Eighteen Verses of the Song and Eighteen Blessings of Prayer

"For the horse of Pharaoh went in" (Exodus 15:19): this teaches that Pharaoh too was included [in the drowning]. "And the LORD turned back the waters of the sea upon them": upon them, the enemy, the waters returned, but "Your people and Your inheritance and the flock of Your pasture," the children of Abraham who loved You, the seed of Isaac Your beloved, the family of Jacob Your firstborn, the vine You brought out of Egypt and the stock Your right hand planted; "but the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea." Here are eighteen verses [in the Song], and corresponding to them the Sages instituted the eighteen blessings of the Amidah prayer. The first three verses are praise to the Name, and the last three are thanksgiving to the Name, and the middle ones concern need; corresponding to them the Sages instituted the first three blessings as praise, the last as thanksgiving, and the middle ones for the needs of every individual. And corresponding to them the Holy One, blessed be He, comforted them with eighteen verses of consolation. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: You said "Then sang [Moses]"; you offer praise with "then," so I say, "Then your light shall break forth like the dawn" (Isaiah 58:8), "Then you shall call and the LORD will answer" (Isaiah 58:9), "Then you shall see and be radiant" (Isaiah 60:5), "Then you shall delight in the LORD" (Isaiah 58:14). You said "My strength," so I say, "Awake, awake, put on your strength" (Isaiah 52:1), "Awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD" (Isaiah 51:9). You said "The LORD is a man of war, the LORD is His name," so I say, "A leafy olive tree, fair with goodly fruit, the LORD called your name" (Jeremiah 11:16). You said "the chariots of Pharaoh," so I say, "and you shall tread upon their high places" (Deuteronomy 33:29). You said "the deeps covered them, they went down into the depths," so I say, "who says to the deep, be dry" (Isaiah 44:27). You said "Your right hand, O LORD," so I say, "the LORD has sworn by His right hand" (Isaiah 62:8). You said "in the greatness of Your majesty You overthrow Your adversaries; You send forth Your wrath, it consumes them like stubble," so I say, "the house of Jacob shall be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble, and they shall kindle among them and consume them" (Obadiah 1:18). You said "by the breath of Your nostrils the waters were heaped up," so I say, "living waters shall go out from Jerusalem" (Zechariah 14:8). You said "the enemy said," so I say, "therefore all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity, and those who plunder you shall be plundered, and all who prey upon you I will give as prey" (Jeremiah 30:16). You said "You blew with Your wind," so I say, "I will put My spirit within you" (Ezekiel 36:27). You said "Who is like You, O LORD," so I say, "Happy are you, O Israel; who is like you" (Deuteronomy 33:29). You said "You stretched out Your right hand, the earth swallowed them," so I say, "and all the nations shall call you happy, for you shall be a land of delight" (Malachi 3:12). You said "You led in Your kindness," so I say, "My kindness shall not depart from you" (Isaiah 54:10). You said "the peoples heard," so I say, "your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying..." (Isaiah 30:21). You said "then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed, the leaders of Moab, trembling seized them," so I say, "I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more" (2 Samuel 7:10). You said "terror and dread fell upon them," so I say, "kings shall be your foster fathers and their queens your nursing mothers; with faces to the ground they shall bow down to you" (Isaiah 49:23). You said "You will bring them in," so I say, "I will bring them to My holy mountain" (Isaiah 56:7). You said "the LORD will reign," so I say, "the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed" (Daniel 2:44). You said "for the horse of Pharaoh went in," so I say, "a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness" (Isaiah 35:8).