Exodus 13

¹The Lord said to Moses ,

²Consecrate to me all the firstborn . Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel , both of man and of beast , is mine.

³Then Moses said to the people , Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt , out of the house of slavery , for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten .

⁴Today , in the month of Abib , you are going out .

⁵And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites , the Hittites , the Amorites , the Hivites , and the Jebusites , which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey , you shall keep this service in this month .

⁶Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread , and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord.

⁷Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days ; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory .

⁸You shall tell your son on that day , It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt .

⁹And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes , that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth . For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt .

¹⁰You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year .

¹¹When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites , as he swore to you and your fathers , and shall give it to you,

¹²you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb . All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord ’s.

¹³Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb , or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck . Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem .

¹⁴And when in time to come your son asks you, What does this mean? you shall say to him, By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt , from the house of slavery .

¹⁵For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go , the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt , both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals . Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb , but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem .

¹⁶It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes , for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt .

¹⁷When Pharaoh let the people go , God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines , although that was near . For God said , Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt .

¹⁸But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea . And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle .

¹⁹Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear , saying , God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here .

²⁰And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham , on the edge of the wilderness .

²¹And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way , and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light , that they might travel by day and by night .

²²The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people .