Exodus 12

Exodus 12

The Passover

1Some time later the Lord said to Moses and Aaron:[#Lv 23.4,5; Nu 9.1-5; 28.16; Dt 16.1,2.]

21Moses called the leaders of Israel together and said:

After Moses finished speaking, the people of Israel knelt down and worshiped the Lord .

28Then they left and did what Moses and Aaron had told them to do.

Death for the First-Born Sons

29At midnight the Lord killed the first-born son of every Egyptian family, from the son of the king to the son of every prisoner in jail. He also killed the first-born male of every animal that belonged to the Egyptians.[#Ex 4.22,23.; #12.29 See the note at 1.11.]

30That night the king, his officials, and everyone else in Egypt got up and started crying bitterly. In every Egyptian home, someone was dead.

The People of Israel Escape from Egypt

31During the night the king sent for Moses and Aaron and told them, “Get your people out of my country and leave us alone! Go and worship the Lord , as you have asked.[#12.31 See the note at 1.11.]

32Take your sheep, goats, and cattle, and get out. But ask your God to be kind to me.”

33The Egyptians did everything they could to get the Israelites to leave their country as quickly as possible. They said, “Please hurry and leave. If you don't, we will all be dead.”

34So the Israelites quickly made some bread dough and put it in pans. But they did not mix any yeast in the dough to make it rise. They wrapped cloth around the pans and carried them on their shoulders.

35The Israelites had already done what Moses had told them to do. They had gone to their Egyptian neighbors and asked for gold and silver and for clothes.[#Ex 3.21,22.]

36The Lord had made the Egyptians friendly toward the people of Israel, and they gave them whatever they asked for. In this way they carried away the wealth of the Egyptians when they left Egypt.

37The Israelites walked from the city of Rameses to the city of Succoth. There were about 600,000 of them, not counting women and children.

38Many other people went with them as well, and there were also a lot of sheep, goats, and cattle.

39They left Egypt in such a hurry that they did not have time to prepare any food except the bread dough made without yeast. So they baked it and made thin bread.

40-41The Lord 's people left Egypt exactly 430 years after they had arrived.[#Gn 15.13-15; Ga 3.17.]

42On that night the Lord kept watch for them, and on this same night each year Israel will always keep watch in honor of the Lord .

Instructions for Passover

43The Lord gave Moses and Aaron the following instructions for celebrating Passover:

50The Israelites obeyed everything the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron to tell them.

51And on that same day the Lord brought Israel's families and tribes out of Egypt.

Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®) © 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Published by: American Bible Society