Exodus 13

¹ that Yahweh spoke to Moses saying: ² "Hallow to Me every firstborn male, opening up every womb, among the sons of Israel, among human and among beast. It is Mine." ³ Moses said to the people: "You are to remember this day on which you went forth from the land of Egypt, from the house of servants, for with steadfastness of hand Yahweh brought you forth hence; then nothing leavened should be eaten. ⁴ Today you are going forth in the month of Aviv. ⁵ It will come to be when Yahweh your Elohim shall have brought you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite about which He swore to your fathers to give to you, a land gushing with milk and honey, then you will serve with this service in this month. ⁶ Seven days shall you eat unleavened cakes, and on the seventh day there shall be a celebration to Yahweh. ⁷ Unleavened cakes shall be eaten seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen with you, and no yeast should be seen with you within your entire boundary. ⁸ Then you will tell your son in that day, saying: It is for the sake of this which Yahweh did for me when I went forth from Egypt. ⁹ And you will come to have this as a sign on your hand and as a reminder between your eyes that the law of Yahweh may be in your mouth; for with a steadfast hand Yahweh brought you forth from Egypt. ¹⁰ You will observe this statute at its appointed time from days to days. ¹¹ It will come to be when Yahweh your Elohim shall bring you into the land of the Canaanite just as He swore to you and to your fathers, that He will give it to you, ¹² then you will set apart for Yahweh every male opening up the womb. Every male opening up the womb, the yeanling of a beast which you shall come to have, the males shall be for Yahweh. ¹³ Yet every male opening up a donkey shall you ransom with a flockling, and should you not ransom it then you will break its neck. Yet every firstborn of a human among your sons shall you ransom. ¹⁴ When it comes to be that your son is asking you tomorrow, saying: What does this mean? then you will say to him, With steadfastness of hand Yahweh brought us forth from Egypt, from the house of servants. ¹⁵ When it came to be that Pharaoh was obstinate to dismiss us, then Yahweh killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of human unto the firstborn of beast. Therefore I am sacrificing to Yahweh all the males opening up the womb; yet I am ransoming every firstborn of my sons. ¹⁶ Now it comes to be as a sign on your hand and as brow-bands between your eyes; for with steadfastness of hand Yahweh brought us forth from Egypt." ¹⁷ It came to be when Pharaoh had dismissed the people, that Elohim did not guide them by way of the land of the Philistines, though it was near, for Elohim said: "Lest the people should regret when they see war, and return to Egypt." ¹⁸ Hence Elohim caused the people to turn about by the wilderness road of the Sea of Weeds. Deployed in five sections, the sons of Israel ascended from the land of Egypt. ¹⁹ And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him; for Joseph had adjured, yea adjured the sons of Israel, saying: "Elohim shall commit, yea commit it to you, that you will bring up my bones with you from this place." ²⁰ When they journeyed from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the fringe of the wilderness, ²¹ then Yahweh was going before them by day in a column of cloud to guide them along the way, and by night in a column of fire, to give light for them to go by day and night. ²² The column of cloud by day and the column of fire by night did not remove from the presence of the people.