With our own ears we have heard it, O God--- our ancestors have told us about it, about the great things you did in their time, in the days of long ago:

We have heard what God has done, and now we have seen it in the city of our God, the LORD Almighty; he will keep the city safe forever.

When your children ask you, 'What does this ritual mean?'

you will answer, 'It is the sacrifice of Passover to honor the LORD, because he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. He killed the Egyptians, but spared us.' " The Israelites knelt down and worshiped.

When the festival begins, explain to your sons that you do all this because of what the LORD did for you when you left Egypt.

In the future, when your son asks what this observance means, you will answer him, 'By using great power the LORD brought us out of Egypt, the place where we were slaves.

When the king of Egypt was stubborn and refused to let us go, the LORD killed every first-born male in the land of Egypt, both human and animal. That is why we sacrifice every first-born male animal to the LORD, but buy back our first-born sons.