Hahiroth near Baal-Zephon.

₁₀When the Israelites saw Pharaoh and his army coming to them, they became afraid and they prayed to the Lord and asked Him to help them. ₁₁Then the people said to Moses: ‘Why did you bring us out here to die in the desert? There is enough place in Egypt where they can bury us. Why have you taken us away from there to come and die here in the desert? Why have you done this to us? Why did you tell us to leave Egypt? ₁₂We told you in Egypt to leave us alone so that we could be the slaves of the Egyptians. It is better to be a slave in Egypt than to die in the desert.’

₁₃But Moses said to the Israelites: ‘Do not be afraid. Stay where you are. Today you will see how the Lord will save you. Today you see the Egyptians, but you will never see them again. ₁₄The Lord Himself will go to war_against the Egyptians. You do not have to do anything. Just wait and see.’

₁₅The Lord said to Moses: ‘Why do you call Me to help you? Tell the Israelites to keep walking. ₁₆You must lift up your staff and hold it out over the sea. The water will separate and there will be a road for the Israelites to walk through the sea on dry ground. ₁₇I will make the Egyptians stubborn and they will go after you. I will show that I am God who can do what I want to do with Pharaoh and his army and his war-chariots and all his men. ₁₈When I do this, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.’

₁₉Then the Angel_of_the_Lord, who was in front of the people of Israel, moved to the back of the people. The cloud also moved from the front to the back of the people. ₂₀Then the cloud was between the Egyptians and the Israelites. The cloud made it dark for the Egyptians, but it gave light to the people of Israel, and the Egyptians could not get near the Israelites all night. ₂₁Moses then put up his hand over the sea and the Lord sent a strong eastern wind that blew all night and it pushed the water away until there was dry land where the water had been. ₂₂The sea opened up and the Israelites walked through on dry land. There was a wall of water on their right hand side and on their left hand side. ₂₃The Egyptians followed the Israelites into the sea. All of Pharaoh's horses and war-chariots and the men went into the sea. ₂₄Late that night the Lord looked down at the Egyptian army from the fire and the cloud and He made them afraid and let them panic. ₂₅The Lord made the wheels of their war-chariots fall out, so they could not move, and then the Egyptians said: ‘We must get away from the Israelites. The Lord is fighting for them against us.’

₂₆Then the Lord said to Moses: ‘Put your hand out over the sea. Then the water will flow back over the Egyptians, over their war-chariots and their men.’

₂₇Then Moses put up his hand over the sea and the water of the sea flowed back to where it had been before. The Egyptians wanted to run away but the flood of water went over them and that is how God drowned the Egyptians in the sea. ₂₈The water came back and it covered the war-chariots and the men on them and all of Pharaoh's soldiers who had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them was left_alive.

₂₉But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. The water was like a wall on their right hand side and on their left hand side. ₃₀That is how the Lord saved the Israelites from the Egyptians on that day. The Israelites saw the Egyptians lying dead in the sea. ₃₁The Israelites saw that the Lord can do what He wants to do, and that He had killed all the Egyptians. The Israelites then feared the Lord and they respected Him. They believed in the Lord and in Moses his servant.