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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

The Lord said, “I have certainly seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry for help because of their slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to deliver them from the hand of 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 place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now indeed, the Israelites’ cry for help has come to me. Yes, I have seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Come now, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

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

12 So he said, “I will certainly be with you. This will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain.”

13 But Moses said to God, “If 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?’ what should I say to them?”

14 So God replied to Moses, “I am who I am.”[a] He also said, “You will say this to the Israelites: I am has sent me to you.”

15 God also told Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: ‘The Lord, 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 how I am to be remembered from generation to generation.’

16 “Go, gather the elders of Israel together and tell them: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have certainly been paying attention to you and to what they have done to you in Egypt. 17 So I have said that I will bring you up from the misery in Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.’

18 “They will listen to your voice. Then you and the elders of Israel will go to the king of Egypt, and you will say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord, our God.’

19 “But I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless he is forced to do so by a powerful hand. 20 So I will reach out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in their midst. Afterward he will let you go.

21 “I will give this people favor with the Egyptians so that when you go, you will not go out empty-handed. 22 Each woman is to ask her neighbor, as well as any woman staying in her house, for articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. You are to put them on your sons and daughters. In this way you will plunder the Egyptians.”

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 3:14 This translation follows the Jewish and Christian tradition of not reading God’s Old Testament name Yahweh but pronouncing it as Lord and writing it as Lord (Adonai). This name, known as the Tetragrammaton (the four letter name), means “he is.” It was probably originally pronounced Yahweh, but in poetry it sometimes occurs as the short form Yah. When the Lord speaks of himself, he can call himself I am.