Bible / Exodus
Exodus 3
Douay-Rheims Bible, Challoner revision (1749–1752), the traditional Catholic English Bible, translated from the Latin Vulgate. If you read a modern Bible, this is the same Scripture in older English; some names are spelled differently (Cesarea for Caesarea, Apocalypse for Revelation). About this translation
1 Now Moses fed the sheep of Jethro, his father in law, the priest of Madian: and he drove the flock to the inner parts of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, Horeb.
2 And the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he saw that the bush was on fire, and was not burnt.
3 And Moses said: I will go, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the Lord saw that he went forward to see, he called to him out of the midst of the bush. and said: Moses, Moses. And he answered: Here I am.
5 And he said: Come not nigh hither, put off the shoes from thy feet; for the place, whereon thou standest, is holy ground.
6 And he said: I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses hid his face: for he durst not look at God.
7 And the Lord said to him: I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of the rigour of them that are over the works;
8 And knowing their sorrow, I am come down to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land into a good and spacious land, into a land that floweth with milk and honey, to the places of the Chanaanite, and Hethite, and Amorrhite, and Pherezite, and Hevite, and Jebusite.
9 For the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have seen their affliction, wherewith they are oppressed by the Egyptians.
10 But come, and I will send thee to Pharao, that thou mayst bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.
11 And Moses said to God: Who am I that I should go to Pharao, and should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12 And he said to him: I will be with thee; and this thou shalt have for a sign that I have sent thee: When thou shalt have brought my people out of Egypt, thou shalt offer sacrifice to God upon this mountain.
13 Moses said to God: Lo, I shall go to the children of Israel, and say to them: The God of your fathers hath sent me to you. If they shall say to me: What is his name? What shall I say to them?
14 God said to Moses: I AM WHO AM. He said: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: HE WHO IS, hath sent me to you.
15 And God said again to Moses: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: The Lord God of your fathers the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob hath sent me to you; this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
16 Go and gather together the ancients of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to me, saying: Visiting I have visited you; and I have seen all that hath befallen you in Egypt.
17 And I have said the word to bring you forth out of the affliction of Egypt, into the land of the Chanaanite, and Hethite, and Amorrhite, and Pherezite, and Hevite, and Jebusite, to a land that floweth with milk and honey.
18 And they shall hear thy voice; and thou shalt go in, thou and the ancients of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and thou shalt say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews hath called us; we will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, to sacrifice unto the Lord our God.
19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, but by a mighty hand.
20 For I will stretch forth my hand, and will strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst of them: after these he will let you go.
21 And I will give favour to this people, in the sight of the Egyptians: and when you go forth, you shall not depart empty:
22 But every woman shall ask of her neighbour, and of her that is in her house, vessels of silver and of gold, and raiment: and you shall put them on your sons and daughters, and shall spoil Egypt.
This chapter in the Catechism and the early Church
Where the Catechism of the Catholic Church cites these verses (from its footnotes on vatican.va), and where the earliest Church Fathers quote them (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, public domain). Short quotes only; follow the links for the full text. The Catechism uses modern verse numbers, so these are listed by chapter.
- Exodus 3:1 in modern BiblesCCC 2575
Read the Catechism
- CCC 2575 “Here again the initiative is God's. From the midst of the burning bush he calls Moses. This event will remain one of…”
- Exodus 3:2 in modern Bibles
Read the Fathers
“And when the Lord saw that he is turning aside to behold, the Lord called to him out of the bush.”
Quoted in Dialogue with Trypho, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 160), Chapter LX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Exodus 3:3 in modern Bibles
Read the Fathers
“And when the Lord saw that he is turning aside to behold, the Lord called to him out of the bush.”
Quoted in Dialogue with Trypho, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 160), Chapter LX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Exodus 3:4 in modern Bibles
Read the Fathers
“And when the Lord saw that he is turning aside to behold, the Lord called to him out of the bush.”
Quoted in Dialogue with Trypho, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 160), Chapter LX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“… at another time with Noah, giving to him the dimensions [of the ark]; at another; inquiring after Adam; at another, bringing down judgment upon the Sodomites; and again, when He becomes visible, and directs Jacob on his journey, and speaks with Moses from the bush.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter X. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Exodus 3:5 in modern BiblesCCC 2777
Read the Catechism
- CCC 2777 “In the Roman liturgy, the Eucharistic assembly is invited to pray to our heavenly Father with filial boldness; the Eastern liturgies develop…”
- Exodus 3:6 in modern Bibles
Read the Fathers
“… 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.”
Quoted in First Apology, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 155), Chapter LXIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“And that which was said out of the bush to Moses, "I am that I am, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and the God of your fathers,”
Quoted in First Apology, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 155), Chapter LXIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“… err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God." "For, touching the resurrection of the dead," He says, "have ye not read that which was spoken by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter V. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Exodus 3:7 in modern BiblesCCC 1867
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 1867 “The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are "sins that cry to heaven": the blood of Abel, The sin of the Sodomites,…”
“… without the Word, that is, without the Son; they being ignorant of that God who spake in human shape to Abraham, and again to Moses, saying, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people in Egypt, and I have come down to deliver them.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter VII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Exodus 3:8 in modern BiblesCCC 1867
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 1867 “The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are "sins that cry to heaven": the blood of Abel, The sin of the Sodomites,…”
“And again, when the Son speaks to Moses, He says, "I am come down to deliver this people.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book III, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter VI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“… without the Word, that is, without the Son; they being ignorant of that God who spake in human shape to Abraham, and again to Moses, saying, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people in Egypt, and I have come down to deliver them.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter VII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Exodus 3:9 in modern BiblesCCC 1867
Read the Catechism
- CCC 1867 “The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are "sins that cry to heaven": the blood of Abel, The sin of the Sodomites,…”
- Exodus 3:10 in modern BiblesCCC 1867
Read the Catechism
- CCC 1867 “The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are "sins that cry to heaven": the blood of Abel, The sin of the Sodomites,…”
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 446 “In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the ineffable Hebrew name YHWH, by which God revealed himself to Moses, is rendered…”
- CCC 2666 “But the one name that contains everything is the one that the Son of God received in his incarnation: JESUS. the divine…”
“And thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: He who is, hath sent me unto you;”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book III, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter VI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Exodus 3:16 in modern Bibles
Read the Fathers
“shalt say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to me, saying, I am surely beholding you, and the things which have befallen you in Egypt.' ”
Quoted in Dialogue with Trypho, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 160), Chapter LIX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Exodus 3:19 in modern Bibles
Read the Fathers
“As the Word spake to Moses from the bush: "And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, unless by a mighty hand.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXIX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Exodus 3:22 in modern Bibles
Read the Fathers
“Those, again, who cavil and find fault because the people did, by God's command, upon the eve of their departure, take vessels of all kinds and raiment from the Egyptians,”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
A modern English Catholic translation will be added once its publisher grants permission.