Pharaoh Pursues Israel

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 Speak with the sons of Israel, that they turn back and camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal-zephon: you shall camp facing it by the sea. 3 And Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the desert has closed in on them: 4 and I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them; and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and through all his army; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so. 5 And the king of Egypt saw that the people had gone. And the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people; and they said, What is this that we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us? 6 And he made his chariot ready, and took his people with him. 7 He also took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of the Egyptians, with strong men over all of them. 8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel. But the children of Israel were going out with heads uncovered. 9 And the Egyptians pursued them, and overtook them as they were camped by the sea, all Pharaoh's chariot horses, and his horsemen, and his army, at Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon. 10 And Pharaoh came near, and the sons of Israel lifted up their eyes, and look, the Egyptians were coming after them: and they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out before the Lord. 11 And they said to Moses, Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What is this that you have done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is this not what we told you in Egypt, saying, Leave us alone, and let us serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness. 13 And Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid; stand still and see the Lord's deliverance, which He will work for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today you will never see again: 14 the Lord will fight the battle for you, and you shall be still.

The Crossing of the Sea

15 And the Lord said to Moses, I have heard your prayer.⁠a Speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward: 16 and you, take your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it, and the children of Israel shall go into the middle of the sea on dry ground. 17 And I, look, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will go in after them; and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and through all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen; 18 and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have been glorified through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen. 19 And the angel of the Lord, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them. 20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and was a cloud and darkness to the Egyptians, but to Israel it was a light all the night:⁠b and the one did not come near the other all night. 21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided; 22 and the children of Israel went into the middle of the sea on dry ground; and the waters were a wall to them on their right and on their left. 23 And the Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the middle of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud, and threw the army of the Egyptians into confusion. 25 And He removed the wheels of their chariots, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, Let us flee from Israel; for this is the power of the Lord which does battle for them against Egypt.⁠c 26 And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen. 27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and toward morning the sea returned to its full strength; and the Egyptians fled before it; and the Lord drowned the Egyptians in the middle of the sea. 28 And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all Pharaoh's army that had gone into the sea after them; not one of them remained. 29 But the children of Israel walked on dry land through the middle of the sea; and the waters were a wall to them on their right and on their left. 30 And the Lord delivered Israel that day from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 And Israel saw the power of the great hand which the Lord had shown in Egypt; and the people stood in fear before the Lord, and believed in the Memra of the Lord, and in the prophetic work of Moses His servant.