Limitless Word
“I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain.”
Exodus 3:12 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He said, “Certainly I will be with you. This will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
  • KJV And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
  • NKJV So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
  • NASB And He said, “Assuredly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”
  • NLT God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God answers, "I will be with you," and gives a sign: Israel will worship Him at this mountain. God's presence, not Moses' strength, guarantees success.

Overview

God does not answer "Who am I?" with reassurance about Moses but with the promise of His own presence. The sign of worship at Sinai points beyond the rescue to its true goal: a people freed to serve God. This pledge, "I will be with you," runs through Scripture and finds its fullness in Immanuel, God with us.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 28

  • Josh 1:5No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
  • Rom 8:31What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
  • Deut 31:23Then the LORD commissioned Joshua son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land that I swore to give them, and I will be with you.”
  • Isa 41:10Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.
  • Exod 4:15You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do.
  • Exod 4:12Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.”
  • Gen 31:3Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”
  • Matt 28:20and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
  • Isa 43:2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.
  • Acts 11:21The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
  • Exod 4:1–9Then Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”
  • Heb 13:5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
  • Mark 16:20And they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked through them, confirming His word by the signs that accompanied it.
  • Judg 7:11and listen to what they are saying. Then your hands will be strengthened to attack the camp.” So he went with Purah his servant to the outposts where armed men were guarding the camp.
  • Isa 37:30And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from the same. But in the third year you will sow and reap; you will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
  • Exod 19:1–25In the third month, on the same day of the month that the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.
  • Isa 7:14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
  • Ps 86:17Show me a sign of Your goodness, that my enemies may see and be ashamed; for You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
  • Jer 43:9–10“In the sight of the Jews, pick up some large stones and bury them in the clay of the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace at Tahpanhes.
  • Gen 15:1After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
  • Jer 51:63–64When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and cast it into the Euphrates.
  • Judg 6:17Gideon answered, “If I have found favor in Your sight, give me a sign that it is You speaking with me.
  • Judg 6:36–40Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said,
  • Judg 6:21Then the angel of the LORD extended the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. And fire flared from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.
  • Num 1:1–10On the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the Wilderness of Sinai. He said:
  • Lev 1:1–17Then the LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying,
  • Judg 7:13–14And as Gideon arrived, a man was telling his friend about a dream. “Behold, I had a dream,” he said, “and I saw a loaf of barley bread come tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent so hard that the tent overturned and collapsed.”
  • Gen 15:8But Abram replied, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 3:12YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.

How Exodus 3:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.