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Exodus 14

KJV · Chapter 14/40

1And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pi–hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal–zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.

3For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.

4And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And they did so.

5And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?

6And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:

7And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.

8And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.

9But 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, before Baal–zephon.

10And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.

11And 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 carry us forth out of Egypt?

12Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

13And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

14The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

15And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:

16But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

17And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

18And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

19And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:

20And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

21And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

22And 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.

23And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

24And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,

25And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.

26And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.

27And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

28And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.

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.

30Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.

31And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Pharaoh changes his mind and pursues the Israelites with his army; trapped at the Red Sea, the people cry out to God, who opens a dry path through the sea, allowing Israel to cross while drowning the Egyptian army.

Explanation

This is one of the most dramatic and symbolically rich moments in the entire Bible: trapped between the sea and the Egyptian army, the Israelites move from understandable panic ('Because there were no graves in Egypt...?', v. 11) to witnessing one of the greatest displays of divine power ever recorded. Moses' response, 'The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace' (v. 14), teaches a lesson in active trust: standing still before God does not mean complete passivity, but a confidence that allows one to move forward even without fully understanding how the solution will unfold. The parting of the waters, allowing passage on dry ground with walls of water on both sides, and the subsequent collapse of those waters upon the pursuing army, became the founding event of Israel's identity as a people saved by God, referenced repeatedly throughout the Old Testament as historical proof of God's power and faithfulness.

Fun facts

  • The crossing of the Red Sea (or 'Sea of Reeds,' an alternative translation of the Hebrew term Yam Suph) is the most cited event in Israel's entire history throughout the rest of the Old Testament, appearing in Psalms, Isaiah, Nehemiah, and other books as the supreme example of God's saving power.
  • The detail that God made the sea go back 'by a strong east wind all that night' (v. 21) describes a process that lasted hours, not an instant — suggesting that even biblical miracles often involve observable processes, though supernaturally directed and timed.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Exodus 14:1After the exodus from Egypt, God gives Moses a new instruction about which way to go, changing direction in a strategic way, as the next verse shows.
  2. Exodus 14:2God orders the people to turn back and camp near the sea, in a position that looks like a wrong turn but is actually part of a trap set against Pharaoh.
  3. Exodus 14:3God foresees that Pharaoh will read this strange position as the people being lost and trapped, which will drive the pursuit told next.
  4. Exodus 14:4Once again appears the idea of God hardening Pharaoh’s heart, this time so that he decides to pursue the people all the way to the sea, the trigger that sets up the final scene of the pursuit and the crossing. Some read this as God using a stubbornness that already belonged to the king; others, as part of a larger plan to publicly display His power.
  5. Exodus 14:5As soon as he learns that the people have really left, Pharaoh regrets letting his slave labor go and changes his mind about letting them depart in peace.
  6. Exodus 14:6Pharaoh personally prepares his war chariot to lead the pursuit, showing how urgently this decision was made.
  7. Exodus 14:7The army gathered by Pharaoh includes an elite force of six hundred chosen chariots, plus the rest of the Egyptian fleet, a considerable military force.
  8. Exodus 14:8Repeats that it is God who hardens Pharaoh’s heart at this specific moment, allowing the pursuit that will lead to the miracle at the Red Sea.
  9. Exodus 14:9The Egyptian army catches up with the Hebrew people already camped by the sea, at the very spot God had directed beforehand, closing the trap.
  10. Exodus 14:10Seeing the Egyptian army closing in, the people panic, trapped between the sea ahead and the Egyptians behind, and cry out to God for help.
  11. Exodus 14:11The people react with bitter sarcasm, suggesting it would have been better never to have left Egypt than to die in the wilderness like this.
  12. Exodus 14:12They recall having already warned, back in Egypt, that they would rather stay slaves than take this risk — a complaint that comes up again and again during the wilderness journey.
  13. Exodus 14:13Moses tries to calm the people with a strong promise: that very Egyptian army now terrifying them will never be seen again after that day.
  14. Exodus 14:14Moses sums up the expected attitude of the people: stay quiet and let God handle the situation Himself, without needing any military response from them.
  15. Exodus 14:15God answers Moses directly, almost rebuking the outcry: instead of just praying, it is time to act and move forward.
  16. Exodus 14:16God gives Moses the practical instruction for the miracle: use the same rod already used in the plagues to open a way through the sea.
  17. Exodus 14:17Repeats the pattern of hardening the Egyptians’ hearts so they go in after the people into the sea, setting up the final defeat of the Egyptian army.
  18. Exodus 14:18The stated goal of the whole scene is, once again, to make the Egyptians recognize God’s power, this time through the very defeat of their army.
  19. Exodus 14:19The angel and the pillar of cloud, which until then had guided the people from in front, move behind the camp, acting as a barrier between the two armies.
  20. Exodus 14:20The same cloud that had guided the people moves behind the camp and comes to separate the two groups: on the Egyptian side it is total darkness, on the Israelite side it lights up the night. It is this barrier that keeps the armies from reaching each other while the people cross the sea.
  21. Exodus 14:21The text explains the miracle through a described mechanism: a strong east wind blowing all night long pushes back the waters and opens a dry path, not an instant, silent parting, but something that takes the whole night to happen. It is common to debate whether this wind is simply the means God used or the miracle itself described in terms that made sense to those who lived through it.
  22. Exodus 14:22The people cross the sea on dry ground, with the waters forming a kind of wall on each side — the most famous image in the whole book of Exodus.
  23. Exodus 14:23The Egyptian army follows the Hebrews right into the seabed itself, falling exactly into the trap God had prepared.
  24. Exodus 14:24Still before dawn, God watches the Egyptian army from the pillar of fire and cloud, and begins to throw them into confusion.
  25. Exodus 14:25The text says God took off “the wheels” of the Egyptian war chariots, making them drive with difficulty through the mud of the seabed. It is a very practical detail explaining why the army, even with horses and chariots, could not catch up with the people on foot before the waters returned.
  26. Exodus 14:26God orders Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea again, this time so that the waters return and cover the Egyptian army.
  27. Exodus 14:27Moses obeys the order at daybreak, and the sea returns to normal at the very moment the Egyptians were trying to flee back, and they are swept away by the water itself.
  28. Exodus 14:28The waters completely cover the Egyptian army, chariots and horsemen, with not one of them surviving the pursuit.
  29. Exodus 14:29Repeats, in contrast with the Egyptian destruction, that the Israelites crossed the whole sea safely, on dry ground between the waters.
  30. Exodus 14:30Closes the account of the crossing with the confirmation of the outcome: the people see with their own eyes the bodies of the Egyptians on the shore, visible proof of their salvation.
  31. Exodus 14:31The people’s final reaction is one of reverent fear and faith, both in God and in Moses’s leadership, after witnessing a miracle of that magnitude.

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