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Exodus 3:1-15
Good News Translation
Exodus 3:1-15
Good News Translation
God Calls Moses
3 One day while Moses was taking care of the sheep and goats of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, he led the flock across the desert and came to Sinai, the holy mountain. 2 (A)There the angel of the Lord appeared to him as a flame coming from the middle of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire but that it was not burning up. 3 “This is strange,” he thought. “Why isn't the bush burning up? I will go closer and see.”
4 When the Lord saw that Moses was coming closer, he called to him from the middle of the bush and said, “Moses! Moses!”
He answered, “Yes, here I am.”
5 God said, “Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground. 6 I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” So Moses covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the Lord said, “I have seen how cruelly my people are being treated in Egypt; I have heard them cry out to be rescued from their slave drivers. I know all about their sufferings, 8 and so I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of Egypt to a spacious land, one which is rich and fertile and in which the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites now live. 9 I have indeed heard the cry of my people, and I see how the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Now I am sending you to the king of Egypt so that you can lead my people out of his country.”
11 But Moses said to God, “I am nobody. How can I go to the king and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 God answered, “I will be with you, and when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will worship me on this mountain. That will be the proof that I have sent you.”
13 (B)But Moses replied, “When I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ So what can I tell them?”
14 (C)God said, “I am who I am. You must tell them: ‘The one who is called I Am[a] has sent me to you.’ 15 Tell the Israelites that I, the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have sent you to them. This is my name forever; this is what all future generations are to call me.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 3:14 I am who I am … I Am; or I will be who I will be … I Will Be. “I am” sounds like the Hebrew name Yahweh traditionally transliterated as Jehovah. This name is represented in this translation by “the Lord” in capital letters, following a usage which is widespread in English versions.
Exodus 3:1-15
New International Version
Exodus 3:1-15
New International Version
Moses and the Burning Bush
3 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. 2 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. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
4 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)
5 “Do not come any closer,”(K) God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”(L) 6 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)
7 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) 8 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) 9 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.’
Footnotes
- Exodus 3:6 Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch (see Acts 7:32) fathers
- Exodus 3:12 The Hebrew is plural.
- Exodus 3:14 Or I will be what I will be
- Exodus 3:15 The Hebrew for Lord sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for I am in verse 14.
Exodus 3:1-15
The Message
Exodus 3:1-15
The Message
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.”
11 Moses answered God, “But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 “I’ll be with you,” God said. “And this will be the proof that I am the one who sent you: When you have brought my people out of Egypt, you will worship God right here at this very mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the People of Israel and I tell them, ‘The God of your fathers sent me to you’; and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What do I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I-AM-WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, ‘I-AM sent me to you.’”
15 God continued with Moses: “This is what you’re to say to the Israelites: ‘God, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob sent me to you.’ This has always been my name, and this is how I always will be known.
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Good News Translation (GNT) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson