New International Version
Exodus 12:3
3Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.
Exodus 12:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
- English Standard Version (ESV)Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household.
Context of Exodus 12:3
1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2“This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.
Read all of Exodus 12Exodus 12:3 word by word
דַּבְּר֗וּ אֶֽל־כָּל־עֲדַ֤ת יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר בֶּעָשֹׂ֖ר לַחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַזֶּ֑ה וְיִקְח֣וּ לָהֶ֗ם אִ֛ישׁ שֶׂ֥ה לְבֵית־אָבֹ֖ת שֶׂ֥ה לַבָּֽיִת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- ye unto all the congregationעֵדָה‛êdâh · congregationH5712
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- In the tenthעָשׂוֹר‛âώôr ‛âώôr · tenH6218
- of this monthחֹ֫דֶשׁchôdesh · monthH2320
- they shall takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
- to them every manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- a lambשֶׂהώeh ώêy · sheepH7716
- according to the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
- fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
Cross-references for Exodus 12:3
- Exodus 4:30and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people,
- Exodus 6:6“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.
- Exodus 14:15Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.
- Exodus 20:19and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
- Leviticus 1:2“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When anyone among you brings an offering to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.
- Exodus 12:6Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.
- John 12:1Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
- Genesis 4:4And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
- Genesis 22:8Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
- 1 Samuel 7:9Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.
- John 1:29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
- 1 Corinthians 5:7Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
- Revelation 5:6Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
- Revelation 7:9After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
- Revelation 13:8All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
- Exodus 12:5The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.
Commentaries on Exodus 12:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3In the tenth day of this month - In after times they began their preparation on the thirteenth day or day before the Passover, which was not celebrated till the fourteenth day, see Exodus 12:6; : but on the present occasion, as this was their first passover, they probably required more time to get ready in; as a state of very great confusion must have prevailed at this time. Mr. Ainsworth remarks that on this day the Israelites did afterwards go through…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3A lamb - The Hebrew word is general, meaning either a sheep or a goat - male or female - and of any age; the age and sex are therefore epecially defined in the following verse. The direction to select the lamb on the tenth day, the fourth day before it was offered, was intended to secure due care in the preparation for the great national festival. The custom certainly fell into desuetude at a later period, but probably not before the destruction of the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-30The Lord gave Moses instructions for the Passover meal and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (12:14–20). Moses and the people then celebrated the first Passover (12:21–30).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel--The recent events had prepared the Israelitish people for a crisis in their affairs, and they seem to have yielded implicit obedience at this time to Moses. It is observable that, amid all the hurry and bustle of such a departure, their serious attention was to be given to a solemn act of religion. a lamb for an house--a kid might be taken (Ex 12:5). The service was to be a domestic one, for the deliverance…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 12:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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