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.
Parallel translations
- WEB The children of Israel went into the middle of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left.
- BSB and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.
- NKJV So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
- NASB So the sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right and on their left.
- NLT So the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Israel walked through the sea on dry ground with the waters standing as walls on either side.
Overview
The central miracle of the exodus: God's people pass safely through the very waters that will destroy their enemies. The walls of water frame a corridor of grace prepared by God alone. The New Testament treats this passage as a type of baptism and of salvation through judgment (1 Cor 10:1-2).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Heb 11:29By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
- Exod 15:19For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
- Ps 66:6He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.
- Ps 78:13He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.
- Exod 14:29But 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.
- Exod 15:8And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
- Isa 63:13That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?
- Neh 9:11And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.
- 1 Cor 10:1Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
- Num 33:8And they departed from before Pihahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah.
- Zech 2:5For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
- Hab 3:8–10Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 14:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.