Exodus · Bible in Basic English
Exodus 14 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 And the Lord said to Moses,
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2 Give orders to the children of Israel to go back and put up their tents before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon, opposite to which you are to put up your tents by the sea.
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn back and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal Zephon. You shall encamp opposite it by the sea.
3 And Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are wandering without direction, they are shut in by the waste land.
3 Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are entangled in the land. The wilderness has shut them in.’
4 And I will make Pharaoh's heart hard, and he will come after them and I will be honoured over Pharaoh and all his army, so that the Egyptians may see that I am the Lord. And they did so.
4 I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will follow after them; and I will get honor over Pharaoh, and over all his armies; and the Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh.” They did so.
5 And word came to Pharaoh of the flight of the people: and the feeling of Pharaoh and of his servants about the people was changed, and they said, Why have we let Israel go, so that they will do no more work for us?
5 The king of Egypt was told that the people had fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”
6 So he had his war-carriage made ready and took his people with him:
6 He prepared his chariot, and took his army with him;
7 And he took six hundred carriages, all the carriages of Egypt, and captains over all of them.
7 and he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, with captains over all of them.
8 And the Lord made the heart of Pharaoh hard, and he went after the children of Israel: for the children of Israel had gone out without fear.
8 Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; for the children of Israel went out with a high hand.
9 But the Egyptians went after them, all the horses and carriages of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them in their tents by the sea, by Pihahiroth, before Baal-zephon.
9 The Egyptians pursued them. All the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen, and his army overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baal Zephon.
10 And when Pharaoh came near, the children of Israel, lifting up their eyes, saw the Egyptians coming after them, and were full of fear; and their cry went up to God.
10 When Pharaoh came near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and they were very afraid. The children of Israel cried out to Yahweh.
11 And they said to Moses, Was there no resting-place for the dead in Egypt, that you have taken us away to come to our death in the waste land? why have you taken us out of Egypt?
11 They said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you treated us this way, to bring us out of Egypt?
12 Did we not say to you in Egypt, Let us be as we are, working for the Egyptians? for it is better to be the servants of the Egyptians than to come to our death in the waste land.
12 Isn’t this the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave 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, Keep where you are and have no fear; now you will see the salvation of the Lord which he will give you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again.
13 Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will work for you today; for you will never again see the Egyptians whom you have seen today.
14 The Lord will make war for you, you have only to keep quiet.
14 Yahweh will fight for you, and you shall be still.”
15 And the Lord said to Moses, Why are you crying out to me? give the children of Israel the order to go forward.
15 Yahweh said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward.
16 And let your rod be lifted up and your hand stretched out over the sea, and it will be parted in two; and the children of Israel will go through on dry land.
16 Lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. Then the children of Israel shall go into the middle of the sea on dry ground.
17 And I will make the heart of the Egyptians hard, and they will go in after them: and I will be honoured over Pharaoh and over his army, his war-carriages, and his horsemen.
17 Behold, I myself will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will go in after them. I will get myself honor over Pharaoh, and over all his armies, over his chariots, and over his horsemen.
18 And the Egyptians will see that I am the Lord, when I get honour over Pharaoh and his war-carriages and his horsemen.
18 The Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh when I have gotten myself honor over Pharaoh, over his chariots, and over his horsemen.”
19 Then the angel of God, who had been before the tents of Israel, took his place at their back; and the pillar of cloud, moving from before them, came to rest at their back:
19 The angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them, and stood behind them.
20 And it came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel; and there was a dark cloud between them, and they went on through the night; but the one army came no nearer to the other all the night.
20 It came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. There was the cloud and the darkness, yet it gave light by night. One didn’t come near the other all night.
21 And when Moses' hand was stretched out over the sea, the Lord with a strong east wind made the sea go back all night, and the waters were parted in two and the sea became dry land.
21 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
22 And the children of Israel went through the sea on dry land: and the waters were a wall on their right side and on their left.
22 The children of Israel went into the middle of the sea on the dry ground; and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
23 Then the Egyptians went after them into the middle of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses and his war-carriages and his horsemen.
23 The Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the middle of the sea: all of Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
24 And in the morning watch, the Lord, looking out on the armies of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud, sent trouble on the army of the Egyptians;
24 In the morning watch, Yahweh looked out on the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and of cloud, and confused the Egyptian army.
25 And made the wheels of their war-carriages stiff, so that they had hard work driving them: so the Egyptians said, Let us go in flight from before the face of Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.
25 He took off their chariot wheels, and they drove them heavily; so that the Egyptians said, “Let’s flee from the face of Israel, for Yahweh fights for them against the Egyptians!”
26 And the Lord said to Moses, Let your hand be stretched out over the sea, and the waters will come back again on the Egyptians, and on their war-carriages and on their horsemen.
26 Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come again on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.”
27 And when Moses' hand was stretched out over the sea, at dawn the sea came flowing back, meeting the Egyptians in their flight, and the Lord sent destruction on the Egyptians in the middle of the sea.
27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it. Yahweh overthrew the Egyptians in the middle of the sea.
28 And the waters came back, covering the war-carriages and the horsemen and all the army of Pharaoh which went after them into the middle of the sea; not one of them was to be seen.
28 The waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even all Pharaoh’s army that went in after them into the sea. There remained not so much as one of them.
29 But the children of Israel went through the sea walking on dry land, and the waters were a wall on their right side and on their left.
