2 " This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. 3 "Speak to all the congregation of Israel , saying , 'On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers' households , a lamb for each household . 4 'Now if the household is too small for a lamb , then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat , you are to divide the lamb . 5 'Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old ; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats . 6 'You shall keep e it until the fourteenth e day of the same month , then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight . 7 ' Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 'They shall eat the flesh that same night , roasted with fire , and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs . 9 'Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water , but rather e roasted with fire , both its head and its legs along with its entrails . 10 ' And you shall not leave any of it over until morning , but whatever is left of it until morning , you shall burn with fire . 11 'Now you shall eat it in this manner : with your loins girded , your sandals on your feet , and your staff in your hand ; and you shall eat it in haste -it is the Lord'S Passover . 12 'For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night , and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt , both man and beast ; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments - I am the Lord . 13 ' The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where e you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt . 14 'Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord ; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance . 15 ' Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread , but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses ; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day , that person shall be cut off from Israel . 16 ' On the first day you shall have a holy assembly , and another holy assembly on the seventh day ; no work at all shall be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person , that alone may be prepared by you. 17 'You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread , for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt ; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance . 18 ' In the first month, on the fourteenth e day of the month at evening , you shall eat unleavened bread , until the twenty-first e day of the month at evening . 19 ' Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses ; for whoever eats what is leavened , that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel , whether he is an alien or a native of the land . 20 'You shall not eat anything leavened ; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread .' "
21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families , and slay the Passover lamb. 22 " You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin , and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts ; and none e of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning . 23 "For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians ; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts , the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you. 24 "And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever e . 25 "When you enter the land which the Lord will give you, as He has promised , you shall observe this rite . 26 " And when your children say to you, 'What does this rite mean to you?' 27 you shall say , 'It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians , but spared our homes .' " And the people bowed low and worshiped . 28 Then the sons of Israel went and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron , so they did .
29 Now it came about at midnight e that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt , from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon , and all the firstborn of cattle . 30 Pharaoh arose in the night , he and all his servants and all the Egyptians , and there was a great cry in Egypt , for there was no home where e there was not someone dead . 31 Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said , "Rise up, get out from among my people , both you and the sons of Israel ; and go , worship the Lord , as you have said . 32 "Take both your flocks and your herds , as you have said , and go , and bless me also ." 33 The Egyptians urged e the people , to send them out of the land in haste , for they said , "We will all be dead ." 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened , with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders . 35 Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses , for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold , and clothing ; 36 and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians , so that they let them have their request . Thus they plundered the Egyptians .
37 Now the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth , about six hundred thousand men on foot , aside from children . 38 A mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds , a very large number of livestock . 39 They baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread . For it had not become leavened , since they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay , nor e had they prepared any provisions for themselves. 40 Now the time that the sons of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years . 41 And at the end of four hundred and thirty years , to the very day , all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt . 42 It is a night to be observed for the Lord for having brought them out from the land of Egypt ; this night is for the Lord , to be observed by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations .
43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron , "This is the ordinance of the Passover : no e foreigner e is to eat of it; 44 but every man's slave purchased with money , after you have circumcised him, then he may eat of it. 45 " A sojourner or a hired servant shall not eat of it. 46 "It is to be eaten in a single house ; you are not to bring forth any of the flesh outside of the house , nor are you to break any bone of it. 47 " All the congregation of Israel are to celebrate this.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Exodus 12:2-47
Commentary on Exodus 12:1-20
(Read Exodus 12:1-20)
The Lord makes all things new to those whom he delivers from the bondage of Satan, and takes to himself to be his people. The time when he does this is to them the beginning of a new life. God appointed that, on the night wherein they were to go out of Egypt, each family should kill a lamb, or that two or three families, if small, should kill one lamb. This lamb was to be eaten in the manner here directed, and the blood to be sprinkled on the door-posts, to mark the houses of the Israelites from those of the Egyptians. The angel of the Lord, when destroying the first-born of the Egyptians, would pass over the houses marked by the blood of the lamb: hence the name of this holy feast or ordinance. The passover was to be kept every year, both as a remembrance of Israel's preservation and deliverance out of Egypt, and as a remarkable type of Christ. Their safety and deliverance were not a reward of their own righteousness, but the gift of mercy. Of this they were reminded, and by this ordinance they were taught, that all blessings came to them through the shedding and sprinkling of blood. Observe, 1. The paschal lamb was typical. Christ is our passover, 1 Corinthians 5:7,8. Having received Christ Jesus the Lord, we must continually delight ourselves in Christ Jesus. No manner of work must be done, that is, no care admitted and indulged, which does not agree with, or would lessen this holy joy. The Jews were very strict as to the passover, so that no leaven should be found in their houses. It must be a feast kept in charity, without the leaven of malice; and in sincerity, without the leaven of hypocrisy. It was by an ordinance for ever; so long as we live we must continue feeding upon Christ, rejoicing in him always, with thankful mention of the great things he has done for us.
