- And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward, he will let you go from here. When he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out from here altogether. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver and jewels of gold. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people. And Moses said, Thus says the Lord: About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt and all the first born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first born of Pharaoh that sits upon his throne even unto the first born of the maidservant that is behind the mill, and all the first born of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it anymore. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these, the servants of Pharaoh, shall come down unto me and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get out, you and all the people that follow you. And after that, I will go out. And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh will not listen unto you; therefore, my wonders shall be multiplied in the land of Egypt. And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and they went out from Pharaoh, and he was in a great anger. And Pharaoh hardened his heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.
- And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month, they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers — a lamb for a house. And if the household is too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it, according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month, and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at sunset. And they shall take of the blood and smear it on the two side doorposts and on the upper doorpost of the houses wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roast with fire his head, with his legs and with the entrails thereof. And you shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire. And thus shall you eat it: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover, for I will pass through the land of Egypt this night and will smite all the first born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment; I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt.
- And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread; even the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the first day, there shall be a holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them save that which every man must eat — that only may be done of you. And you shall observe the feast of unleavened bread, for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore shall you observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at sunset, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at sunset. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses, for whoever eats that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger or born in the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall you eat unleavened bread.
- Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said unto them, Draw out and take yourselves a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning, for the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood upon the lintel and on the two side doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. And you shall observe this thing for an ordinance to you and to your sons for ever. And it shall come to pass when you have come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he has promised, that you shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass when your children shall say unto you, What do you mean by this service? — that you shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when he smote the Egyptians and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. And the children of Israel went away and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron; so did they.
- And it came to pass that at midnight the Lord smote all the first born in the land of Egypt, from the first born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the first born of the captive that was in the dungeon, and all the first born of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night — he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians — and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up and go forth from among my people, both you and the children of Israel, and go serve the Lord as you have said. Also, take your flocks and your herds as you have said and be gone; and bless me also. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste — For we have found our first born all dead; therefore, depart out of the land lest we die also. And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them; and they spoiled the Egyptians.
- And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. And a mixed multitude went up also with them, and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt — for it was not leavened because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not stay, neither had they prepared for themselves any provisions. Now the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelled in Egypt was four hundred thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt; this is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.
- And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: there shall no stranger eat thereof, but every man’s servant that is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. A foreigner and a hired servant shall not eat thereof. In one house shall it be eaten. You shall not carry forth any of the flesh abroad out of the house, neither shall you break a bone thereof. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. And when a stranger shall sojourn with you and will keep the passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it, and he shall be as one that is born in the land, for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. One law shall be to him that is native and unto the stranger that sojourns among you. Thus did all the children of Israel as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron; so did they. And it came to pass the selfsame day that the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.
- And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto me all the first born; whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast, it is mine. And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place; there shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day came you out, in the month Abib. And it shall be when the Lord shall bring you into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore unto your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days, and there shall no leavened bread be seen with you, neither shall there be leaven seen with you, in all your quarters. And you shall show your son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto you upon your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand has the Lord brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year. And it shall be when the Lord shall bring you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore unto you and to your fathers, and shall give it to you, that you shall set apart unto the Lord all that opens the womb, and every firstling that comes of a beast which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s. And every firstling of an ass you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break his neck. And all the first born of man among your children shall you redeem. And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, What is this? — that you shall say unto him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage. And it came to pass when Pharaoh would hardly let us go that the Lord slew all the first born in the land of Egypt, both the first born of man and the first born of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord all that opens the womb, being males, but all the first born of my children I redeem. And it shall be for a token upon your hand, and for frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt.
- And it came to pass when Pharaoh had let the people go that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near, for God said, Lest perhaps the people repent when they see war and they return to Egypt. But God led the people about through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea, and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had the children of Israel solemnly swear, saying, God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones away from here with you.
- And they took their journey from Succoth and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people.
Chapter 8