2:23 1 During 2 that long period of time 3 the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites 4 groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cry 5 because of their slave labor went up to God. 2:24 God heard their groaning, 6 God remembered 7 his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, 2:25 God saw 8 the Israelites, and God understood…. 9
3:1 Now Moses 10 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 11 and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. 12 3:2 The angel of the Lord 13 appeared 14 to him in 15 a flame of fire from within a bush. 16 He looked 17 – and 18 the bush was ablaze with fire, but it was not being consumed! 19 3:3 So Moses thought, 20 “I will turn aside to see 21 this amazing 22 sight. Why does the bush not burn up?” 23 3:4 When the Lord 24 saw that 25 he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” 26 And Moses 27 said, “Here I am.” 3:5 God 28 said, “Do not approach any closer! 29 Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy 30 ground.” 31 3:6 He added, “I am the God of your father, 32 the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look 33 at God.
3:7 The Lord said, “I have surely seen 34 the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 35 3:8 I have come down 36 to deliver them 37 from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a land that is both good and spacious, 38 to a land flowing with milk and honey, 39 to the region of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 40 3:9 And now indeed 41 the cry 42 of the Israelites has come to me, and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them. 43 3:10 So now go, and I will send you 44 to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
3:11 Moses said 45 to God, 46 “Who am I, that I should go 47 to Pharaoh, or that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 3:12 He replied, 48 “Surely I will be with you, 49 and this will be the sign 50 to you that I have sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, you and they will serve 51 God on this mountain.”
3:13 Moses said 52 to God, “If 53 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?’ 54 – what should I say 55 to them?”
3:14 God said to Moses, “I am that I am.” 56 And he said, “You must say this 57 to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 3:15 God also said to Moses, “You must say this to the Israelites, ‘The Lord 58 – 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 59 forever, and this is my memorial from generation to generation.’ 60
3:16 “Go and bring together 61 the elders of Israel and tell them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, 62 appeared 63 to me – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – saying, “I have attended carefully 64 to you and to what has been done 65 to you in Egypt, 3:17 and I have promised 66 that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, 67 to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’
3:18 “The elders 68 will listen 69 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 met 70 with us. So now, let us go 71 three days’ journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice 72 to the Lord our God.’ 3:19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, 73 not even under force. 74 3:20 So I will extend my hand 75 and strike Egypt with all my wonders 76 that I will do among them, and after that he will release you. 77
3:21 “I will grant this people favor with 78 the Egyptians, so that when 79 you depart you will not leave empty-handed. 3:22 Every 80 woman will ask her neighbor and the one who happens to be staying 81 in her house for items of silver and gold 82 and for clothing. You will put these articles on your sons and daughters – thus you will plunder Egypt!” 83
4:1 84 Moses answered again, 85 “And if 86 they do not believe me or pay attention to me, 87 but say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’?” 4:2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” 88 4:3 The Lord 89 said, “Throw it to the ground.” So he threw it to the ground, and it became a snake, 90 and Moses ran from it. 4:4 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 hand 91 – 4:5 “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.”
4:6 The Lord also said to him, “Put your hand into your robe.” 92 So he put his hand into his robe, and when he brought it out – there was his hand, 93 leprous like snow! 94 4:7 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, 95 restored 96 like the rest of his skin! 97 4:8 “If 98 they do not believe you or pay attention to 99 the former sign, then they may 100 believe the latter sign. 101 4:9 And if 102 they do not believe even these two signs or listen to you, 103 then take 104 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.” 105
4:10 Then Moses said to the Lord, 106 “O 107 my Lord, 108 I am not an eloquent man, 109 neither in the past 110 nor since you have spoken to your servant, for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” 111
4:11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave 112 a mouth to man, or who makes a person mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 113 4:12 So now go, and I will be with your mouth 114 and will teach you 115 what you must say.” 116
4:13 But Moses said, 117 “O 118 my Lord, please send anyone else whom you wish to send!” 119
4:14 Then the Lord became angry with 120 Moses, and he said, “What about 121 your brother Aaron the Levite? 122 I know that he can speak very well. 123 Moreover, he is coming 124 to meet you, and when he sees you he will be glad in his heart. 125
4:15 “So you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And as for me, I will be with your mouth 126 and with his mouth, 127 and I will teach you both 128 what you must do. 129 4:16 He 130 will speak for you to the people, and it will be as if 131 he 132 were your mouth 133 and as if you were his God. 134 4:17 You will also take in your hand this staff, with which you will do the signs.” 135
4:18 136 So Moses went back 137 to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Let me go, so that I may return 138 to my relatives 139 in Egypt and see 140 if they are still alive.” Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 4:19 The Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back 141 to Egypt, because all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 142 4:20 Then Moses took 143 his wife and sons 144 and put them on a donkey and headed back 145 to the land of Egypt, and Moses took the staff of God in his hand. 4:21 The Lord said 146 to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, 147 see that you 148 do before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put under your control. 149 But I will harden 150 his heart 151 and 152 he will not let the people go. 4:22 You must say 153 to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says 154 the Lord, “Israel is my son, my firstborn, 155 4:23 and I said to you, ‘Let my son go that he may serve 156 me,’ but since you have refused to let him go, 157 I will surely kill 158 your son, your firstborn!”’”
4:24 Now on the way, at a place where they stopped for the night, 159 the Lord met Moses and sought to kill him. 160 4:25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off the foreskin of her son and touched it to Moses’ feet, 161 and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood 162 to me.” 4:26 So the Lord 163 let him alone. (At that time 164 she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” referring to 165 the circumcision.)
4:27 The Lord said 166 to Aaron, “Go to the wilderness to meet Moses. So he went and met him at the mountain of God 167 and greeted him with a kiss. 168 4:28 Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had 169 sent him and all the signs that he had commanded him. 4:29 Then Moses and Aaron went and brought together all the Israelite elders. 170 4:30 Aaron spoke 171 all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people, 4:31 and the people believed. When they heard 172 that the Lord had attended to 173 the Israelites and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed down close to the ground. 174
50:15 Pray to me when you are in trouble! 179
I will deliver you, and you will honor me!” 180
By David.
103:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
With all that is within me, praise 182 his holy name!
103:2 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Do not forget all his kind deeds! 183
116:1 I love the Lord
because he heard my plea for mercy, 185
116:2 and listened to me. 186
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. 187
116:3 The ropes of death tightened around me, 188
the snares 189 of Sheol confronted me.
I was confronted 190 with trouble and sorrow.
116:4 I called on the name of the Lord,
“Please Lord, rescue my life!”
3:20 Now to him who by the power that is working within us 192 is able to do far beyond 193 all that we ask or think, 3:21 to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.