Read Parshat Beshalach in English

And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said: “Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.’’

But God led the people about, by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea; and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt.

And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him; for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying: “God will surely remember you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.’’

And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; that they might go by day and by night:

the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, departed not from before the people.

And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying:

'Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal-zephon, over against it shall ye encamp by the sea.

And Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel: They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.

And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he shall follow after them; and I will get Me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.’’ And they did so.

And it was told the king of Egypt that the people were fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned towards the people, and they said: “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?

And he made ready his chariots, and took his people with him.

And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over all of them.

And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel; for the children of Israel went out with a high hand.

And the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and they were sore afraid; and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.

And they said unto Moses: “Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to bring us forth out of Egypt?

Is not this the word that we spoke unto thee in Egypt, saying: Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it were better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.’’

And Moses said unto the people: “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you to-day; for whereas ye have seen the Egyptians to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

The Lord will fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.’’

And the Lord said unto Moses: “Wherefore criest thou unto Me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.

And lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thy hand over the sea, and divide it; and the children of Israel shall go into the midst of the sea on dry ground.

And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall go in after them; and I will get Me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten Me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.’’

And the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud removed from before them, and stood behind them;

and it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud and the darkness here, yet gave it light by night there; and the one came not near the other all the night.

And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all the night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

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

And it came to pass in the morning watch, that the Lord looked forth upon the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of cloud, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians.

And He took off their chariot wheels, and made them to drive heavily; so that the Egyptians said: “Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.’’

And the Lord said unto Moses: “Stretch out thy hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.’’

And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, even all the host of Pharaoh that went in after them into the sea; there remained not so much as one of them.

But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore.

And Israel saw the great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord; and they believed in the Lord, and in His servant Moses.

Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spoke, saying: I will sing unto the Lord, for He is highly exalted; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea.

The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation; this is my God, and I will glorify Him; my father's God, and I will exalt Him.

The Lord is a man of war, The Lord is His name.

Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath He cast into the sea, and his chosen captains are sunk in the Red Sea.

The deeps cover them--they went down into the depths like a stone.

Thy right hand, O Lord, glorious in power, Thy right hand, O Lord, dasheth in pieces the enemy.

And in the greatness of Thine excellency Thou overthrowest them that rise up against Thee; Thou sendest forth Thy wrath, it consumeth them as stubble.

And with the blast of Thy nostrils the waters were piled up--the floods stood upright as a heap; the deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.

The enemy said: “I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’’

Thou didst blow with Thy wind, the sea covered them; they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the mighty? who is like unto Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

Thou stretchedst out Thy right hand--the earth swallowed them.

Thou in Thy love hast led the people that Thou hast redeemed; Thou hast guided them in Thy strength to Thy holy habitation.

The peoples have heard, they tremble; pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.

Then were the chiefs of Edom affrighted; the mighty men of Moab, trembling taketh hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away.

Terror and dread falleth upon them; by the greatness of Thine arm they are as still as a stone; till Thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over that Thou hast gotten.

Thou bringest them in, and plantest them in the mountain of Thine inheritance, the place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in, the sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established.

The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.

For the horses of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea.

And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.

And Miriam sang unto them: Sing ye to the Lord, for He is highly exalted: the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. {S}

And Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.

And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.

And the people murmured against Moses, saying: “What shall we drink?'

And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord showed him a tree, and he cast it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. There He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He proved them;

and He said: “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His eyes, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon thee, which I have put upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord that healeth thee.’’ {S}

And they came to Elim, where were twelve springs of water, and three score and ten palm-trees; and they encamped there by the waters.

And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness;

and the children of Israel said unto them: “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’’ {S}

Then said the Lord unto Moses: “Behold, I will cause to rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law, or not.

And it shall come to pass on the sixth day that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.’’

And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel: “At even, then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt;

and in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord; for that He hath heard your murmurings against the Lord; and what are we, that ye murmur against us?'

And Moses said: “This shall be, when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the Lord heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against Him; and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.’’

And Moses said unto Aaron: “Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel: Come near before the Lord; for He hath heard your murmurings.’’

And it came to pass, as Aaron spoke unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.

And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying:

'I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak unto them, saying: At dusk ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.’’

And it came to pass at even, that the quails came up, and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew round about the camp.

And when the layer of dew was gone up, behold upon the face of the wilderness a fine, scale-like thing, fine as the hoar-frost on the ground.

And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another: “What is it?'--for they knew not what it was. And Moses said unto them: “It is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.

This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded: Gather ye of it every man according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, shall ye take it, every man for them that are in his tent.’’

And the children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, some less.

And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.

And Moses said unto them: “Let no man leave of it till the morning.’’

Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and rotted; and Moses was wroth with them.

And they gathered it morning by morning, every man according to his eating; and as the sun waxed hot, it melted.

And it came to pass that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one; and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

And he said unto them: “This is that which the Lord hath spoken: To-morrow is a solemn rest, a holy sabbath unto the Lord. Bake that which ye will bake, and seethe that which ye will seethe; and all that remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.’’

And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade; and it did not rot, neither was there any worm therein.

And Moses said: “Eat that to-day; for to-day is a sabbath unto the Lord; to-day ye shall not find it in the field.

Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.’’

And it came to pass on the seventh day, that there went out some of the people to gather, and they found none. {S}

And the Lord said unto Moses: “How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws?

See that the Lord hath given you the sabbath; therefore He giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.’’

So the people rested on the seventh day.

And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna; and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

And Moses said: “This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded: Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.’’

And Moses said unto Aaron: “Take a jar, and put an omerful of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept throughout your generations.’’

As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.

And the children of Israel did eat the manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat the manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.

Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, by their stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and encamped in Rephidim; and there was no water for the people to drink.

Wherefore the people strove with Moses, and said: “Give us water that we may drink.’’ And Moses said unto them: “Why strive ye with me? wherefore do ye try the Lord?'

And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said: “Wherefore hast thou brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?'

And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying: “What shall I do unto this people? they are almost ready to stone me.’’

And the Lord said unto Moses: “Pass on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thy hand, and go.

Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink.’’ And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

And the name of the place was called Massah, and Meribah, because of the striving of the children of Israel, and because they tried the Lord, saying: “Is the Lord among us, or not?'

Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

And Moses said unto Joshua: “Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.’’

So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

And the Lord said unto Moses: “Write this for a memorial in the book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.’’

And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Adonai-nissi.

And he said: “The hand upon the throne of the Lord: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.’’