Exodus 2:11-3:10

New American Standard Bible

¹¹Now it came about in those days, ^(A)when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his ^[a]fellow Hebrews and looked at their ^[b]^(B)hard labors; and ^(C)he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his ^[c]fellow Hebrews. ¹²So he ^[d]looked this way and that, and when he saw that there was no one around, he ^(D)struck and killed the Egyptian, and hid ^[e]his body in the sand. ¹³Now he went out ^(E)the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were ^[f]fighting with each other; and he said to the ^[g]offender, “Why are you striking your companion?” ¹⁴But he said, “^(F)Who made you a ^[h]ruler and a judge over us? Do you ^[i]intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known!”

Moses Escapes to Midian

¹⁵When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But ^(G)Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and ^[j]settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down ^(H)by a well.

¹⁶Now ^(I)the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and ^(J)they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but ^(K)Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. ¹⁸When they came to their father ^(L)Reuel, he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?” ¹⁹They said, “An Egyptian saved us from ^[k]the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” ²⁰So he said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him ^[l]to have something to eat.” ²¹And ^(M)Moses was willing to live with the man. And he gave his daughter ^(N)Zipporah to Moses. ²²Then she gave birth to ^(O)a son, and he named him ^[m]Gershom, for he said, “I have been ^(P)a stranger in a foreign land.”

²³Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel ^(Q)groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and ^(R)their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God. ²⁴So ^(S)God heard their groaning; and God remembered ^(T)His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ²⁵And ^(U)God saw the sons of Israel, and God ^[n]took notice of them.

The Burning Bush

3 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law ^(V)Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the ^[o]west side of the wilderness and came to ^(W)Horeb, the ^(X)mountain of God. ²Then ^(Y)the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of ^[p]a ^(Z)bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed. ³So Moses said, “^(AA)I must turn aside and see this ^[q]marvelous sight, why the bush is not burning up!” ⁴When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, ^(AB)God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵Then He said, “Do not come near here; ^(AC)remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶And He said, “^(AD)I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” ^(AE)Then Moses hid his face, for he was ^(AF)afraid to look at God.

⁷And the Lord said, “I have certainly ^(AG)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. ⁸So I have come down ^(AH)to rescue them from the ^[r]power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a ^(AI)good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of ^(AJ)the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. ⁹And now, behold, ^(AK)the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.