Moses at the Burning Bush^(A)

3 Now Moses was tending the flock of ^(B)Jethro his father-in-law, ^(C)the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to ^(D)Horeb, ^(E)the mountain of God. ² And ^(F)the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. ³ Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this ^(G)great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

⁴ So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called ^(H)to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

⁵ Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. ^(I)Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” ⁶ Moreover He said, ^(J)“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 ^(K)he was afraid to look upon God.

⁷ And the Lord said: ^(L)“I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry ^(M)because of their taskmasters, ^(N)for I know their ^[a]sorrows. ⁸ So ^(O)I have come down to ^(P)deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land ^(Q)to a good and large land, to a land ^(R)flowing with milk and honey, to the place of ^(S)the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. ⁹ Now therefore, behold, ^(T)the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the ^(U)oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ^10 (V)Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

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

¹² So He said, ^(X)“I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a ^(Y)sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

¹³ Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

¹⁴ And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ^(Z)‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” ¹⁵ Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is ^(AA)My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ ¹⁶ Go and ^(AB)gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, ^(AC)“I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; ¹⁷ and I have said ^(AD)I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’ ¹⁸ Then ^(AE)they will heed your voice; and ^(AF)you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has ^(AG)met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ ¹⁹ But I am sure that the king of Egypt ^(AH)will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. ²⁰ So I will ^(AI)stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with ^(AJ)all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and ^(AK)after that he will let you go. ²¹ And ^(AL)I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. ^22 (AM)But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, ^(AN)articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So ^(AO)you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

Miraculous Signs for Pharaoh

4 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’ ”

² So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

He said, “A rod.”

³ And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), ⁵ “that they may ^(AP)believe that the ^(AQ)Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

⁶ Furthermore the Lord said to him, “Now put your hand in your bosom.” And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, ^(AR)like snow. ⁷ And He said, “Put your hand in your bosom again.” So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, ^(AS)it was restored like his other flesh. ⁸ “Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the ^(AT)first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. ⁹ And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from ^[b]the river and pour it on the dry land. ^(AU)The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.”

¹⁰ Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but ^(AV)I am slow of speech and ^[c]slow of tongue.”

¹¹ So the Lord said to him, ^(AW)“Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? ¹² Now therefore, go, and I will be ^(AX)with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”

¹³ But he said, “O my Lord, ^(AY)please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”

¹⁴ So ^(AZ)the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your ^(BA)brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, ^(BB)he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. ¹⁵ Now ^(BC)you shall speak to him and ^(BD)put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and ^(BE)I will teach you what you shall do. ¹⁶ So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and ^(BF)you shall be to him as God. ¹⁷ And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.”

The Exodus

³¹ Then he ^(A)called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, ^(B)both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the Lord as you have ^(C)said. ^32 (D)Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.”

^33 (E)And the Egyptians ^(F)urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” ³⁴ So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. ³⁵ Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians ^(G)articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. ^36 (H)And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus ^(I)they plundered the Egyptians.

³⁷ Then ^(J)the children of Israel journeyed from ^(K)Rameses to Succoth, about ^(L)six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. ³⁸ A ^(M)mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of ^(N)livestock. ³⁹ And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because ^(O)they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.

⁴⁰ Now the ^[a]sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in ^[b]Egypt was ^(P)four hundred and thirty years. ⁴¹ And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that ^(Q)all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. ⁴² It is ^(R)a ^[c]night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.

Passover Regulations^(S)

⁴³ And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is ^(T)the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. ⁴⁴ But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have ^(U)circumcised him, then he may eat it. ^45 (V)A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it. ⁴⁶ In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, ^(W)nor shall you break one of its bones. ^47 (X)All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. ⁴⁸ And ^(Y)when a stranger ^[d]dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. ^49 (Z)One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.”

⁵⁰ Thus all the children of Israel did; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. ^51 (AA)And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt ^(AB)according to their armies.

The Firstborn Consecrated

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^2 (AC)“Consecrate^[e] to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”

The Feast of Unleavened Bread^(AD)

³ And Moses said to the people: ^(AE)“Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of ^[f]bondage; for ^(AF)by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. ^(AG)No leavened bread shall be eaten. ^4 (AH)On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. ⁵ And it shall be, when the Lord ^(AI)brings you into the ^(AJ)land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He ^(AK)swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, ^(AL)that you shall keep this service in this month. ^6 (AM)Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. ⁷ Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And ^(AN)no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. ⁸ And you shall ^(AO)tell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.’ ⁹ It shall be as ^(AP)a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. ^10 (AQ)You shall therefore keep this ^[g]ordinance in its season from year to year.

