Exodus 15:1-21

Song of Victory at the Sea

1 Then Moses and the {Israelites} sang this song to Yahweh, {and they said}, "Let me sing to Yahweh because he is highly exalted; [the] horse and its rider he hurled into the sea.
2 Yah [is] my strength and song, and he has become my salvation; this [is] my God, and I will praise him--the God of my father--and I will exalt him.
3 Yahweh [is] a man of war; Yahweh [is] his name.
4 The chariots of Pharaoh and his army he cast into the sea, and his choice adjutants were sunk in the {Red Sea}.
5 The deep waters covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.
6 Yahweh, your right hand [is] glorious in power; Yahweh, your right hand destroyed [the] enemy.
7 And in the greatness of your majesty you overthrew those standing up [to] you; you released your fierce anger, and it consumed them like stubble.
8 And by the breath of your nostrils waters were piled up; waves stood like a heap; deep waters in the middle of the sea congealed.
9 [The] enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide plunder, my desire will be full [of] them, I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.'
10 You blew with your breath; the sea covered them; they dropped like lead in the mighty waters.
11 Who is like you among the gods, Yahweh? Who is like you--glorious in holiness, awesome [in] praiseworthy actions, doing wonders?
12 You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them.
13 In your loyal love you led [the] people whom you redeemed; in your strength you guided [them] to the abode of your holiness.
14 Peoples heard; they trembled; anguish seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom were horrified; great distress seized the leaders of Moab; all of the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.
16 Terror and dread fell on them; at the greatness of your arm they became silent like the stone, until your people passed by, Yahweh, until [the] people whom you bought passed by.
17 You brought them and planted them on the mountain of your inheritance, a place you made for yourself to inhabit, Yahweh, a sanctuary, Lord, [that] your hands established.
18 Yahweh will reign as king forever and ever."
19 When the horses of Pharaoh came into the sea with his chariots and with his charioteers, Yahweh brought back upon them the waters of the sea, and the {Israelites} traveled on dry ground through the middle of the sea.
20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took her tambourine in her hand, and all of the women went out after her with tambourines and with dances.
21 And Miriam answered, "Sing to Yahweh because he is highly exalted; [the] horse and its rider he hurled into the sea."

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Exodus 15:1-21 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 15

This chapter contains the song of Moses, and of the children of Israel, on the banks of the Red sea; in which they celebrate their passage through it, the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in it, and the glory of the divine perfections displayed therein, interspersed with prophetic hints of things future, Ex 15:1-19 which same song was sung by the women, with Miriam at the head of them, attended with timbrels and dances, Ex 15:20,21, an account is given of the march of the children of Israel from the Red sea to the wilderness of Shur, and of the bitter waters found at Marah, which occasioned a murmuring, and of their being made sweet by casting a tree into them, Ex 15:22-25 when they were told by the Lord, that if they would yield obedience to his commandments, they should be free from the diseases the Egyptians had been afflicted with, Ex 15:26, and the chapter is concluded with their coming to Elim, where they found twelve wells of water, and seventy palm trees, and there encamped, Ex 15:27.

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Footnotes 12

  • [a]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
  • [b]. Literally "and they said, saying"
  • [c]. a shortened form of "Yahweh"
  • [d]. Literally "he was for me for salvation"
  • [e]. Literally "sea of reed"
  • [f]. Hebrew "wonder"
  • [g]. Or "your holy dwelling"
  • [h]. Hebrew "horse"
  • [i]. Hebrew "chariot"
  • [j]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
  • [k]. Literally "the tambourine"
  • [l]. Literally "answered to them"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.