13. But the blood on your houses will be a special sign. When I see the blood, I will pass over your house. I will cause bad things to happen to the people of Egypt. But none of these bad diseases will hurt you.
14. “You will always remember tonight—it will be a special festival for you. Your descendants will honor the Lord with this festival forever.
15. For this festival you will eat bread made without yeast for seven days. On the first day, you will remove all the yeast from your houses. No one should eat any yeast for the full seven days of this festival. Anyone who eats yeast must be separated from the rest of Israel.
16. There will be holy assemblies on the first day and the last day of the festival. You must not do any work on these days. The only work you can do is preparing the food for your meals.
17. You must remember the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because on this day I took all of your people out of Egypt in groups. All of your descendants must remember this day. This is a law that will last forever.
18. So on the evening of the 14th day of the first month, you will begin eating bread without yeast. You will eat this bread until the evening of the 21st day of the same month.
19. For seven days, there must not be any yeast in your houses. Anyone, either a citizen of Israel or a foreigner living among you, who eats yeast at this time must be separated from the rest of Israel.
20. During this festival you must not eat any yeast. You must eat bread without yeast wherever you live.”
21. So Moses called all the elders together and told them, “Get the lambs for your families. Kill the lambs for the Passover.
22. Take bunches of hyssop and dip them in the bowls filled with blood. Paint the blood on the sides and top of each doorframe. No one must leave their house until morning.
23. At the time the Lord goes through Egypt to kill the firstborn, he will see the blood on the sides and top of each doorframe. Then he will protect that house and not let the Destroyer come into any of your houses and hurt you.
24. You must remember this command. This law is for you and your descendants forever.
25. You must remember to do this even when you go to the land the Lord is giving you.
26. When your children ask you, ‘Why are we doing this ceremony?’
27. you will say, ‘This Passover is to honor the Lord, because when we were in Egypt, he passed over the houses of Israel. He killed the Egyptians, but he saved the people in our houses.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped the Lord.
28. The Lord had given this command to Moses and Aaron, so the Israelites did what the Lord commanded.
29. At midnight the Lord killed all the firstborn sons in Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh (who ruled Egypt) to the firstborn son of the prisoner sitting in jail. Also all the firstborn animals died.