Now Moses ¹  was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert ²  and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. ³ 

He added, “I am the God of your father, ¹  the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look ²  at God.

¹ Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard about all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, that ²  the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. ³ 

Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him; ¹  they each asked about the other’s welfare, and then they went into the tent.

Moses said ¹  to God, “If ²  I go to the Israelites and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ ³  – what should I say ⁴  to them?”

They will fill your houses, the houses of your servants, and all the houses of Egypt, such as ¹  neither ²  your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen since they have been ³  in the land until this day!’” Then Moses ⁴  turned and went out from Pharaoh.

¹ These are the heads of their fathers’ households: ²  The sons ³  of Reuben, the firstborn son of Israel, were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans ⁴  of Reuben.

Now Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ households ¹  of Levi according to their clans.

Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to Egypt for Israel’s sake, and all the hardship ¹  that had come on them ²  along the way, and how ³  the Lord had delivered them.

keeping loyal love for thousands, ¹  forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression ²  of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”

¹ So Moses went back ²  to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Let me go, so that I may return ³  to my relatives ⁴  in Egypt and see ⁵  if they are still alive.” Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”

When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this ¹  that you are doing for the people? ²  Why are you sitting by yourself, and all the people stand around you from morning until evening?”

You shall not bow down to them or serve them, ¹  for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous ²  God, responding to ³  the transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the third and fourth generations ⁴  of those who reject me, ⁵ 

God also said to Moses, “You must say this to the Israelites, ‘The Lord ¹  – the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you. This is my name ²  forever, and this is my memorial from generation to generation.’ ³ 

“Go and bring together ¹  the elders of Israel and tell them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, ²  appeared ³  to me – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – saying, “I have attended carefully ⁴  to you and to what has been done ⁵  to you in Egypt,

When ¹  the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, ²  then you will keep ³  this ceremony ⁴  in this month.

Tell the whole community of Israel, ‘In the tenth day of this month they each ¹  must take a lamb ²  for themselves according to their families ³  – a lamb for each household. ⁴ 

“You must not afflict ¹  any widow or orphan.

¹ These ²  are the names ³  of the sons of Israel ⁴  who entered Egypt – each man with his household ⁵  entered with Jacob:

and my anger will burn and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children will be fatherless. ¹