Crossing the Red Sea

¹The LORD spoke to Moses and said, ²"Tell the Israelites to turn back and set up camp near Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, facing Baalzephon. Camp there right by the sea. ³Pharaoh will say about the children of Israel, 'They are trapped in the land; the wilderness has closed them in.' ⁴I will harden Pharaoh's heart so he chases after them, and I will gain glory through Pharaoh and his entire army. Then the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the Israelites did exactly that. ⁵When the king of Egypt was informed that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people. They said, "Why have we done this, letting Israel go from serving us?" ⁶So Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his people with him. ⁷He took 600 of his best chariots along with every other chariot in Egypt, each one commanded by an officer. ⁸The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who had marched out boldly. ⁹The Egyptians gave chase — all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, horsemen, and soldiers — and caught up with the Israelites as they were camped by the sea near Pihahiroth, across from Baalzephon. ¹⁰As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were very afraid. The Israelites cried out to the LORD. ¹¹They said to Moses, "Were there no graves in Egypt? Is that why you brought us out here to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?" ¹²Didn't we tell you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone so we can serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness. ¹³Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will show you today. The Egyptians you see today, you will never see again." ¹⁴The LORD will fight for you. All you have to do is be still." ¹⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move forward. ¹⁶Raise your staff and stretch your hand out over the sea to divide it. The Israelites will walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷I myself will harden the Egyptians' hearts so they follow right in after them. Then I will gain glory through Pharaoh and his entire army — his chariots and his horsemen. ¹⁸The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I have gained glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen." ¹⁹Then the angel of God, who had been leading the Israelite camp from the front, moved to the rear. The pillar of cloud also shifted from in front of them and took its place behind them. ²⁰It came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. It was a cloud and darkness for one group, but it gave the other light by night, so that one did not come near the other all night. ²¹Moses stretched his hand out over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back with a powerful east wind that blew all night. The seabed became dry land, and the waters split apart. ²²The Israelites walked into the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water standing on their right and on their left. ²³The Egyptians charged in after them — all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and horsemen — right into the middle of the sea. ²⁴In the early hours of the morning, the LORD looked down on the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and cloud and threw them into confusion. ²⁵Their chariot wheels were taken off, so that they drove them with difficulty. The Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians." ²⁶Then the LORD told Moses, "Stretch your hand out over the sea so the waters crash back over the Egyptians, their chariots, and their horsemen." ²⁷Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared. The Egyptians fled against it, and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. ²⁸The waters surged back and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all of Pharaoh's army that had followed them into the sea. Not a single one of them survived. ²⁹But the Israelites had walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left. ³⁰That day the LORD saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and the Israelites saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹When Israel saw the great work the LORD did against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in the LORD and his servant Moses.