God Calls Moses

¹One day while Moses was taking care of the sheep and goats of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, he led the flock across the desert and came to Sinai, the holy mountain.

²There the angel of the Lord appeared to him as a flame coming from the middle of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire but that it was not burning up.

³“This is strange,” he thought. “Why isn't the bush burning up? I will go closer and see.”

⁴When the Lord saw that Moses was coming closer, he called to him from the middle of the bush and said, “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Yes, here I am.”

⁵God said, “Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.

⁶I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” So Moses covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷Then the Lord said, “I have seen how cruelly my people are being treated in Egypt; I have heard them cry out to be rescued from their slave drivers. I know all about their sufferings,

⁸and so I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of Egypt to a spacious land, one which is rich and fertile and in which the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites now live.

⁹I have indeed heard the cry of my people, and I see how the Egyptians are oppressing them.

¹⁰Now I am sending you to the king of Egypt so that you can lead my people out of his country.”

¹¹But Moses said to God, “I am nobody. How can I go to the king and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹²God answered, “I will be with you, and when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will worship me on this mountain. That will be the proof that I have sent you.”

¹³But Moses replied, “When I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ So what can I tell them?”

¹⁴God said, “I am who I am. You must tell them: ‘The one who is called I Am has sent me to you.’

¹⁵Tell the Israelites that I, the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have sent you to them. This is my name forever; this is what all future generations are to call me.

¹⁶Go and gather the leaders of Israel together and tell them that I, the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, appeared to you. Tell them that I have come to them and have seen what the Egyptians are doing to them.

¹⁷I have decided that I will bring them out of Egypt, where they are being treated cruelly, and will take them to a rich and fertile land—the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

¹⁸“My people will listen to what you say to them. Then you must go with the leaders of Israel to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has revealed himself to us. Now allow us to travel three days into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord, our God.’

¹⁹I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless he is forced to do so.

²⁰But I will use my power and will punish Egypt by doing terrifying things there. After that he will let you go.

²¹“I will make the Egyptians respect you so that when my people leave, they will not go empty-handed.

²²Every Israelite woman will go to her Egyptian neighbors and to any Egyptian woman living in her house and will ask for clothing and for gold and silver jewelry. The Israelites will put these things on their sons and daughters and carry away the wealth of the Egyptians.”

Grain Offerings

¹When any of you present an offering of grain to the Lord, you must first grind it into flour. You must put olive oil and incense on it

²and bring it to the Aaronite priests. The officiating priest shall take a handful of the flour and oil and all of the incense and burn it on the altar as a token that it has all been offered to the Lord. The odor of this food offering is pleasing to the Lord.

³The rest of the grain offering belongs to the priests; it is very holy, since it is taken from the food offered to the Lord.

⁴If the offering is bread baked in an oven, it must be made without yeast. It may be thick loaves made of flour mixed with olive oil or thin cakes brushed with olive oil.

⁵If the offering is bread cooked on a griddle, it is to be made of flour mixed with olive oil but without yeast.

⁶Crumble it up and pour the oil on it when you present it as an offering.

⁷If the offering is bread cooked in a pan, it is to be made of flour and olive oil.

⁸Bring it as an offering to the Lord and present it to the priest, who will take it to the altar.

⁹The priest will take part of it as a token that it has all been offered to the Lord, and he will burn it on the altar. The odor of this food offering is pleasing to the Lord.

¹⁰The rest of the offering belongs to the priests; it is very holy, since it is taken from the food offered to the Lord.

¹¹None of the grain offerings which you present to the Lord may be made with yeast; you must never use yeast or honey in food offered to the Lord.

¹²An offering of the first grain that you harvest each year shall be brought to the Lord, but it is not to be burned on the altar.

¹³Put salt on every grain offering, because salt represents the covenant between you and God. (You must put salt on all your offerings.)

¹⁴When you bring to the Lord an offering of the first grain harvested, offer roasted grain or ground meal.

¹⁵Add olive oil and put incense on it.

¹⁶The priest will burn that part of the meal and oil that is to serve as a token, and also all the incense, as a food offering to the Lord.

Fellowship Offerings

¹When any of you offer one of your cattle as a fellowship offering, it is to be a bull or a cow without any defects.

²You shall put your hand on the head of the animal and kill it at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence. The Aaronite priests shall throw the blood against all four sides of the altar

³and present the following parts of the animal as a food offering to the Lord: all the fat on the internal organs,

⁴the kidneys and the fat on them, and the best part of the liver.

⁵The priests shall burn all this on the altar along with the burnt offerings. The odor of this food offering is pleasing to the Lord.

⁶If a sheep or goat is used as a fellowship offering, it may be male or female, but it must be without any defects.

⁷If you offer a sheep,

⁸you shall put your hand on its head and kill it in front of the Tent. The priests shall throw its blood against all four sides of the altar

⁹and present the following parts of the animal as a food offering to the Lord: the fat, the entire fat tail cut off near the backbone, all the fat covering the internal organs,

¹⁰the kidneys and the fat on them, and the best part of the liver.

¹¹The officiating priest shall burn all this on the altar as a food offering to the Lord.

¹²If you offer a goat,

¹³you shall put your hand on its head and kill it in front of the Tent. The priests shall throw its blood against all four sides of the altar

¹⁴and present the following parts as a food offering to the Lord: all the fat on the internal organs,

¹⁵the kidneys and the fat on them, and the best part of the liver.

¹⁶The priest shall burn all this on the altar as a food offering pleasing to the Lord. All the fat belongs to the Lord.

¹⁷No Israelite may eat any fat or any blood; this is a rule to be kept forever by all Israelites wherever they live.

A Royal Wedding Song

¹Beautiful words fill my mind, as I compose this song for the king. Like the pen of a good writer my tongue is ready with a poem.

²You are the most handsome of men; you are an eloquent speaker. God has always blessed you.

³Buckle on your sword, mighty king; you are glorious and majestic.

⁴Ride on in majesty to victory for the defense of truth and justice! Your strength will win you great victories!

⁵Your arrows are sharp, they pierce the hearts of your enemies; nations fall down at your feet.

⁶The kingdom that God has given you will last forever and ever. You rule over your people with justice;

⁷you love what is right and hate what is evil. That is why God, your God, has chosen you and has poured out more happiness on you than on any other king.

⁸The perfume of myrrh and aloes is on your clothes; musicians entertain you in palaces decorated with ivory.

⁹Among the women of your court are daughters of kings, and at the right of your throne stands the queen, wearing ornaments of finest gold.

¹⁰Bride of the king, listen to what I say— forget your people and your relatives.

¹¹Your beauty will make the king desire you; he is your master, so you must obey him.

¹²The people of Tyre will bring you gifts; rich people will try to win your favor.

¹³The princess is in the palace—how beautiful she is! Her gown is made of gold thread.

¹⁴In her colorful gown she is led to the king, followed by her bridesmaids, and they also are brought to him.

¹⁵With joy and gladness they come and enter the king's palace.

¹⁶You, my king, will have many sons to succeed your ancestors as kings, and you will make them rulers over the whole earth.

¹⁷My song will keep your fame alive forever, and everyone will praise you for all time to come.