Exodus [9]

Exodus 14

Then the Lord said to Moses,

"Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. Encamp by the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you are to encamp there in front of it.

Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, 'They are wandering aimlessly in the land. The desert has closed in on them.'

Then I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. I will show my glory through Pharaoh and all his army, so that the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord." And they did so.

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the hearts of Pharaoh and his officials were changed. They said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!"

So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him.

He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, each with its charioteer.

The Lord hardened Pharaoh king of Egypt's heart, and he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.

The Egyptians, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen, pursued them and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and they saw the Egyptians advancing toward them. Terrified, the Israelites cried out to the Lord.

They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us out to die in the desert? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?

Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone! Let us serve the Egyptians. It would be better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!'"

Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."

The Lord said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.

Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may divide and the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.

I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will pursue them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and horsemen.

Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and horsemen."

The angel of God, who was going ahead of the Israelite army, moved behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from in front to behind them.

It came between the Egyptian army and the Israelite army. The cloud was dark, and it lit up the night, so that one army could not approach the other all through the night.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind. He turned the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.

The Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with waters standing like walls for them on their right and their left.

The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea after them.

In the morning watch, the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.

He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they could hardly move. "The Egyptians said, 'Let's get out of here! The Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.'"

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen."

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and as the morning light came, the sea returned to its normal depth. The Egyptians were fleeing into the sea, but the Lord swept them into the sea.

The waters returned and covered the chariots and horsemen of Pharaoh's entire army that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not a single one of them survived.

But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea. The waters were a wall to them on their right and their left.

That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.

Israel saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord and put their faith in him and in his servant Moses.