Exodus 3

Moses at the Burning Bush

3Now Moses was tending the flock of ^aJethro his father-in-law, ^bthe priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to ^cHoreb, ^dthe mountain of God. ²And ^ethe Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. ³Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this ^fgreat sight, why the bush does not burn.”

⁴So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called ^gto him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

⁵Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. ^hTake your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” ⁶Moreover He said, ⁱ“I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for ^jhe was afraid to look upon God.

⁷And the Lord said: ^k“I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry ^lbecause of their taskmasters, ^mfor I know their ¹sorrows. ⁸So ⁿI have come down to ^odeliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land ^pto a good and large land, to a land ^qflowing with milk and honey, to the place of ^rthe Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. ⁹Now therefore, behold, ^sthe cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the ^toppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ^10uCome now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

¹¹But Moses said to God, ^v“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

¹²So He said, ^w“I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a ^xsign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

¹³Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

¹⁴And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ^y‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” ¹⁵Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is ^zMy name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ ¹⁶Go and ^agather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, ^b“I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; ¹⁷and I have said ^cI will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’ ¹⁸Then ^dthey will heed your voice; and ^eyou shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has ^fmet with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ ¹⁹But I am sure that the king of Egypt ^gwill not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. ²⁰So I will ^hstretch out My hand and strike Egypt with ⁱall My wonders which I will do in its midst; and ^jafter that he will let you go. ²¹And ^kI will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. ^22lBut every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, ^marticles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So ⁿyou shall plunder the Egyptians.”