Exodus 14

Read the chapter

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, ✦ ²“Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal-zephon. ✦ ³For Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, ‘They are wandering the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in.’ ✦ ⁴And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. But I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So this is what the Israelites did. ✦ ⁵When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.” ✦ ⁶So Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his army with him. ⁷He took 600 of the best chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. ✦ ⁸And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out defiantly. ✦ ⁹The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon. ✦ ¹⁰As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified and cried out to the LORD. ✦ ¹¹They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us into the wilderness to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? ✦ ¹²Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” ✦ ¹³But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. ✦ ¹⁴The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” ✦ ¹⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. ✦ ¹⁶And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. ✦ ¹⁷And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. Then I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army and chariots and horsemen. ✦ ¹⁸The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I am honored through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” ✦ ¹⁹And the angel of God, who had gone before the camp of Israel, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from before them and stood behind them, ✦ ²⁰so that it came between the camps of Egypt and Israel. The cloud was there in the darkness, but it lit up the night. So all night long neither camp went near the other. ✦ ²¹Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided, ✦ ²²and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left. ✦ ²³And the Egyptians chased after them—all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen—and followed them into the sea. ✦ ²⁴At morning watch, however, the LORD looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud, and He threw their camp into confusion. ✦ ²⁵He caused their chariot wheels to wobble, so that they had difficulty driving. “Let us flee from the Israelites,” said the Egyptians, “for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!” ✦ ²⁶Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” ✦ ²⁷So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state. As the Egyptians were retreating, the LORD swept them into the sea. ✦ ²⁸The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. ✦ ²⁹But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left. ✦ ³⁰That day the LORD saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore. ✦ ³¹When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

In this chapter

Person / place Moses

Where this chapter connects

Exod 14 ·25 Exod 15 ·14 Exod 7 ·12 Ps 106 ·7 Exod 13 ·7 Neh 9 ·7 Isa 51 ·6 2 Chr 20 ·6

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical
On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"
★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical
Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.
VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical
Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.
DocumentaryPatterns of Evidence: The ExodusTim Mahoney · Paid · evangelical
Investigates the archaeological evidence for the Exodus. Note: it advances a minority biblical chronology that mainstream scholars dispute — engaging, but weigh its conclusions critically.

Pastoral

★ Start hereCommentaryExodus (New American Commentary)Douglas K. Stuart · Paid · evangelical
The best evangelical, semi-technical commentary on Exodus — accessible to pastors and serious students.
DocumentaryThat the World May KnowRay Vander Laan · Paid · evangelical
Ray Vander Laan's on-location series immersing you in the Bible's historical and cultural world. (Mostly paid via Focus on the Family; some free clips.)
SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 14YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Exodus 14David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Exodus 14Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

← Exodus 13 Exodus 15 →