1 Moses keepeth sheep, and God appeareth unto him in a bush. 10 He sendeth him to deliver the children of Israel. 14 The name of God.

When Moses kept the sheep of Jethro his father-in-law, Priest of Midian, and drove the flock to the [a]back side of the desert, and came to the [b]Mountain of God, [c]Horeb,

Then the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him (A)in a flame of fire out of the midst of a [d]bush, and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

Therefore Moses said, I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush burneth not.

And when the [e]Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he answered, I am here.

Then he said, Come not hither, [f]put thy shoes off thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is [g]holy ground.

Moreover he said, (B)I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses hid his face: for he was [h]afraid to look upon God.

¶ Then the Lord said, I have surely seen the trouble of my people, which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry, because of their [i]taskmasters: for I know their sorrows.

Therefore I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land into a good land and a large, into a land that [j]floweth with milk and honey, even into the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

[k]And now lo, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me, and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

11 ¶ But Moses said unto God, Who am [l]I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12 And he answered, [m]Certainly I will be with thee: and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee, After that thou hast brought the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

13 Then Moses said unto God, Behold, when I shall come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you: if they say unto me, What is his Name? what shall I say unto them?

14 And God answered Moses, I [n]AM THAT I AM. Also he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

15 And God spake further unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob hath sent me unto you: this is my Name forever, and this is my memorial unto all ages.

16 Go and gather the Elders of Israel together, and thou shalt say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob appeared unto me, and said, [o]I have surely remembered you, and that which is done to you in Egypt.

17 Therefore I did say, I will bring you out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land that floweth with milk and honey.

18 Then shall they obey my voice, and thou and the Elders of Israel shall go unto the King of Egypt, and say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath [p]met with us: we pray thee now therefore, let us go three days’ journey in the wilderness, that we may [q]sacrifice unto the Lord our God.

19 ¶ But I know, that the King of Egypt will not let you go, but by strong hand.

20 Therefore will I stretch out mine hand and smite Egypt with all my wonders, which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that shall he let you go.

21 And I will make this people to be favored of the Egyptians: so that when ye go, ye shall not go empty.

22 [r](C)For every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of her [s]that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment, and ye shall put them on your sons, and on your daughters, and shall spoil the Egyptians.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 3:1 Or, far within the desert.
  2. Exodus 3:1 It was so called after the law was given.
  3. Exodus 3:1 Called also Sinai.
  4. Exodus 3:2 This signifieth that the Church is not consumed by the fire of affliction, because God is in the midst thereof.
  5. Exodus 3:4 Whom he calleth the Angel, verse 2.
  6. Exodus 3:5 Resign thyself up to me, Ruth 4:7; Josh. 5:15.
  7. Exodus 3:5 Because of my presence.
  8. Exodus 3:6 For sin causeth man to fear God’s justice.
  9. Exodus 3:7 Whose cruelty was intolerable.
  10. Exodus 3:8 Most plentiful of all things.
  11. Exodus 3:9 He heard before, but now he would revenge it.
  12. Exodus 3:11 He doth not fully disobey God, but acknowledgeth his own weakness.
  13. Exodus 3:12 Neither fear thine own weakness, nor Pharaoh’s tyranny.
  14. Exodus 3:14 The God which ever have been, am, and shall be: the God almighty, by whom all things have their being, and the God of mercy, mindful of my promise, Rev. 1:8.
  15. Exodus 3:16 Hebrew, in visiting have visited.
  16. Exodus 3:18 Or, appeared unto us.
  17. Exodus 3:18 Because Egypt was full of idolatry, God would appoint them a place where they should serve him purely.
  18. Exodus 3:22 This example may not be followed generally: though at God’s commandment they did it justly, receiving some recompense of their labors.
  19. Exodus 3:22 Or, in whose house she sojourneth.

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,[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”(M) At this, Moses hid(N) 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. 10 So now, go. I am sending(Z) you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”(AA)

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

12 And God said, “I will be with you.(AC) And this will be the sign(AD) to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[b] will worship God on this mountain.(AE)

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?’(AF) Then what shall I tell them?”

14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.[c] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am(AG) has sent me to you.’”

15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,[d] the God of your fathers(AH)—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob(AI)—has sent me to you.’

“This is my name(AJ) forever,
    the name you shall call me
    from generation to generation.(AK)

16 “Go, assemble the elders(AL) of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob(AM)—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen(AN) what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt(AO) into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’(AP)

18 “The elders of Israel will listen(AQ) 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,(AR) has met(AS) with us. Let us take a three-day journey(AT) into the wilderness to offer sacrifices(AU) to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand(AV) compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand(AW) and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders(AX) that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.(AY)

21 “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed(AZ) toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed.(BA) 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver(BB) and gold(BC) and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder(BD) the Egyptians.”(BE)

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 3:6 Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch (see Acts 7:32) fathers
  2. Exodus 3:12 The Hebrew is plural.
  3. Exodus 3:14 Or I will be what I will be
  4. Exodus 3:15 The Hebrew for Lord sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for I am in verse 14.