Exodus 3:4–18

⁴When the Lord saw Moses was coming to look at the bush, God called to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

⁵Then God said, “Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground. ⁶I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷The Lord said, “I have seen the troubles my people have suffered in Egypt, and I have heard their cries when the Egyptian slave masters hurt them. I am concerned about their pain, ⁸and I have come down to save them from the Egyptians. I will bring them out of that land and lead them to a good land with lots of room—a fertile land. It is the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ⁹I have heard the cries of the people of Israel, and I have seen the way the Egyptians have made life hard for them. ¹⁰So now I am sending you to the king of Egypt. Go! Bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt!”

¹¹But Moses said to God, “I am not a great man! How can I go to the king and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹²God said, “I will be with you. This will be the proof that I am sending you: After you lead the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship me on this mountain.”

¹³Moses said to God, “When I go to the Israelites, I will say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me to you.’ What if the people say, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?”

¹⁴Then God said to Moses, “I am who I am. ⁿ When you go to the people of Israel, tell them, ‘I am sent me to you.’ ”

¹⁵God also said to Moses, “This is what you should tell the people: ‘The Lord is the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He sent me to you.’ This will always be my name, by which people from now on will know me.

¹⁶“Go and gather the elders and tell them this: ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me. He said, I care about you, and I have seen what has happened to you in Egypt. ¹⁷I promised I would take you out of your troubles in Egypt. I will lead you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a fertile land.’

¹⁸“The elders will listen to you. And then you and the elders of Israel will go to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, appeared to us. Let us travel three days into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’