Family of Israel, this message is from the Lord. “I will soon bring a nation from far away to attack you. It is an old nation; it is an ancient nation. The people of that nation speak a language that you do not know. You cannot understand what they say.
“The Lord will bring a nation from far away to fight you. You will not understand their language. They will come quickly, like an eagle coming down from the sky.
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.
“Tonight I will go through Egypt and kill every firstborn man and animal in Egypt. In this way I will judge all the gods of Egypt and show that I am the Lord.
Show that my days of rest are important to you. Remember, they are a special sign between us. I am the Lord, and these days show you that I am your God.”
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.