Exodus 15:4-14

4 "Pharaoh's chariots and his army he cast into the sea; his picked officers were sunk in the Red Sea.

5 The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.

6 Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power— your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.

7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries; you sent out your fury, it consumed them like stubble.

8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up, the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.

9 The enemy said, "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.'

10 You blew with your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

11 "Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders?

12 You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them.

13 "In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed; you guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

14 The peoples heard, they trembled; pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia.

Exodus 15:4-14 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or [Sea of Reeds]