1. Then the Lord said to Moses,
2. “You must give me every male in Israel who is his mother’s first child. That means that every firstborn baby boy and every firstborn male animal will be mine.”
3. Moses said to the people, “Remember this day. You were slaves in Egypt, but on this day the Lord used his great power and made you free. You must not eat bread with yeast.
4. Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving Egypt.
5. The Lord made a special promise to your ancestors. He promised to give you the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. After the Lord leads you to the land filled with many good things, then you must remember this day. You must have a special day of worship on this day during the first month of every year.
6. “For seven days, you must eat only bread without yeast. On the seventh day there will be a great festival to show honor to the Lord.
7. So for seven days, you must not eat any bread made with yeast. There must be no bread with yeast any place in your land.
8. On this day you should tell your children, ‘We are having this festival because the Lord took me out of Egypt.’
9. “This festival will help you remember; it will be like a string tied on your hand. It will be like a sign before your eyes. This festival will help you remember the Lord’S teachings. It will help you remember that the Lord used his great power to take you out of Egypt.