23 After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, and they cried out,g and their cry for help because of the difficult labor ascended to God. 24 God heard their groaning, and God rememberedh his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.i 25 and God saw the Israelites, and God knew.j

MOSES AND THE BURNING BUSH

3 Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro,* the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb,* the mountain of God.k 2 Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush.l As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. 3 So Moses thought, “I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?”

4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

“Here I am,” he answered.

5 “Do not come closer,” he said. “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”m 6 Then he continued, “I am the God of your father,* the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”n Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.