1Now Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
3So Moses said, “Let me turn aside now and see this great sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
4When Yahweh saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
5And he said, “Do not come near here. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
6And 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 upon God.
7And Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters; indeed, I know their sufferings.
8So I have come down to deliver them from the hand of Egypt and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.
9And now, behold, the outcry of the sons of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.
10And now, come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”
11But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”
12And he said, “Because I will be with you. And this shall be the sign for 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, “Behold, when I come to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask 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 sons of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
15And God said further to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘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 my memorial from generation to generation.
16Go and gather the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has appeared to me—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—saying, “I have surely attended to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt,
17and I have said: I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’
18And they will listen to your voice. Then you shall go, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. And now, let us go, please, a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God.’
19But I myself know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, not even by a strong hand.
20So I will stretch 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.
21And I will give this people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, so that when you go, you shall not go empty-handed.
22Each woman shall ask of her neighbor and of the woman staying in her house objects of silver and objects of gold and garments. And you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters, and so you shall plunder Egypt.”
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