The Law of the Firstborn

¹¹ “And it shall be, when the Lord ^(AR)brings you into the land of the ^(AS)Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, ^12 (AT)that you shall ^[h]set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s. ¹³ But ^(AU)every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons ^(AV)you shall redeem. ^14 (AW)So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ^(AX)‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ¹⁵ And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that ^(AY)the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶ It shall be as ^(AZ)a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

The Wilderness Way^(BA)

¹⁷ Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people ^(BB)change their minds when they see war, and ^(BC)return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ So God ^(BD)led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁹ And Moses took the ^(BE)bones of ^(BF)Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, ^(BG)“God will surely ^[i]visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”

²⁰ So ^(BH)they took their journey from ^(BI)Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ And ^(BJ)the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. ²² He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

The Red Sea Crossing

14 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Speak to the children of Israel, ^(BK)that they turn and camp before ^(BL)Pi Hahiroth, between ^(BM)Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. ³ For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ^(BN)‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’ ⁴ Then ^(BO)I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I ^(BP)will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, ^(BQ)that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

⁵ Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and ^(BR)the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” ⁶ So he ^[j]made ready his chariot and took his people with him. ⁷ Also, he took ^(BS)six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. ⁸ And the Lord ^(BT)hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and ^(BU)the children of Israel went out with boldness. ⁹ So the ^(BV)Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.

¹⁰ And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel ^(BW)cried out to the Lord. ^11 (BX)Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? ^12 (BY)Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

¹³ And Moses said to the people, ^(BZ)“Do not be afraid. ^(CA)Stand still, and see the ^(CB)salvation^[k] of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall ^(CC)see again no more forever. ^14 (CD)The Lord will fight for you, and you shall ^(CE)hold^[l] your peace.”

¹⁵ And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. ¹⁶ But ^(CF)lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. ¹⁷ And I indeed will ^(CG)harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will ^(CH)gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. ¹⁸ Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

¹⁹ And the Angel of God, ^(CI)who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. ²⁰ So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and ^(CJ)made the sea into dry land, and the waters were ^(CK)divided. ²² So ^(CL)the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were ^(CM)a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. ²³ And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

²⁴ Now it came to pass, in the morning ^(CN)watch, that ^(CO)the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He ^[m]troubled the army of the Egyptians. ²⁵ And He ^[n]took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord ^(CP)fights for them against the Egyptians.”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” ²⁷ And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea ^(CQ)returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the Lord ^(CR)overthrew^[o] the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. ²⁸ Then ^(CS)the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. ²⁹ But ^(CT)the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

³⁰ So the Lord ^(CU)saved^[p] Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel ^(CV)saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹ Thus Israel saw the great ^[q]work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and ^(CW)believed the Lord and His servant Moses.

The Song of Moses^(CX)

15 Then ^(CY)Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying:

¹⁹ For the ^(EM)horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and ^(EN)the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.

The Song of Miriam^(EO)

²⁰ Then Miriam ^(EP)the prophetess, ^(EQ)the sister of Aaron, ^(ER)took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her ^(ES)with timbrels and with dances. ²¹ And Miriam ^(ET)answered them:

Bitter Waters Made Sweet

²² So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of ^(EV)Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no ^(EW)water. ²³ Now when they came to ^(EX)Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called ^[u]Marah. ²⁴ And the people ^(EY)complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” ²⁵ So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. ^(EZ)When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.

There He ^(FA)made a statute and an ^[v]ordinance for them, and there ^(FB)He tested them, ²⁶ and said, ^(FC)“If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the ^(FD)diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord ^(FE)who heals you.”

^27 (FF)Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.

Israel at Mount Sinai

19 In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, ^(A)they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. ² For they had departed from ^(B)Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before ^(C)the mountain.

³ And ^(D)Moses went up to God, and the Lord ^(E)called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ^4 (F)‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how ^(G)I ^[a]bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. ⁵ Now ^(H)therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and ^(I)keep My covenant, then ^(J)you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is ^(K)Mine. ⁶ And you shall be to Me a ^(L)kingdom of priests and a ^(M)holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

⁷ So Moses came and called for the ^(N)elders of the people, and ^[b]laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. ⁸ Then ^(O)all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. ⁹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you ^(P)in the thick cloud, ^(Q)that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.”

So Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and ^(R)consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. ¹¹ And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹² You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. ^(S)Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. ¹³ Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”

¹⁴ So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵ And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; ^(T)do not come near your wives.”

¹⁶ Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were ^(U)thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp ^(V)trembled. ¹⁷ And ^(W)Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Now ^(X)Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon ^(Y)it in fire. ^(Z)Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and ^[c]the ^(AA)whole mountain quaked greatly. ¹⁹ And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, ^(AB)Moses spoke, and ^(AC)God answered him by voice. ²⁰ Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through ^(AD)to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish. ²² Also let the ^(AE)priests who come near the Lord ^(AF)consecrate themselves, lest the Lord ^(AG)break out against them.”

²³ But Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, ^(AH)‘Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it.’ ”

²⁴ Then the Lord said to him, “Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest He break out against them.” ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.

Moses Dies on Mount Nebo

34 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab ^(A)to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, ² all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the ^[a]Western Sea, ³ the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, ^(B)the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. ⁴ Then the Lord said to him, ^(C)“This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ ^(D)I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.”

^5 (E)So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. ⁶ And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but ^(F)no one knows his grave to this day. ^7 (G)Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. ^(H)His ^[b]eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor ^[c]diminished. ⁸ And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab ^(I)thirty days. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended.