¹ At Etham God told Moses: ^{2 “}Tell the people

Of Israel to turn around and camp

Across from Pi‑Hahiroth near Baal‑

Zephon, with Migdol on one side, the Red

Sea on the other. ³ Egypt’s king will think

They were afraid to cross the desert and

That they are wandering around and trying

To find another way to leave the country.

⁴ Again I’ll make the king bull-headed, and

He’ll try to catch you, then I will destroy

Him and his army. People everywhere

Will praise me for my win, and the Egyptians

Will know I am the LORD.” The Israelites

Obeyed the LORD and camped where he told them.

⁵ When Egypt’s king heard that the Israelites

Had left at last, he and his ministers

Did change their minds and said, “Look what we’ve done!

We let them get away, and they won’t be

Our slaves.” ⁶ The king got his war chariot

And army ready. ⁷ He commanded that

His officers in charge of his six hundred

Best chariots and other chariots

Start after Israelites. ⁸ The LORD had made

The king so stubborn that he chased them, even

Though Israelites went proudly on their way,

⁹ But the king’s horses and his chariots

And soldiers caught up with them while they camped

By the Red Sea near Pi‑Hahiroth and

Baal‑Zephon. ¹⁰ The Israelites, when they

Saw that the king was coming with his army,

Were scared and begged the LORD for help. ¹¹ They also

Complained to Moses, “Did not Egypt have

Sufficient room to bury us? Is that

Why you brought us out here to die in desert?

¹² Why did you bring us out of Egypt in

The first place? While we were there, didn’t we

Tell you to let us be? We’d rather work

As slaves in Egypt than to die out in

This desert!” ¹³ Moses answered, ADon=t be scared!

Be brave; you=ll see the LORD save you today,

And these Egyptians will not bother you

Again. ¹⁴ The LORD will fight for you, and you

Won’t have to do a thing.” ¹⁵ God said to Moses,

“Why do you call to me for help? Command

The Israelites to go ahead, ¹⁶ then hold

Your walking stick above the sea: The water

Will open up and make a road where they

Can walk through on dry ground, ¹⁷ and I will make

Egyptians so stiff-necked they will chase you,

Then I’ll be praised for what befalls the king,

His chariots and cavalry. ¹⁸ Egyptians

Will know for certain that I am the LORD.”

¹⁹ Meanwhile God’s angel had advanced ahead

Of Israel’s battalions, but now he

Relocated behind them. A large cloud

Had gone ahead of them, ²⁰ but now it moved

Between the Israelites and the Egyptians.

The cloud gave light to Israelites, but made

It dark for the Egyptians, and during night

They could not close in. ²¹ Moses stretched his arm

Above the sea, and God sent an east wind

That blew all night until there was dry land

Where water had been; the sea opened, ²² and

The Israelites walked through on dry land with

A water wall on each side. ²³ The Egyptian

Chariots and their cavalry pursued

Them, ²⁴ but before the dawn God looked down at

Th’Egyptian army from the fiery cloud

And made them panic. ²⁵ Wheels on chariots

Got stuck, and it was hard for them to move.

So the Egyptians said to one another,

ALet’s leave these people all alone. The LORD

Is on their side and fights against us.” ²⁶ God

Told Moses, “Stretch your arm out toward the sea−

Water will cover the Egyptians and

Their cavalry and chariots.” ²⁷ So Moses

Stretched out his arm: At dawn the water rushed

Toward the Egyptians, who attempted to

Run off, but the LORD drowned them in the sea.

²⁸ The water came and covered chariots,

Cavalry, and the whole Egyptian army

Submersion of Pharaoh in the Red Sea

By Andrea Previtali

That had pursued the Israelites into

The sea. Not one of them was left alive,

²⁹ But the Red Sea had made a water wall

On each side of the Israelites; so they

Walked through upon dry land. ³⁰ On that day, when

The Israelites saw bodies of Egyptians

Washed up along the shore, they knew the LORD

Had saved them by his power he had used

Against Egyptians, ³¹ and the Israelites

Worshiped him and they trusted him and Moses,

His servant, servant whom the Lord had chosen.

March 25

Sir Winston Churchill

 

230.

Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat.

~Sir Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Volume IV: “The Hinge of Fate” (1951) Chapter 33 (“The Battle of Alamein“)

 

231.

We have a lot of anxieties, and one cancels out another very often.

~Sir Winston Churchill

 

232.

You might however consider whether you should not unfold as a background the great privilege of habeas corpus and trial by jury, which are the supreme protection invented by the English people for ordinary individuals against the state. The power of the Executive to cast a man in prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgment of his peers is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government, whether Nazi or Communist.

~Sir Winston Churchill in a telegram (November 21, 1942) from Cairo, Egypt to Home Secretary Herbert Morrison; cited in In the Highest Degree Odious (1992), Simpson, Clarendon Press, p. 391 ISBN 0198257759

Come save us, Hammer, from Muslim hordes
So we can serve and worship Christ our Lord

The Arabs pierced the Pyrenees, invaded
The Franks, and pounded north toward Tours, where they’d
Plunder the Abby of St. Martin, rich
And holy shrine–but their plan had a glitch,

For Charles Martel avoided roads, and brought
His army over mountains, the blind spot
For Arabs, who had to defeat this force
To get to Tours, and with their many horses

And stirrups (Franks had none), the seventh day
They charged uphill at Franks who fought and stayed
And thrust them back, while others circled round,
Took booty and freed slaves, to their renown.

The Muslim host fled from the enemy
And Christian Charles Martel claimed victory.

Come save us, Hammer, from Muslim hordes
So we can serve and worship Christ our Lord

~Day Williams

1 The LORD told Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me
Each firstborn male, for the first offspring of
Each womb among the Israelites belongs

To me, no matter whether it is human
Or animal,” 3 then Moses told the people,
“Commemorate this day, the day you came

From Egypt, from the land of slavery,
Because the LORD brought you out of it with
A mighty hand. Eat nothing that has yeast.

4 Today, within the month of Aviv, you
Are leaving. 5 When the LORD brings you into
The land of Canaanites and Amorites,

Hittites and Jebusites, the land he swore
Unto your ancestors to give you, land
That flows with milk and honey, you are to

Observe this ceremony in this month:
6 For seven days eat bread made with no yeast.
The seventh day, you’ll hold a festival

To God. 7 Eat the unleavened bread in those
Seven days; nothing with the yeast in it
Is to be seen among you, nor shall yeast

Be seen within your borders. 8 On that day
Tell your son, ‘I do this because of what
The LORD did for me when I came from Egypt.=’

9 For you this ceremony will be like
A sign upon your hand and a reminder

Upon your forehead that this law of God

Shall be upon your lips. For God brought you
From Egypt with his mighty hand. 10 You must
Maintain this ordinance at the appointed

Time year by year, 11 and after God brings you
Into the land of Canaanites and gives
It to you, as he has promised you and your

Fathers on oath, 12 you are to consecrate
Unto the LORD first-born from each womb.
All firstborn males among your livestock are

The LORD’s. 13 Redeem each firstborn donkey with
A lamb, but if you don’t redeem it, break
Its neck. Redeem each firstborn of your sons.

14 In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What
Does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand
The LORD brought us from Egypt, from the land

Of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly
Refused to let us go, God killed the firstborn
Of animals and people inside Egypt.

That’s why I make this sacrifice to God
Of the first male who’s born from every womb
And I redeem each of my firstborn sons.’

16 It will be like a sign upon your hand,
A symbol on your forehead that the LORD
Brought us from Egypt with his mighty hand.”

17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did
Not lead them on the highway through the land
Of Philistines, though that was shorter. For

God said, “If they face battles, they might change
Their minds and go back to the land of Egypt,”
18 So God led the people by the desert road

Toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went from Egypt

Prepared for battle. 19 Moses took the bones
Of Joseph with him, for he’d made Israelites

Declare an oath. He had said, “Surely God
Will come and help you, then you have to take
My bones up with you from this place.” 20 They left

Sukkoth and camped at Etham on the edge
Of wilderness. 21 By day God went ahead
Of them in a cloud pillar to guide them

And during night in a fire pillar to
Provide them light, so they could travel by
Day or night. 22 Neither the cloud pillar by

The day nor the fire pillar during night
Left from its place before the people’s sight.

