ExodusChapter 14

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¹Then the LORD said to Moses, ²"Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth. It is between Migdol and the sea. Camp by the sea, right across from Baal-zephon. ³For Pharaoh will say about the Israelites, 'They are lost and wandering around the land. The wilderness has closed them in.' ⁴And I will make Pharaoh's heart hard, so he will chase them. But I will win glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army. And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the Israelites did this. ⁵The king of Egypt was told that the people had run away. Then Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them. They said, "What have we done? We have let Israel go. Now they won't work for us anymore!" ⁶So Pharaoh got his chariot ready and took his army with him. ⁷He took 600 of his best chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt. There were officers over all of them. ⁸The LORD made the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt hard. So Pharaoh chased the Israelites. They were marching out boldly. ⁹The Egyptians chased the Israelites. All Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen, and soldiers went after them. They caught up with them while they were camped by the sea near Pi-hahiroth, across from Baal-zephon. ¹⁰Pharaoh came closer. The Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. ¹¹They said to Moses, "Were there no graves in Egypt? Is that why you brought us out to the wilderness to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? ¹²Didn't we tell you this in Egypt? We said, 'Leave us alone! Let us serve the Egyptians.' It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness!" ¹³But Moses told the people, "Don't be afraid. Stand firm, and you will see the LORD save you. He will do it for you today. You see these Egyptians today, but you will never see them again. ¹⁴The LORD will fight for you. You only need to be still." ¹⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move forward. ¹⁶And you, lift up your staff. Hold out your hand over the sea and split it apart. Then the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷I will make the hearts of the Egyptians hard, so they will go in after them. Then I will win glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. ¹⁸I will win glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen. Then the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." ¹⁹The angel of God had been going ahead of Israel's camp. Now he moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front of them. It stood behind them, ²⁰between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. The cloud was there in the darkness, but it lit up the night. So all night long neither camp came near the other. ²¹Then Moses held out his hand over the sea. All that night the LORD pushed the sea back with a strong east wind. The wind turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were split apart, ²²and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground. There was a wall of water on their right and on their left. ²³The Egyptians chased after them. All Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and horsemen followed them into the sea. ²⁴But in the early morning hours, the LORD looked down on the Egyptian army from the pillar of fire and cloud. He threw their camp into confusion. ²⁵He made their chariot wheels wobble, so they could hardly drive. The Egyptians said, "Let's run away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!" ²⁶Then the LORD said to Moses, "Hold out your hand over the sea. Then the waters will flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen." ²⁷So Moses held out his hand over the sea. At sunrise the sea went back to its normal place. The Egyptians were trying to run away from it, but the LORD swept them into the sea. ²⁸The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen. They covered Pharaoh's whole army that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them lived. ²⁹But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground. There was a wall of water on their right and on their left. ³⁰That day the LORD saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians. Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. ³¹Israel saw the great power the LORD had used against the Egyptians. So the people feared the LORD. They believed in him and in his servant Moses.