The Call of Moses
1 Now Moses was shepherding the flock
of Jethro his father-in-law,
the priest of Midian,
and he led the flock
to the backside of the
desert.
And he came to the Mountain of God,
Horeb.
2 And the Angel
of Yahweh
appeared to him
in a flame of fire in the midst of a
bush.
And he looked, and behold,
the bush burned in fire
but the bush was not consumed.
3 So Moses said,
"I will turn aside now
and see this great sight,
how the bush is not burned."
4 And Yahweh saw
that he turned aside to see.
Then God called to him,
from the midst of the bush,
and said,
"Moses! Moses!"
And he said,
"Behold me!"
5 And he said,
"Do not draw near here!
Take off your sandals
from off your feet,
for the place where you are standing
upon
is holy ground."
6 And said,
"I am the God of your father,
the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob."
But Moses covered his face,
for he was afraid to look upon God.
7 Then
Yahwheh
said,
"I have surely seen the affliction
of my people who are in Egypt,
and I have heard their shrieks,
because of their taskmasters,
for I know their anquish.
8 So I have come down to deliver them
out of the hand of the Egyptians,
and 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 Canaanites,
and Hittites, and Amorites,
and Perizzites, and Hivites,
and Jebusites."
9 "And now, behold,
the shriek of the sons of Israel
has come to me."
"And also I have seen the oppression
with which the Egyptians oppress them."
10 "So now go,
and I will send you
to Pharaoh,
and you will bring my people,
the sons of Israel out of Egypt.
11 But Moses said to God,
"Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh,
and that I should bring the sons of Israel
out of Egypt?"
12 And he said,
"Because I will be with you."
"And this will be a sign for you
that I have sent you,
when you have brought
the people out of Egypt,
you shall serve God
upon this mountain."
13 But Moses said to God,
"Behold, when I come to the sons of Israel
and I say to them,
'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,'
and they say to me,
'What is his name?'
what do I say to them?"
14 Then God said
to Moses,
"I Will Be what I Will Be."
And he said,
"Thus shall you say to the sons of Israel,
I Will Be has sent me to you."
15 Then again God said to Moses,
"Thus shall you say to the sons of Israel,
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
from generation to generation."
16 "Go, and gather the elders of
Israel,
and say to them,
Yahweh,
the God of your fathers,
has appeared to me,
the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob,
saying, 'I have surely visited you,
and what is done to you in Egypt,
17 and I have said
I will surely bring you up
from the affliction in Egypt,
to the land of the Canaanites,
and the Hittites, and the Amorites,
and the Perizzites, and the Hivites,
and the Jebusites,
to a land flowing with milk and honey.'
18 And they will listen to your
voice."
Then you and the elders of Israel
go to the king of Egypt,
will say to him,
'Yahweh, the God of the
Hebrews,
has met with us.
So now, let us go now,
three days away
into the wilderness,
so we may sacrifice to Yahweh
our God.'"
19 "But I know that the king of Egypt
will not let you go,
unless by a strong hand!
20 So I will stretch forth my hand,
so I will smite the Egyptians,
with all my wonders,
which I will do in their midst.
And after that he will send you forth.
21 And I will give favor to this people
in the eyes of the Egyptians.
"So it will be,
that when you go
you shall not go empty-handed.
22 So every woman shall borrow
from her neighbor,
and from the residents in her house,
jewelry of silver,
and jewelry of gold,
and clothes,
and put them upon your sons,
and upon your daughters,
and you shall plunder the Egyptians."