The Song of Triumph

1Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said,

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously,

the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.

2The Lord is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation.

This is my God, and I will praise him,

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

3The Lord is a warrior,

the Lord is his name.

4The chariots of Pharaoh and his army he has thrown into the sea,

and his chosen officers were drowned in the Red Sea.

5The depths have covered them,

they went down to the bottom like a stone.

6Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic in power,

your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.

7In the abundance of your majesty you have overthrown

those who rise up against you.

You sent forth your wrath;

it consumed them like stubble.

8By the blast of your nostrils the waters were piled up,

the flowing water stood upright like a heap,

and the deep waters were solidified in the heart of the sea.

9The enemy said, ‘I will chase, I will overtake,

I will divide the spoil;

my desire will be satisfied on them.

I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.’

10But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them.

They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

11Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?

Who is like you? – majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, working wonders?

12You stretched out your right hand,

the earth swallowed them.

13By your loyal love you will lead the people whom you have redeemed;

you will guide them by your strength to your holy dwelling place.

14The nations will hear and tremble;

anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia.

15Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified,

trembling will seize the leaders of Moab,

and the inhabitants of Canaan will shake.

16Fear and dread will fall on them;

by the greatness of your arm they will be as still as stone

until your people pass by, O Lord,

until the people whom you have bought pass by.

17You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance,

in the place you made for your residence, O Lord,

the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.

18The Lord will reign forever and ever!

19For the horses of Pharaoh came with his chariots and his footmen into the sea,

and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them,

but the Israelites walked on dry land in the middle of the sea.”

20Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a hand-drum in her hand, and all the women went out after her with hand-drums and with dances. 21Miriam sang in response to them, “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.”

The Bitter Water

22Then Moses led Israel to journey away from the Red Sea. They went out to the Desert of Shur, walked for three days into the desert, and found no water. 23Then they came to Marah, but they were not able to drink the waters of Marah, because they were bitter. (That is why its name was Marah.)

24So the people murmured against Moses, saying, “What can we drink?” 25He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When Moses threw it into the water, the water became safe to drink. There the Lord made for them a binding ordinance, and there he tested them. 26He said, “If you will diligently obey the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and pay attention to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, then all the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians I will not bring on you, for I, the Lord, am your healer.”

27Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the water.