Moses and the Burning Bush

3 One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro,^[a] the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai,^[b] the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. ³ “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”

⁴ When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

“Here I am!” Moses replied.

⁵ “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. ⁶ I am the God of your father^[c]—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. ⁸ So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. ⁹ Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. ¹⁰ Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

¹¹ But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

¹² God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”

¹³ But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”

¹⁴ God replied to Moses, “I am who i am.^[d] Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.” ¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh,^[e] the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.

¹⁶ “Now go and call together all the elders of Israel. Tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me. He told me, “I have been watching closely, and I see how the Egyptians are treating you. ¹⁷ I have promised to rescue you from your oppression in Egypt. I will lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.”’

¹⁸ “The elders of Israel will accept your message. Then you and the elders must go to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord, our God.’

¹⁹ “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand forces him.^{[f] 20} So I will raise my hand and strike the Egyptians, performing all kinds of miracles among them. Then at last he will let you go. ²¹ And I will cause the Egyptians to look favorably on you. They will give you gifts when you go so you will not leave empty-handed. ²² Every Israelite woman will ask for articles of silver and gold and fine clothing from her Egyptian neighbors and from the foreign women in their houses. You will dress your sons and daughters with these, stripping the Egyptians of their wealth.”

Signs of the Lord’s Power

4 But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”

² Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.

³ “Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.

⁴ Then the Lord told him, “Reach out and grab its tail.” So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand.

⁵ “Perform this sign,” the Lord told him. “Then they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—really has appeared to you.”

⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out again, his hand was white as snow with a severe skin disease.^{[g] 7} “Now put your hand back into your cloak,” the Lord said. So Moses put his hand back in, and when he took it out again, it was as healthy as the rest of his body.

⁸ The Lord said to Moses, “If they do not believe you and are not convinced by the first miraculous sign, they will be convinced by the second sign. ⁹ And if they don’t believe you or listen to you even after these two signs, then take some water from the Nile River and pour it out on the dry ground. When you do, the water from the Nile will turn to blood on the ground.”

¹⁰ But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”

¹¹ Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹² Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”

¹³ But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you. ¹⁵ Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do. ¹⁶ Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say. ¹⁷ And take your shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you.”

Moses Returns to Egypt

¹⁸ So Moses went back home to Jethro, his father-in-law. “Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt,” Moses said. “I don’t even know if they are still alive.”

“Go in peace,” Jethro replied.

¹⁹ Before Moses left Midian, the Lord said to him, “Return to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you have died.”

²⁰ So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to the land of Egypt. In his hand he carried the staff of God.

²¹ And the Lord told Moses, “When you arrive back in Egypt, go to Pharaoh and perform all the miracles I have empowered you to do. But I will harden his heart so he will refuse to let the people go. ²² Then you will tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. ²³ I commanded you, “Let my son go, so he can worship me.” But since you have refused, I will now kill your firstborn son!’”

²⁴ On the way to Egypt, at a place where Moses and his family had stopped for the night, the Lord confronted him and was about to kill him. ²⁵ But Moses’ wife, Zipporah, took a flint knife and circumcised her son. She touched his feet^[h] with the foreskin and said, “Now you are a bridegroom of blood to me.” ²⁶ (When she said “a bridegroom of blood,” she was referring to the circumcision.) After that, the Lord left him alone.

²⁷ Now the Lord had said to Aaron, “Go out into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So Aaron went and met Moses at the mountain of God, and he embraced him. ²⁸ Moses then told Aaron everything the Lord had commanded him to say. And he told him about the miraculous signs the Lord had commanded him to perform.

²⁹ Then Moses and Aaron returned to Egypt and called all the elders of Israel together. ³⁰ Aaron told them everything the Lord had told Moses, and Moses performed the miraculous signs as they watched. ³¹ Then the people of Israel were convinced that the Lord had sent Moses and Aaron. When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.

Moses and Aaron Speak to Pharaoh

5 After this presentation to Israel’s leaders, Moses and Aaron went and spoke to Pharaoh. They told him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go so they may hold a festival in my honor in the wilderness.”

