Exodus 15

Then Moses and all the Israelites sang this song to God. They each sang, “I will sing to God because he has won a great victory; He has thrown the horses and the charioteers into the sea! \* 2 God makes me strong, and I will sing about him. He has saved me. He is my God, and I will celebrate {because of what he did for me}. He was my father’s God, and I will tell others how great he is. 3 God is a warrior; God is his name. \* 4 He has thrown the king’s chariots and his army into the sea; The king’s best officers all drowned in the Sea of Reeds. 5 The deep water covered them; they sank to the bottom like a rock. \* 6 O God, your power is immense; with that power, O God, you have crushed the enemy into pieces. 7 You use your great strength to defeat your enemies. When you are angry, you destroy them like a fire burns up straw. 8 You blew on the sea, and the water piled up high; the water became like mounds of dirt. In the deepest part of the sea, the water became thick, as though it were frozen. \* 9 Our enemies said, ‘We will go after them and catch up to them. We will do whatever we want to them! We will draw our swords and defeat them; then we will divide up everything we take from them.’ 10 Your wind blew, and then the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the big waves. \* 11 God, there is no other god like you! There is no one like you! You are wonderfully different from everything else. Everyone fears and praises you for all the miracles you do! 12 You used your power to make the earth open and our enemies go down into it! 13 You are leading the people you bought because you always love us; Because {you use} your strength {for our good}, you are guiding us to the home that you set apart. \* 14 The people of other nations will hear what you have done, and they will tremble. The people in Philistia will be terrified. 15 The chiefs in Edom will be dismayed. The leaders in Moab will be so afraid that they will shake. All those who live in Canaan will faint. 16 They will be terrified and fearful because of your great strength. \* But they will be as silent as stones until we, your people, march past them, the people you freed {from being slaves in Egypt.} 17 You will bring us {into the promised land of Canaan.} You will enable us to live on your hill, in the place that you, God, have chosen to be your home, in the holy place, our Lord, that you yourself will build. 18 O God, you will rule forever!” \*

When the king’s horses and chariots and horsemen tried to go through the sea, God caused the water to come back and cover them. But the Israelite people walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground.

Then Miriam, who was Aaron’s older sister and a prophetess, picked up her tambourine and led all the other women who had tambourines out to dance.

Miriam sang to God this song: “Sing to God because he has triumphed gloriously over his enemies. He has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea.” \*

Then Moses led the Israelite people away from the Sea of Reeds. They went to the wilderness of Shur. They walked for three days, but they could not find any water.

So they went on and came to a place named Marah. There was water there, but they could not drink it, because it was bitter. That is why they named the place Marah, which is the Hebrew word that means “bitter.” \*

The people complained to Moses, saying, “What are we going to drink?”

So Moses prayed to God. Then God showed him a branch. He took the branch and threw it into the water, and the water became good to drink. There at Marah, God gave them a fixed rule by which to live. He also tested them there {to determine if they would obey him.}

He said, “I am God, your God. If you will obey me when I speak to you and do those things that I say are right and listen to all the things that I tell you, I will keep you from all the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians. Do not forget that I am God, the one who heals you.” \*

After they left Marah, they came to an oasis named Elim. There were 12 springs of water and 70 palm trees there. So they camped there.