Study Desk

You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you must remove yeast from your houses. Whoever eats what is leavened from the first day through the seventh day must be cut off from Israel.

You are to hold a sacred assembly on the first day and another sacred assembly on the seventh day. No work may be done on those days except for preparing what people need to eat—you may do only that.

Yeast must not be found in your houses for seven days. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a foreign resident or native of the land, must be cut off from the community of Israel.

"Keep this command permanently as a statute for you and your descendants.

you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord , for He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and spared our homes.'" So the people bowed down and worshiped.

Now the Egyptians pressured the people in order to send them quickly out of the country, for they said, "We're all going to die!"

The Israelites acted on Moses' word and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing.

The people baked the dough they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves, since it had no yeast; for when they had been driven out of Egypt they could not delay and had not prepared any provisions for themselves.

It was a night of vigil in honor of the Lord , because He would bring them out of the land of Egypt. This same night is in honor of the Lord , a night vigil for all the Israelites throughout their generations.

Then Moses said to the people, "Remember this day when you came out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, for the Lord brought you out of here by the strength of His hand. Nothing leavened may be eaten.

For seven days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord .

Unleavened bread is to be eaten for those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, and no yeast may be found among you in all your territory.

On that day explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.'

Let it serve as a sign for you on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the Lord 's instruction may be in your mouth; for the Lord brought you out of Egypt with a strong hand.

So let it be a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead, for the Lord brought us out of Egypt by the strength of His hand."

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby; for God said, "The people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war."

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians coming after them. Then the Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help.

Isn't this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."

But Moses said to the people, "Don't be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord 's salvation He will provide for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.

The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet."