Exodus 3

1 Now Mosess was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desertt and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb.s2 The angel of the Lords appearedt to him int a flame of fire from within a bush.s He lookedt – andt the bush was ablaze with fire, but it was not being consumed!t3 So Moses thought,t “I will turn aside to seet this amazingt sight. Why does the bush not burn up?”t4 When the Lordt saw thatt he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”s And Mosest said, “Here I am.”5 Godt said, “Do not approach any closer!s Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holys ground.”t

6 He added, “I am the God of your father,s the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to lookt at God.
7 The Lord said, “I have surely seent the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.s8 I have come downs to deliver themt from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a land that is both good and spacious,t to a land flowing with milk and honey,t to the region of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.t9 And now indeedt the cryt of the Israelites has come to me, and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them.t

10 So now go, and I will send youts to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
11 Moses saidt to God,s “Who am I, that I should got to Pharaoh, or that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

12 He replied,t “Surely I will be with you,ts and this will be the signs to you that I have sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, you and they will servets God on this mountain.”

13 Moses saidt to God, “Ift I go to the Israelites and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’s – what should I sayt to them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am that I am.”t And he said, “You must say thist to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

15 God also said to Moses, “You must say this to the Israelites, ‘The Lords – 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 names forever, and this is my memorial from generation to generation.’t
16 “Go and bring togethert the elders of Israel and tell them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers,s appearedt to me – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – saying, “I have attended carefullyts to you and to what has been donet to you in Egypt,

17 and I have promisedt that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,t to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’
18 “The elderst will listent to you, and then you and the elders of Israel must go to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has mett with us. So now, let us gots three days’ journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrificet to the Lord our God.’19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go,t not even under force.s

20 So I will extend my hands and strike Egypt with all my wonderst that I will do among them, and after that he will release you.s
21 “I will grant this people favor witht the Egyptians, so that whent you depart you will not leave empty-handed.

22 Everyt woman will ask her neighbor and the one who happens to be stayingt in her house for items of silver and goldt and for clothing. You will put these articles on your sons and daughters – thus you will plunder Egypt!”s

Exodus 4

The Source of Sufficiency

1 s Moses answered again,t “And ift they do not believe me or pay attention to me,t but say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’?”2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”ts3 The Lordt said, “Throw it to the ground.” So he threw it to the ground, and it became a snake,s and Moses ran from it.4 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and grab it by the tail” – so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hands –

5 “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
6 The Lord also said to him, “Put your hand into your robe.”t So he put his hand into his robe, and when he brought it out – there was his hand,t leprous like snow!s7 He said, “Put your hand back into your robe.” So he put his hand back into his robe, and when he brought it out from his robe – there it was,t restoredt like the rest of his skin!t8 “Ift they do not believe you or pay attention tot the former sign, then they mayt believe the latter sign.t

9 And ift they do not believe even these two signs or listen to you,t then taket some water from the Nile and pour it out on the dry ground. The water you take out of the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”s

10 Then Moses said to the Lord,s “Ot my Lord,t I am not an eloquent man,t neither in the pastt nor since you have spoken to your servant, for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”t
11 The Lord said to him, “Who gavets a mouth to man, or who makes a person mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?s

12 So now go, and I will be with your mouths and will teach yous what you must say.”t

13 But Moses said,t “Ot my Lord, please send anyone else whom you wish to send!”t

14 Then the Lord became angry withts Moses, and he said, “What aboutt your brother Aaron the Levite?s I know that he can speak very well.ts Moreover, he is comingt to meet you, and when he sees you he will be glad in his heart.s
15 “So you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And as for me, I will be with your moutht and with his mouth,t and I will teach you botht what you must do.t16 Het will speak for you to the people, and it will be as ift het were your moutht and as if you were his God.ts

