The Burning Bush

Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law (A)Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the [a]west side of the wilderness and came to (B)Horeb, the (C)mountain of God. Then (D)the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of [b]a (E)bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed. So Moses said, “(F)I must turn aside and see this [c]marvelous sight, why the bush is not burning up!” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, (G)God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not come near here; (H)remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And He said, “(I)I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” (J)Then Moses hid his face, for he was (K)afraid to look at God.

And the Lord said, “I have certainly (L)seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down (M)to rescue them from the [d]power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a (N)good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of (O)the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. And now, behold, (P)the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.

The Mission of Moses

10 And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, (Q)so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “(R)Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 And He said, “Assuredly (S)I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: (T)when you have brought the people out of Egypt, (U)you shall [e]worship God at this mountain.”

13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 And God said to Moses, “[f](V)I AM WHO [g]I AM”; and He said, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘[h]I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 God furthermore said to Moses, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘(W)The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is the [i](X)name for [j]all generations to use to call upon Me. 16 Go and (Y)gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘(Z)The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has appeared to me, saying, “[k](AA)I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 So (AB)I said, I will bring you up out of the oppression of Egypt to the land of (AC)the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land (AD)flowing with milk and honey.”’ 18 Then (AE)they will [l]pay attention to what you say; and (AF)you with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt, and you will say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, please let us go a (AG)three days’ journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt (AH)will not permit you to go, (AI)except [m]under compulsion. 20 So I will reach out with (AJ)My hand and strike Egypt with all My (AK)miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and (AL)after that he will let you go. 21 I will grant this people (AM)favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty-handed. 22 But every woman (AN)shall ask her neighbor and the woman who lives in her house for articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will (AO)plunder the Egyptians.”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 3:1 Or rear part
  2. Exodus 3:2 Lit the
  3. Exodus 3:3 Lit great
  4. Exodus 3:8 Lit hand
  5. Exodus 3:12 Or serve
  6. Exodus 3:14 Related to the name of God, YHWH, rendered Lord, which is derived from the verb HAYAH, to be
  7. Exodus 3:14 Related to the name of God, YHWH, rendered Lord, which is derived from the verb HAYAH, to be
  8. Exodus 3:14 Related to the name of God, YHWH, rendered Lord, which is derived from the verb HAYAH, to be
  9. Exodus 3:15 I.e., name used in prayer, vows, and ceremony
  10. Exodus 3:15 Lit generation of generation
  11. Exodus 3:16 Lit Visiting I have visited
  12. Exodus 3:18 Lit hear your voice
  13. Exodus 3:19 Lit by a strong hand

Moses and the Burning Bush

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro(A) his father-in-law, the priest of Midian,(B) and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb,(C) the mountain(D) of God. There the angel of the Lord(E) appeared to him in flames of fire(F) from within a bush.(G) Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called(H) to him from within the bush,(I) “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”(J)

“Do not come any closer,”(K) God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”(L) Then he said, “I am the God of your father,[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”(M) At this, Moses hid(N) his face, because he was afraid to look at God.(O)

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen(P) the misery(Q) of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned(R) about their suffering.(S) So I have come down(T) to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land,(U) a land flowing with milk and honey(V)—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites(W) and Jebusites.(X) And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing(Y) them. 10 So now, go. I am sending(Z) you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”(AA)

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I(AB) that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

12 And God said, “I will be with you.(AC) And this will be the sign(AD) to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[b] will worship God on this mountain.(AE)

13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’(AF) Then what shall I tell them?”

14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.[c] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am(AG) has sent me to you.’”

15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,[d] the God of your fathers(AH)—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob(AI)—has sent me to you.’

“This is my name(AJ) forever,
    the name you shall call me
    from generation to generation.(AK)

16 “Go, assemble the elders(AL) of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob(AM)—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen(AN) what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt(AO) into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’(AP)

18 “The elders of Israel will listen(AQ) to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews,(AR) has met(AS) with us. Let us take a three-day journey(AT) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices(AU) to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand(AV) compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand(AW) and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders(AX) that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.(AY)

21 “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed(AZ) toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed.(BA) 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver(BB) and gold(BC) and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder(BD) the Egyptians.”(BE)

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 3:6 Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch (see Acts 7:32) fathers
  2. Exodus 3:12 The Hebrew is plural.
  3. Exodus 3:14 Or I will be what I will be
  4. Exodus 3:15 The Hebrew for Lord sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for I am in verse 14.