Exodus 3

¹ Moses was looking after the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led it to the far sideof the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

² The angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame blazing from the middle of a bush. Moses looked;there was the bush blazing, but the bush was not being burnt up.

³ Moses said, 'I must go across and see this strange sight, and why the bush is not being burnt up.'

⁴ When Yahweh saw him going across to look, God cal ed to him from the middle of the bush. 'Moses,Moses!' he said. 'Here I am,' he answered.

⁵ 'Come no nearer,' he said. 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

⁶ I am the God of your ancestors,' he said, 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.'At this Moses covered his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ Yahweh then said, 'I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying forhelp on account of their taskmasters. Yes, I am well aware of their sufferings.

⁸ And I have come down to rescue them from the clutches of the Egyptians and bring them up out of thatcountry, to a country rich and broad, to a country flowing with milk and honey, to the home of the Canaanites, theHittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.

⁹ Yes indeed, the Israelites' cry for help has reached me, and I have also seen the cruel way in which theEgyptians are oppressing them.

¹⁰ So now I am sending you to Pharaoh, for you to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.'

¹¹ Moses said to God, 'Who am I to go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?'

¹² 'I shal be with you,' God said, 'and this is the sign by which you wil know that I was the one who sentyou. After you have led the people out of Egypt, you wil worship God on this mountain.'

¹³ Moses then said to God, 'Look, if I go to the Israelites and say to them, "The God of your ancestorshas sent me to you," and they say to me, "What is his name?" what am I to tell them?'

¹⁴ God said to Moses, 'I am he who is.' And he said, 'This is what you are to say to the Israelites, "I amhas sent me to you." '

¹⁵ God further said to Moses, 'You are to tel the Israelites, "Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, the Godof Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you." This is my name for al time, and thusI am to be invoked for al generations to come.

¹⁶ 'Go, gather the elders of Israel together and tel them, "Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, hasappeared to me -- the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob -- and has indeed visited you and seen what isbeing done to you in Egypt,

¹⁷ and has said: I shall bring you out of the misery of Egypt to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites,the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a country flowing with milk and honey."

¹⁸ They wil listen to your words, and you and the elders of Israel are to go to the king of Egypt and say tohim, "Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has encountered us. So now please al ow us to make a three-days'journey into the desert and sacrifice to Yahweh our God."

¹⁹ I am well aware that the king of Egypt wil not let you go unless he is compel ed by a mighty hand;

²⁰ he wil not let you go until I have stretched out my arm and struck Egypt with al the wonders I intend towork there.

²¹ 'I shal ensure that the Egyptians are so much impressed with this people that when you go, you willnot go empty-handed.

²² Every woman wil ask her neighbour and the woman staying in her house for silver and goldenjewel ery, and clothing. In these you wil dress your own sons and daughters, despoiling the Egyptians of them.'