Exodus 3

1 Moses was a shepherd, looking after the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the Midianite priest. He led the flock far into the wilderness until he came to God's mountain, Mount Horeb.

And Moses has been feeding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, priest of Midian, and he leads the flock behind the wilderness, and comes to the mountain of God, to Horeb;

2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from inside a bush. Moses looked carefully and saw that though the bush was on fire, it wasn't being burned up.

and the Messenger of YHWH appears to him in a flame of fire, out of the midst of the bush, and he sees, and behold, the bush is burning with fire, and the bush is not consumed.

3 “Let me go over and take a look,” Moses said to himself. “It's very odd to see a bush that's not burning up.”

And Moses says, “Now I turn aside and see this great appearance. Why is the bush not burned?”

4 When the Lord saw that Moses was coming to take a look, God called to him from inside the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “I'm here,” Moses replied.

And YHWH sees that he has turned aside to see, and God calls to him out of the midst of the bush and says, “Moses! Moses!” And he says, “Here I [am].”

5 “Don't come any closer!” God told him. “Take off your sandals because you're standing on holy ground.”

And He says, “Do not come near here. Cast your shoes from off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

He also says, “I [am] the God of your father, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob”; and Moses hides his face, for he is afraid to look toward God.

7 “I'm completely aware of the misery of my people in Egypt,” the Lord told him. “I have heard them crying out because of their taskmasters. I know how much they're suffering.

And YHWH says, “I have certainly seen the affliction of My people who [are] in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of its exactors, for I have known its pains;

8 That's why I have come down to rescue them from Egyptian oppression and to take them up from that country to a productive, wide-open land—a land flowing with milk and honey—where currently the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites are living.

and I go down to deliver it out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to cause it to go up out of the 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.

9 Listen! The cries of the Israelites have reached me, and I have seen how badly the Egyptians are mistreating them.

And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them,

10 Now you must leave, because I'm sending you to Pharaoh to lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

and now, come, and I send you to Pharaoh; and bring out My people, the sons of Israel, from Egypt.”

11 But Moses said to God, “Why me? I'm a nobody! I couldn't go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt!”

And Moses says to God, “Who [am] I, that I go to Pharaoh, and that I bring out the sons of Israel from Egypt?”

12 “I'll be with you,” the Lord replied, “and this will be the sign that it is really me who is sending you: when you have led the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”

And He says, “Because I am with you, and this [is] the sign to you that I have sent you: in your bringing out the people from Egypt—you serve God on this mountain.”

13 Then Moses said to God, “Look! If I were to 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?’ —then what should I tell them?”

And Moses says to God, “Behold, I am coming to the sons of Israel, and have said to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they have said to me, What [is] His Name? What do I say to them?”

14 God replied to Moses, “‘I Am’ is who I am. Tell the Israelites this: ‘I Am’ has sent me to you.”

And God says to Moses, “I AM THAT WHICH I AM.” He also says, “Thus you say to the sons of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.”

15 Then God said to Moses, “Tell 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, the name you are to call me for all generations to come.’

And God says again to Moses, “Thus you say to the sons of Israel: YHWH, God of your fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, has sent me to you; this [is] My Name for all time, and this [is] My memorial, to generation [and] generation.

16 Go, and call all the elders of Israel to meet with you. Tell them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, has appeared to me—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He said, “I have paid close attention to what's been happening to you in Egypt.

Go, and you have gathered the elderly of Israel, and have said to them: YHWH, God of your fathers, has appeared to me, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I have certainly inspected you, and that which is done to you in Egypt;

17 I have decided to take you away from the misery you're having in Egypt and bring you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

and I say [that] I 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 “The elders of Israel will accept what you say. Then you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews has revealed himself to us. So please let us go three days journey into the desert so we can offer sacrifices to the Lord our God there.’

And they have listened to your voice, and you have entered, you and [the] elderly of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you have said to him: YHWH, God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a journey of three days into the wilderness, and we sacrifice to our God YHWH.

19 But I know that the king of Egypt won't let you go unless he's forced to do so by a power stronger than him.

And I have known that the king of Egypt does not permit you to go, unless by a strong hand,

20 So I will use my power to inflict on Egypt all the terrifying things that I'm about to do to them. After that he'll let you go.

and I have put forth My hand, and have struck Egypt with all My wonders, which I do in its midst—and afterward he sends you away.

21 I will make the Egyptians treat you well as a people, so when you go you won't leave empty-handed.

And I have given the grace of this people in the eyes of the Egyptians, and it has come to pass, when you go, you do not go empty;

22 Every woman will ask her neighbor as well as any woman living in her house for silver and gold jewelry and clothing, and put them on your sons and daughters. In this way you will take the wealth of the Egyptians with you.”

and [every] woman has asked from her neighbor, and from her who is sojourning in her house, [for] vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and you have put [them] on your sons and on your daughters, and have spoiled the Egyptians.”