Exodus 3

1 And Moses hath been feeding the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, priest of Midian, and he leadeth the flock behind the wilderness, and cometh in unto the mount of God, to Horeb;

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.

2 and there appeareth unto him a messenger of Jehovah in a flame of fire, out of the midst of the bush, and he seeth, and lo, the bush is burning with fire, and the bush is not consumed.

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.

3 And Moses saith, 'Let me turn aside, I pray thee, and I see this great appearance; wherefore is the bush not burned?'

“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.”

4 and Jehovah seeth that he hath turned aside to see, and God calleth unto him out of the midst of the bush, and saith, 'Moses, Moses;' and he saith, 'Here [am] I.'

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.

5 And He saith, 'Come not near hither: cast thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place on which thou art standing is holy ground.'

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

6 He saith also, 'I [am] the God of thy father, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob;' and Moses hideth his face, for he is afraid to look towards God.

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.

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

“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.

8 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, unto a land good and broad, unto a land flowing with milk and honey — unto the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

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.

9 'And now, lo, the cry of the sons of Israel hath come in unto Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them,

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

10 and now, come, and I send thee unto Pharaoh, and bring thou out My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.'

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

11 And Moses saith unto God, 'Who [am] I, that I go unto Pharaoh, and that I bring out the sons of Israel from Egypt?'

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

12 and He saith, 'Because I am with thee, and this [is] to thee the sign that I have sent thee: in thy bringing out the people from Egypt — ye do serve God on this mount.'

“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.”

13 And Moses saith unto God, 'Lo, I am coming unto the sons of Israel, and have said to them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you, and they have said to me, What [is] His name? what do I say unto them?'

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?”

14 And God saith unto Moses, 'I AM THAT WHICH I AM;' He saith also, 'Thus dost thou say to the sons of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.'

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

15 And God saith again unto Moses, 'Thus dost thou say unto the sons of Israel, Jehovah, God of your fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you; this [is] My name — to the age, and this My memorial, to generation — generation.

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.’

16 'Go, and thou hast gathered the elders of Israel, and hast said unto them: Jehovah, God of your fathers, hath appeareth unto me, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I have certainly inspected you, and that which is done to you in Egypt;

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.

17 and I say, I bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, unto the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, unto a land flowing [with] milk and honey.

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.”

18 'And they have hearkened to thy voice, and thou hast entered, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye have said unto him, Jehovah, God of the Hebrews, hath met with us; and now, let us go, we pray thee, a journey of three days into the wilderness, and we sacrifice to Jehovah our God.

“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.’

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

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.

20 and I have put forth My hand, and have smitten Egypt with all My wonders, which I do in its midst — and afterwards he doth send you away.

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.

21 'And I have given the grace of this people in the eyes of the Egyptians, and it hath come to pass, when ye go, ye go not empty;

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

22 and [every] woman hath asked from her neighbour, and from her who is sojourning in her house, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and ye have put [them] on your sons and on your daughters, and have spoiled the Egyptians.'

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.”