Exodus 15 :: New International Version (NIV)

The Song of Moses and Miriam

(Exo 14:13, 14; Psa 78:12–14 )

Exo 15:1Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.

Exo 15:2

Exo 15:2“The LORD is my strength and my defense[fn]; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Exo 15:3

Exo 15:3The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.

Exo 15:4

Exo 15:4Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea.[fn]

Exo 15:5

Exo 15:5The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone.

Exo 15:6

Exo 15:6Your right hand, LORD, was majestic in power. Your right hand, LORD, shattered the enemy.

Exo 15:7

Exo 15:7“In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble.

Exo 15:8

Exo 15:8By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood up like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.

Exo 15:9

Exo 15:9The enemy boasted, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.’

Exo 15:10

Exo 15:10But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

Exo 15:11

Exo 15:11Who among the gods is like you, LORD? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

Exo 15:12

Exo 15:12“You stretch out your right hand, and the earth swallows your enemies.

Exo 15:13

Exo 15:13In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.

Exo 15:14

Exo 15:14The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia.

Exo 15:15

Exo 15:15The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people[fn] of Canaan will melt away;

Exo 15:16

Exo 15:16terror and dread will fall on them. By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone— until your people pass by, LORD, until the people you bought[fn] pass by.

Exo 15:17

Exo 15:17You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance— the place, LORD, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.

Exo 15:18

Exo 15:18“The LORD reigns for ever and ever.”

Exo 15:19

Exo 15:19When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen[fn] went into the sea, the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

(Num 26:59 )

Exo 15:20

Exo 15:20Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing.

Exo 15:21

Exo 15:21Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.”

The Waters of Marah and Elim

Exo 15:22

Exo 15:22Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.

Exo 15:23

Exo 15:23When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.[fn])

Exo 15:24

Exo 15:24So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”

Exo 15:25

Exo 15:25Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. There the LORD issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.

Exo 15:26

Exo 15:26He said, “If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”

Exo 15:27

Exo 15:27Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.

See the NIV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NIV Footnotes

(15:2)

Or song

(15:4)

Or the Sea of Reeds; also in verse 22

Or rulers

Or created

Or charioteers

Marah means bitter.

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