a boss or judge over us? Are you planning to kill me like you killed the Egyptian?"
Then Moses was afraid when he realized: They obviously know what I did. 15When Pharaoh heard about it, he tried to kill Moses.
But Moses ran away from Pharaoh and settled down in the land of Midian. One day Moses was sitting by a well. 16Now there was a Midianite priest who had seven daughters. The daughters came to draw water and fill the troughs so that their father's flock could drink. 17But some shepherds came along and rudely chased them away. Moses got up, rescued the women, and gave their flock water to drink.
18When they went back home to their father Reuel,b he asked, "How were you able to come back home so soon today?"
19They replied, "An Egyptian man rescued us from a bunch of shepherds. Afterward, he even helped us draw water to let the flock drink."
20Reuel said to his daughters, "So where is he? Why did you leave this man? Invite him to eat a meal with us."
21Moses agreed to come and live with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses as his wife. 22She gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, "because," he said, "I've been an immigrantc living in a foreign land."
23A long time passed, and the Egyptian king died. The Israelites were still groaning because of their hard work. They cried out, and their cry to be rescued from the hard work rose up to God. 24God heard their cry of grief, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25God looked at the Israelites, and God understood.
Moses at the burning bush
Exodus 3Moses was taking care of the flock for his father-in-law Jethro,d Midian's priest. He led his flock out to the edge of the desert, and he came to God's mountain called Horeb. 2The LORD's messenger appeared to him in a flame of fire in the middle of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was in flames, but it didn't burn up. 3Then Moses said to himself, Let me check out this amazing sight and find out why the bush isn't burning up.
4When the LORD saw that he was coming to look, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!"
Moses said, "I'm here."
5Then the LORD said, "Don't come any closer! Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground."6He continued, "I am the God of your father, Abraham's God, Isaac's God, and Jacob's God." Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.
7Then the LORD said, "I've clearly seen my people oppressed in Egypt. I've heard their cry of injustice because of their slave masters. I know about their pain. 8I've come down to rescue them from the Egyptians in order to take them out of that land and bring them to a good and broad land, a land that's full of milk and honey, a place where the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites all live. 9Now the Israelites' cries of injustice have reached me. I've seen just how much the Egyptians have oppressed them. 10So get going. I'm sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt."
11But Moses said to God, "Who am I to go to Pharaoh and to bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
12God said, "I'll be with you. And this will show you that I'm the one who sent you. After you bring the people out of Egypt, you will come back here and worship God on this mountain."
God's special name
13But Moses said to God, "If I now come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' they are going to ask me, 'What's this God's name?' What am I supposed to say to them?"
14God said to Moses, "I Am Who I Am.e So say to the Israelites, 'I Am has sent me to you.'"15God continued, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your ancestors, Abraham's God, Isaac's God, and Jacob's God, has sent me to you.' This is my name forever; this is how all generations will remember me.
16"Go and get Israel's elders together and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me. The LORD said, "I've been paying close attention to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt. 17I've decided to take you away from the harassment in Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land full of milk and honey."'18They will accept what you say to them. Then you and Israel's elders will go to Egypt's king and say to him, 'The LORD, the Hebrews' God, has met with us. So now let us go on a three-day journey into the desert so that we can offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.'19However, I know that Egypt's king won't let you go unless he's forced to do it. 20So I'll use my strength and hit Egypt with dramatic displays of my power. After that, he'll let you go.
21"I'll make it so that when you leave Egypt, the Egyptians will be kind to you and you won't go away empty-handed. 22Every woman will ask her neighbor along with the immigrant in her household for their silver and their gold jewelry as well as their clothing. Then you will put it on your sons and daughters, and you will rob the Egyptians."
Signs of power
Exodus 4Then Moses replied, "But what if they don't believe me or pay attention to me? They might say to me, 'The LORD didn't appear to you!'"
2The LORD said to him, "What's that in your hand?"
Moses replied, "A shepherd's rod."
3The LORD said, "Throw it down on the ground." So Moses threw it on the ground, and it turned into a snake. Moses jumped back from it. 4Then the LORD said to Moses, "Reach out and grab the snake by the tail." So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a rod in his hand. 5"Do this so that they will believe that the LORD, the God of their ancestors, Abraham's God, Isaac's God, and Jacob's God has in fact appeared to you."
6Again, the LORD said to Moses, "Put your hand inside your coat." So Moses put his hand inside his coat. When he took his hand out, his hand had a skin disease flaky like snow. 7Then God said, "Put your hand back inside your coat." So Moses put his hand back inside his coat. When he took it back out again, the skin of his hand had returned to normal. 8"If they won't believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second sign. 9If they won't believe even these two signs or pay attention to you, then take some water from the Nile River and pour it out on dry ground. The water that you take from the Nile will turn into blood on the dry ground."
10But Moses said to the LORD, "My Lord, I've never been able to speak well, not yesterday, not the day before, and certainly not now since you've been talking to your servant. I have a slow mouth and a thick tongue."
11Then the LORD said to him, "Who gives people the ability to speak? Who's responsible for making them unable to speak or hard of hearing, sighted or blind? Isn't it I, the LORD?12Now go! I'll help you speak, and I'll teach you what you should say."
13But Moses said, "Please, my Lord, just send someone else."
14Then the LORD got angry at Moses and said, "What about your brother Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak very well. He's on his way out to meet you now, and he's looking forward to seeing you. 15Speak to him and tell him what he's supposed to say. I'll help both of you speak, and I'll teach both of you what to do. 16Aaron will speak for you to the people. He'll be a spokesperson for you, and you will be like God for him. 17Take this shepherd's rod with you too so that you can do the signs."
Moses goes back to Egypt
18Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, "Please let me go back to my family in Egypt and see whether or not they are still living."
Jethro