Exodus 12

The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron while they were still in the land of Egypt. He said:

1And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,

2"This month will be the first month for you. It will be the first month of your year.

2This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

NoteThe month meant is the one later called Abib, "green ears" (Exodus 13:4), and after the exile Nisan, the spring month falling in our March–April, when barley ripened. The instruction resets the calendar so that the year is counted from the escape from Egypt.

3Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man must pick out a lamb for his family, one lamb for each household.

3Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

Note"The house of their fathers" is the ordinary Israelite household: an extended family under one senior man, including his married sons and their wives and children, plus servants and dependants. This is why one animal is expected to feed a whole "house."

4If a household is too small to eat a whole lamb, then that man and his closest neighbor should share one, counting how many people there are. Figure out how much each person will eat, and divide the lamb that way.

4And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.

5Your lamb must have nothing wrong with it. It must be a male, one year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:

NoteAn animal brought as a sacrifice had to be physically perfect, no injury, disease, or deformity. The Hebrew word translated "lamb" simply means a young animal from the flock, which is why either a sheep or a goat will do.

6Keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole gathered community of Israel will kill their lambs at twilight.

6And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

NoteThe Hebrew literally says "between the two evenings." What that meant was already disputed in antiquity: either the period between sunset and full dark, or the stretch from mid-afternoon to sunset. Later Jewish practice took it as the afternoon.

7They must take some of the blood and put it on the two sides and the top of the doorframe of every house where they eat the lamb.

7And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.

8That same night they must eat the meat roasted over a fire, along with bread made without yeast and with bitter herbs.

8And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

NoteAncient bread was raised by mixing in a lump of fermented dough saved from the previous batch. Bread made without it is flat and can be made quickly, with no waiting for it to rise. "Bitter herbs" are sharp-tasting greens, the sort eaten as a relish with meat.

9Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water. Roast it over the fire, with its head, its legs, and its inner parts.

9Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.

NoteBoiling would mean cutting the animal up first; roasting keeps it whole and is faster. The King James "purtenance" means the edible inner organs, heart, liver, kidneys and the like.

10Do not leave any of it until morning. Anything still left in the morning must be burned up in the fire.

10And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.

11This is how you must eat it: with your clothes tucked up ready for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your walking stick in your hand. Eat it quickly. It is the LORD's Passover.

11And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’s passover.

NoteThe Hebrew name is *pesach*. The sense of the verb behind it is debated: either "pass over, skip" or "shield, protect." The same word is used for the festival, for the sacrifice, and for the action described in verse 13. "Loins girded" means the long robe pulled up and tucked into the belt so a person could walk or run freely, the ancient equivalent of being dressed to leave at once.

12For that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn in Egypt, both people and animals. And I will carry out judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.

12For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.

NoteThe firstborn son held a special standing: he headed the family after his father's death and received a double share of the inheritance. To strike the firstborn was to strike each household's future. Egypt's many gods were held to guarantee the order of the land, including the standing of Pharaoh himself.

13The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. No deadly plague will touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.

13And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

Note"Token" in the King James means a sign or identifying mark, not a keepsake.

14This day will be a day for you to remember. You must celebrate it as a festival to the LORD. This is a law that continues through all your generations, always.

14And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

Note"For ever" translates Hebrew *olam*, meaning for the long duration ahead, a practice with no set end, binding on the generations to come.

15For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the very first day, get rid of all the yeast in your houses. Anyone who eats bread with yeast in it, from the first day through the seventh day, must be cut off from Israel.

15Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

Note"Cut off" is a fixed legal formula whose exact force is disputed: it may mean expulsion from the community, execution, or being removed by God, for instance by leaving no descendants. The texts never spell it out.

16On the first day you must hold a sacred gathering, and another one on the seventh day. No work of any kind may be done on those days, except preparing food for people to eat. That is all you may do.

16And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.

NoteA "holy convocation" is a day on which the people were summoned to assemble; ordinary work stopped, with an exception here for preparing food.

17Keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought your groups out of the land of Egypt. So you must keep this day through all your generations. It is a lasting law.

17And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.

NoteThe word behind "armies" or "groups" is a military term for organized divisions. It pictures the people leaving in ordered ranks rather than as a scattered crowd.

18In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day of the month until the evening of the twenty-first day.

18In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.

NoteIn Israelite reckoning a day ran from sunset to sunset, so the fourteenth day begins on what we would call the evening before.

19For seven days no yeast may be found in your houses. Anyone who eats something with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether that person is a foreigner living among you or was born in the land.

19Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.

NoteThe "stranger" here is a foreigner who has settled permanently among the Israelites and lives under their law, not a traveler passing through. The distinction matters again in verses 43–49.

20Eat nothing with yeast in it. Wherever you live, eat bread made without yeast."

20Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

21Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and pick out lambs for your families, and kill the Passover lamb.

21Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.

NoteThe elders were the senior heads of families and clans, who spoke and acted for the community as a whole; instructions to the nation were normally passed down through them.

22Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood in the bowl, and brush the blood on the top and the two sides of the doorframe. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning.

22And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.

NoteHyssop is a small bushy plant, probably the marjoram that grows in cracks in walls in that region; its stiff, hairy stems make a natural brush for sprinkling. The Hebrew word rendered "basin" can also mean the threshold or hollow of a doorway, so the blood may be in a bowl or gathered at the door sill itself.