Commentary on Exodus 12:21-28
(Read Exodus 12:21-28)
That night, when the first-born were to be destroyed, no Israelite must stir out of doors till called to march out of Egypt. Their safety was owing to the blood of sprinkling. If they put themselves from under the protection of that, it was at their peril. They must stay within, to wait for the salvation of the Lord; it is good to do so. In after-times they should carefully teach their children the meaning of this service. It is good for children to ask about the things of God; they that ask for the way will find it. The keeping of this solemnity every year was, 1. To look backward, that they might remember what great things God had done for them and their fathers. Old mercies, to ourselves, or to our fathers, must not be forgotten, that God may be praised, and our faith in him encouraged. 2. It was designed to look forward, as an earnest of the great sacrifice of the Lamb of God in the fulness of time. Christ our passover was sacrificed for us; his death was our life.
Commentary on Exodus 12:29-36
(Read Exodus 12:29-36)
The Egyptians had been for three days and nights kept in anxiety and horror by the darkness; now their rest is broken by a far more terrible calamity. The plague struck their first-born, the joy and hope of their families. They had slain the Hebrews' children, now God slew theirs. It reached from the throne to the dungeon: prince and peasant stand upon the same level before God's judgments. The destroying angel entered every dwelling unmarked with blood, as the messenger of woe. He did his dreadful errand, leaving not a house in which there was not one dead. Imagine then the cry that rang through the land of Egypt, the long, loud shriek of agony that burst from every dwelling. It will be thus in that dreadful hour when the Son of man shall visit sinners with the last judgment. God's sons, his first-born, were now released. Men had better come to God's terms at first, for he will never come to theirs. Now Pharaoh's pride is abased, and he yields. God's word will stand; we get nothing by disputing, or delaying to submit. In this terror the Egyptians would purchase the favour and the speedy departure of Israel. Thus the Lord took care that their hard-earned wages should be paid, and the people provided for their journey.
Commentary on Exodus 12:37-42
(Read Exodus 12:37-42)
The children of Israel set forward without delay. A mixed multitude went with them. Some, perhaps, willing to leave their country, laid waste by plagues; others, out of curiosity; perhaps a few out of love to them and their religion. But there were always those among the Israelites who were not Israelites. Thus there are still hypocrites in the church. This great event was 430 years from the promise made to Abraham: see Galatians 3:17. So long the promise of a settlement was unfulfilled. But though God's promises are not performed quickly, they will be, in their season. This is that night of the Lord, that remarkable night, to be celebrated in all generations. The great things God does for his people, are to be not only a few days' wonder, but to be remembered throughout all ages; especially the work of our redemption by Christ. This first passover-night was a night of the Lord, much to be observed; but the last passover-night, in which Christ was betrayed and in which the first passover, with the rest of the Jewish ceremonies, was done away, was a night of the Lord, much more to be observed. Then a yoke, heavier than that of Egypt, was broken from off our necks, and a land, better than that of Canaan, set before us. It was a redemption to be celebrated in heaven, for ever and ever.
Commentary on Exodus 12:43-51
(Read Exodus 12:43-51)
In times to come, all the congregation of Israel must keep the passover. All that share in God's mercies should join in thankful praises for them. The New Testament passover, the Lord's supper, ought not to be neglected by any. Strangers, if circumcised, might eat of the passover. Here is an early indication of favour to the gentiles. This taught the Jews that their being a nation favoured by God, entitled them to their privileges, not their descent from Abraham. Christ our passover is sacrificed for us, 1 Corinthians 5:7; his blood is the only ransom for our souls; without the shedding of it there is no remission; without the sprinkling of it there can be no salvation. Have we, by faith in him, sheltered our souls from deserved vengeance under the protection of his atoning blood? Do we keep close to him, constantly depending upon him? Do we so profess our faith in the Redeemer, and our obligations to him, that all who pass by may know to whom we belong? Do we stand prepared for his service, ready to walk in his ways, and to separate ourselves from his enemies? These are questions of vast importance to the soul; may the Lord direct our consciences honestly to answer them.