Exodus 13:15
13 And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.
14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.
16 And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.
17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of man and beast. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’
- KJV
- And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.
- WEB
- When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of livestock. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that opens the womb, being males; but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’
- ASV
- and it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that Jehovah slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man, and the first-born of beast: therefore I sacrifice to Jehovah all that openeth the womb, being males; but all the first-born of my sons I redeem.
- DARBY
- And it came to pass, when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, that Jehovah slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of men and the firstborn of cattle: therefore I sacrifice to Jehovah all that breaketh open the womb being males; and every firstborn of my children I ransom.
- BLB
- And it came to pass, when Pharaoh hardened himself to sending us out, that YHWH killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man and to the firstborn of beast. Upon thus I am sacrificing to YHWH all the males opening a womb; and every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’
- ÅB
- For dengang da Farao satte seg hårdt imot å la oss fare, da slo Herren ihjel alt førstefødt i Egypt, både folk og fe; derfor ofrer jeg Herren alt det som åpner morsliv, det som er av hankjønn, og alle førstefødte blant mine sønner løser jeg.
- OTB
- Da Farao hardnakket nektet å la oss gå, drepte Herren de førstefødte i landet Egypt, både mennesker og dyr. Dette er grunnen til at jeg ofrer til Herren det første hannkjønn av hvert morsliv og løser ut hver av mine førstefødte sønner.’
- B1930
- For dengang da Farao satte sig hårdt imot å la oss fare, da slo Herren ihjel alt førstefødt i Egyptens land, både folk og fe; derfor ofrer jeg Herren alt det som åpner morsliv, det som er av hankjønn, og alle førstefødte blandt mine sønner løser jeg.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Exodus 12:29
And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
Read in context