Exodus 13

The Lord Commands the Dedication of the Firstborn

1 The Lord told Moses,

2 ‘Dedicate every firstborn to Me. The firstborn from every womb among the Israelites, whether human or animal, belongs to Me.’

The Festival of Unleavened Bread

3 Moses said to the people, ‘Remember this day, the day you all left Egypt, the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of here with His mighty hand. Do not eat bread with yeast today.’

4 ‘You are leaving Egypt in the month of Abib.’

5 ‘When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, the land He promised your ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey, you are going to keep this tradition.’

6 ‘For seven days, eat bread without yeast. On the seventh day, hold a festival to the Lord.’

7 ‘For those seven days, you cannot have any bread with yeast. In fact, there should not even be yeast anywhere in your land.’

8 ‘On that day, tell your kids, This is because of what the Lord did for me when I left Egypt.’

9 ‘This tradition will be like a reminder on your hand or a symbol on your forehead. It will show you that the Lord’s teaching should always be on your lips, because He brought you out of Egypt with His mighty hand.’

10 ‘You must keep this rule every year at the appointed time.’

The Dedication of the Firstborn

11 ‘When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the land He promised to give you, dedicate every firstborn to Him.’

12 ‘Every firstborn male of your animals belongs to the Lord.’

13 ‘But if it is a donkey’s firstborn, you can buy it back with a lamb. If you do not buy it back, you must break its neck. And for every firstborn human son, you must buy them back.’

14 ‘In the future, when your kids ask, What is up with all this, you will tell them, The Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of slavery, with His mighty hand.’

15 ‘Pharaoh was so stubborn he would not let us go, so the Lord killed every firstborn in Egypt, both human and animal. That is why I sacrifice the firstborn male animals to the Lord and buy back my firstborn sons.’

16 ‘This practice will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead, reminding you that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with His mighty hand.’

God Leads the People Out

17 When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not take them through the shortest route to Canaan, even though it passed through Philistine territory. God said, ‘If they face war, they might chicken out and go back to Egypt.’

18 So God led them on a longer route through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. The Israelites left Egypt ready for battle.

19 Moses took Joseph’s bones with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath, saying, ‘God will definitely come through for you all. When He does, take my bones with you.’

20 They left Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.

21 The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud during the day to guide them and in a pillar of fire at night to light their way. They could travel day or night.

22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its spot in front of the people.