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¹Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will bring yet one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go. When he lets you go, he will most certainly drive you out of here completely.

²Speak so that all of the people [of Israel] may hear, and tell every man to ask from his neighbor, and every woman to ask from her neighbor, articles of silver, and articles of gold."

³The LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, [both] in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people.

⁴Then Moses said, "Thus says the LORD: 'At midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt,

⁵and all the firstborn in the land [the pride, hope, and joy] of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the hand-mill, and all the firstborn of cattle as well.

⁶There shall be a great cry [of heartache and sorrow] throughout the land of Egypt, such as has never been before and such as shall never be again.

⁷But not even a dog will threaten any of the Israelites, whether man or animal, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge how the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.'

⁸All these servants of yours will come down to me and bow down before me, saying, 'Get out, you and all the people who follow you.' After that I will leave." And he left Pharaoh in the heat of anger.

⁹Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders (miracles) may be multiplied in the land of Egypt."

¹⁰Moses and Aaron did all these wonders (miracles) before Pharaoh; yet the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the Israelites go out of his land.

¹The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,

²"This month shall be the beginning of months to you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.

³Tell all the congregation of Israel, 'On the tenth [day] of this month they are to take a lamb or young goat for themselves, according to [the size of] the household of which he is the father, a lamb or young goat for each household.

⁴Now if the household is too small for a lamb [to be consumed], let him and his next door neighbor take one according to the number of people [in the households]; according to what each man can eat, you are to divide the lamb.

⁵Your lamb or young goat shall be [perfect] without blemish or bodily defect, a male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

⁶You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it at twilight.

⁷Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel [above the door] of the houses in which they eat it.

⁸They shall eat the meat that same night, roasted in fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

⁹Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted in fire—both its head and its legs, along with its inner parts.

¹⁰You shall let none of the meat remain until the morning, and anything that remains left over until morning, you shall burn completely in the fire.

¹¹Now you are to eat it in this manner: [be prepared for a journey] with your loins girded [that is, with the outer garment tucked into the band], your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; you shall eat it quickly—it is the Lord's Passover.

¹²For I [the LORD] will pass through the land of Egypt on this night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and animal; against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments [exhibiting their worthlessness]. I am the LORD.

¹³The blood shall be a sign for you on [the doorposts of] the houses where you live; when I see the blood I shall pass over you, and no affliction shall happen to you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

¹⁴'Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as an ordinance forever.

¹⁵[In the celebration of the Passover in future years,] seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove the leaven from your houses [because it represents the spread of sin]; for whoever eats leavened bread on the first day through the seventh day, that person shall be cut off and excluded from [the atonement made for] Israel.

¹⁶On the first day [of the feast] you shall have a holy and solemn assembly, and on the seventh day there shall be another holy and solemn assembly; no work of any kind shall be done on those days, except for the preparation of food which every person must eat—only that may be done by you.

¹⁷You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought your hosts [grouped according to tribal armies] out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an ordinance forever.

¹⁸In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, [and continue] until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.

¹⁹Seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses; whoever eats what is leavened shall be cut off and excluded from [the atonement made for] the congregation of Israel, whether a stranger or native-born.

²⁰You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.'"

²¹Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and take a lamb for yourselves according to [the size of] your families and slaughter the Passover lamb.

²²You shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and touch some of the blood to the lintel [above the doorway] and to the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.

²³For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel [above the entry way] and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to slay you.

²⁴You shall observe this event [concerning Passover] as an ordinance for you and for your children forever.

²⁵When you enter the land which the LORD will give you, as He has promised, you shall keep and observe this service.

²⁶When your children say to you, 'What does this service mean to you?'

²⁷you shall say, 'It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians, but spared our houses.'" And the people bowed [their heads] low and worshiped [God].

²⁸Then the Israelites went and did [as they had been told]: just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

²⁹Now it happened at midnight that the LORD struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the cattle.

