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Now Moses fed the sheep of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Madian: and he drove the flock to the inner parts of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, Horeb.

And the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he saw that the bush was on fire and was not burnt.

And Moses said: I will go and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

And when the Lord saw that he went forward to see, he called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said: Moses, Moses. And he answered: Here I am.

And he said: Come not nigh hither, put off the shoes from thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

And he said: I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses hid his face: for he durst not look at God.

And the Lord said to him: I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of the rigour of them that are over the works:

And knowing their sorrow, I am come down to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land into a good and spacious land, into a land that floweth with milk and honey, to the places of the Chanaanite, and Hethite, and Amorrhite, and Pherezite, and Hevite, and Jebusite.

For the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have seen their affliction, wherewith they are oppressed by the Egyptians.

10 But come, and I will send thee to Pharao, that thou mayst bring forth my people, the children of Israel out of Egypt.

11 And Moses said to God: Who am I that I should go to Pharao, and should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12 And he said to him: I will be with thee: and this thou shalt have for a sign, that I have sent thee: When thou shalt have brought my people out of Egypt, thou shalt offer sacrifice to God upon this mountain.

13 Moses said to God: Lo, I shall go to the children of Israel, and say to them: The God of your fathers hath sent me to you. If they should say to me: What is his name? what shall I say to them?

14 God said to Moses: I AM WHO AM. He said: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: HE WHO IS, hath sent me to you.

15 And God said again to Moses: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me to you: This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

16 Go, gather together the ancients of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to me, saying: Visiting I have visited you: and I have seen all that hath befallen you in Egypt.

17 And I have said the word to bring you forth out of the affliction of Egypt, into the land of the Chanaanite, the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, and Pherezite, and Hevite, and Jebusite, to a land that floweth with milk and honey.

18 And they shall hear thy voice: and thou shalt go in, thou and the ancients of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and thou shalt say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews hath called us: we will go three days' journey into the wilderness, to sacrifice unto the Lord our God.

19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, but by a mighty hand.

20 For I will stretch forth my hand and will strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst of them: after these he will let you go.

21 And I will give favour to this people, in the sight of the Egyptians: and when you go forth, you shall not depart empty:

22 But every woman shall ask of her neighbour, and of her that is in her house, vessels of silver and of gold, and raiment: and you shall put them on your sons and daughters, and shall spoil Egypt.

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.