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¶ Now as Moses shepherded the sheep of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, he led the flock to the backside of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

And the Angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

Then Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great vision, why the bush is not burnt.

And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

And he said, Do not come near; take off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place upon which thou dost stand is holy ground.

Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses covered his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

¶ And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land unto a good and broad land, unto a land flowing with milk and honey, unto the places of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.

Therefore, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has now come before me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.

10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh that thou may bring forth my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.

11 ¶ Then Moses said unto God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the sons of Israel out of Egypt?

12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the sons of Israel and say unto them, The God of your fathers has sent me unto you, and if they say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them?

14 And God answered unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM. And he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the sons of Israel: I AM (YHWH) has sent me unto you.

15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the sons of Israel: The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me unto you. This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all ages.

16 ¶ Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you and seen that which is done to you in Egypt,

17 and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

18 And they shall hearken to thy voice, and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews has found us; therefore, we shall now go three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.

19 For I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go except by a mighty hand.

20 But I will stretch out my hand and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof, and after that he will let you go.

21 And I will give this people grace in the eyes of the Egyptians, and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty;

22 but every woman shall demand of her neighbour and of her that sojourns in her house, vessels of silver and vessels of gold and clothing; and ye shall put them upon your sons and upon your daughters, and ye 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.