Exodus 3:1-4:17

English Standard Version

The Burning Bush

3 Now 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 ^(A)mountain of God. ^2 (B)And ^(C)the 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. ³ And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” ⁴ When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, ^(D)God called to him ^(E)out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵ Then he said, “Do not come near; ^(F)take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ And he said, ^(G)“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 ^(H)he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ Then the Lord said, ^(I)“I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their ^(J)taskmasters. I know their sufferings, ⁸ and ^(K)I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and ^(L)to bring them up out of that land to a ^(M)good and broad land, a land ^(N)flowing with milk and honey, to the place of ^(O)the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹ And now, behold, ^(P)the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the ^(Q)oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ^10 (R)Come, 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, ^(S)“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹² He said, ^(T)“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, ^(U)you shall serve God on this mountain.”

¹³ Then 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?” ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”^[a] And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ^(V)‘I am has sent me to you.’” ¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord,^[b] the ^(W)God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is ^(X)my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. ¹⁶ Go and ^(Y)gather 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, ^(Z)“I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, ¹⁷ and I promise that ^(AA)I 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 ^(AB)flowing with milk and honey.”’ ¹⁸ And ^(AC)they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel ^(AD)shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has ^(AE)met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ ¹⁹ But I know that the king of Egypt ^(AF)will not let you go unless compelled ^(AG)by a mighty hand.^{[c] 20} So ^(AH)I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with ^(AI)all the wonders that I will do in it; ^(AJ)after that he will let you go. ²¹ And ^(AK)I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, ²² but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for ^(AL)silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So ^(AM)you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

Moses Given Powerful Signs

4 Then 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.’” ² The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, ^(AN)“A staff.” ³ And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. ⁴ But 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 ^(AO)believe that the Lord, ^(AP)the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” ⁶ Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.”^[d] And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was ^(AQ)leprous^[e] like snow. ⁷ Then 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, ^(AR)it 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. ⁹ If 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 ^(AS)will become blood on the dry ground.”

¹⁰ But 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 ^(AT)I am slow of speech and of tongue.” ¹¹ Then 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? ¹² Now therefore go, and ^(AU)I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” ¹³ But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” ¹⁴ Then 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, ^(AV)he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. ^15 (AW)You shall speak to him and ^(AX)put the words in his mouth, and ^(AY)I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. ^16 (AZ)He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and ^(BA)you shall be as God to him. ¹⁷ And take in your hand ^(BB)this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”