Exodus 12:15-39

New International Version

¹⁵ For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast.^(A) On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off^(B) from Israel. ¹⁶ On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work^(C) at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.

¹⁷ “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread,^(D) because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt.^(E) Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.^{(F) 18} In the first month^(G) you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. ¹⁹ For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner^(H) or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off^(I) from the community of Israel. ²⁰ Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live,^(J) you must eat unleavened bread.”^(K)

²¹ Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover^(L) lamb. ²² Take a bunch of hyssop,^(M) dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood^(N) on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. ²³ When the Lord goes through the land to strike^(O) down the Egyptians, he will see the blood^(P) on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over^(Q) that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer^(R) to enter your houses and strike you down.

²⁴ “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance^(S) for you and your descendants. ²⁵ When you enter the land^(T) that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. ²⁶ And when your children^(U) ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ ²⁷ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover^(V) sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”^(W) Then the people bowed down and worshiped.^{(X) 28} The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded^(Y) Moses and Aaron.

²⁹ At midnight^(Z) the Lord^(AA) struck down all the firstborn^(AB) in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock^(AC) as well. ³⁰ Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing^(AD) in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

The Exodus

³¹ During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship^(AE) the Lord as you have requested. ³² Take your flocks and herds,^(AF) as you have said, and go. And also bless^(AG) me.”

³³ The Egyptians urged the people to hurry^(AH) and leave^(AI) the country. “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!”^{(AJ) 34} So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs^(AK) wrapped in clothing. ³⁵ The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold^(AL) and for clothing.^{(AM) 36} The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed^(AN) toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered^(AO) the Egyptians.

³⁷ The Israelites journeyed from Rameses^(AP) to Sukkoth.^(AQ) There were about six hundred thousand men^(AR) on foot, besides women and children. ³⁸ Many other people^(AS) went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. ³⁹ With the dough the Israelites had brought from Egypt, they baked loaves of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out^(AT) of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.