Exodus 3 - Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

Moses and the Burning Bush

3 Now Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, a priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 The Angel of the Lord appeared to him in blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but the bush was not burning up. 3 So he said, “I will go over and look at this amazing sight—to find out why the bush is not burning up.”

4 When the Lord saw that Moses had gone over to take a look, God called to him from the middle of the bush and said, “Moses! Moses!”

Moses said, “I am here.”

5 The Lord said, “Do not come any closer. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He then said, “I am the God of your fathers,[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

7 The Lord said, “I have certainly seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry for help because of their slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 Now indeed, the Israelites’ cry for help has come to me. Yes, I have seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Come now, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

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

12 So he said, “I will certainly be with you. This will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain.”

13 But Moses said to God, “If I 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?’ what should I say to them?”

14 So God replied to Moses, “I am who I am.”[b] He also said, “You will say this to the Israelites: I am has sent me to you.”

15 God also told Moses, “Say this to 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, and this is how I am to be remembered from generation to generation.’

16 “Go, gather the elders of Israel together and tell them: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have certainly been paying attention to you and to what they have done to you in Egypt. 17 So I have said that I will bring you up from the misery in Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.’

18 “They will listen to your voice. Then you and the elders of Israel will go to the king of Egypt, and you will say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord, our God.’

19 “But I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless he is forced to do so by a powerful hand. 20 So I will reach out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in their midst. Afterward he will let you go.

21 “I will give this people favor with the Egyptians so that when you go, you will not go out empty-handed. 22 Each woman is to ask her neighbor, as well as any woman staying in her house, for articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. You are to put them on your sons and daughters. In this way you will plunder the Egyptians.”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 3:6 The Samaritan Pentateuch and Acts 7:32 read fathers. The main Hebrew text has the singular.
  2. Exodus 3:14 This translation follows the Jewish and Christian tradition of not reading God’s Old Testament name Yahweh but pronouncing it as Lord and writing it as Lord (Adonai). This name, known as the Tetragrammaton (the four letter name), means “he is.” It was probably originally pronounced Yahweh, but in poetry it sometimes occurs as the short form Yah. When the Lord speaks of himself, he can call himself I am.

You Might Also Like:

Exodus 3 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

3 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; 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, ...
Read More

Exodus 3 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

3 Forsooth Moses kept the sheep of Jethro, his wife’s father, priest of Midian; and when he had driven the flock to the inner parts of the desert, he came to Horeb, the hill of God. (And Moses kept the sheep of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and when he had driven the flock to the ...
Read More

Exodus 3 - World English Bible (WEB)

3 Now Moses was keeping 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 God’s mountain, to Horeb. 2 Yahweh’s[a] angel appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the middle of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned ...
Read More

Exodus 3 - The Voice (VOICE)

3 Now one day when Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, he guided the flock far away from its usual pastures to the other side of the desert and came to a place known as Horeb, where the mountain of God stood. 2 There, the Special Messenger of the Eter...
Read More

Exodus 3 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Angel of Adonai in a Burning Bush3 Now Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. So he led the flock to the farthest end of the wilderness, coming to the mountain of God, Horeb. [a] 2 Then the angel of Adonai appeared to him in a flame of fire from within a bush....
Read More

Exodus 3 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Moses at the Burning Bush3 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Mid′ian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush;...
Read More

Exodus 3 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Moses at the Burning Bush3 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Mid′ian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush;...
Read More

Exodus 3 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Moses at the Burning Bush3 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazi...
Read More

Exodus 3 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Moses at the Burning Bush3 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazi...
Read More

Exodus 3 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Moses at the Burning Bush3 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness and came to Mount Horeb,[a] the mountain of God.(A)2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush ...
Read More

Exodus 3 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Moses and the Burning Bush3 One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro,[a] the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai,[b] the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses ...
Read More

Exodus 3 - New Life Version (NLV)

Moses and the Burning Bush3 Now Moses was taking care of the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the religious leader of Midian. He led the flock to the west side of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the Angel of the Lord showed Himself to Moses in a burning fire from insid...
Read More

Exodus 3 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Moses at the Burning Bush(A)3 Now Moses was tending the flock of (B)Jethro his father-in-law, (C)the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to (D)Horeb, (E)the mountain of God. 2 And (F)the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a ...
Read More

Exodus 3 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Moses and the burning bush3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw...
Read More

Exodus 3 - New International Version (NIV)

Moses and the Burning Bush3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro(A) his father-in-law, the priest of Midian,(B) and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb,(C) the mountain(D) of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord(E) appeared to him in flames of fire(F) from within ...
Read More

Exodus 3 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Moses and the Burning Bush3 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....
Read More

Exodus 3 - New English Translation (NET)

3 Now Moses[a] 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 desert[b] and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb.[c] 2 The angel of the Lord[d] appeared[e] to him in[f] a flame of fire from within a bush.[g] He looked,[h] an...
Read More