and seeing that there was no one in sight, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

On the next day Moses went out, and saw two Hebrews struggling together; and he said to the one who was in the wrong, "Why do you strike your fellow workman?" The man replied, "Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and said, "What I have done is known!" When Pharaoh heard what had taken place, he tried to put Moses to death; but Moses left the country and made his home in the land of Midian.

As he was sitting by a well, the seven daughters of the priest of Midian came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock, but the shepherds came and drove them away. Then Moses stood up and protected the women and watered their flock.

When they came to their father, he said, "How is it that you have come back so early to-day?" They replied, "An Egyptian protected us from the shepherds, and besides, he drew water for us and watered the flock." Then he said to his daughters, "Where is he? Why have you left the man? Ask him to eat with us." So Moses made his home with the man; and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife. She had a son, and Moses named him Gershom.

THE VOICE FROM THE BUSH

Moses was taking Once he led the flock

After a long time the king of Egypt died. care of the flock of Jethro his wife's father. to the other side of the pasture and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a thorn bush. As he looked, the bush flamed up without being burned. Moses said, "I will stop here and see this wonderful sight, why the bush is not burned up.'

When Jehovah saw that Moses stopped to look, he called to him from the midst of the bush, "Moses, Moses.' Moses answered, "Here am I." Then God said, "Do not come near; take your shoes off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." He also said, "I am the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses covered his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

THE VOICE FROM THE BUSH

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But Jehovah said, "I have certainly seen the suffering of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry of distress because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land into a land that is beautiful and wide, to a land with plenty of milk and honey. I have heard the cry of the Israelites and I have seen how they suffer at the hands of the Egyptians. Come now, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" He answered, “I will surely be with you; and this shall be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God upon this mountain."

Then Moses said to God, "If I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your forefathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I answer them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHAT I AM"; and he said, "Declare to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' Go and gather the leaders of Israel together and say to them, 'Jehovah the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said, I have surely remembered you and have seen what is being done to you in Egypt, and I have declared that I will bring you up out of the suffering in Egypt to a land with plenty of milk and honey.' They will listen to your voice; and you, together with the leaders of Israel, shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, has appeared to us. Now let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may offer a sacrifice to Jehovah our God.' But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless he is made to do so by a mighty power. Therefore I will use my power and overwhelm Egypt with all the marvellous deeds that I will do there. After that he will let you go."

Moses said to Jehovah, “O, Lord I am not able to speak well; for I am slow to speak and slow in saying what I think." Jehovah said to him, "Who has given man a mouth? Or who makes one deaf or dumb, or blind or able to see? Is it not I, Jehovah? Now go, and I will be with you and teach you what you shall say; and your brother Aaron shall speak for you to the people."

Then Moses went back to Jethro, his wife's father, and said to

him, "Let me go again to my people in Egypt to see whether they are still alive." Jethro answered Moses, "Go, with my blessing."

PHARAOH THE STUBBORN RULER

Then Jehovah said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." So he went and met him on the mountain of God and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all that Jehovah had sent him to declare. So Moses and Aaron gathered all the leaders of the Israelites, and Aaron repeated all the words which Jehovah had spoken to Moses. The people believed; and when they heard that Jehovah had remembered the Israelites and that he had seen their suffering, they bowed their heads and worshipped.

Then Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "Jehovah, the God of Israel commands, 'Let my people go that they may hold a feast in my honor in the wilderness."" But Pharaoh said, "Who is Jehovah that I should obey his command to let Israel go? I do not know Jehovah, and I will not let Israel go." They said, "The God of the Hebrews has appeared to us; let us go three days' journey into the wilderness that we may offer a sacrifice to Jehovah our God, that he may not attack us with pestilence or with the sword." But the king of Egypt replied, "Moses and Aaron, why do you try to turn the people from their work? Go to your tasks!"

The same day Pharaoh gave this command to the taskmasters who were over the people: "You shall no longer give the people straw for making bricks as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. But you shall demand of them the same number of bricks that they have been making before; you shall not lessen the number at all, for they are lazy; that is why they cry out, 'Let us go and offer a sacrifice to our God.' Let heavier work be laid upon the men, that they may be kept so busy that they will not pay attention to lying words.'

So the taskmasters who were over the people went out and said to them, "This is Pharaoh's order, 'I will no longer give you straw. Go yourselves, get straw wherever you can find it; but your work shall not be made less." So the people were scattered over all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters urged them on, saying, "You must finish your daily task just