The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 And the Lord said to Moses,
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The Lord said to Moses,
2 Let the first male child of every mother among the children of Israel be kept holy for me, even the first male birth among man or beast; for it is mine.
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"Dedicate all the first-born males to me, for every first-born male Israelite and every first-born male animal belongs to me."
3 And Moses said to the people, Let this day, on which you came out of Egypt, out of your prison-house, be kept for ever in memory; for by the strength of his hand the Lord has taken you out from this place; let no leavened bread be used.
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Moses said to the people, "Remember this day - the day on which you left Egypt, the place where you were slaves. This is the day the Lord brought you out by his great power. No leavened bread is to be eaten.
4 On this day, in the month Abib, you are going out.
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You are leaving Egypt on this day in the first month, the month of Abib.
5 And it will be that, when the Lord takes you into the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, the land which he made an oath to your fathers that he would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you will do this act of worship in this month.
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The Lord solemnly promised your ancestors to give you the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. When he brings you into that rich and fertile land, you must celebrate this festival in the first month of every year.
6 For seven days let your food be unleavened cakes; and on the seventh day there is to be a feast to the Lord.
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For seven days you must eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to honor the Lord.
7 Unleavened cakes are to be your food through all the seven days; let no leavened bread be seen among you, or any leaven, in any part of your land.
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For seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast; there must be no yeast or leavened bread anywhere in your land.
8 And you will say to your son in that day, It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.
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When the festival begins, explain to your sons that you do all this because of what the Lord did for you when you left Egypt.
9 And this will be for a sign to you on your hand and for a mark on your brow, so that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth: for with a strong hand the Lord took you out of Egypt.
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This observance will be a reminder, like something tied on your hand or on your forehead; it will remind you to continue to recite and study the Law of the Lord, because the Lord brought you out of Egypt by his great power.
10 So let this order be kept, at the right time, from year to year.
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Celebrate this festival at the appointed time each year.
11 And when the Lord takes you into the land of Canaan, as he made his oath to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you,
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"The Lord will bring you into the land of the Canaanites, which he solemnly promised to you and your ancestors. When he gives it to you,
12 You are to put on one side for the Lord every mother's first male child, the first-fruit of her body, and the first young one of every beast; every male is holy to the Lord.
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you must offer every first-born male to the Lord. Every first-born male of your animals belongs to the Lord,
13 And for the young of an ass you may give a lamb in payment, or if you will not make payment for it, its neck is to be broken; but for all the first sons among your children, let payment be made.
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but you must buy back from him every first-born male donkey by offering a lamb in its place. If you do not want to buy back the donkey, break its neck. You must buy back every first-born male child of yours.
14 And when your son says to you in time to come, What is the reason for this? say to him, By the strength of his hand the Lord took us out of Egypt, out of the prison-house:
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In the future, when your son asks what this observance means, you will answer him, "By using great power the Lord brought us out of Egypt, the place where we were slaves.
15 And when Pharaoh made his heart hard and would not let us go, the Lord sent death on all the first sons in Egypt, of man and of beast: and so every first male who comes to birth is offered to the Lord; but for all the first of my sons I give a price.
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When the king of Egypt was stubborn and refused to let us go, the Lord killed every first-born male in the land of Egypt, both human and animal. That is why we sacrifice every first-born male animal to the Lord, but buy back our first-born sons.
16 And this will be for a sign on your hand and for a mark on your brow: for by the strength of his hand the Lord took us out of Egypt.
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This observance will be a reminder, like something tied on our hands or on our foreheads; it will remind us that the Lord brought us out of Egypt by his great power.' "
17 Now after Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not take them through the land of the Philistines, though that was near: for God said, If the people see war, they may have a change of heart and go back to Egypt.
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When the king of Egypt let the people go, God did not take them by the road that goes up the coast to Philistia, although it was the shortest way. God thought, "I do not want the people to change their minds and return to Egypt when they see that they are going to have to fight."
18 But God took the people round by the waste land near the Red Sea: and the children of Israel went up in fighting order out of the land of Egypt.
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Instead, he led them in a roundabout way through the desert toward the Red Sea. The Israelites were armed for battle.
19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the children of Israel take an oath, saying, God will certainly keep you in mind; and you are to take my bones away with you.
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Moses took the body of Joseph with him, as Joseph had made the Israelites solemnly promise to do. Joseph had said, "When God rescues you, you must carry my body with you from this place."
20 Then they went on their journey from Succoth, and put up their tents in Etham at the edge of the waste land.
20
The Israelites left Sukkoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.
21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, guiding them on their way; and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light: so that they were able to go on day and night:
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During the day the Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud to show them the way, and during the night he went in front of them in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel night and day.
22 The pillar of cloud went ever before them by day, and the pillar of fire by night.
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The pillar of cloud was always in front of the people during the day, and the pillar of fire at night.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.