Exodus 15:16-26

16 inward dread fall on them, and outward dread in the greatness of thine arm. Be they made unmoveable as a stone, till thy people pass, Lord; till thy people pass, whom thou wieldedest. (inward fear fell upon them, and outward fear of the greatness of thy power. They were made immovable like a stone, until thy people passed by, Lord; until thy people passed by, whom thou possessest.)
17 Thou shalt bring them in, and thou shalt plant them in the hill of thine heritage; in the most steadfast dwelling place which thou hast wrought, Lord; Lord, (in) thy saintuary, which thine hands made steadfast. (Thou bringest them in, and thou hast planted them on the mountain of thy inheritance; in the most steadfast dwelling place which thou hast wrought, Lord; yea, in thy sanctuary, Lord, which thy hands have made firm.)
18 The Lord shall reign without end, and over all thing(s).
19 Forsooth Pharaoh, on horse, entered with his chariots and [his] horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought the waters of the sea on them; soothly the sons of Israel went by the dry place (but the Israelites went on dry ground), in [the] midst of the sea.
20 Therefore Marie (And Miriam), the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tympan in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tympans and companies;
21 to which she sang before, and said, Sing we to the Lord, for he is magnified gloriously; he hath cast down into the sea the horse and the rider of him. (and she sang before them, Sing we to the Lord, for he is gloriously magnified; he hath thrown down the horse and his rider into the sea.)
22 Forsooth Moses took Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the desert of Shur; and they went three days by the wilderness, and they found not water (and they went three days in the wilderness, but found no water).
23 And they came into Marah, and they might not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; wherefore he putted a covenable name to the place, and called it Marah, that is, bitterness. (And they came to Marah, but they could not drink the water there, for it was bitter; so they put a suitable name to that place, and called it Marah, that is, Bitterness.)
24 And the people grouched against Moses (And the people grumbled against Moses), and said, What shall we drink?
25 And Moses cried to the Lord, which showed to him a tree; and when he had put that tree into the waters, those (waters) were turned into sweetness. There the Lord ordained commandments and dooms to the people, and there he assayed the people (There the Lord ordained commandments and judgements for the people, and he tested, or proved, the people there),
26 and (he) said, If thou shalt hear the voice of thy Lord God, and shalt do that that is rightful before him, and shalt obey to his commandments, and shalt keep all his behests, I shall not bring in on thee all the sickness, which I have put in Egypt, for I am thy Lord Saviour (then I shall not bring in on thee all the sickness, which I have put on Egypt, for I am the Lord thy Saviour).

Exodus 15:16-26 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.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.