| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Then the LORD said to Moses, | 1Then the LORD said to Moses, |
| 2“Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The firstborn from every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, both of man and beast.” | 2“Dedicate to me every firstborn among the Israelites. The first offspring to be born, of both humans and animals, belongs to me.” |
| 3So Moses told the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD brought you out of it by the strength of His hand. And nothing leavened shall be eaten. | 3So Moses said to the people, “This is a day to remember forever—the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. Today the LORD has brought you out by the power of his mighty hand. (Remember, eat no food containing yeast.) |
| 4Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving. | 4On this day in early spring, in the month of Abib, you have been set free. |
| 5And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites—the land He swore to your fathers that He would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you shall keep this service in this month. | 5You must celebrate this event in this month each year after the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. (He swore to your ancestors that he would give you this land—a land flowing with milk and honey.) |
| 6For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. | 6For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. Then on the seventh day, celebrate a feast to the LORD. |
| 7Unleavened bread shall be eaten during those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, nor shall leaven be found anywhere within your borders. | 7Eat bread without yeast during those seven days. In fact, there must be no yeast bread or any yeast at all found within the borders of your land during this time. |
| 8And on that day you are to explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ | 8“On the seventh day you must explain to your children, ‘I am celebrating what the LORD did for me when I left Egypt.’ |
| 9It shall be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the Law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For with a mighty hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt. | 9This annual festival will be a visible sign to you, like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the LORD: ‘With a strong hand, the LORD rescued you from Egypt.’ |
| 10Therefore you shall keep this statute at the appointed time year after year. | 10So observe the decree of this festival at the appointed time each year. |
| 11And after the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as He swore to you and your fathers, | 11“This is what you must do when the LORD fulfills the promise he swore to you and to your ancestors. When he gives you the land where the Canaanites now live, |
| 12you are to present to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD. | 12you must present all firstborn sons and firstborn male animals to the LORD, for they belong to him. |
| 13You must redeem every firstborn donkey with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. And every firstborn of your sons you must redeem. | 13A firstborn donkey may be bought back from the LORD by presenting a lamb or young goat in its place. But if you do not buy it back, you must break its neck. However, you must buy back every firstborn son. |
| 14In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. | 14“And in the future, your children will ask you, ‘What does all this mean?’ Then you will tell them, ‘With the power of his mighty hand, the LORD brought us out of Egypt, the place of our slavery. |
| 15And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of man and beast. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’ | 15Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, so the LORD killed all the firstborn males throughout the land of Egypt, both people and animals. That is why I now sacrifice all the firstborn males to the LORD—except that the firstborn sons are always bought back.’ |
| 16So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead, for with a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.” | 16This ceremony will be like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. It is a reminder that the power of the LORD’s mighty hand brought us out of Egypt.” Israel’s Wilderness Detour |
| 17When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, though it was shorter. For God said, “If the people face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” | 17When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” |
| 18So God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt arrayed for battle. | 18So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle. |
| 19Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear a solemn oath when he said, “God will surely attend to you, and then you must carry my bones with you from this place.” | 19Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear to do this. He said, “God will certainly come to help you. When he does, you must take my bones with you from this place.” |
| 20They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. | 20The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. |
| 21And the LORD went before them in a pillar of cloud to guide their way by day, and in a pillar of fire to give them light by night, so that they could travel by day or night. | 21The LORD went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. |
| 22Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place before the people. | 22And the LORD did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people. |
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