The Law of the Firstborn

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “·Give [Consecrate; Set apart] every firstborn male to me. ·Every firstborn male [^LWhoever is first to open the womb] among the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] belongs to me, whether human or animal.”

³ Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, the day you left Egypt. ·You were slaves in that land [^L…the house of slavery/bondage/service], but the Lord with his ·great power [^Lstrong hand] brought you out of it. You must not eat ·bread made with yeast [unleavened bread]. ⁴ Today, in the month of Abib [^Cthe first month of the year, March–April; 12:18], you are ·leaving Egypt [^Lcoming out]. ⁵ The Lord will ·lead [or bring] you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites [^Cvarious peoples who lived in the Promised Land]. This is the land he promised your ancestors he would give you [Gen. 12:1–3], a ·fertile land [^La land flowing with milk and honey; 3:8]. There you must ·celebrate this feast during the first month of every year [^Lkeep this observance in this month]. ⁶ For seven days you must eat ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread], and on the seventh day there will be a feast to honor the Lord. ⁷ So for seven days you must not eat any ·bread made with yeast [unleavened bread]. There must be no ·bread made with yeast [unleavened bread and no leaven will be] anywhere ·in your land [^Lwithin your borders]. ⁸ On that day you should tell your ·son [child]: ‘·We are having this feast [^LIt is] because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹ This feast will help you remember, like a ·mark [sign] on your hand or a reminder ·on your forehead [^Lbetween your eyes]. This feast will remind you to speak the Lord’s ·teachings [law; instructions], because the Lord used his ·great power [^Lstrong hand] to bring you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ ·So celebrate this feast every year at the right time [^LYou must observe/keep/guard this statute/ordinance/requirement as an appointed time for all time].

¹¹ “And when the Lord ·takes [brings] you into the land of the Canaanites, the land he promised to give you and your ancestors [Gen. 12:1–3], ¹² you must ·give him [^Lturn over to the Lord] ·every firstborn male [^Lall that first opens the womb]. Also every firstborn male animal must be given to the Lord. ¹³ ·Buy back [Redeem; Ransom] every firstborn donkey by offering a lamb. But if you don’t want to ·buy the donkey back [redeem/ransom it], then break its neck. You must ·buy back from the Lord [redeem; ransom] every firstborn of your sons.

¹⁴ “·From now on [In the future; ^LTomorrow] when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you will answer, ‘With his ·great power [strong hand], the Lord brought us out from Egypt, ·the land where we were slaves [^Lfrom the house of bondage]. ¹⁵ ·The king of Egypt [^LPharaoh] was stubborn and refused to let us leave. But the Lord killed every firstborn male in Egypt, both human and animal. That is why I sacrifice ·every firstborn male animal [^Levery male that first opens the womb] to the Lord, and that is why I ·buy back [redeem; ransom] each of my firstborn sons from the Lord.’ ¹⁶ This feast is like a ·mark [sign] on your hand and a ·reminder [phylactery; ^Clater a leather box containing Scripture worn on arm and forehead, though here perhaps figurative] ·on your forehead [^Lbetween your eyes] to help you remember that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his ·great power [^Lmighty hand].”

The Way Out of Egypt

¹⁷ When ·the king [^LPharaoh] ·sent the people out of Egypt [^Llet the people go], God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was the shortest way. God said, “If they ·have to fight [^Lsee battle], they might change their minds and go back to Egypt.” ¹⁸ So God led them through the ·desert [wilderness] toward the ·Red [or Reed; 10:19] Sea. The Israelites were ·dressed for fighting [prepared for battle] when they left the land of Egypt.

¹⁹ Moses carried the bones of Joseph with him, because before Joseph died, he had made the ·Israelites [^Lsons of Israel; ^Chere Joseph’s brothers, the sons of Israel (Jacob)] promise to do this [Gen. 50:22–26]. He had said, “When God ·saves [shows concern toward; visits] you, remember to carry my bones with you out of Egypt.”

²⁰ The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham [^Cits exact location is undetermined], on the edge of the ·desert [wilderness]. ²¹ The Lord showed them the way; during the day he went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud, and during the night he was in a pillar of fire to give them light. In this way they could travel during the day or night. ²² The pillar of cloud ·was always with [^Lnever withdrew from] them during the day, and the pillar of fire ·was always with [^Lnever withdrew from] them at night.