Exodus, chapter 15
The Song of Moses
oses and the Israelites sang this song in praise of the Lord:
I sing praises to the Lord for his great victory!
He has thrown the horses and their riders
into the sea.
2The Lord is my strength,
Moses and the Israelites sang, “The Lord is my strength, the reason for my song, because he has saved me.”
— Exod 15.2
the reason for my song,
because he has saved me.
I praise and honor the Lord— he is my God
and the God of my ancestors.
3The Lord is his name, and he is a warrior!
4He threw the chariots and army of Egypt's king
into the Red Sea,
and he drowned the best of the king's officers.
5They sank to the bottom just like stones.
6With the tremendous force
of your right arm, our Lord,
you crushed your enemies.
7What a great victory was yours,
when you defeated everyone who opposed you.
Your fiery anger wiped them out,
as though they were straw.
8 You were so furious
that the sea piled up like a wall,
and the ocean depths curdled like cheese.
9Your enemies boasted that they would
pursue and capture us, divide up our possessions,
treat us as they wished,
then take out their swords
and kill us right there.
10But when you got furious, they sank like lead,
swallowed by ocean waves.
11Our Lord, no other gods compare with you—
Majestic and holy! Fearsome and glorious!
Miracle worker!
12When you signaled with your right hand,
your enemies were swallowed
deep into the earth.
13The people you rescued
were led by your powerful love
to your holy place.
14Nations learned of this and trembled—
Philistines shook with horror.
15The leaders of Edom and of Moab were terrified.
Everyone in Canaan fainted,
16struck down by fear.
Our Lord, your powerful arm
kept them still as a rock
until the people you rescued to be your very own
had marched by.
17You will let your people settle
on your own mountain,
where you chose to live and to be worshiped.
18Our Lord, you will rule forever!
The Song of Miriam
19The Lord covered the royal Egyptian cavalry and chariots with the sea, after the Israelites had walked safely through on dry ground. 20Miriam the sister of Aaron was a prophet. So she took her tambourine and led the other women out to play their tambourines and to dance. 21Then she sang to them:
“Sing praises to the Lord for his great victory!
He has thrown the horses and their riders
into the sea.”
Though the people complain against Moses, God provides food and water for them in the desert.
Bitter Water at Marah
22After the Israelites left the Red Sea, Moses led them through the Shur Desert for three days, before finding water. 23They did find water at Marah, but it was bitter, which is how that place got its name. 24The people complained and said, “Moses, what are we going to drink?”
25Moses asked the Lord for help, and the Lord told him to throw a certain piece of wood into the water. Moses did so, and the water became fit to drink.
At Marah the Lord tested his people and also gave them some laws and teachings. 26Then he said, “I am the Lord your God, and I cure your diseases. If you obey me by doing right and by following my laws and teachings, I won't punish you with the diseases I sent on the Egyptians.”
27Later the Israelites came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and 70 palm trees. So they camped there.