Exodus, Chapter 3
1
Now Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb.
2
And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and noticed that the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3
And Moses said, I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4
And when Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, [the Speech of] God called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here I am.
5
And he said, Don't come any closer: take off your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground.
6
Moreover 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 at God.
7
And Yahweh said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8
and [by my Speech] I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a land good and large, 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.
9
And now, look, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to me: moreover I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
10
Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth my people the sons of Israel out of Egypt.
11
And Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the sons of Israel out of Egypt?
12
And he said, Certainly [my Speech] will be with you; and this will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you⁺ will serve God on this mountain.
13
And Moses said to God, Look, when I come to the sons of Israel, and 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?
14
And [the Speech of] God said to Moses, I AM WHO ALWAYS IS: and he said, Thus you will say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you⁺.[fn]
15
And God said moreover to Moses, Thus you will say to the sons of Israel, Yahweh, 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 to all generations.[fn]
16
Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, Yahweh, the God of your⁺ fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, I have surely visited you⁺, and [seen] that which is done to you⁺ in Egypt:
17
and I have said, [by my Speech] 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.
18
And they will listen to your voice: and you will come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you⁺ will say to him, Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us: and now let us go, we pray you, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God.
19
And I know that the king of Egypt will not give you⁺ leave to go, not even with a mighty hand [of God].
20
And I will put forth my hand, and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst of it: and after that he will let you⁺ go.
21
And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians: and it will come to pass, that, when you⁺ go, you⁺ will not go empty.
22
But every woman will ask of her neighbor, and of her who sojourns in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and you⁺ will put them on your⁺ sons, and on your⁺ daughters; and you⁺ will despoil the Egyptians.
Footnotes
14
I AM WHO ALWAYS IS in this verse is literally, 'I AM WHO I AM'. The words translated 'I AM' and 'ALWAYS IS' are based on the same word in Hebrew. However, it is in a form which can be in the present, past, or future depending on the context. For example, it is the same word translated as "I was" in Psalm 50:21, "I am" in Ruth 2:13, and "I will be" in Exodus 3:12. It is likely that 'who always is' in this verse has essentially the same meaning as 'who is and who was and who is to come' in Revelation 1:4, 1:8 and 4:8. See also Targum Pseudo-Jonathan at Exodus 3:14.
15
Yahweh, relates to the similar Hebrew word 'I AM' in verse 14. Accordingly, verse 14 appears to serve as the basis for the name 'Yahweh' introduced in verse 15.
Search the Bible
Search Tips:
- Use
|for OR searches:love|faith - Use
.*for wildcards:bless.* - Common searches:
christmas,easter,judgment