¹ Now later on, the LORD told Moses and

Aaron: ² “This month is to be the first month

Out of the year for you. ³ Inform the people

Of Israel that on the tenth day of

The month each family head must choose a lamb

Or young goat for his family to eat,

⁴ And if a family has too few in it

To eat the entire animal, they have

To share it with their next‑door neighbors. ⁵ Choose

Either a sheep or goat, but it must be

A one‑year‑old male that has nothing wrong

With it. It must be large enough for all

To have some meat. ⁶ Each family must take

Care of its animal until the evening

Upon the fourteenth day out of the month,

When you’re to kill the animals. ⁷ Some blood

Has to be put on the two doorposts and

Above the door of every house where you

Will eat the animals. ⁸ You’ll roast and eat

The animals that night, together with

Some bitter herbs and thin bread with no yeast.

⁹ Don’t eat the meat when raw or boiled. You have

To roast the entire animal, including

Its head and legs, and insides. ¹⁰ Eat what you

Want that night, and next morning burn whatever

Remains, ¹¹ and when you eat the meal, be dressed,

Ready to travel. Have your sandals on,

Carry your walking stick within your hand;

Eat quickly. This is the Passover Feast

To honor me, your LORD. ¹² That night I’ll pass

Through Egypt and I’ll kill the first‑born son

In every family and the first‑born male

Of all the animals. I am the LORD,

And I will punish Egypt’s gods. ¹³ The blood

On houses will show me where you live, and

When I see blood, I will pass over you,

Then the disasters I will bring on Egypt

Won’t bother you. ¹⁴ You must recall this day

And celebrate it each year as a feast

To honor me. ¹⁵ For seven days you must

Eat bread that has no yeast, and on the first

Out of these seven days, you must remove

Yeast from your homes. If you eat anything

During this festival that does have yeast,

You will no more be part of Israel.

¹⁶ During the festival, upon the first

And seventh days, come meet for worship, and

The only work that you may do on either

Of these two days is to prepare the bread.

¹⁷ Celebrate this Feast of Unleavened Bread,

For then you will recall the day I brought

Your tribes and families from Egypt, and

Do this each year. ¹⁸ Begin the evening of

The fourteenth day of the first month by eating

Bread with no yeast. Continue with this feast

‘Til evening of the twenty‑first day. ¹⁹ During

These seven days, nobody is to have

Yeast at home, whether Israelites or not.

If you are caught while eating anything

Made with yeast, no more will you be a part

Of Israel. ²⁰ Stay back from yeast, no matter

Where you live. No one is allowed to eat

A thing that’s made with yeast. ²¹ Then Moses called

Leaders of Israel together and

He said: “Each family shall pick a sheep

And kill it for the Passover, ²² and make

A brush from some small branches taken from

A hyssop plant and dip the brush inside

The bowl with th’animal’s blood in it. Brush

Some blood above the door and on the posts

At each door side within your house, and after

This, everyone shall stay inside, ²³ for in

That night the LORD will go throughout the land

Of Egypt and will kill the first‑born son

In each Egyptian family. He’ll see

Where you have put the blood, and he won’t come

Into your house, and his death angel will

Pass over and won’t kill your first‑born sons.

²⁴ Once you have crossed into the country promised

You by the LORD, you and your children must

²⁵ Keep celebrating Passover each year.

^{26 ‘}What do we celebrate?’ your children will

Ask you, and you’ll reply, ‘The Passover

Animal’s killed to honor God. ²⁷ We do

These things because on that night long ago

The LORD passed over homes of all our people

In Egypt, and he killed the first‑born sons

Of the Egyptians, but he saved our children

From death.” When Moses stopped his talk, the people

Of Israel knelt down and worshiped God,

²⁸ Then they departed and they did what Moses

And Aaron had told them to do. ²⁹ At midnight

God killed the first‑born son of each Egyptian

Family, from the king’s son to the son

Of every prisoner in jail. He also

Killed the first‑born male of each animal

That the Egyptians owned. ³⁰ That night the king,

His ministers, and everybody else

In Egypt rose and started crying. In

Every Egyptian home, a boy was dead.

