Exodus 3

Modern

Literal

Moses at the Burning Bush

¹Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro,^a the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb,^b the mountain of God.

¹And Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock behind the wilderness and he came to the mountain of God, to Horeb.

²There the angel^a of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed.

²And the angel of YHWH appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. And he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with the fire, and the bush was not consumed.

³So Moses thought, “I must go over and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burning up?”

³And Moses said, “Let me turn aside, please, and see this great sight. Why does the bush not burn?”

⁴When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from within the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

“Here I am,” he answered.

⁴And YHWH saw that he had turned aside to look, and God called to him from the midst of the bush and He said, “Moses! Moses!” And he said, “Behold, it is I.”

⁵“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”^a

⁵And He said, “Do not come near here. Remove your sandals from upon your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

⁶Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”^a

At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

⁶And He said, “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 he was afraid to look toward God.

⁷The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.

⁷And YHWH said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and their cry I have heard from before their taskmasters, for I know their pains;

⁸I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

⁸and I have come down to deliver them from out of the hand of Egypt and to bring them up from that land to a land good and broad, to a land flowing with milk and honey—to the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

⁹And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen how severely the Egyptians are oppressing them.

⁹And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me, and also I have seen the oppression with which Egypt is oppressing them.

¹⁰Therefore, go! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people the Israelites out of Egypt.”^a

¹⁰And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and you shall bring out My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”

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

¹¹And Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”

¹²“I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain.”^a

¹²And He said, “Surely I will be with you, and this is the sign to you that I have sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

¹³Then Moses asked 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?’ What should I tell them?”

¹³And Moses said to God, “Behold, I am coming to the sons of Israel and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they will say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”

¹⁴God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.^a This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

¹⁴And God said to Moses, “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘Ehyeh has sent me to you.’”

¹⁵God also told Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.

¹⁵And God said moreover to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘YHWH, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial from generation to generation.

¹⁶Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said: I have surely attended to you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.

¹⁶Go and gather together the elders of Israel, and say to them, ‘YHWH, the God of your fathers, has appeared to me—the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob—saying: I have surely attended to you and what is being done to you in Egypt.

¹⁷And I have promised to bring you up out of your affliction in Egypt, into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

¹⁷And I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite—to a land flowing with milk and honey.’

¹⁸The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’

¹⁸And they will listen to your voice, and you shall come—you and the elders of Israel—to the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him, ‘YHWH, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. And now, let us go, please, a journey of three days into the wilderness, and let us sacrifice to YHWH our God.’

¹⁹But I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless a mighty hand compels him.^a

¹⁹And I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, unless by a mighty hand.

²⁰So I will stretch out My hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders I will perform among them. And after that, he will release you.

²⁰And I will stretch out My hand, and I will strike Egypt with all My wonders that I will do in its midst. And after that, he will send you out.

²¹And I will grant this people such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that when you leave, you will not go away empty-handed.

²¹And I will give favor to this people in the eyes of the Egyptians, and it will come to pass when you go, you shall not go emptily.

²²Every woman shall ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians.”

²²And every woman shall ask from her neighbor, and from the one dwelling in her house, articles of silver, and articles of gold, and clothing. And you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters, and you shall plunder the Egyptians.”