Exodus - Chapter 12

¹ Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt,

² 'This month must be the first of all the months for you, the first month of your year.

³ Speak to the whole community of Israel and say, "On the tenth day of this month each man must take an animal from the flock for his family: one animal for each household.

⁴ If the household is too small for the animal, he must join with his neighbour nearest to his house, depending on the number of persons. When you choose the animal, you will take into account what each can eat.

⁵ It must be an animal without blemish, a male one year old; you may choose it either from the sheep or from the goats.

⁶ You must keep it till the fourteenth day of the month when the whole assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter it at twilight.

⁷ Some of the blood must then be taken and put on both door-posts and the lintel of the houses where it is eaten.

⁸ That night, the flesh must be eaten, roasted over the fire; it must be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

⁹ Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with the head, feet and entrails.

¹⁰ You must not leave any of it over till the morning: whatever is left till morning you must burn.

¹¹ This is how you must eat it: with a belt round your waist, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. You must eat it hurriedly: it is a Passover in Yahweh's honour.

¹² That night, I shall go through Egypt and strike down all the first-born in Egypt, man and beast alike, and shall execute justice on all the gods of Egypt, I, Yahweh!

¹³ The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are. When I see the blood I shall pass over you, and you will escape the destructive plague when I strike Egypt.

¹⁴ This day must be commemorated by you, and you must keep it as a feast in Yahweh's honour. You must keep it as a feast-day for all generations; this is a decree for all time.

¹⁵ "For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you must clean the leaven out of your houses, for anyone who eats leavened bread from the first to the seventh day must be outlawed from Israel.

¹⁶ On the first day you must hold a sacred assembly, and on the seventh day a sacred assembly. On those days no work may be done; you will prepare only what each requires to eat.

¹⁷ You must keep the feast of Unleavened Bread because it was on that same day that I brought your armies out of Egypt. You will keep that day, generation after generation; this is a decree for all time.

¹⁸ In the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day, you must eat unleavened bread.

¹⁹ For seven days there may be no leaven in your houses, since anyone, either stranger or citizen of the country, who eats leavened bread will be outlawed from the community of Israel.

²⁰ You will eat nothing with leaven in it; wherever you live, you will eat unleavened bread." '

²¹ Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, 'Go and choose a lamb or kid for your families, and kill the Passover victim.

²² Then take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and with the blood from the basin touch the lintel and both door-posts; then let none of you venture out of the house till morning.

²³ Then, when Yahweh goes through Egypt to strike it, and sees the blood on the lintel and on both door-posts, he will pass over the door and not allow the Destroyer to enter your homes and strike.

²⁴ You will observe this as a decree binding you and your children for all time,

²⁵ and when you have entered the country which Yahweh will give you, as he has promised, you will observe this ritual.

²⁶ And when your children ask you, "What does this ritual mean?"

²⁷ you will tell them, "It is the Passover sacrifice in honour of Yahweh who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, and struck Egypt but spared our houses." ' And the people bowed in worship.

²⁸ The Israelites then went away and did as Yahweh had ordered Moses and Aaron.

²⁹ And at midnight Yahweh struck down all the first-born in Egypt from the first-born of Pharaoh, heir to his throne, to the first-born of the prisoner in the dungeon, and the first-born of all the livestock.

³⁰ Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up in the night, and there was great wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without its dead.

³¹ It was still dark when Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, 'Up, leave my subjects, you and the Israelites! Go and worship Yahweh as you have asked!

³² And take your flocks and herds as you have asked, and go! And bless me too!'

³³ The Egyptians urged the people on and hurried them out of the country because, they said, 'Otherwise we shall all be dead.'

³⁴ So the people carried off their dough still unleavened, their bowls wrapped in their cloaks, on their shoulders.

³⁵ The Israelites did as Moses had told them and asked the Egyptians for silver and golden jewellery, and clothing.

³⁶ Yahweh made the Egyptians so much impressed with the people that they gave them what they asked. So they despoiled the Egyptians.

³⁷ The Israelites left Rameses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand on the march-men, that is, not counting their families.

³⁸ A mixed crowd of people went with them, and flocks and herds, quantities of livestock.

³⁹ And with the dough which they had brought from Egypt they baked unleavened cakes, because the dough had not risen, since they had been driven out of Egypt without time to linger or to prepare food for themselves.

⁴⁰ The time that the Israelites spent in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.

⁴¹ And on the very day the four hundred and thirty years ended, all Yahweh's armies left Egypt.

⁴² The night when Yahweh kept vigil to bring them out of Egypt must be kept as a vigil in honour of Yahweh by all Israelites, for all generations.

⁴³ Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, 'This is the ritual for the Passover: no alien may eat it,

⁴⁴ but any slave bought for money may eat it, once you have circumcised him.

⁴⁵ No stranger and no hired servant may eat it.

⁴⁶ It must be eaten in one house alone; you will not take any of the meat out of the house; nor may you break any of its bones.

⁴⁷ 'The whole community of Israel must keep it.

⁴⁸ Should a stranger residing with you wish to keep the Passover in honour of Yahweh, all the males of his household must be circumcised: he will then be allowed to keep it and will count as a citizen of the country. But no uncircumcised person may eat it.

⁴⁹ The same law will apply to the citizen and the stranger resident among you.'

⁵⁰ The Israelites all did as Yahweh had ordered Moses and Aaron,

⁵¹ and that same day Yahweh brought the Israelites out of Egypt in their armies.

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