Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God; to Horeb.
And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. And he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire but the bush was not consumed.
And Moses said, “I will turn aside now and see this great sight—why the bush is not burning up.”
And when Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush and said, “Moses! Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
Then he said, “Do not come near. Take your sandals off of your feet, for the place you are standing on is holy ground.”
Then he said, “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 he was afraid to look at God.
Then Yahweh said, “I have seen, yes, seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. For I know their suffering.
I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite.
And now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me. Moreover I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.
So now come. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you can bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
And he said, “Certainly I will be with you. And this will be the sign for you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will all serve God on this mountain.”
Then Moses said to God, “Behold, if I go to the children of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?”
And God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “You are to tell the children of Israel this: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
Furthermore, God said to Moses, “Tell the children of Israel this: ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
“Go and gather the elders of Israel together and tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what has been done to you in Egypt,
and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’
They will listen to your voice. And you are to go, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt and you are to tell him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God.’
“But I know that the king of Egypt will not give you permission to go, no, not unless compelled by a mighty hand.
So I will reach out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.
And I will give this people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and it will come to pass that when you go, you will not go empty-handed,
but every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman who is staying in her house for jewels of silver, jewels of gold, and clothing. And you will put them on your sons and on your daughters, and you will plunder the Egyptians.”