Exodus 13Previous Chapter | Next ChapterConsecration of the Firstborn1The LORD spoke to Moses,2“Consecrate to me every firstborn male. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelites, both of humans and of animals, belongs to me.” The Festival of Unleavened Bread3Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt, from the house of bondage, because with a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place. Moreover, nothing leavened shall be eaten.4Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out.5When the LORD brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which he swore to your ancestors to give you—a land flowing with milk and honey—you shall observe this ritual in this month.6“You shall eat unleavened bread for seven days, and on the seventh day there shall be a festival to the LORD.7Unleavened bread shall not be eaten for seven days, and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor is leaven to be seen among you throughout your territory.8And you shall tell your child on that day, ‘This is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’9It shall be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead,Lit. between your eyesso that the instructionOr Lawof the LORD may be on your lips;for with a strong hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.10You shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year.” The Redemption of the Firstborn11“When the LORD brings you to the land of the Canaanite and gives it to you, as he swore to you and to your ancestors,12you shall set dedicate to the LORD everything that first opens the womb. All the firstborn malesLit. Whatever first opens the wombof your livestock belong to the LORD.13You shall redeem every firstborn donkeyLit. Whatever first opens the wombwith a lamb, and if you don’t redeem it, you shall break its neck. You shall redeem every firstbornLit. firstborn of manamong your sons.14“When your child asks you in the future, ‘What is this?’, you shall say to him, ‘With a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondage.15And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of humans to the firstborn of animals. Therefore, I sacrifice to the LORD every male that first opens the womb, but I redeem every firstborn of my sons.’16It shall be a sign on your hand and an emblemOr phylacterieson your forehead,Lit. between your eyesbecause with a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.” God Guides the People in the Desert17When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearer. For God said, “If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.”18So God led the people the round about way of the desert toward the Red Sea.Lit. Sea of ReedsThe Israelites went up from the land of Egypt in military formation.Or prepared for battle19Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because JosephLit. hehad made the Israelites take a solemn oath, saying, “God will certainly take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones up with you from here.”20They left Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the desert.21The LORD went in front of them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they might travel both day and night.22Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
so that the instruction
