Exodus · Literal Standard Version
Exodus 3 Literal Standard Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 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;
1 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 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.
2 Yahweh’s angel appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the middle of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses says, “Now I turn aside and see this great appearance. Why is the bush not burned?”
3 Moses said, “I will go now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
4 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].”
4 When Yahweh saw that he came over to see, God called to him out of the middle of the bush, and said, “Moses! Moses!” He said, “Here I am.”
5 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.”
5 He said, “Don’t come close. Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing on is holy ground.”
6 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.
6 Moreover he said, “I am the God of your father, 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 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;
7 Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
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 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.
8 I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
9 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,
9 Now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me. Moreover I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
10 and now, come, and I send you to Pharaoh; and bring out My people, the sons of Israel, from Egypt.”
10 Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
11 And Moses says to God, “Who [am] I, that I go to Pharaoh, and that I bring out the sons of Israel from Egypt?”
11 Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 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.”
12 He said, “Certainly I will be with you. This will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
13 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?”
13 Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?”
14 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.”
14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
15 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.
15 God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, 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 my memorial to all generations.
16 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;
16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt.
17 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.
17 I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’
18 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.
18 They will listen to your voice. You shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall tell him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh, our God.’
19 And I have known that the king of Egypt does not permit you to go, unless by a strong hand,
19 I know that the king of Egypt won’t give you permission to go, no, not by a mighty hand.
20 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.
20 I will reach out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do among them, and after that he will let you go.
21 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;
21 I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and it will happen that when you go, you shall not go empty-handed.
22 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.”
22 But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of her who visits her house, jewels of silver, jewels of gold, and clothing. You shall put them on your sons, and on your daughters. You shall plunder the Egyptians.”
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Moses
Drawn from the Nile, he led Israel out of Egypt and received God's Law.
Cited in the guide: Exodus 2–Deuteronomy 34
Jethro
The priest of Midian, also called Reuel, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses, brought her and her two sons to Moses at the mountain of God, and advised him to appoint capable…
Cited in the guide: Exodus 2:18; Exodus 3:1; Exodus 18:1
Places
Mount Sinai
The location is strongly debated — traditional Jebel Musa in the southern Sinai Peninsula is only one of several proposals (approximate location). It is where the Law was given.
Cited in the guide: Exodus 19:20; Exodus 3:1; Exodus 24:12
Cross references (22)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 1 Kings 19:8; Psalm 78:70–72; Exodus 17:6; Numbers 10:29; Judges 4:11
- 2 Acts 7:30–35; Isaiah 43:2; Deuteronomy 33:16; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37
- 3 Acts 7:31; Psalm 107:8; Job 37:14; Psalm 111:2–4
- 4 Deuteronomy 33:16; Genesis 22:11; Genesis 46:2; 1 Samuel 3:6; 1 Samuel 3:4
- 5 Joshua 5:15; Acts 7:33; Exodus 19:12; Ecclesiastes 5:1; Hebrews 12:20
- 6 Luke 20:37; Matthew 22:32; Exodus 4:5; Mark 12:26; Acts 7:32
- 7 Psalm 145:19; Psalm 106:44; Exodus 2:23–25; Psalm 34:6; Exodus 22:23
- 8 Genesis 50:24; Genesis 15:18–21; Exodus 3:17; Exodus 13:5; Deuteronomy 1:25
- 9 Proverbs 22:22–23; Exodus 2:23; Exodus 1:11; Exodus 1:13–14; Exodus 3:7
- 10 Micah 6:4; Isaiah 63:11–12; 1 Samuel 12:6; Psalm 105:26; Acts 7:34
- 11 1 Samuel 18:18; Exodus 6:12; 2 Corinthians 3:5; Jeremiah 1:6; 2 Corinthians 2:16
- 12 Joshua 1:5; Romans 8:31; Isaiah 41:10; Deuteronomy 31:23; Genesis 31:3
- 13 Proverbs 30:4; Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:21; Isaiah 7:14; Exodus 3:14
- 14 John 8:58; Hebrews 13:8; Revelation 1:8; Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 44:6
- 15 Genesis 17:7–8; Hebrews 13:8; Hosea 12:5; Malachi 3:6; Micah 4:5
- 16 Psalm 8:4; Exodus 4:31; Exodus 4:29; Genesis 50:24; Acts 15:14
- 17 Genesis 15:13–21; Exodus 3:8–9; Genesis 50:24; Exodus 2:23–25; Genesis 46:4
- 18 Exodus 9:1; Exodus 7:16; Exodus 10:24–26; Exodus 9:13; Numbers 23:15–16
- 19 Exodus 5:2; Exodus 6:1; Psalm 136:11–12; Exodus 7:1–14; Isaiah 63:12–13
- 20 Acts 7:36; Nehemiah 9:10; Deuteronomy 6:22; Exodus 9:15; Exodus 6:6
- 21 Exodus 12:36; Exodus 11:3; Psalm 105:37; Proverbs 16:7; Psalm 106:46
- 22 Ezekiel 39:10; Exodus 11:2; Psalm 105:37; Exodus 12:35–36; Genesis 15:14
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… spake to Moses, in a flame of fire out of the bush, and said, I am that I am, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of thy fathers; go down into Egypt, and bring forth My people." And if you wish to learn what follows, you can do so from the same …
And thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: He who is, hath sent me unto you;" and His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who makes those that believe in His name the sons of God.
… what was the name of that God who was commanding him to go and deliver the Hebrew people out of Egypt, this answer was given: "I am who am; and thou shalt say to the children of Israel, He who is sent me unto you;" as though compared with Him that truly is, because He is unchangeable, those things which …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
We worship, therefore, as the Father of Christ, the Maker of heaven and earth, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; to whose honour the former temple also, over against us here, was built.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
… of His Essence; and of these especially He Who Is, not only because when He spake to Moses in the mount, and Moses asked what His Name was, this was what He called Himself, bidding him say to the people "I Am hath sent me," but also because we find that this Name is the more strictly appropriate.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)