- And it came to pass in process of time that the king of Egypt died. And the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.
- Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the backside of the desert and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And again the presence of the Lord appeared unto him, in a flame of fire in the midst of a bush. And he looked and behold, the bush burned with fire and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed.
- And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not near here. Put off your shoes from off your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows. And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good and large land, unto a land flowing with milk and honey, unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come unto me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you unto Pharaoh that you may bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
- And Moses said unto God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be a token unto you that I have sent you: when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain.
- And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers has sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, What is his name? — what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, i am that i am. And he said, Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel: i am has sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel: The Lord God of your fathers — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob — has sent me unto you. This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers — the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob — appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you and seen that which is done to you in Egypt, and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. And they shall listen to your voice. And you shall come — you and the elders of Israel — unto the king of Egypt, and you shall say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us, and now let us go, we implore you, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go — no, not by a mighty hand. And I will stretch out my hand and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof; and after that, he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. And it shall come to pass that when you go, you shall not go empty, but every woman shall borrow of her neighbor and of her that sojourns in her house jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment. And you shall put them upon your sons and upon your daughters, and you shall spoil the Egyptians.
- And Moses answered and said, But behold, they will not believe me nor listen unto my voice, for they will say, The Lord has not appeared unto you. And the Lord said unto him, What is that in your hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth your hand and take it by the tail (and he put forth his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob — has appeared unto you. And the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now your hand into your bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, Put your hand into your bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again, and plucked it out of his bosom, and behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe you, neither listen to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither listen unto your voice, that you shall take of the water of the river and pour it upon the dry land, and the water which you take out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.
- And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before now nor since you have spoken unto your servant, but I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say. And he said, O my Lord, send, I ask you, by the hand of him whom you will send. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And also behold, he comes forth to meet you; and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. And you shall speak unto him and put words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do. And he shall be your spokesman unto the people, and he shall be, even he shall be to you in stead of a mouth, and you shall be to him in stead of God. And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do signs.
- And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said unto him, Let me go, I ask you, and return unto my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt, for all the men are dead who sought your life. And Moses took his wife and his sons and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.
- And the Lord said unto Moses, When you go to return into Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand, and I will prosper you; but Pharaoh will harden his heart, and he will not let the people go. And you shall say unto Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord: Israel is my son, even my firstborn; and I say unto you, let my son go, that he may serve me, and if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay your son, even your first born.
- And it came to pass that the Lord appeared unto him as he was in the way by the inn. The Lord was angry with Moses and his hand was about to fall upon him, to kill him, for he had not circumcised his son. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and circumcised her son, and cast the stone at his feet, and said, Surely you are a bloody husband unto me. And the Lord spared Moses and let him go because Zipporah his wife circumcised the child. And she said, You are a bloody husband. And Moses was ashamed and hid his face from the Lord, and said, I have sinned before the Lord.
- And the Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went and met him in the mount of God, in the mount where God appeared unto him, and Aaron kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.
Chapter 2