Exodus 14–15
1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to the children of Israel, so that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal Zephon. Opposite it you shall camp by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, “They are confused in the land. The wilderness has shut them in.” 4 So I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he shall pursue them. And I will be honored because of Pharaoh and because of all his army, so that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And they did so.
5 When it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled, the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. 7 And he took six hundred select chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and officers over every one of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel. However, the children of Israel went out with confidence. 9 But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.
10 When Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and indeed, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they were extremely terrified, so the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
13 But Moses said to the people, “Fear not! Stand firm! And see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show you today. For the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord shall fight for you, while you hold your peace.”
15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the children of Israel, so that they go forward. 16 And as for you, lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it; then the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17 As for Me, surely, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, so that they shall follow them, and I will be honored through Pharaoh, through all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I am honored through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
19 Then the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of the cloud moved before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and there was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night. Therefore, the one did not come near the other the entire night.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, so that the waters were divided. 22 The children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
23 Then the Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud and threw the camp of the Egyptians into confusion. 25 He removed their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty, and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and their horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal place when the morning appeared, while the Egyptians fled against it, so the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. There remained not so much as one of them.
29 But the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea. And the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. 31 When Israel saw the great power which the Lord used upon the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses.
Chapter 15
1 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord and spoke, saying:
“I will sing to the Lord,
for He has triumphed gloriously!
He has thrown the horse and his rider
into the sea!
2 The Lord is my strength and song,
and He has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
3 The Lord is a man of war;
the Lord is His name.
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
He has thrown into the sea;
his chosen captains also
are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The depths have covered them;
they sank to the bottom like a stone.
6 “Your right hand, O Lord,
is glorious in power.
Your right hand, O Lord,
shatters the enemy.
7 In the greatness of Your excellence,
You overthrow those who rise up against You.
You send out Your wrath;
it consumes them like stubble.
8 With the blast of Your nostrils
the waters were gathered together.
The flowing waters stood upright as a heap;
and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 “The enemy said,
‘I will pursue. I will overtake.
I will divide the spoil;
my lust shall be satisfied upon them.
I will draw my sword,
my hand shall destroy them.’
10 You blew with Your wind,
and the sea covered them;
they sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
11 “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like You,
glorious in holiness,
fearful in praises,
doing wonders?
12 You stretched out Your right hand,
and the earth swallowed them.
13 “In Your mercy You have led
the people whom You have redeemed;
You have guided them by Your strength
to Your holy dwelling.
14 The peoples have heard and are afraid;
sorrow has taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom were amazed;
the mighty men of Moab, trembling takes hold of them;
all the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away.
16 Fear and dread fall upon them;
by the greatness of Your arm
they are as still as a stone,
until Your people pass over, O Lord,
until the people whom You have purchased pass over.
17 You shall bring them in, and plant them
on the mountain of Your inheritance,
in the place, O Lord, which You have made for Your dwelling,
in the sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.
18 The Lord will reign
forever and ever.”
19 For the horses of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea.
20 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dancing. 21 Miriam answered them,
“Sing to the Lord,
for He triumphed gloriously!
The horse and his rider
He has hurled into the sea.”
22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the Wilderness of Shur, and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore, the name of it was called Marah. 24 So the people murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
25 And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he had thrown it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.
There He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them. 26 He said, “If you diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases with which I have afflicted the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”
27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the waters.
Matthew 17
1 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother and brought them up to a high mountain alone, 2 and was transfigured before them. His face shone as the sun, and His garments became white as the light. 3 Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You wish, let us make three tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.”
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were filled with awe. 7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” 8 When they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9 As they came down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.”
10 His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
11 Jesus answered, “Elijah truly does first come and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. Likewise, the Son of Man will also suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
14 When they came to the crowd, a man came to Him and knelt before Him, saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
17 Then Jesus answered, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and he came out of him. And the child was healed instantly.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast him out?”
20 Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. And nothing will be impossible for you. 21 But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
22 While they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were extremely sorrowful.
24 When they came to Capernaum, those who collected tax money came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the tax?”
25 He said, “Yes.”
And when he came home, Jesus stopped him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take custom or taxes? From their own sons or from strangers?”
26 Peter said to Him, “From strangers.”
Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 However, lest we offend them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. And when you open its mouth, you will find a coin. Take it and give it to them for you and Me.”