Exodus 14

VIN^{(i) 1} The LORD said to Moses, ² "Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the Red Sea, near Baal Zephon. ³ "The king will think that the Israelites are wandering around in the country and are closed in by the desert. ⁴ And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue you. And I will be honored through Pharaoh, and through all his armies. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD. And they did so. ⁵ The king of Egypt was told that the people had escaped. He and his officials changed their minds and said: "What have we done? We have let the Israelites escape, and we have lost them as our slaves!" ⁶ So he had his war-carriage made ready and took his people with him: ⁷ And he took six hundred select chariots and all the chariots of Egypt and officers over all of them. ⁸ And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and he chased after the Israelites. (Now the Israelites were going out boldly.) ⁹ The Egyptians pursued them. All the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen, and his army overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baal Zephon. ¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians bearing down on them! Extremely frightened, the Israelites cried out to the LORD. ¹¹ They also said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you took us out to die in the desert? What have you done to us, by bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² "Did we not say in Egypt: Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert." ¹³ Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today: for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall never, ever see again. ¹⁴ The LORD will fight for you, and you shall be still." ¹⁵ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move out! ¹⁶ And you raise your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the sons of Israel may go in the midst of the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷ "I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. ¹⁸ "Then the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen." ¹⁹ Then the angel of God, who was going in front of the camp of Israel, moved behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front of them and stood behind them, ²⁰ It came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud and the darkness, yet it gave light by night. So the one did not come near the other all night. ²¹ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. the LORD swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land. The waters were divided. ²² The Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground. The water stood like a wall on their right and on their left. ²³ The Egyptians pursued them. Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and cavalry followed them into the sea. ²⁴ Just before dawn, the LORD looked down from the column of fire and smoke and threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. ²⁵ He made the wheels of their chariots wobble so that they drove them with difficulty. The Egyptians said, "Let's flee from Israel because the LORD is fighting for them and against us." ²⁶ And the LORD said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come again on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen. ²⁷ Moses held out his hand over the sea. At daybreak the water returned to its normal level. The Egyptians tried to escape from the water. But the LORD threw them into the sea. ²⁸ The water returned and covered the chariots, the drivers, and all the Egyptian army that had followed the Israelites into the sea. None of them were left. ²⁹ On the other hand, the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on both sides. ³⁰ On that day the LORD delivered Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead along the seashore. ³¹ And Israel saw the great hand that the LORD displayed against Egypt, and the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in Moses his servant.