After Pharaoh let the Israelite people go, God led them by a pillar of cloud toward the Red Sea. But when they came to the wilderness, they turned and went down along the western side of the Red Sea and there made camp. When king Pharaoh heard about this he thought that they were afraid to go into the wilderness. Then he and his servants changed their minds once again and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost them as our slaves." So Pharaoh gathered his army with horses and chariots and started to follow the Israelites.

When the Israelites saw the Egyptian army coming, they became afraid and cried out to the Lord for help. They said to Moses, "Why did you bring us out here into the wilderness to die? Is it because there weren't any graves in Egypt? It would have been better to stay as the Egyptian's slaves than to die out here." Then Moses said, "Don't be afraid. Stand still, and see how God will save you."

So God told Moses, "Lift up your stick over the sea." Then the cloud that had been leading the Israelites moved until it was between the Egyptians and the Israelites. To the Egyptians it was dark, but it gave light for the Israelites. The Egyptians could not pass through the cloud to get to the Israelites.

Then Moses lifted up his stick over the sea and God made a path dry up through the middle of the sea. The water stood up in walls on both sides and a wind made the ground dry. That night the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground to the other side. In the early morning before sunrise when the cloud lifted, the Egyptians started to follow the Israelites through the sea. But God made the chariot wheels fall off. So the Egyptians said, "Let's get out of here! Jehovah is fighting for the Israelites." Then when the sun came up, God told Moses, "Lift up your stick again over the sea." When Moses did so, the walls of water fell down and the sea returned to its place. All the Egyptians drowned, and the Israelites saw the dead Egyptians on the seashore. Then they feared and believed in God. And the Israelites sang a song praising God. Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, led the Israelite women in singing and dancing for joy. That day God had saved the Israelite people from the Egyptian army.