Exodus 15

The Song of Moses and Israel

1Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD and said:

“I will sing to the LORD,
for he has risen in triumph;
horse and rider
he has thrown into the sea. 2The LORD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.
This is my God,
and I will praise him;
the God of my father,
and I will exalt him. 3The LORD is a warrior;
the LORD is his name. 4Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
he cast into the sea;
his chosen officers
were sunk in the Sea of Reeds. 5The deeps covered them;
they went down into the depths
like a stone. 6Your right hand, O LORD,
is majestic in power;
your right hand, O LORD,
shatters the enemy. 7In the greatness of your majesty
you overthrow those who rise against you.
You send out your burning anger;
it consumes them like stubble. 8At the breath of your nostrils
the waters piled up;
the floods stood upright like a wall;
the deeps congealed
in the heart of the sea. 9The enemy said,
‘I will pursue;
I will overtake;
I will divide spoil.
My appetite will be filled with them.
I will draw my sword;
my hand will dispossess them.’ 10You blew with your breath;
the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in mighty waters. 11Who is like you among the gods, O LORD?
Who is like you,
majestic in holiness,
awe-inspiring in praises,
doing wonders? 12You stretched out your right hand;
the earth swallowed them. 13In your steadfast love
you have led the people whom you redeemed.
In your strength
you have guided them
to your holy dwelling.

The Peoples Hear and Tremble

14Peoples hear;
they tremble.
Anguish seizes
the inhabitants of Philistia. 15Then the chiefs of Edom are dismayed;
the leaders of Moab—
trembling seizes them.
All the inhabitants of Canaan
melt away. 16Terror and dread fall upon them.
By the greatness of your arm
they become still as stone
until your people pass by, O LORD,
until the people whom you acquired
pass by. 17You will bring them in
and plant them
on the mountain of your inheritance,
the place, O LORD,
that you made for your dwelling,
the sanctuary, O Lord,
that your hands established. 18The LORD will reign
forever and ever.”

Miriam Leads the Women

19For Pharaoh’s horses went into the sea with his chariots and riders, and the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the children of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. 20Then Miriam the prophet, sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. 21Miriam answered them:

“Sing to the LORD,
for he has risen in triumph;
horse and rider
he has thrown into the sea.”

Bitter Water at Marah

22Then Moses made Israel set out from the Sea of Reeds, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23They came to Marah, but they could not drink the waters of Marah because they were bitter. Therefore its name was called Marah. 24The people murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25He cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet.

There he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he tested them. 26He said, “If you will truly listen to the voice of the LORD your God, do what is right in his eyes, give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon you that I put upon Egypt, for I am the LORD who heals you.” 27Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the waters.