Exo 3:1-4:17 | ESV | STEP | 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 mountain of God .

‏ Exodus 3

The Burning Bush

1 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 ^amountain of God. 2 ^bAnd ^cthe 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, ^dGod called to him ^eout of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; ^ftake 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 ^hhe 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 ^jtaskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and ^kI have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and ^lto bring them up out of that land to a ^mgood and broad land, a land ⁿflowing with milk and honey, to the place of ^othe Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, ^pthe cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the ^qoppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 ^rCome, 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, ^uyou 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.” ^{▼▼Or I am what I am, or I will be what I will be} And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ^w‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, ^{▼▼The word Lord, when spelled with capital letters, stands for the divine name, YHWH, which is here connected with the verb hayah, “to be” in verse 14} the ^yGod of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is ^zmy name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. 16 Go and ^aagather 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, ^ab“I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that ^acI 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 ^adflowing with milk and honey.”’ 18 And ^aethey will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel ^afshall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has ^agmet 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 ^ahwill not let you go unless compelled ^aiby a mighty hand. ^{▼▼Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew go, not by a mighty hand} 20 So ^akI will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with ^alall the wonders that I will do in it; ^amafter that he will let you go. 21 And ^anI 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 ^aosilver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So ^apyou shall plunder the Egyptians.”

‏ Exodus 4:1-17

Moses Given Powerful Signs

1 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, ^aq“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 ^arbelieve that the Lord, ^asthe 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.” ^{▼▼Hebrew into your bosom; also verse 7} And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was ^auleprous ^{▼▼Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13} 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, ^awit 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 ^axwill 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 ^ayI 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 ^azI 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, ^bahe is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 ^bbYou shall speak to him and ^bcput the words in his mouth, and ^bdI will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16 ^beHe shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and ^bfyou shall be as God to him. 17 And take in your hand ^bgthis staff, with which you shall do the signs.”