Pharaoh Pursues the Israelites 1 UDB Then Yahweh said to Moses, BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses,
2 UDB "Tell the Israelite people to turn around and go back and set up their tents in front of Pi Hahiroth. That town is between Migdol and the sea, near Baal Zephon. Set up your tents there close to the sea. BSB BSB: “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal-zephon.
3 UDB When the king knows you have done that, he will think, 'The Israelite people are confused. They are wandering around, and the desert blocks their path.' BSB BSB: For Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, ‘They are wandering the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in.’
4 UDB But I will make the king stubborn again, and he will take his army and come after you. Then my people will praise me for winning a victory over the king and his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh." So Moses told the Israelites that, and they did what he told them to do. BSB BSB: And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. But I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So this is what the Israelites did.
5 UDB When someone told the king that the Israelite people had left during the night, he and his leaders changed their minds and said, "What have we done? The Israelite people will no longer be our slaves!" BSB BSB: When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.”
6 UDB So the king got his chariot and his army ready. BSB BSB: So Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his army with him.
7 UDB Then he selected six hundred of the best chariots, and in each chariot he placed a driver, a soldier, and a commander, and they left. BSB BSB: He took 600 of the best chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.
8 UDB Yahweh made the king of Egypt stubborn, so he and his army went to pursue the Israelites. The Israelites marched out with confidence. BSB BSB: And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out defiantly.
9 UDB The Egyptian army, with all the king's horses and chariots and horsemen, went after the Israelites. They caught up with them as they were camped near the sea close to Pi Hahiroth, in front of Baal Zephon. BSB BSB: The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon.
10 UDB When the king's army got near, the Israelite people were surprised to see that the Egyptians were marching toward them. They were terrified, so they cried out to Yahweh to help them. BSB BSB: As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified and cried out to the LORD.
11 UDB Then they said to Moses, "Certainly you did not think that there was not enough room in Egypt for us to be buried. So why did you bring us here to die in this wilderness? Look what you have done to us by bringing us out of Egypt! BSB BSB: They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us into the wilderness to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
12 UDB That is what we told you when we were in Egypt. We said, 'Leave us alone, and let us work for the Egyptians.' It would have been better for us to be slaves for the Egyptians than to die here in the desert!" BSB BSB: Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
13 UDB Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid! Stand strong and see how Yahweh will rescue you. He will save you today, and the result will be that the Egyptians that you are looking at today—you will never see them again. BSB BSB: But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.
14 UDB Yahweh will fight for you! Just stay calm. There is nothing else that you will have to do." BSB BSB: The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Parting the Red Sea 15 UDB Then Yahweh said to Moses, "You must not call out to me for help any longer in this situation. Instead, tell the people to go forward. BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.
16 UDB Lift up your staff and stretch it out as though you were stretching it over the sea. The water will move away so that the Israelite people can go in the middle of the sea, walking on dry ground between the walls of water on each side. BSB BSB: And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.
17 UDB I will make the Egyptians stubborn so that they will try to follow the Israelites. Then because of what I will do to the king, his army, his chariots, and his horsemen, my people will praise me. BSB BSB: And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. Then I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army and chariots and horsemen.
18 UDB When I have won a glorious victory over the king, his chariots, and his horsemen, the other Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh, the God who can do anything." BSB BSB: The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I am honored through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
19 UDB Then the angel of God, who had been in front of the Israelite people, moved and went behind them. The tall, bright cloud that had been in front of them also moved behind them BSB BSB: And the angel of God, who had gone before the camp of Israel, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from before them and stood behind them,
20 UDB until it was between the Egyptian army and the Israelite people. The cloud caused the Egyptian army to be in the darkness, but it gave light for the Israelites. As a result, neither group could come near the other group during the whole night. BSB BSB: so that it came between the camps of Egypt and Israel. The cloud was there in the darkness, but it lit up the night. So all night long neither camp went near the other.
21 UDB That evening, Moses stretched out his hand as though he were stretching it over the sea. Then Yahweh sent a strong wind from the east. It blew all night and pushed the water apart, and it caused the land between the water to dry up. BSB BSB: Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,
22 UDB Then the Israelite people went on the dry land in the middle of the sea. The water was like a wall on each side of them, on the right side and on the left side. BSB BSB: and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.
23 UDB Then the Egyptian army went after them into the middle of the sea with their horses and their chariots and chariot drivers. BSB BSB: And the Egyptians chased after them—all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen—and followed them into the sea.
24 UDB Just before dawn, Yahweh looked down from the fiery cloud, and then he caused the Egyptian army to panic. BSB BSB: At morning watch, however, the LORD looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud, and He threw their camp into confusion.
25 UDB He caused the wheels of the chariots to get stuck in the ground so that they could hardly move. So the Egyptians said, "Yahweh is fighting for the Israelites against us; let us get out of here!" BSB BSB: He caused their chariot wheels to wobble, so that they had difficulty driving. “Let us flee from the Israelites,” said the Egyptians, “for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!”
26 UDB Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your arm as though you were stretching it over the sea. Then the water will come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and their horsemen." BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.”
27 UDB So Moses stretched out his arm, and, as the sun was rising, the water returned to its normal level. The Egyptians tried to escape, but Yahweh hurled them back into the sea. BSB BSB: So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state. As the Egyptians were retreating, the LORD swept them into the sea.
28 UDB The water returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and the whole Egyptian army that had tried to follow the Israelites into the sea. Every one of the Egyptians died. BSB BSB: The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29 UDB But the Israelite people had already crossed through the sea by walking on dry ground, with the water being like two walls, one on the right side and one on the left side. BSB BSB: But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.
30 UDB That is the way Yahweh saved the Israelite people from the Egyptian army on that day. The Israelite people saw the Egyptians lying dead. Their bodies washed up on the shore. BSB BSB: That day the LORD saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore.
31 UDB The Israelites saw what Yahweh did to the Egyptians by his great power, and they were in awe of Yahweh. They trusted in Yahweh, and they also trusted in Moses. BSB BSB: When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.