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the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-harhiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to camp by the sea, directly opposite Baal-zephon. 3 Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, ‘They are wandering aimlessly around the land; the wilderness has hemmed them in’. 4 Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for Myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let Israel go and lost their services!” 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of his best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out triumphantly. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen, and his army—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians coming after them. The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us out here to die in the wilderness? Why have you done this to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we tell you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
13 But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will provide for you today. These Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to remain still.”
15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to break camp and move forward. 16 As for you, raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. Then I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, and through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
19 Then the Angel of God, who had been travelling in front of the Israelite army, moved around and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to one side, yet lit up the night for the other side; so that neither group went near the other all night.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground with a wall of water on their right hand and on their left.
23 The Egyptians set out in pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 Then during the morning watch the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw them into confusion. 25 He took off the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving them. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! 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 on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were trying to escape from it, but the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The waters came back and covered the chariots and horsemen, and the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. 29 But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground, and the waters were a wall for them on their right hand and on their left.
30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 When Israel saw the great power that the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in Him and in Moses His servant.