ExodusChapter 13

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¹Then the LORD said to Moses, ²"Set apart to me every firstborn male. The first male born to every mother among the Israelites belongs to me. This is true for both people and animals." ³So Moses said to the people, "Remember this day. It is the day you came out of Egypt, the land where you were slaves. The LORD brought you out of it by the power of his hand. Nothing made with yeast may be eaten. ⁴You are leaving today, in the month of Abib. ⁵The LORD will bring you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. He made a promise to your fathers that he would give it to you. It is a land flowing with milk and honey. When he brings you there, you must keep this ceremony in this month. ⁶For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the seventh day there will be a feast to honor the LORD. ⁷Eat bread made without yeast for those seven days. Nothing made with yeast may be found among you. No yeast may be found anywhere in your land. ⁸On that day you must explain to your son, 'I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.' ⁹This will be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead. It will help you keep the Law of the LORD on your lips. For the LORD brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. ¹⁰So you must keep this law at the set time, year after year. ¹¹The LORD will bring you into the land of the Canaanites. He will give it to you, as he promised with an oath to you and your fathers. ¹²Then you must give to the LORD the first male born to every mother. All the firstborn males of your animals belong to the LORD. ¹³You must redeem every firstborn donkey by paying a lamb for it. If you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. And you must redeem every firstborn son of yours. ¹⁴Someday your son will ask you, 'What does this mean?' Then tell him, 'The LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand. He brought us out of the land where we were slaves. ¹⁵Pharaoh was stubborn and refused to let us go. So the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. That is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male born to every mother animal. But I redeem all my firstborn sons.' ¹⁶So it will be a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead. For the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand." ¹⁷Pharaoh let the people go. The road through the land of the Philistines was shorter. But God did not lead them that way. God said, "If the people have to fight a war, they might change their minds. They might go back to Egypt." ¹⁸So God led the people the long way, through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. The Israelites left the land of Egypt ready for battle. ¹⁹Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph had made the sons of Israel make a serious promise. He had said, "God will surely come to help you. Then you must carry my bones with you from this place." ²⁰They left Succoth and camped at Etham, at the edge of the wilderness. ²¹The LORD went ahead of them. By day he was in a pillar of cloud to show them the way. By night he was in a pillar of fire to give them light. So they could travel by day or by night. ²²The pillar of cloud by day never left its place in front of the people. Neither did the pillar of fire by night.