3 Speak to the entire assembly of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth day of this month, they should each take for themselves a sheep+ for their father’s house, a sheep to a house. 4 But if the household is too small for the sheep, they and their* nearest neighbor should share it between themselves in their house according to the number of people.* When making the calculation, determine how much of the sheep each one will eat. 5 Your sheep should be a sound,+ one-year-old male. You may choose from the young rams or from the goats. 6 You must care for it until the 14th day of this month,+ and the whole congregation of the assembly of Israel must slaughter it at twilight.*+ 7 They must take some of the blood and splash it on the two doorposts and the upper part of the doorway of the houses in which they eat it.+

8 “‘They must eat the meat on this night.+ They should roast it over the fire and eat it along with unleavened bread+ and bitter greens.+ 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled, cooked in water, but roast it over the fire, its head together with its shanks and its inner parts. 10 You must not save any of it until morning, but any of it left over until morning you should burn with fire.+ 11 And this is how you should eat it, with your belt fastened,* sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you should eat it in a hurry. It is Jehovah’s Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt on this night and strike every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man to beast;+ and I will execute judgment on all the gods of Egypt.+ I am Jehovah. 13 The blood will serve as your sign on the houses where you are; and I will see the blood and pass over you, and the plague will not come on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.+

14 “‘This day will serve as a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to Jehovah throughout your generations. As a lasting statute, you should celebrate it.