One Year Pray for the Persecuted Bible - Flipbook - Page 117
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of Israel did as Moses had instructed; they
asked the Egyptians for clothing and articles
of silver and gold. 36 The Lord caused the
Egyptians to look favorably on the I sraelites,
and they gave the Israelites whatever they
asked for. So they stripped the Egyptians of
their wealth!
37 That night the people of Israel left Rame
ses and started for Succoth. There were about
600,000 men,* plus all the women and children. 38 A rabble of non-Israelites went with
them, along with great flocks and herds of
livestock. 39 For bread they baked flat cakes
from the dough without yeast they had
brought from Egypt. It was made without
yeast because the people were driven out of
Egypt in such a hurry that they had no time to
prepare the bread or other food.
40 The people of Israel had lived in Egypt* for
430 years. 41 In fact, it was on the last day of the
430th year that all the Lord’s forces left the
land. 42 On this night the Lord kept his promise
to bring his people out of the land of Egypt. So
this night belongs to him, and it must be commemorated e very year by all the Israelites,
from generation to generation.
43 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
“These are the instructions for the festival of
Passover. No outsiders are allowed to eat the
Passover meal. 44 But any slave who has been
purchased may eat it if he has been circumcised. 45 Temporary residents and hired servants may not eat it. 46 Each Passover lamb
must be eaten in one house. Do not carry any
of its meat outside, and do not break any of its
bones. 47 The whole community of Israel must
celebrate this Passover festival.
48 “If there are foreigners living among you
who want to celebrate the Lord’s Passover, let
all their males be circumcised. Only then may
they celebrate the Passover with you like any
native-born Israelite. But no uncircumcised
male may ever eat the Passover meal. 49 This
instruction applies to everyone, whether a
native-born Israelite or a foreigner living
among you.”
50 So all the people of Israel followed all the
Lord’s commands to M
oses and A
aron. 51 On
that very day the Lord brought the people of
Israel out of the land of Egypt like an army.
13:1 Then
the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Dedicate to
me e very firstborn among the I sraelites. The
first offspring to be born, of both humans and
animals, belongs to me.”
3 So 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
January 31
brought you out by the power of his mighty
hand. (Remember, eat no food containing
yeast.) 4 On this day in early spring, in the
month of Abib,* you have been set free. 5 You
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 l and—a land flowing with
milk and honey.) 6 For seven days the bread
you eat must be made without yeast. Then on
the seventh day, celebrate a feast to the Lord.
7 Eat 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.
8 “On the seventh day you must explain
to your children, ‘I am celebrating what the
Lord did for me when I left Egypt.’ 9 This 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.’* 10 So observe the
decree of this festival at the appointed time
each year.
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, 12 you must
present all firstborn sons and firstborn male
animals to the Lord, for they belong to him.
13 A firstborn donkey may be bought back
from the Lord by p
resenting 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 e very firstborn son.
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. 15 Pharaoh 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.’ 16 This 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.”
12:37 Or fighting men; Hebrew reads men on foot.
12:40 Samaritan
entateuch reads in Canaan and Egypt; Greek version reads in
P
Egypt and Canaan.
13:4 Hebrew On this day in the month of Abib.
This first month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually
occurs within the months of March and April. 13:9 Or Let it
remind you always to keep the instructions of the Lord on the tip
of your tongue, because with a strong hand, the Lord rescued you
from Egypt.
