2a“Consecrate1 to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
3 And Moses said to the people: a“Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of1 bondage; for bby strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place.cNo leavened bread shall be eaten.
4aOn this day you are going out, in the month Abib.
5 And it shall be, when the Lordabrings you into the bland of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He cswore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, dthat you shall keep this service in this month.
6aSeven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day thereshallbe a feast to the Lord.
7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And ano leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters.
8 And you shall atell your son in that day, saying, ‘Thisisdone because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.’
9 It shall be as aa sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.
10aYou shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.
The Law of the Firstborn
11 “And it shall be, when the Lordabrings you into the land of the bCanaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you,
12athat you shall set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shallbe the Lord’s.
13 But aevery firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons byou shall redeem.
14aSo it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, b‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that athe Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’
16 It shall be as aa sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”
The Wilderness Way
17 Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people achange their minds when they see war, and breturn to Egypt.”
18 So God aled the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.
EXODUS, a "going forth," derives its name from its being occupied principally with a relation of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, and the incidents that immediately preceded as well as followed that memorable migration. Its authorship by Moses is distinctly asserted by himself (Exodus 24:4), as well as by our Lord (Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37). Besides, the thorough knowledge it exhibits of the institutions and usages of the ancient Egyptians and the minute geographical details of the journey to Sinai, establish in the clearest manner the authenticity of this book.
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