² “Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”

³ But Aaron and Moses persisted. “The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they declared. “So let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness so we can offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we don’t, he will kill us with a plague or with the sword.”

⁴ Pharaoh replied, “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their tasks? Get back to work! ⁵ Look, there are many of your people in the land, and you are stopping them from their work.”

Making Bricks without Straw

⁶ That same day Pharaoh sent this order to the Egyptian slave drivers and the Israelite foremen: ⁷ “Do not supply any more straw for making bricks. Make the people get it themselves! ⁸ But still require them to make the same number of bricks as before. Don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy. That’s why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to our God.’ ⁹ Load them down with more work. Make them sweat! That will teach them to listen to lies!”

A Plague of Blood

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn,^[a] and he still refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ So go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes down to the river. Stand on the bank of the Nile and meet him there. Be sure to take along the staff that turned into a snake. ¹⁶ Then announce to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you, “Let my people go, so they can worship me in the wilderness.” Until now, you have refused to listen to him. ¹⁷ So this is what the Lord says: “I will show you that I am the Lord.” Look! I will strike the water of the Nile with this staff in my hand, and the river will turn to blood. ¹⁸ The fish in it will die, and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.’”

¹⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and raise your hand over the waters of Egypt—all its rivers, canals, ponds, and all the reservoirs. Turn all the water to blood. Everywhere in Egypt the water will turn to blood, even the water stored in wooden bowls and stone pots.’”

²⁰ So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. As Pharaoh and all of his officials watched, Aaron raised his staff and struck the water of the Nile. Suddenly, the whole river turned to blood! ²¹ The fish in the river died, and the water became so foul that the Egyptians couldn’t drink it. There was blood everywhere throughout the land of Egypt. ²² But again the magicians of Egypt used their magic, and they, too, turned water into blood. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hard. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had predicted. ²³ Pharaoh returned to his palace and put the whole thing out of his mind. ²⁴ Then all the Egyptians dug along the riverbank to find drinking water, for they couldn’t drink the water from the Nile.

²⁵ Seven days passed from the time the Lord struck the Nile.

A Plague of Frogs

8 ^[b]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go back to Pharaoh and announce to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. ² If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs across your entire land. ³ The Nile River will swarm with frogs. They will come up out of the river and into your palace, even into your bedroom and onto your bed! They will enter the houses of your officials and your people. They will even jump into your ovens and your kneading bowls. ⁴ Frogs will jump on you, your people, and all your officials.’”

^5 [c]Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Raise the staff in your hand over all the rivers, canals, and ponds of Egypt, and bring up frogs over all the land.’” ⁶ So Aaron raised his hand over the waters of Egypt, and frogs came up and covered the whole land! ⁷ But the magicians were able to do the same thing with their magic. They, too, caused frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.

⁸ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and begged, “Plead with the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people. I will let your people go, so they can offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

⁹ “You set the time!” Moses replied. “Tell me when you want me to pray for you, your officials, and your people. Then you and your houses will be rid of the frogs. They will remain only in the Nile River.”

¹⁰ “Do it tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.

“All right,” Moses replied, “it will be as you have said. Then you will know that there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹ The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials, and your people. They will remain only in the Nile River.”

¹² So Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh’s palace, and Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had inflicted on Pharaoh. ¹³ And the Lord did just what Moses had predicted. The frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields all died. ¹⁴ The Egyptians piled them into great heaps, and a terrible stench filled the land. ¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that relief had come, he became stubborn.^[d] He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had predicted.

A Plague of Gnats

¹⁶ So the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Raise your staff and strike the ground. The dust will turn into swarms of gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’” ¹⁷ So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them. When Aaron raised his hand and struck the ground with his staff, gnats infested the entire land, covering the Egyptians and their animals. All the dust in the land of Egypt turned into gnats. ¹⁸ Pharaoh’s magicians tried to do the same thing with their secret arts, but this time they failed. And the gnats covered everyone, people and animals alike.

¹⁹ “This is the finger of God!” the magicians exclaimed to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart remained hard. He wouldn’t listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.