23For the LORD will pass through to strike down the Egyptians. When he sees the blood on the top and the two sides of the doorframe, the LORD will pass over that door. He will not let the destroyer come into your houses to strike you.

23For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

Note"The destroyer" translates a Hebrew word meaning "the one who ruins." Whether this names a distinct agent sent by God or is another way of speaking of the destroying plague itself is left unclear by the text.

24You must keep this as a law for you and your children, always.

24And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.

25When you come into the land the LORD will give you, just as he promised, you must keep this ceremony.

25And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.

26And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?'

26And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?

27you will say, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD. He passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt when he struck down the Egyptians, and he spared our homes.'" Then the people bowed down low and worshiped.

27That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.

NoteBowing down here means going to the knees and lowering the head to the ground, the ordinary posture of respect before a superior and of worship.

28The people of Israel went and did exactly what the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.

28And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.

29At midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, along with all the firstborn of the livestock.

29And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

NoteThe King James "dungeon" renders a phrase meaning "the house of the pit", a prison, often a cistern-like chamber below ground.

30Pharaoh got up in the night, along with all his officials and all the Egyptians. There was loud crying all over Egypt, because there was not a single house without someone dead in it.

30And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

NoteThe "great cry" is loud, public wailing: mourning in that world was a formal, audible act, not a private matter.

31That night he called for Moses and Aaron and said, "Get up and get away from my people, you and the people of Israel too. Go, worship the LORD, just as you asked.

31And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said.

32Take your flocks and your herds as well, just as you said, and go. And ask for a blessing on me too."

32Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.

33The Egyptians pushed the people to hurry and leave the land quickly. They said, "We are all going to die!"

33And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.

34So the people took their dough before it had risen. They wrapped their kneading bowls in their clothes and carried them on their shoulders.

34And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.

NoteKneading bowls were shallow vessels of wood, clay or leather in which dough was mixed. Here they are bundled up in the outer cloaks people wore and slung over the shoulder.

35The people of Israel did what Moses had told them. They asked the Egyptians for objects of silver and gold, and for clothing.

35And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:

NoteThe King James "borrowed" is misleading to modern ears. The Hebrew verb simply means "asked for" or "requested," with no suggestion of a loan to be repaid. "Jewels" likewise translates a general word for articles or objects, not necessarily jewelry.

36The LORD made the Egyptians willing to help the people, so they gave them what they asked for. In this way the Israelites stripped Egypt of its goods.

36And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.

Note"Spoiled" in the King James means plundered, stripped of goods, as a victorious army strips a defeated enemy. The wording deliberately frames the departure as the taking of spoil.

37The people of Israel traveled from Rameses to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, not counting the little ones.

37And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.

NoteRameses and Succoth are sites in the eastern Nile delta, a short first stage of the journey. The figure of 600,000 men is much debated, because the Hebrew word for "thousand" can also mean a clan or a military unit; on that reading the total would be far smaller.

38A mixed crowd of other people went up with them too, along with flocks and herds, a very large number of animals.

38And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.

NoteA "mixed multitude" is a group of assorted non-Israelites who left along with them, other foreigners and forced laborers in Egypt.

39They baked flat loaves from the dough they had brought out of Egypt, since it had no yeast in it. They had been driven out of Egypt and could not wait, and they had not prepared any food for the journey.

39And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.

40The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for four hundred and thirty years.

40Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.

NoteThe Hebrew text counts the 430 years as time in Egypt. The Samaritan and the ancient Greek versions read it as covering the stay in Canaan and Egypt together, which halves the time spent in Egypt itself.

41At the end of the four hundred and thirty years, on that very day, all the LORD's groups marched out of the land of Egypt.

41And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.

42That night the LORD kept watch to bring them out of the land of Egypt. So this same night belongs to the LORD, a night for all the people of Israel to keep watch, through all their generations.

42It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.

NoteThe King James "to be much observed" renders a word meaning a night of watching or keeping vigil. The same word is used twice: the LORD keeps watch that night, and Israel is to keep watch on the same night ever after, staying awake through it.

43The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the rules for the Passover: No foreigner may eat it.

43And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:

NoteThis "stranger" is a different word from the one in verses 19 and 48: an outsider with no attachment to the community, as opposed to a foreigner who has settled permanently among the people.

44But any slave a man has bought with money may eat it, once you have circumcised him.

44But every man’s servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.

NoteCircumcision, the cutting away of the foreskin, was the physical mark that a male belonged to the covenant community. It was applied to everyone in a household, including bought slaves, who counted as members of the house.

45A visitor staying with you for a time and a hired worker may not eat it.

45A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.

NoteTwo further categories: a resident who is staying temporarily and has no permanent standing in the household, and a laborer working for wages. Neither belonged to the family in the way a bought slave did.

46It must be eaten inside one house. Do not carry any of the meat outside the house, and do not break any of its bones.

46In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.

47The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.

47All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.

48If a foreigner is living among you and wants to celebrate the LORD's Passover, every male in his household must be circumcised. Then he may come and celebrate it, and he will be treated like someone born in the land. But no man who is uncircumcised may eat it.

48And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.

49The same law applies to the person born in the land and to the foreigner living among you."

49One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.

50All the people of Israel did this. They did exactly as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.

50Thus did all the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.

51And on that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt, group by group.

51And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the LORD did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.