Exodus 3:1–12

Moses and the Burning Bush

3Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, ^qthe priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, ^rthe mountain of God. ^s2Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. ^tAs Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. ³So Moses thought: I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?

⁴When 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.” ^u6Then He continued, “I am the God of your father, ^vthe God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” ^wMoses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of My people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out ^xbecause of their oppressors, and I know about their sufferings. ⁸I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey ^y—the territory of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ^z9The Israelites’ cry for help has come to Me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing ^athem. ¹⁰Therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead My people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

¹¹But Moses asked God, “Who am I ^bthat I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹²He answered, “I will certainly be with you, ^cand this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship ^dGod at this mountain.”