¹⁶ Round up all the elders in Israel and tell them, “The Eternal, the God of your fathers and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has revealed Himself to me and said, ‘I have been watching over you, and I am deeply troubled by what has been done to you in Egypt. ¹⁷ So I will rescue you from the oppression you have suffered in Egypt, and lead you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a rich and productive land flowing with milk and honey.’” ¹⁸ They will listen to all that you tell them; you and the elders will then go to visit Egypt’s king and tell the king, “The Eternal, the Hebrews’ God, has appeared to us. We ask that you allow us to travel three days’ distance into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Eternal.”