A Plague of Flies

²⁰ Then the Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand in Pharaoh’s way as he goes down to the river. Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. ²¹ If you refuse, then I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, your people, and all the houses. The Egyptian homes will be filled with flies, and the ground will be covered with them. ²² But this time I will spare the region of Goshen, where my people live. No flies will be found there. Then you will know that I am the Lord and that I am present even in the heart of your land. ²³ I will make a clear distinction between^[e] my people and your people. This miraculous sign will happen tomorrow.’”

²⁴ And the Lord did just as he had said. A thick swarm of flies filled Pharaoh’s palace and the houses of his officials. The whole land of Egypt was thrown into chaos by the flies.

²⁵ Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. “All right! Go ahead and offer sacrifices to your God,” he said. “But do it here in this land.”

²⁶ But Moses replied, “That wouldn’t be right. The Egyptians detest the sacrifices that we offer to the Lord our God. Look, if we offer our sacrifices here where the Egyptians can see us, they will stone us. ²⁷ We must take a three-day trip into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, just as he has commanded us.”

²⁸ “All right, go ahead,” Pharaoh replied. “I will let you go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God. But don’t go too far away. Now hurry and pray for me.”

²⁹ Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the swarms of flies will disappear from you and your officials and all your people. But I am warning you, Pharaoh, don’t lie to us again and refuse to let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

³⁰ So Moses left Pharaoh’s palace and pleaded with the Lord to remove all the flies. ³¹ And the Lord did as Moses asked and caused the swarms of flies to disappear from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Not a single fly remained. ³² But Pharaoh again became stubborn and refused to let the people go.

A Plague against Livestock

9 “Go back to Pharaoh,” the Lord commanded Moses. “Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. ² If you continue to hold them and refuse to let them go, ³ the hand of the Lord will strike all your livestock—your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats—with a deadly plague. ⁴ But the Lord will again make a distinction between the livestock of the Israelites and that of the Egyptians. Not a single one of Israel’s animals will die! ⁵ The Lord has already set the time for the plague to begin. He has declared that he will strike the land tomorrow.’”

⁶ And the Lord did just as he had said. The next morning all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but the Israelites didn’t lose a single animal. ⁷ Pharaoh sent his officials to investigate, and they discovered that the Israelites had not lost a single animal! But even so, Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn,^[f] and he still refused to let the people go.

A Plague of Festering Boils

⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a brick kiln, and have Moses toss it into the air while Pharaoh watches. ⁹ The ashes will spread like fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, causing festering boils to break out on people and animals throughout the land.”

¹⁰ So they took soot from a brick kiln and went and stood before Pharaoh. As Pharaoh watched, Moses threw the soot into the air, and boils broke out on people and animals alike. ¹¹ Even the magicians were unable to stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and all the Egyptians. ¹² But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and just as the Lord had predicted to Moses, Pharaoh refused to listen.

A Plague of Hail

¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. ¹⁴ If you don’t, I will send more plagues on you^[g] and your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth. ¹⁵ By now I could have lifted my hand and struck you and your people with a plague to wipe you off the face of the earth. ¹⁶ But I have spared you for a purpose—to show you my power^[h] and to spread my fame throughout the earth. ¹⁷ But you still lord it over my people and refuse to let them go. ¹⁸ So tomorrow at this time I will send a hailstorm more devastating than any in all the history of Egypt. ¹⁹ Quick! Order your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter. Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail falls.’”

²⁰ Some of Pharaoh’s officials were afraid because of what the Lord had said. They quickly brought their servants and livestock in from the fields. ²¹ But those who paid no attention to the word of the Lord left theirs out in the open.

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward the sky so hail may fall on the people, the livestock, and all the plants throughout the land of Egypt.”

²³ So Moses lifted his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed toward the earth. The Lord sent a tremendous hailstorm against all the land of Egypt. ²⁴ Never in all the history of Egypt had there been a storm like that, with such devastating hail and continuous lightning. ²⁵ It left all of Egypt in ruins. The hail struck down everything in the open field—people, animals, and plants alike. Even the trees were destroyed. ²⁶ The only place without hail was the region of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived.

²⁷ Then Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he confessed. “The Lord is the righteous one, and my people and I are wrong. ²⁸ Please beg the Lord to end this terrifying thunder and hail. We’ve had enough. I will let you go; you don’t need to stay any longer.”

²⁹ “All right,” Moses replied. “As soon as I leave the city, I will lift my hands and pray to the Lord. Then the thunder and hail will stop, and you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord. ³⁰ But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God.”

³¹ (All the flax and barley were ruined by the hail, because the barley had formed heads and the flax was budding. ³² But the wheat and the emmer wheat were spared, because they had not yet sprouted from the ground.)

³³ So Moses left Pharaoh’s court and went out of the city. When he lifted his hands to the Lord, the thunder and hail stopped, and the downpour ceased. ³⁴ But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he and his officials sinned again, and Pharaoh again became stubborn.^{[i] 35} Because his heart was hard, Pharaoh refused to let the people leave, just as the Lord had predicted through Moses.

A Plague of Locusts

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again. I have made him and his officials stubborn^[j] so I can display my miraculous signs among them. ² I’ve also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them—and so you will know that I am the Lord.”

³ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so they can worship me. ⁴ If you refuse, watch out! For tomorrow I will bring a swarm of locusts on your country. ⁵ They will cover the land so that you won’t be able to see the ground. They will devour what little is left of your crops after the hailstorm, including all the trees growing in the fields. ⁶ They will overrun your palaces and the homes of your officials and all the houses in Egypt. Never in the history of Egypt have your ancestors seen a plague like this one!” And with that, Moses turned and left Pharaoh.

⁷ Pharaoh’s officials now came to Pharaoh and appealed to him. “How long will you let this man hold us hostage? Let the men go to worship the Lord their God! Don’t you realize that Egypt lies in ruins?”

⁸ So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “All right,” he told them, “go and worship the Lord your God. But who exactly will be going with you?”

⁹ Moses replied, “We will all go—young and old, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds. We must all join together in celebrating a festival to the Lord.”

¹⁰ Pharaoh retorted, “The Lord will certainly need to be with you if I let you take your little ones! I can see through your evil plan. ¹¹ Never! Only the men may go and worship the Lord, since that is what you requested.” And Pharaoh threw them out of the palace.

¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Raise your hand over the land of Egypt to bring on the locusts. Let them cover the land and devour every plant that survived the hailstorm.”

¹³ So Moses raised his staff over Egypt, and the Lord caused an east wind to blow over the land all that day and through the night. When morning arrived, the east wind had brought the locusts. ¹⁴ And the locusts swarmed over the whole land of Egypt, settling in dense swarms from one end of the country to the other. It was the worst locust plague in Egyptian history, and there has never been another one like it. ¹⁵ For the locusts covered the whole country and darkened the land. They devoured every plant in the fields and all the fruit on the trees that had survived the hailstorm. Not a single leaf was left on the trees and plants throughout the land of Egypt.

¹⁶ Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you,” he confessed. ¹⁷ “Forgive my sin, just this once, and plead with the Lord your God to take away this death from me.”

¹⁸ So Moses left Pharaoh’s court and pleaded with the Lord. ¹⁹ The Lord responded by shifting the wind, and the strong west wind blew the locusts into the Red Sea.^[k] Not a single locust remained in all the land of Egypt. ²⁰ But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart again, so he refused to let the people go.

A Plague of Darkness

²¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it.” ²² So Moses lifted his hand to the sky, and a deep darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days. ²³ During all that time the people could not see each other, and no one moved. But there was light as usual where the people of Israel lived.

²⁴ Finally, Pharaoh called for Moses. “Go and worship the Lord,” he said. “But leave your flocks and herds here. You may even take your little ones with you.”

²⁵ “No,” Moses said, “you must provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord our God. ²⁶ All our livestock must go with us, too; not a hoof can be left behind. We must choose our sacrifices for the Lord our God from among these animals. And we won’t know how we are to worship the Lord until we get there.”

²⁷ But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart once more, and he would not let them go. ²⁸ “Get out of here!” Pharaoh shouted at Moses. “I’m warning you. Never come back to see me again! The day you see my face, you will die!”

²⁹ “Very well,” Moses replied. “I will never see your face again.”