            ³¹ During the night the king sent for both Moses

And Aaron and said, “Get your people out

Of Egypt and leave us alone. Go out

And worship God, as you have asked, ³² and take

Your cattle, sheep, and goats, and leave, but ask

Your God to treat me well.” ³³ Egyptians did

All that they could to get the Israelites

To leave their country fast. They said, “Please hurry

And leave, for if you don’t, we’ll all be dead.”

³⁴ The Israelites made bread dough and put it

In pans, but they did not mix any yeast

Inside the dough to make it rise. They wrapped

Some cloth around the pans and carried them

Upon their shoulders. ³⁵ Now the Israelites

Already had obeyed what Moses said:

They’d gone to their Egyptian neighbors and

Had asked for gold and silver and for clothes.

³⁶ The LORD had made Egyptians friendly toward

People of Israel, and they gave them

Whatever they asked for. In this way they

Took the Egyptians’ wealth when they left Egypt.

³⁷ The Israelites walked from the city of

Rameses to the city, Succoth. Their

Group had about six hundred thousand, women

And children not included^{. 38} Many others

Went with them too, and they had many sheep

And goats and cattle. ³⁹ They left Egypt so

Swiftly that they did not have time to cook

Some food except the bread dough made without

The yeast, so they baked it and made thin bread.

⁴⁰ God’s people left from Egypt just four hundred

Thirty years after they’d arrived, and at

The finish of four hundred thirty years,

Down to the very day, all God’s divisions

Left Egypt. ⁴² That night the LORD kept watch

For them, and on this same night on each year

            Will Israel keep watch to honor God.

⁴³ These regulations are what God gave Moses

And Aaron for the Passover: “None but

The Israelites may eat the Passover

            Meal, ⁴⁴ though your slaves may eat the meal if they’ve

Been circumcised. ⁴⁵ No foreigners who work

For you can eat the meal. ⁴⁶ The entire meal

            Has to be eaten indoors, and no one

May leave the house while Passover goes on.

The Passover lamb’s bones may not be broken.

            ⁴⁷ And all the Israelites must join the meal.

⁴⁸ If anyone who’s not an Israelite

Does want to celebrate the Passover

            With you, then every man and boy inside

That family must first be circumcised.

Then they may join you at the meal, just like

The native Israelites. No man or boy

Uncircumcised may eat the Passover;

⁴⁹ This law applies to native Israelites

           And to those foreigners who live with you.”

⁵⁰ The Israelites obeyed all that the LORD

Told Moses and told Aaron to tell them.

⁵¹ On that same day the LORD brought Israel’s

Families and tribes from Egypt, where they’d dwelt.

¹ The LORD explained to Moses: “I am going

To punish Egypt’s king and people one

More time, then he will gladly let you leave

His land, so I’ll stop punishing Egyptians.

He’ll even chase you out. ² Now go and tell

My people to ask their Egyptian neighbors

For gold and silver jewelry, ³ so God

Made the Egyptians value Israelites,

And everyone, including Egypt’s king

And his officials, thought of Moses as

A major leader. ⁴ Moses went and saw

The king and said: “I’ve come to let you know

What God’s about to do. About the time

Of midnight he’ll go through the land of Egypt.

Wherever he will go, ⁵ the first‑born son

In every family will die. Your son

Will die, as will the son of the slave woman.

⁶ The first‑born males of cattle will die, too.

Throughout the land of Egypt will be wailing.

Nothing like this has happened in the past

Or ever will occur again, ⁷ but there

But Israelites won’t need to cry, for things

Will be so quiet that no one will hear

Even a barking dog, then you Egyptians

Will know the LORD is good to Israelites,

Even while he inflicts his punishment

On you. ⁸ Your leaders will come and bow down,

Begging me to leave Egypt with my people.

Then we’ll leave.” Moses was quite angry, and

He turned and left the king. ⁹ What God had said

To Moses earlier had come true. He

Had said, “The king of Egypt will not listen.

Then I’ll perform more miracles,” ¹⁰ and so

The king of Egypt saw that Moses and

Aaron worked wonders, but God made him ban

Departure by the Hebrews from his land.