29 But the children of Israel walked on dry land in the middle of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
30 So that day the Lord gave Israel salvation from the hands of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the sea's edge.
30 Thus Yahweh saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
31 And Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done against the Egyptians, and the fear of the Lord came on the people and they had faith in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
31 Israel saw the great work which Yahweh did to the Egyptians, and the people feared Yahweh; and they believed in Yahweh and in his servant Moses.
People & places in this chapter
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People
Moses
Drawn from the Nile, he led Israel out of Egypt and received God's Law.
Cited in the guide: Exodus 2–Deuteronomy 34
Cross references (29)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 2 Numbers 33:7–8; Jeremiah 44:1; Exodus 13:17–18; Jeremiah 46:14; Exodus 14:9
- 3 Acts 4:28; Ezekiel 38:17; Psalm 139:4; 1 Samuel 23:7; Psalm 3:2
- 4 Romans 9:22–23; Exodus 7:5; Romans 9:17; Exodus 7:3; Exodus 9:16
- 5 Psalm 105:25; Luke 11:24–26; Exodus 12:33; Jeremiah 34:10–17; 2 Peter 2:20–22
- 7 Psalm 20:7; Exodus 15:4; Judges 4:15; Judges 4:3; Psalm 68:17
- 8 Numbers 33:3; Acts 13:17; Deuteronomy 26:8; Exodus 6:1; Exodus 14:4
- 9 Exodus 15:9; Joshua 24:6; Exodus 14:2
- 10 Psalm 107:6; Psalm 34:17; Nehemiah 9:9; Joshua 24:7; Matthew 8:25–26
- 11 Psalm 106:7–8; Numbers 14:1–4; Exodus 17:2–3; Exodus 15:23–24; Exodus 16:2–3
- 12 Jonah 4:3; Jonah 4:8; Exodus 6:9; Exodus 5:21; Exodus 3:9
- 13 2 Chronicles 20:17; 2 Chronicles 20:15; Exodus 14:30; Isaiah 41:10–14; 2 Kings 6:16
- 14 Deuteronomy 3:22; Deuteronomy 20:4; 2 Chronicles 20:17; Deuteronomy 1:30; Joshua 23:3
- 15 Joshua 7:10; Ezra 10:4–5; Exodus 17:4; Nehemiah 9:9
- 16 Exodus 7:19; Exodus 4:17; Exodus 4:20; Exodus 4:2; Exodus 7:9
- 17 Exodus 14:8; Exodus 14:4; Ezekiel 34:20; Deuteronomy 32:39; Ezekiel 34:11
- 18 Exodus 7:5; Exodus 7:17; Exodus 14:4
- 19 Isaiah 63:9; Exodus 32:34; Exodus 23:20–21; Numbers 20:16; Exodus 13:21–22
- 20 Isaiah 8:14; 2 Corinthians 2:15–16; Proverbs 4:18–19; Psalm 18:11
- 21 Isaiah 63:12; Psalm 66:6; Exodus 15:8; Nehemiah 9:11; Psalm 78:13
- 22 Hebrews 11:29; Exodus 15:19; Psalm 66:6; Psalm 78:13; Exodus 14:29
- 23 Exodus 14:17; Exodus 15:19; 1 Kings 22:20; Exodus 15:9; Ecclesiastes 9:3
- 24 Exodus 13:21; Exodus 14:25; Psalm 77:16–19; Job 34:29; Job 23:15–16
- 25 Exodus 14:14; Jeremiah 51:21; Job 20:24; 1 Samuel 4:7–8; Deuteronomy 3:22
- 26 Exodus 14:16; Exodus 8:5; Exodus 7:19; Judges 1:6–7; Revelation 16:6
- 27 Joshua 4:18; Psalm 78:53; Deuteronomy 11:4; Hebrews 11:29; Exodus 15:1–21
- 28 Psalm 78:53; Psalm 106:9–11; Habakkuk 3:8–10; Habakkuk 3:13; Psalm 136:15
- 29 Exodus 14:22; Isaiah 51:13; Joshua 3:16; Isaiah 63:12–13; Job 38:8–11
- 30 Psalm 106:10; Psalm 106:8; Psalm 58:10; Jude 5; Psalm 92:9–11
- 31 John 2:11; John 11:45; John 8:30–32; John 2:23–25; Psalm 106:12–13
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
The sea was divided; a way was made in the midst of the waves; their enemies following, were covered by the same waves through which they passed: and yet when Moses, the man of God, had departed from their sight, they asked for an idol, and said, "Make us gods to go before us; for this man has deserted us." …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 7 (1888)
Since Moses too was pained, and prayed in this way and was heard; for this cause also God said unto him, "Wherefore criest thou unto me." And Hannah too again, her voice not being heard, accomplished all she wished, forasmuch as her heart cried out.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
Therefore this darkness of the body has been placed between us and God, like the cloud of old between the Egyptians and the Hebrews; and this is perhaps what is meant by "He made darkness His secret place," namely our dulness, through which few can see even a little.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
Some "were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea." And it is admitted that faith even before now has been put in men; for "The people believed God and his servant Moses." Why then, it is asked, do we, on account of faith and of baptism, exalt and magnify the Holy Spirit so far above creation, when …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 8 (1895)
For who else save Moses smote the Egyptians with so many and mighty plagues, as when He led the people through the parted waters of the sea, when he obtained manna for them from heaven in their hunger, and water from the rock in their thirst?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 7 (1888)