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And Yahweh said, “I have surely (A)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. So I have come down (B)to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a (C)good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of (D)the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. So now, behold, (E)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, (F)and so you shall bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “(G)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 (H)I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: (I)when you have brought the people out of Egypt, (J)you shall [a]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, “[b](K)I AM WHO [c]I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘[d]I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 And God furthermore said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘(L)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 (M)memorial-name from generation to generation. 16 Go and (N)gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘(O)Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “[e](P)I indeed care about you and what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 So (Q)I said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of (R)the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land (S)flowing with milk and honey.”’ 18 (T)And they will listen to your voice; and (U)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 (V)three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt (W)will not give you permission to go, (X)except by a strong hand. 20 So I will stretch out (Y)My hand and strike Egypt with all My (Z)wondrous deeds which I shall do in the midst of it; and (AA)after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people (AB)favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty. 22 But every woman (AC)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 (AD)plunder the Egyptians.”

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 3:12 Or be a slave for
  2. Exodus 3:14 Related to the name of God, Yahweh, which is derived from the verb hayah; lit to be
  3. Exodus 3:14 Related to the name of God, Yahweh, which is derived from the verb hayah; lit to be
  4. Exodus 3:14 Related to the name of God, Yahweh, which is derived from the verb hayah; lit to be
  5. Exodus 3:16 Lit Visiting I have visited

Then the Lord said, “I’ve clearly seen my people oppressed in Egypt. I’ve heard their cry of injustice because of their slave masters. I know about their pain. I’ve come down to rescue them from the Egyptians in order to take them out of that land and bring them to a good and broad land, a land that’s full of milk and honey, a place where the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites all live. Now the Israelites’ cries of injustice have reached me. I’ve seen just how much the Egyptians have oppressed them. 10 So get going. I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I to go to Pharaoh and to bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

12 God said, “I’ll be with you. And this will show you that I’m the one who sent you. After you bring the people out of Egypt, you will come back here and worship God on this mountain.”

God’s special name

13 But Moses said to God, “If I now come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they are going to ask me, ‘What’s this God’s name?’ What am I supposed to say to them?”

14 God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am.[a] So say to the Israelites, ‘I Am has sent me to you.’” 15 God continued, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, Abraham’s God, Isaac’s God, and Jacob’s God, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever; this is how all generations will remember me.

16 “Go and get Israel’s elders together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me. The Lord said, “I’ve been paying close attention to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 I’ve decided to take you away from the harassment in Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land full of milk and honey.”’ 18 They will accept what you say to them. Then you and Israel’s elders will go to Egypt’s king and say to him, ‘The Lord, the Hebrews’ God, has met with us. So now let us go on a three-day journey into the desert so that we can offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’ 19 However, I know that Egypt’s king won’t let you go unless he’s forced to do it. 20 So I’ll use my strength and hit Egypt with dramatic displays of my power. After that, he’ll let you go.

21 “I’ll make it so that when you leave Egypt, the Egyptians will be kind to you and you won’t go away empty-handed. 22 Every woman will ask her neighbor along with the immigrant in her household for their silver and their gold jewelry as well as their clothing. Then you will put it on your sons and daughters, and you will rob the Egyptians.”

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 3:14 Or I Will Be Who I Will Be.