Exodus 3:1–4:17

The Burning Bush

3Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the ^wmountain of God. ^2xAnd ^ythe angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. ³And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” ⁴When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, ^zGod called to him ^aout of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵Then he said, “Do not come near; ^btake your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶And he said, ^c“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 ^dhe was afraid to look at God.

⁷Then the Lord said, ^e“I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their ^ftaskmasters. I know their sufferings, ⁸and ^gI have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and ^hto bring them up out of that land to a ⁱgood and broad land, a land ^jflowing with milk and honey, to the place of ^kthe Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹And now, behold, ^lthe cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the ^moppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰ⁿCome, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” ¹¹But Moses said to God, ^o“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹²He said, ^p“But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, ^qyou shall serve God on this mountain.”

¹³Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” ¹⁴God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”¹ And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ^r‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” ¹⁵God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord,² the ^sGod of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is ^tmy name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. ¹⁶Go and ^ugather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, ^v“I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, ¹⁷and I promise that ^wI will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land ^wflowing with milk and honey.” ’ ¹⁸And ^xthey will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel ^yshall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has ^zmet with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ ¹⁹But I know that the king of Egypt ^awill not let you go unless compelled ^bby a mighty hand.^{3 20}So ^cI will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with ^dall the wonders that I will do in it; ^eafter that he will let you go. ²¹And ^fI will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, ²²but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for ^gsilver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So ^hyou shall plunder the Egyptians.”

Moses Given Powerful Signs

4Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ ” ²The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, ⁱ“A staff.” ³And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. ⁴But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— ⁵“that they may ^jbelieve that the Lord, ^kthe God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” ⁶Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.”¹ And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was ^lleprous² like snow. ⁷Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, ^mit was restored like the rest of his flesh. ⁸“If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. ⁹If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile ⁿwill become blood on the dry ground.”

¹⁰But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but ^oI am slow of speech and of tongue.” ¹¹Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹²Now therefore go, and ^pI will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” ¹³But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” ¹⁴Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, ^qhe is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. ^15rYou shall speak to him and ^sput the words in his mouth, and ^pI will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. ^16tHe shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and ^uyou shall be as God to him. ¹⁷And take in your hand ^vthis staff, with which you shall do the signs.”