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Now Moshe was ro’eh (shepherding) the tzon of Yitro his khoten (fatherin- law), the kohen Midyan; and he led the tzon to the backside of the midbar, and came to the Har HaElohim, even to Chorev.

And the Malach Hashem appeared unto him in a flame of eish out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, hinei, the bush burned with eish, and the bush was not consumed.

And Moshe thought, I will now turn aside, and see this mareh hagadol, why the bush is not burned up.

And when Hashem saw that he turned aside to see, Elohim called out unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moshe, Moshe. And he said, Hineni.

And He said, Draw not nearer here; put off thy na’alayim (sandals) from off thy raglayim, for hamakom whereon thou standest is admat kodesh.

Moreover He said, I am Elohei Avicha, Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak, and Elohei Ya’akov. And Moshe hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon HaElohim.

And Hashem said, I have surely seen the oni ami (affliction of My people) which are in Mitzrayim, and have heard their cry by reason of their nogesim (taskmasters); for I know their makhovim (sufferings);

And I am come down to deliver them out of the yad Mitzrayim, and to bring them up out of that land unto an eretz tovah, a spacious eretz zavat cholov udevash; unto the place of the Kena’ani, and the Chitti, and the Emori, and the Perizzi, and the Chivi, and the Yevusi.

Now therefore, hinei, the cry of the Bnei Yisroel 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 forth My people the Bnei Yisroel out of Mitzrayim.

11 And Moshe said unto HaElohim, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the Bnei Yisroel out of Mitzrayim?

12 And He said, Certainly Eh-heh-yeh (I will be [see verse below]) with thee; and this shall be haOt (the Sign) unto thee, that I have sent thee: when thou hast brought forth HaAm out of Mitzrayim, ye shall serve HaElohim upon this Har.

13 And Moshe said unto HaElohim, Hinei, when I come unto the Bnei Yisroel, and shall say unto them, Elohei Avoteichem hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is Shmo? what shall I say unto them?

14 And Elohim said unto Moshe, Eh-heh-yeh ashair Ehheh- yeh (I AM WHO I AM); and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the Bnei Yisroel, EHHEH-YEH (I AM) hath sent me unto you.

15 And Elohim said moreover unto Moshe, Thus shalt thou say unto Bnei Yisroel: Hashem, Elohei Avoteichem, Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak, and Elohei Ya’akov, hath sent me unto you: this is Shemi l’olam, and this is My remembrance unto all generations.

16 Go, and gather the Ziknei Yisroel together, and say unto them, Hashem Elohei Avoteichem, Elohei Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Mitzrayim;

17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the Oni Mitzrayim unto the eretz Kena’ani, and the Chitti, and the Emori, and the Perizzi, and the Chivi, and the Yevusi unto eretz zavat cholov udevash.

18 And they shall pay heed to thy voice; and thou shalt go, thou and the Ziknei Yisroel, unto Melech Mitzrayim, and ye shall say unto him, Hashem Elohei HaIvriyim hath met with us; and let us go, now, derech shloshet yamim into the midbar, that we may sacrifice to Hashem Eloheinu.

19 And I have da’as that Melech Mitzrayim will not let you go, no, except by a yad chazakah.

20 And I will stretch out My yad, and strike Mitzrayim with all My nifle’ot which I will do in the midst thereof; and after that he will let you go.

21 And I will give this people chen in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty-handed.

22 But every isha shall borrow of her neighbor, and of her that sojourneth in her bais, jewels of kesef, and jewels of zahav, and clothing; and ye shall put them upon your banim, and upon your banot; so ye shall plunder the Egyptians.

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.