17 You will also take in your hand this staff, with which you will do the signs.”s

The Return of Moses

18 s So Moses went backt to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Let me go, so that I may returnt to my relativest in Egypt and seet if they are still alive.” Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”19 The Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go backt to Egypt, because all the men who were seeking your life are dead.”s20 Then Moses tookt his wife and sonss and put them on a donkey and headed backt to the land of Egypt, and Moses took the staff of God in his hand.21 The Lord saidt to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt,t see that yout do before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put under your control.t But I will hardent his hearts andt he will not let the people go.22 You must sayt to Pharaoh, ‘Thus sayst the Lord, “Israel is my son, my firstborn,s

23 and I said to you, ‘Let my son go that he may servet me,’ but since you have refused to let him go,t I will surely killt your son, your firstborn!”’”
24 Now on the way, at a place where they stopped for the night,t the Lord met Moses and sought to kill him.s25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off the foreskin of her son and touched it to Moses’ feet,t and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of bloods to me.”

26 So the Lordt let him alone. (At that timet she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” referring tot the circumcision.)
27 The Lord saidt to Aaron, “Go to the wilderness to meet Moses. So he went and met him at the mountain of Godt and greeted him with a kiss.t28 Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who hadt sent him and all the signs that he had commanded him.29 Then Moses and Aaron went and brought together all the Israelite elders.s30 Aaron spoket all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people,

31 and the people believed. When they heardst that the Lord had attended tot the Israelites and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed down close to the ground.t

Exodus 5

Opposition to the Plan of God

1 s Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord,t the God of Israel, ‘Releaset my people so that they may hold a pilgrim feastt to me in the desert.’”2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lordt thatt I should obey himts by releasingt Israel? I do not know the Lord,s and I will not release Israel!”3 And they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us go a three-day journeyt into the desert so that we may sacrificets to the Lord our God, so that he does not strike us with plague or the sword.”s4 The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you cause the people to refrain from their work?s Return to your labor!”

5 Pharaoh was thinking,t “The people of the land are now many, and you are giving them rest from their labor.”
6 That same day Pharaoh commandedt the slave masters and forement who weret over the people:s7 “You must no longert give straw to the people for making brickst as before.t Let them got and collect straw for themselves.8 But you must requiret of them the same quota of bricks that they were making before.t Do not reduce it, for they are slackers.t That is why they are crying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to our God.’

9 Make the work hardert for the men so they will keep at itts and pay no attention to lying words!”s
10 So the slave masters of the people and their foremen went to the Israelites and said,t “Thus says Pharaoh: ‘I am not givingt you straw.11 Yout go get straw for yourselves wherever you cant find it, because there will be no reduction at all in your workload.’”12 So the people spread outt through all the land of Egypt to collect stubble for straw.13 The slave masters were pressuringt them, saying, “Completet your work for each day, just like when there was straw!”

14 The Israelite foremen whom Pharaoh’s slave masters had set over them were beaten and were asked,t “Why did you not complete your requirement for brickmaking as in the past – both yesterday and today?”s
15 s The Israelite foremen went and cried out to Pharaoh, “Why are you treatingt your servants this way?

16 No straw is given to your servants, but we are told,t ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are event being beaten, but the faultt is with your people.”
17 But Pharaoh replied,t “You are slackers! Slackers!t That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’18 So now, get back to work!t You will not be given straw, but you must still producet your quotas of bricks!”

19 The Israelite foremen sawt that theyt were in trouble when they were told,t “You must not reduce the daily quota of your bricks.”
20 When they went out from Pharaoh, they encountered Moses and Aaron standing there to meet them,s

21 and they said to them, “May the Lord look on you and judge,t because you have made us stinkt in the opinion oft Pharaoh and his servants,t so that you have given them an excuse to kill us!”t

The Assurance of Deliverance

22 s Moses returnedt to the Lord, and said, “Lord,t why have you caused trouble for this people?ts Why did you evert send me?

23 From the time I went to speak to Pharaoh in your name, he has caused troubles for this people, and you have certainly not rescuedt them!”t