1
One day Moses was taking care of Jethro's flock. (Jethro was the priest of Midian and also Moses' father-in-law.) When Moses led the flock to the west side of the desert, he came to Sinai, the mountain of God.
2
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire coming out of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but it was not burning up.
3
So he said, "I will go closer to this strange thing. How can a bush continue burning without burning up?"
4
When 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."
5
Then God said, "Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.
6
I 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.
7
The 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,
8
and 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.
9
I have heard the cries of the people of Israel, and I have seen the way the Egyptians have made life hard for them.