³⁰Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry [of heartache and sorrow] in Egypt, for there was no house where there was not someone dead.

³¹Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, "Get up, get out from among my people, both you and the Israelites; and go, serve the LORD, as you said.

³²Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and [ask your God to] bless me also."

³³The Egyptians [anxiously] urged the people [to leave], to send them out of the land quickly, for they said, "We will all be dead."

³⁴So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their clothes on their shoulders.

³⁵Now the Israelites had acted in accordance with the word of Moses; and they had asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing.

³⁶The LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they gave them what they asked. And so they plundered the Egyptians [of those things].

³⁷Now the Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides [the women and] the children.

³⁸A mixed multitude [of non-Israelites from foreign nations] also went with them, along with both flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock.

³⁹And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought from Egypt; it was not leavened, since they were driven [quickly] from Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any food for themselves.

⁴⁰Now the period of time the children of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.

⁴¹At the end of the four hundred and thirty years, to that very day, all the hosts of the LORD [gathered into tribal armies] left the land of Egypt.

⁴²It is a night of watching to be observed for the LORD for having brought them out of the land of Egypt; this [same] night is for the LORD, to be observed and celebrated by all the Israelites throughout their generations.

⁴³The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "This is the ordinance of the Passover: no foreigner is to eat it;

⁴⁴but every man's slave who is bought with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.

⁴⁵No stranger (temporary resident, foreigner) or hired servant shall eat it.

⁴⁶It is to be eaten inside one house; you shall not take any of the meat outside the house, nor shall you break any of its bones.

⁴⁷The entire congregation of Israel shall keep and celebrate it.

⁴⁸If a stranger living temporarily among you wishes to celebrate the Passover to the LORD, all his males must be circumcised, and then he may participate and celebrate it like one that is born in the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat it.

⁴⁹The same law shall apply to the native-born and to the stranger who lives temporarily among you."

⁵⁰Then all the Israelites did so; they did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.

⁵¹And on that very same day the LORD brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their hosts (tribal armies).

¹The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Sanctify to Me [that is, set apart for My purpose] every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal; it is Mine."

³Moses said to the people, "Remember [solemnly observe and commemorate] this day on which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage and slavery; for by a strong and powerful hand the LORD brought you out of this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten.

⁴On this day in the month Abib, you are about to go onward.

⁵And it shall be when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land [of abundance] flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep and observe this rite (service) in this month.

⁶For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD.

⁷Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, nor shall there be leaven within the borders of your territory.

⁸You shall explain this to your son on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'

⁹It shall serve as a sign to you on your hand (arm), and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the instruction (law) of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a strong and powerful hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.

¹⁰Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at this time from year to year.

¹¹"Now it shall be when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you,

¹²you shall set apart and dedicate to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock shall be the Lord's.

¹³Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem by [substituting] a lamb [as a sacrifice for it], but if you do not [wish to] redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn among your sons you shall redeem [that is, "buy back" from God with a suitable sacrifice].

¹⁴And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What does this mean?' you shall say to him, 'With a strong and powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondage and slavery.

¹⁵For it happened, when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, that the LORD struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animal. Therefore, I sacrifice to the LORD all the males, the first [to be born] of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.'

¹⁶So it shall serve as a sign and a reminder on your [left] hand (arm) and as frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong and powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt."

¹⁷So it happened, when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearer; for God said, "The people might change their minds when they see war [that is, that there will be war], and return to Egypt."

¹⁸But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea; the sons of Israel went up in battle array (orderly ranks, marching formation) out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁹Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had solemnly ordered (placed under an oath) the Israelites, saying, "God will assuredly take care of you, and you must carry my bones away from here with you."

²⁰They journeyed from Succoth [in Goshen] and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.

²¹The [presence of the] LORD was going before them by day in a pillar (column) of cloud to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they could travel by day and by night.

²²He did not withdraw the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from going before the people.