Exodus 3-4

New International Reader's Version

Moses and the Burning Bush

3 Moses was taking care of the flock of his father-in-law Jethro. Jethro was the priest of Midian. Moses led the flock to the western side of the desert. He came to Horeb. It was the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the Lord appeared to him from inside a burning bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire. But it didn’t burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I’ll go over and see this strange sight. Why doesn’t the bush burn up?”

⁴ The Lord saw that Moses had gone over to look. So God spoke to him from inside the bush. He called out, “Moses! Moses!”

“Here I am,” Moses said.

⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals. The place you are standing on is holy ground.” ⁶ He continued, “I am the God of your father. I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. And I am the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard that, he turned his face away. He was afraid to look at God.

⁷ The Lord said, “I have seen how my people are suffering in Egypt. I have heard them cry out because of their slave drivers. I am concerned about their suffering. ⁸ So I have come down to save them from the Egyptians. I will bring them up out of that land. I will bring them into a good land. It has a lot of room. It is a land that has plenty of milk and honey. The Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites live there. ⁹ And now Israel’s cry for help has reached me. I have seen how badly the Egyptians are treating them. ¹⁰ So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh. I want you to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. They are my people.”

¹¹ But Moses spoke to God. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” he said. “Who am I that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹² God said, “I will be with you. I will give you a sign. It will prove that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship me on this mountain.”

¹³ Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the people of Israel. Suppose I say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ And suppose they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”

¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am. Here is what you must say to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”

¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord is the God of your fathers. He has sent me to you. He is the God of Abraham. He is the God of Isaac. And he is the God of Jacob.’ My name will always be The Lord. Call me this name for all time to come.

¹⁶ “Go. Gather the elders of Israel together. Say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, appeared to me. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God said, “I have watched over you. I have seen what the Egyptians have done to you. ¹⁷ I have promised to bring you up out of Egypt where you are suffering. I will bring you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. It is a land that has plenty of milk and honey.” ’

¹⁸ “The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders must go to the king of Egypt. You must say to him, ‘The Lord has met with us. He is the God of the Hebrews. Let us take a journey that lasts about three days. We want to go into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’ ¹⁹ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you and your people go. Only a mighty hand could make him do that. ²⁰ So I will reach out my hand. I will strike the Egyptians with all the amazing things I will do. After that, their king will let you go.

²¹ “I will cause the Egyptians to treat you in a kind way. Then when you leave, you will not go with your hands empty. ²² Every woman should ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for things made out of silver and gold. Ask them for clothes too. Put them on your children. In that way, you will take the wealth of Egypt along with you.”

Signs for Moses to Do

4 Moses answered, “What if the elders of Israel won’t believe me? What if they won’t listen to me? Suppose they say, ‘The Lord didn’t appear to you.’ Then what should I do?”

² The Lord said to him, “What do you have in your hand?”

“A walking stick,” he said.

³ The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”

So Moses threw it on the ground. It turned into a snake. He ran away from it. ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach your hand out. Take the snake by the tail.” So he reached out and grabbed the snake. It turned back into a walking stick in his hand. ⁵ The Lord said, “When they see this sign, they will believe that I appeared to you. I am the Lord, the God of their fathers. I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. And I am the God of Jacob.”

⁶ Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your coat.” So Moses put his hand inside his coat. When he took it out, the skin had become as white as snow. His hand was covered with a skin disease.

⁷ “Now put it back into your coat,” the Lord said. So Moses put his hand back into his coat. When he took it out, the skin was healthy again. His hand was like the rest of his skin.

⁸ Then the Lord said, “Suppose they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign. Then maybe they will believe the second one. ⁹ But suppose they do not believe either sign. Suppose they will not listen to you. Then get some water from the Nile River. Pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will turn into blood on the ground.”

¹⁰ Moses spoke to the Lord. He said, “Lord, I’ve never been a good speaker. And I haven’t gotten any better since you spoke to me. I don’t speak very well at all.”

¹¹ The Lord said to him, “Who makes human beings able to talk? Who makes them unable to hear or speak? Who makes them able to see? Who makes them blind? It is I, the Lord. ¹² Now go. I will help you speak. I will teach you what to say.”

¹³ But Moses said, “Lord, please send someone else to do it.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord became very angry with Moses. He said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you. He will be glad to see you. ¹⁵ Speak to him. Tell him what to say. I will help both of you speak. I will teach you what to do. ¹⁶ He will speak to the people for you. He will be like your mouth. And you will be like God to him. ¹⁷ But take this walking stick in your hand. You will be able to do signs with it.”

Moses Returns to Egypt

¹⁸ Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro. He said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt. I want to see if any of them are still alive.”

Jethro said, “Go. I hope everything goes well with you.”

¹⁹ The Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt. All those who wanted to kill you are dead.” ²⁰ So Moses got his wife and sons. He put them on a donkey. Together they started back to Egypt. And he took the walking stick in his hand. It was the stick God would use in a powerful way.

²¹ The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “When you return to Egypt, do all the amazing things I have given you the power to do. Do them in the sight of Pharaoh. But I will make him stubborn. He will not let the people go. ²² Then say to Pharaoh, ‘The Lord says, “Israel is like an oldest son to me. ²³ I told you, ‘Let my son go. Then he will be able to worship me.’ But you refused to let him go. So I will kill your oldest son.” ’ ”

²⁴ On the way to Egypt, Moses stopped for the night. There the Lord met him and was about to kill him. ²⁵ But Zipporah got a knife made out of flint. She circumcised her son with it. Then she touched Moses’ feet with the skin she had cut off. “Surely, you are a husband who has forced me to spill my son’s blood,” she said. ²⁶ So the Lord didn’t kill Moses. When she said “husband who has forced me to spill my son’s blood,” she was talking about circumcision.

²⁷ The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the desert to see Moses.” So Aaron greeted Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. ²⁸ Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say. Moses also told him about all the signs the Lord had commanded him to do.

²⁹ Moses and Aaron gathered all the elders of Israel together. ³⁰ Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs in the sight of the people. ³¹ And they believed. They heard that the Lord was concerned about them. He had seen their suffering. So they bowed down and worshiped him.