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.
30. That night someone died in every house in Egypt. Pharaoh, his officials, and all the people of Egypt began to cry loudly.
31. So that night Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said to them, “Get up and leave my people. You and your people can do as you say. Go and worship the Lord.
32. Take all of your sheep and cattle with you, just as you said you would. Go! And say a blessing for me too.”
33. The people of Egypt also asked them to hurry and leave. They said, “If you don’t leave, we will all die!”
34. The Israelites did not have time to put the yeast in their bread. They just wrapped the bowls of dough with cloth and carried them on their shoulders.
35. Then the Israelites did what Moses asked them to do. They went to their Egyptian neighbors and asked for clothing and things made from silver and gold.
36. The Lord caused the Egyptians to be kind to the Israelites, so the Egyptians gave their riches to the Israelites.
37. The Israelites traveled from Rameses to Succoth. There were about 600,000 men, not counting the small boys.
38. A great number of people who were not Israelites went with them, along with many sheep, cattle, and other livestock.
39. The people did not have time to put yeast in their bread or make any special food for their journey. So they had to bake their bread without yeast.