Exodus 3–12

Moses and the Burning Bush

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro^a his father-in-law, the priest of Midian,^b and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb,^c the mountain^d of God. There the angel of the Lord^e appeared to him in flames of fire^f from within a bush.^g Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called^h to him from within the bush,ⁱ “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”^j

“Do not come any closer,”^k God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”^l Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”^m At this, Moses hidⁿ his face, because he was afraid to look at God.^o

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen^p the misery^q of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned^r about their suffering.^s So I have come down^t to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land,^u a land flowing with milk and honey^v—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites^w and Jebusites.^x And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing^y them. So now, go. I am sending^z you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”^a

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

And God said, “I will be with you.^c And this will be the sign^d to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.^e”

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?’^f Then what shall I tell them?”

God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am^g has sent me to you.’ ”

God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers^h—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacobⁱ—has sent me to you.’

“This is my name^j forever,

the name you shall call me

from generation to generation.^k

“Go, assemble the elders^l of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob^m—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seenⁿ what has been done to you in Egypt. And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt^o into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’^p

“The elders of Israel will listen^q 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,^r has met^s with us. Let us take a three-day journey^t into the wilderness to offer sacrifices^u to the Lord our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand^v compels him. So I will stretch out my hand^w and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders^x that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.^y

“And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed^z toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed.^a Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver^b and gold^c and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder^d the Egyptians.”^e

Signs for Moses

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen^a to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A staff,”^b he replied.

The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”

Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake,^c and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe^d that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”

Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.^e

“Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored,^f like the rest of his flesh.

Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe^g you or pay attention to the first sign,^h they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become bloodⁱ on the ground.”

Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”^j

The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute?^k Who gives them sight or makes them blind?^l Is it not I, the Lord? Now go;^m I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”ⁿ

But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”^o

Then the Lord’s anger burned^p against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet^q you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth;^r I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth^s and as if you were God to him.^t But take this staff^u in your hand^v so you can perform the signs^w with it.”

Moses Returns to Egypt

Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.”

Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.”

Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill^a you are dead.^b” So Moses took his wife and sons,^c put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff^d of God in his hand.

The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders^e I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart^f so that he will not let the people go.^g Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son,^h and I told you, “Let my son go,ⁱ so he may worship^j me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”^k

At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill^l him. But Zipporah^m took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskinⁿ and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)

The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain^o of God and kissed^p him. Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform.

Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders^r of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs^s before the people, and they believed.^t And when they heard that the Lord was concerned^u about them and had seen their misery,^v they bowed down and worshiped.^w

Bricks Without Straw

Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go,^a so that they may hold a festival^b to me in the wilderness.’ ”

Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord,^c that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”^d

Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey^e into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues^f or with the sword.”

But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor?^g Get back to your work!” Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous,^h and you are stopping them from working.”

That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave driversⁱ and overseers in charge of the people: “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks;^j let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota.^k They are lazy;^l that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’^m Make the work harder for them so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”

Then the slave driversⁿ and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced^o at all.’ ” So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed,^p demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”

Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”

Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy!^q That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ Now get to work.^r You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”

The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks…