Passage
And lift thou vp thy rod, and stretche out thine hand vpon the Sea and deuide it, and let the children of Israel goe on drie ground thorow the middes of the Sea.
Exodus 14:16 (GNV)
Nearby Context
Exodus 14:14 The Lord shall fight for you: therefore hold you your peace.
Exodus 14:15 And the Lord sayd vnto Moses, Wherefore cryest thou vnto me? speake vnto the children of Israel that they go forward:
Exodus 14:16 And lift thou vp thy rod, and stretche out thine hand vpon the Sea and deuide it, and let the children of Israel goe on drie ground thorow the middes of the Sea.
Exodus 14:17 And I, beholde, I will harden the heart of the Egyptians, that they may follow them, and I wil get me honour vpon Pharaoh, and vpon all his host, vpon his charets, and vpon his horsemen.
Exodus 14:18 Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I haue gotten me honour vpon Pharaoh, vpon his charets, and vpon his horsemen.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "lift", "thou", "stretche", "thine", "hand", "vpon", "deuide", and "children". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lift" and "thou", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And the Lord sayd vnto Moses Wherefore..." into verse 17's "And I beholde I will harden the...", so "lift" and "thou" belong inside that flow. In Exodus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "lift" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.