Study

The Song of Moses

15

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the L ord:

“I will sing to the L ord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.

2

The L ord is my strength and my might,

and he has become my salvation;

this is my God, and I will praise him,

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

3

The L ord is a warrior;

the L ord is his name.

 

4

“Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he cast into the sea;

his picked officers were sunk in the Red Sea.

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The floods covered them;

they went down into the depths like a stone.

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Your right hand, O L ord, glorious in power—

your right hand, O L ord, shattered the enemy.

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In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries;

you sent out your fury, it consumed them like stubble.

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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.

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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.’

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You blew with your wind, the sea covered them;

they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

 

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“Who is like you, O L ord, among the gods?

Who is like you, majestic in holiness,

awesome in splendor, doing wonders?

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You stretched out your right hand,

the earth swallowed them.

 

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“In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed;

you guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

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The peoples heard, they trembled;

pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia.

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Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;

trembling seized the leaders of Moab;

all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.

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Terror and dread fell upon them;

by the might of your arm, they became still as a stone

until your people, O L ord, passed by,

until the people whom you acquired passed by.

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You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession,

the place, O L ord, that you made your abode,

the sanctuary, O L ord, that your hands have established.

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The L ord will reign forever and ever.”

¹⁹ When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the L ord brought back the waters of the sea upon them; but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

The Song of Miriam

²⁰ Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. ²¹And Miriam sang to them:

“Sing to the L ord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Bitter Water Made Sweet

²² Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. ²³When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah. ²⁴And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” ²⁵He cried out to the L ord; and the L ord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the L ord made for them a statute and an ordinance and there he put them to the test. ²⁶He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the L ord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the L ord who heals you.”

²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; and they camped there by the water.