Dedication of the First-Born
1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Dedicate all the first-born males to me, for every first-born male Israelite and every first-born male animal belongs to me.”
The Festival of Unleavened Bread
3 Moses said to the people, “Remember this day—the day on which you left Egypt, the place where you were slaves. This is the day the Lord brought you out by his great power. No leavened bread is to be eaten. 4 You are leaving Egypt on this day in the first month, the month of Abib. 5 The Lord solemnly promised your ancestors to give you the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. When he brings you into that rich and fertile land, you must celebrate this festival in the first month of every year. 6 For seven days you must eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to honor the Lord. 7 For seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast; there must be no yeast or leavened bread anywhere in your land. 8 When the festival begins, explain to your sons that you do all this because of what the Lord did for you when you left Egypt. 9 This observance will be a reminder, like something tied on your hand or on your forehead; it will remind you to continue to recite and study the Law of the Lord, because the Lord brought you out of Egypt by his great power. 10 Celebrate this festival at the appointed time each year.
The First-Born
11 “The Lord will bring you into the land of the Canaanites, which he solemnly promised to you and your ancestors. When he gives it to you, 12 you must offer every first-born male to the Lord. Every first-born male of your animals belongs to the Lord, 13 but you must buy back from him every first-born male donkey by offering a lamb in its place. If you do not want to buy back the donkey, break its neck. You must buy back every first-born male child of yours. 14 In the future, when your son asks what this observance means, you will answer him, ‘By using great power the Lord brought us out of Egypt, the place where we were slaves. 15 When the king of Egypt was stubborn and refused to let us go, the Lord killed every first-born male in the land of Egypt, both human and animal. That is why we sacrifice every first-born male animal to the Lord, but buy back our first-born sons. 16 This observance will be a reminder, like something tied on our hands or on our foreheads; it will remind us that the Lord brought us out of Egypt by his great power.’”
The Pillar of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire
17 When the king of Egypt let the people go, God did not take them by the road that goes up the coast to Philistia, although it was the shortest way. God thought, “I do not want the people to change their minds and return to Egypt when they see that they are going to have to fight.” 18 Instead, he led them in a roundabout way through the desert toward the Red Sea. The Israelites were armed for battle.
19 Moses took the body of Joseph with him, as Joseph had made the Israelites solemnly promise to do. Joseph had said, “When God rescues you, you must carry my body with you from this place.”
20 The Israelites left Sukkoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. 21 During the day the Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud to show them the way, and during the night he went in front of them in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel night and day. 22 The pillar of cloud was always in front of the people during the day, and the pillar of fire at night.
Mbano dzopiwa Ndzimu
1 Yahwe bakadwa Mushe bakati, 2 “Undiyengemadzile bana bose be kutanga, tjimwe ne tjimwe tjinotanga zwagwa tjili tjilume mu Iziraela, tjili tje nthu kene tje ithuwo nde tjangu.”
Nzano we Kumpinda pezhugwi
3 Ngono Mushe kadwa bathu kati, “Kumbulani zhuba ileli, la makadwa mu Egipiti, mudwa mu ng'umba ye busungwa. Ndilo zhuba lamakadusiwa nge simba le luboko gwa Yahwe mudusiwa mu busungwa. Kusitongobe ne tjiwunga tjakabidziwa tjinojiwa mu zhuba ileli. 4 Mobhuda mu Egipiti mu zhuba ileli le mwedzi we kutanga, mwedzi we Abibi. 5 Yahwe bakatuna kuna bobatategulu benyu kuti banowomupa shango ye Bakanana ne Bahiti ne Baamori ne Bahivi ne Bajabisi, ili shango inowunga nkaka ne butji gwe nyutji, ndizo makafanila londolodza nzano uwoyu mu mwedzi uwoyu. 6 Muje tjiwunga tjisina mbidzo mazhuba ali kutendeka, mu zhuba le kutendeka kube nzano wa Yahwe. 7 Mowoja tjiwunga tjisina mbidzo mazhuba ali kutendeka, musitongowanika muna tjiwunga tjina mbidzo, kusitongowanika muna mbidzo mu ntuthu uwo. 8 Ngono muti nge zhuba le kutanga le nzano mubudze bakololo benyu muti, ‘Tothama ikoku ngobe Yahwe bakatithamila iko muzhuba latakadwa mu Egipiti.’ 9 Ngono kowobe tjilakidzo mu luboko gugo ne ikumbuludzo mu mesho awo kulondolodza nlayo wa Yahwe, nge nlomo wenyu ngobe Yahwe bakakudusa mu Egipiti nge simba le luboko gwabo. 10 Mulondolodze ndaulo iyeyi nge tjibaka tjakalingisana gole ne gole.”
Kudzutunula kwe zwazwagwa kutanga
11 “Ngono kowoti Yahwe basinomukotosa mu shango ye Kanana, sekwa bakatuna kumuli ne kuna bobatategulu benyu, banomupa ndaulo iyeyi, 12 unowoshalulila Yahwe zose zwilume zwazwagwa kutanga nge zwithuwo zwizo kube zwa Yahwe. 13 Donki ndume imwe ne imwe ya zwagwa kutanga unowoidzutunula ne pkhwizana, ha isingadzutugwe ngayivungwe ntshibha. Mbano dzose dze bakololo babo naidzo dzidzutunugwe. 14 Ngono ha misi idwilila, bakololo benyu bemubhuzwa kuti kuthu ikoku kodwani, mubadwe muti, ‘Yahwe bakatidusa mu Egipiti mu ng'umba ye busungwa nge simba le luboko gwabo. 15 Kwakati Faro paakakukutadza moyo elamba tiyenda, Yahwe bakabulaya mbano dzose mu shango ye Egipiti, dzose dze bathu ne zwithuwo zwakazwagwa kutanga. Ndizo tidusila Yahwe tjibhayilo tjimwe ne tjimwe tje ithuwo tje tjilume tjazwagwa kutanga, koga mbano dzose dze bakololo bedu tidzidzutunula. 16 Nzano iwoyo ibe ikumbuludzo kumuli se linga lakaambagwa mu luboko. Kuli kumukumbuludza kuti Yahwe bakatidusa nge simba labo mu Egipiti.’ ”
Shongwe ye gole ne bibi le moto
17 Kukati Faro eletjedza bathu beyenda, Ndzimu ukasibatungamile nge zila ye shango ye Palasitina, nenguba yakabe ili iyo ipejo, ngobe Ndzimu wakati, “Bathu bangadwa beti bebona ngwa bebe beshanduka bebgwilila ku Egipiti.” 18 Koga Ndzimu ukabapoteledza nge zila ye tjilambanyika inoyendila ku Gungwa Shaba. Bathu be Iziraela bakayenda bebhuda mu shango ye Egipiti bakazwilulwamisila ngwa.
19 Mushe katola mafupa a Josefa kayenda nawo, ngobe Josefa wakabe atunisa bathu be Iziraela eti, “Ndzimu unowomusunungula, ngono mube musenga mafupa angu muyende nawo.”
20 Bakayenda bedwa mu Sukoti bakanokotokela mu Etamu, pa phelelo dze tjilambanyika. 21 Ngono Yahwe bakayenda bakabatungamila nge shongwe ye gole kubalakidza zila kuli masikati, busiku bakabatungamila nge bibi le moto kubathamila tjedza kuti ndizo batubule yenda siku ne sikati. 22 Shongwe ye gole masikati kene bibi le moto busiku zwakabe zwisingatsheduke mbeli kwe bathu.