Exodus 2:15-3:9
New American Standard Bible
Moses Escapes to Midian
15 When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But (A)Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and [a]settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down (B)by a well.
16 Now (C)the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and (D)they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but (E)Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. 18 When they came to their father (F)Reuel, he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian saved us from [b]the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 So he said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him [c]to have something to eat.” 21 And (G)Moses was willing to live with the man. And he gave his daughter (H)Zipporah to Moses. 22 Then she gave birth to (I)a son, and he named him [d]Gershom, for he said, “I have been (J)a stranger in a foreign land.”
23 Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel (K)groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and (L)their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God. 24 So (M)God heard their groaning; and God remembered (N)His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 And (O)God saw the sons of Israel, and God [e]took notice of them.
The Burning Bush
3 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law (P)Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the [f]west side of the wilderness and came to (Q)Horeb, the (R)mountain of God. 2 Then (S)the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of [g]a (T)bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed. 3 So Moses said, “(U)I must turn aside and see this [h]marvelous sight, why the bush is not burning up!” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, (V)God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not come near here; (W)remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And He said, “(X)I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” (Y)Then Moses hid his face, for he was (Z)afraid to look at God.
7 And the Lord said, “I have certainly (AA)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. 8 So I have come down (AB)to rescue them from the [i]power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a (AC)good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of (AD)the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 9 And now, behold, (AE)the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.
Footnotes
- Exodus 2:15 Lit dwelt
- Exodus 2:19 Lit the hand of the
- Exodus 2:20 Lit that he may eat bread
- Exodus 2:22 Cf. Heb ger sham, a stranger there
- Exodus 2:25 Lit knew them
- Exodus 3:1 Or rear part
- Exodus 3:2 Lit the
- Exodus 3:3 Lit great
- Exodus 3:8 Lit hand
Exodus 2:15-3:10
The Message
15 Pharaoh heard about it and tried to kill Moses, but Moses got away to the land of Midian. He sat down by a well.
16-17 The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came and drew water, filling the troughs and watering their father’s sheep. When some shepherds came and chased the girls off, Moses came to their rescue and helped them water their sheep.
18 When they got home to their father, Reuel, he said, “That didn’t take long. Why are you back so soon?”
19 “An Egyptian,” they said, “rescued us from a bunch of shepherds. Why, he even drew water for us and watered the sheep.”
20 He said, “So where is he? Why did you leave him behind? Invite him so he can have something to eat with us.”
21-22 Moses agreed to settle down there with the man, who then gave his daughter Zipporah (Bird) to him for his wife. She had a son, and Moses named him Gershom (Sojourner), saying, “I’m a sojourner in a foreign country.”
* * *
23 Many years later the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery and cried out. Their cries for relief from their hard labor ascended to God:
24 God listened to their groanings.
God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25 God saw what was going on with Israel.
God understood.
* * *
3 1-2 Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the west end of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn’t burn up.
3 Moses said, “What’s going on here? I can’t believe this! Amazing! Why doesn’t the bush burn up?”
4 God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
He said, “Yes? I’m right here!”
5 God said, “Don’t come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You’re standing on holy ground.”
6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”
Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.
7-8 God said, “I’ve taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
9-10 “The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I’ve seen for myself how cruelly they’re being treated by the Egyptians. It’s time for you to go back: I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt.”
Exodus 2:15-3:9
King James Version
15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.
17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?
19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.
20 And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.
21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
22 And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.
23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.
3 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2 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.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 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.
5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8 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 land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson