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Exodus 3:11-18
The Message
Exodus 3:11-18
The Message
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.
16-17 “Now be on your way. Gather the leaders of Israel. Tell them, ‘God, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I’ve looked into what’s being done to you in Egypt, and I’ve determined to get you out of the affliction of Egypt and take you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, a land brimming over with milk and honey.”’
18 “Believe me, they will listen to you. Then you and the leaders of Israel will go to the king of Egypt and say to him: ‘God, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness where we will worship God—our God.’
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Exodus 3:11-18
New International Version
Exodus 3:11-18
New International Version
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I(A) that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 And God said, “I will be with you.(B) And this will be the sign(C) to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[a] will worship God on this mountain.(D)”
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?’(E) Then what shall I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.[b] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am(F) has sent me to you.’”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,[c] the God of your fathers(G)—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob(H)—has sent me to you.’
16 “Go, assemble the elders(K) of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob(L)—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen(M) what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt(N) into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’(O)
18 “The elders of Israel will listen(P) to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews,(Q) has met(R) with us. Let us take a three-day journey(S) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices(T) to the Lord our God.’
Footnotes
- 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.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New International Version (NIV) 
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