Exodus 13

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

The Lord told Moses,

2 “Sanctify to me every firstborn which opens the womb among the sons of Israel, as much of men as of cattle. For they are all mine.”

“Every firstborn male is to be dedicated to me. The firstborn from every Israelite family belongs to me, and also every firstborn animal.”

3 And Moses said to the people: “Remember this day, on which you were taken away from Egypt and from the house of servitude. For with a strong hand the Lord has led you away from this place. Thus, you shall eat no leavened bread.

So Moses told the people, “Remember this is the day you left Egypt, the land of your slavery, for the Lord led you out of it by his amazing power. (Nothing with yeast in it shall be eaten.)

4 Today, you go forth in the month of new grain.

Today you are on your way, this day in the month of Abib.

5 And when the Lord has brought you into the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which he swore to your fathers that he would give to you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you will celebrate this manner of sacred rites in this month.

The Lord is going to take you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, the land he promised your forefathers he would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey. So you are to observe this ceremony in this month.

6 For seven days, you shall feed on unleavened bread. And on the seventh day, it will be the solemnity of the Lord.

For seven days you are to only eat bread without yeast, and on the seventh day hold a religious festival to honor the Lord.

7 You shall consume unleavened bread for seven days. There shall not be seen anything leavened with you, nor in all your parts.

Only bread without yeast is to be eaten during those seven days. You are not to have any yeast, in fact there is to be no yeast in any place where you live.

8 And you will explain to your son in that day, saying: ‘This is what the Lord did for me when I was taken away from Egypt.’

On that day tell your children, ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when I left Egypt.’

9 And it will be like a sign in your hand and like a memorial before your eyes. And so may the law of the Lord be always in your mouth. For with a strong hand, the Lord led you away from the land of Egypt.

When you celebrate this ceremony it will be like a sign on your hand and a reminder between your eyes that this teaching of the Lord should be spoken about regularly. For the Lord led you out of Egypt with his great power.

10 You will keep this observance, at the established time, from day to day.

That's why you are to observe this ceremony at the proper time every year.

11 And when the Lord has brought you into the land of the Canaanite, just as he swore to you and to your fathers, and when he will give it you,

Once the Lord takes you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised you and your forefathers,

12 then you shall set aside for the Lord all that opens the womb and all that is first to go forth among your cattle. Whatever you will have of the male sex, you shall consecrate to the Lord.

you are to present to the Lord all firstborn males, human or animal. The firstborn males of your livestock all belong to the Lord.

13 The firstborn of a donkey you will exchange for a sheep. And if you will not redeem it, you shall put it to death. But every firstborn of man among your sons, you shall redeem with a price.

You must buy back every firstborn donkey with a lamb, and if you don't do so, you have to break its neck. You must buy back every firstborn of your sons.

14 And when your son will question you tomorrow, saying, ‘What is this?’ you will respond, ‘With a strong hand the Lord led us away from the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude.

When in the future your children come to you and ask, ‘Why is this ceremony important to you?’ you are to tell them, ‘The Lord led us out of Egypt, the land of our slavery, by his amazing power.

15 For when Pharaoh had been hardened and was unwilling to release us, the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man, even to the firstborn of beasts. For this reason, I immolate to the Lord all of the male sex that opens the womb, and all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’

Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us leave, so the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human and animal. That's the reason why I sacrifice to the Lord the firstborn male of every animal, and I buy back all the firstborn of my sons.’

16 Therefore, it will be like a sign in your hand and like something hanging between your eyes as a remembrance, because with a strong hand the Lord has led us away from Egypt.”

In this way it will be like a sign on your hand and a reminder between your eyes, for the Lord led us out of Egypt by his amazing power.”

17 And so, when Pharaoh had sent the people away, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, which is nearby, considering that perhaps they might relapse, if they saw wars rise up against them, and then they might return to Egypt.

When Pharaoh let the Israelites leave, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, even though that was a shorter way. For God said, “If they are forced to fight, they might change their minds and go back to Egypt.”

18 But he led them around by the way of the desert, which is next to the Red Sea. And so the sons of Israel ascended, armed, out of the land of Egypt.

So God led the people by the longer way through the desert towards the Red Sea. When the Israelites left the land of Egypt they were like an army ready for battle.

19 Also, Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because he had sworn to the sons of Israel, saying: “God will visit you. Carry my bones away from here with you.”

Moses carried Joseph's bones with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear a solemn promise, saying, “God will definitely take care of you, and then you must take my bones with you when you leave here.”

20 And setting out from Soccoth, they encamped at Etham, in the most distant parts of the wilderness.

They traveled on from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.

21 Now the Lord preceded them to show them the way, by day with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire, so that he might be the leader of their journey at both times.

The Lord went ahead of them as a pillar of cloud to show them the way during the day, and as a pillar of fire to provide them with light at night. Like this they could travel by day or night.

22 These never failed: a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, in the sight of the people.

The pillar of cloud during the day and the pillar of fire at night were always in front of the people.