Exodus 3
Legacy Standard Bible
God Calls Moses at the Burning Bush
3 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of (A)Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the [a]west side of the wilderness and came to (B)Horeb, the (C)mountain of God. 2 (D)And the angel of [b]Yahweh appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of the (E)bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. 3 So Moses said, “[c](F)I must turn aside now and see this [d]marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burned up?” 4 And Yahweh saw that he turned aside to look, so (G)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. (H)Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He said also, “(I)I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” (J)Then Moses hid his face, for he was (K)afraid to look at God.
7 And Yahweh said, “I have surely (L)seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sufferings. 8 So I have come down (M)to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a (N)good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of (O)the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 9 So now, behold, (P)the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, come and I will send you to Pharaoh, (Q)and so you shall bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “(R)Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 And He said, “Certainly (S)I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: (T)when you have brought the people out of Egypt, (U)you shall [e]serve God at this mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am about to come to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ And they will say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 And God said to Moses, “[f](V)I AM WHO [g]I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘[h]I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 And God furthermore said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘(W)Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My (X)memorial-name from generation to generation. 16 Go and (Y)gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘(Z)Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “[i](AA)I indeed care about you and what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 So (AB)I said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of (AC)the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land (AD)flowing with milk and honey.”’ 18 (AE)And they will listen to your voice; and (AF)you with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt, and you all will say to him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, please, let us go a (AG)three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt (AH)will not give you permission to go, (AI)except by a strong hand. 20 So I will stretch out (AJ)My hand and strike Egypt with all My (AK)wondrous deeds which I shall do in the midst of it; and (AL)after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people (AM)favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty. 22 But every woman (AN)shall ask of her neighbor and of the woman who lives in her house, for articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters. Thus you will (AO)plunder the Egyptians.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 3:1 Or rear part
- Exodus 3:2 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
- Exodus 3:3 Lit Let me turn
- Exodus 3:3 Lit great
- Exodus 3:12 Or be a slave for
- Exodus 3:14 Related to the name of God, Yahweh, which is derived from the verb hayah; lit to be
- Exodus 3:14 Related to the name of God, Yahweh, which is derived from the verb hayah; lit to be
- Exodus 3:14 Related to the name of God, Yahweh, which is derived from the verb hayah; lit to be
- Exodus 3:16 Lit Visiting I have visited
Exodus 3
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Moses at the Burning Bush
3 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness and came to Mount Horeb,[a] the mountain of God.(A) 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.(B) 3 Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up.”(C) 4 When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”(D) 6 He said further, “I am the God of your 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 at God.(E)
7 Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings,(F) 8 and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.(G) 9 The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them.(H) 10 Now go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”(I) 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”(J)
The Divine Name Revealed
13 But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”[b] He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”(K) 15 God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,[c] the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:
This is my name forever,
and this my title for all generations.(L)
16 “Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have given heed to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 I declare that I will bring you up out of the misery of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.’(M) 18 They will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; let us now go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’(N) 19 I know, however, that the king of Egypt will not let you go except by a mighty hand.(O) 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will perform in it; after that he will let you go.(P) 21 I will bring this people into such favor with the Egyptians that, when you go, you will not go empty-handed;(Q) 22 each woman shall ask her neighbor and any woman living in the neighbor’s house for jewelry of silver and of gold and clothing, and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters; so you shall plunder the Egyptians.”(R)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.