Exodus 14:5-31

5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the ¹mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, "What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?"

6 So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him,

7 and took ²six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.

8 And ³the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while ⁴the people of Israel were going out defiantly.

9 The ⁵Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them ⁶encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel ⁷cried out to the LORD.

11 They ⁸said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?

12 Is not this what ⁹we said to you in Egypt: 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."

13 And Moses said to the people, ¹⁰"Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For ¹¹the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.

14 ¹²The LORD will fight for you, and you have only ¹³to be silent."

15 The LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.

16 ¹⁴Lift up your staff, and ¹⁵stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.

17 And ¹⁶I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and ¹⁷I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen.

18 And the Egyptians ¹⁸shall know that I am the LORD, ¹⁹when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen."

19 ²⁰Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them,

20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night^[a] without one coming near the other all night.

21 Then Moses ²¹stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by ²²a strong east wind all night and ²³made the sea dry land, and the waters were ²⁴divided.

22 And ²⁵the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being ²⁶a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

24 And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic,

25 clogging^[b] their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from before Israel, for the ²⁷LORD fights for them against the Egyptians."

26 Then the LORD said to Moses, ²⁸"Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen."

27 ²⁹So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea ³⁰returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD ³¹threw^[c] the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.

28 The ³²waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, ³³not one of them remained.

29 But the ³⁴people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

30 Thus the LORD ³⁵saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.

31 ³⁶Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they ³⁷believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

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Exodus 14:5-31 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 14

This chapter begins with directions of God to Moses, to be given to the children of Israel about the course they were to steer in their journey, with the reason thereof, Ex 14:1-4, which they observing, a report was brought to Pharaoh that they were fled, and this determined him and his servants to get ready and pursue after them, as they did with a great army, Ex 14:5-9, which when the Israelites saw, it put them in great fear, and set them to murmuring and complaining against Moses for bringing them out of Egypt, Ex 14:10,11,12, who desired them to be still and quiet, and they should see the salvation of the Lord, Ex 14:13,14, and he is bid to order the people to go on in their journey, and to take his rod and stretch it over the sea and divide it, that Israel might pass through it on dry ground, and the Egyptians follow them, whereby God would be honoured and glorified, Ex 14:15-18, upon which the Angel of the Lord in a pillar of cloud removed from before there, and went behind them for their protection, Ex 14:19,20, and Moses stretching out his hand over the sea, and a strong east wind blowing upon it, the waters divided and the Israelites went into it, and the Egyptians followed them, but their host being troubled by the Lord, and their chariot wheels taken off, they found themselves in great danger, and were thrown into a panic, Ex 14:20-25 and upon Moses's stretching out his hand again over the sea, the waters returned, and Pharaoh and his host were drowned, but the Israelites passed through safely, as on dry land, Ex 14:26-29, which great work of the Lord being observed by them, influenced their fear of him, their faith in him and his servant Moses, Ex 14:30,31.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 37

1. Psalms 105:25
2. Exodus 15:4; [Isaiah 31:1]
3. [See ver. 4 above]
4. Exodus 6:1; Exodus 13:3, 9, 16; Numbers 33:3; Deuteronomy 26:8; Acts 13:17; [Exodus 3:19]
5. Exodus 15:9; Joshua 24:6
6. ver. 2
7. Joshua 24:7; Nehemiah 9:9
8. Psalms 106:7; [Exodus 13:17]
9. Exodus 5:21; Exodus 6:9
10. 2 Chronicles 20:15, 17; Isa. 41:10, 13, 14
11. [ver. 30]
12. ver. 25; Deuteronomy 1:30; Deuteronomy 3:22; Deuteronomy 20:4; Joshua 10:14, 42; Joshua 23:3; 2 Chronicles 20:15, 29; Nehemiah 4:20
13. [Isaiah 30:15]
14. See Exodus 7:19
15. See Exodus 7:19
16. [ver. 4, 8]
17. ver. 4
18. Exodus 7:5
19. [See ver. 17 above]
20. Exodus 23:20; Exodus 32:34; Numbers 20:16; Isaiah 63:9; [Exodus 13:21]
21. [See ver. 16 above]
22. Exodus 15:10
23. Psalms 66:6
24. Exodus 15:8; Nehemiah 9:11; Psalms 74:13; Psalms 78:13; Psalms 106:9; Psalms 114:3; Isaiah 51:10; Isaiah 63:12; [Joshua 3:16; Joshua 4:23; Isaiah 10:26; Isaiah 11:15, 16]
25. ver. 29; Exodus 15:19; Numbers 33:8; Psalms 66:6; Isaiah 63:13; 1 Corinthians 10:1; Hebrews 11:29; [Psalms 77:19]
26. Psalms 78:13; [Habakkuk 3:10]
27. ver. 14
28. ver. 16, 21
29. ver. 21
30. [Joshua 4:18]
31. Exodus 15:1, 7; Deuteronomy 11:4; Psalms 78:53; Hebrews 11:29
32. [Habakkuk 3:8-13]
33. Psalms 106:11
34. See ver. 22
35. Psalms 106:8, 10
36. Psalms 92:9-11; [ver. 13]
37. Psalms 106:12; [John 2:11; John 11:45]

Footnotes 3

[a]. Septuagint and the night passed
[b]. Or binding (compare Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac); Hebrew removing
[c]. Hebrew shook off

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.