Moses at the Burning Bush
(Acts 7:30–38)

1And Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro his father-in-law,† the priest of Midian. And he led the flock behind the wilderness and he came to the mountain of God, to Horeb.† 2And the angel† of YHWH appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. And he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with the fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3And Moses said, “Let me turn aside, please, and see this great sight. Why does the bush not burn?”

4And YHWH saw that he had turned aside to look, and God called to him from the midst of the bush and He said, “Moses! Moses!”

And he said, “Behold, it is I.”

5And He said, “Do not come near here. Remove your sandals from upon 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 toward God.

7And YHWH said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and their cry I have heard from before their taskmasters, for I know their pains; 8and I have come down to deliver them from out of the hand of Egypt and to bring them up from that land to a land good and broad, 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 cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me, and also I have seen the oppression with which Egypt is oppressing them. 10And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and you shall bring out My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.†”

11And 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, “Surely I will be with you, and this is the sign to you that I have sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, you⁺ shall serve God on this mountain.†”

13And Moses said to God, “Behold, I am coming to the sons of Israel and I will say to them, ‘The God of your⁺ fathers has sent me to you⁺,’ and they will say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”

14And God said to Moses, “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh.†” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘Ehyeh† has sent me to you⁺.’”

15And God said moreover to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘YHWH, 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 together the elders of Israel, and say to them, ‘YHWH, the God of your⁺ fathers, has appeared to me—the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob—saying: I have surely attended to you⁺ and what is being 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, and you shall come—you and the elders of Israel—to the king of Egypt, and you⁺ shall say to him, ‘YHWH, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. And now, let us go, please, a journey of three days into the wilderness, and let us sacrifice to YHWH our God.’

19And I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you⁺ to go, unless by a mighty hand.† 20And 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 send you⁺ out.

21And I will give favor to this people in the eyes of the Egyptians, and it will come to pass when you⁺ go, you⁺ shall not go emptily. 22And every woman shall ask from her neighbor, and from the one dwelling in her house, articles of silver, and articles of gold, and clothing. And you⁺ shall put them on your⁺ sons and on your⁺ daughters, and you⁺ shall plunder the Egyptians.”

Footnotes:

1 Moses’ father-in-law Jethro was also called Reuel; see Exodus 2:18.
1 That is, Mount Sinai, or possibly a mountain in the range containing Mount Sinai
2 Or Angel
5 Cited in Acts 7:33
6 Cited in Matthew 22:32, Mark 12:26, Luke 20:37, and Acts 7:32
10 Cited in Acts 7:34
12 Cited in Acts 7:7
14 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh means I am who I am or I will be what I will be
14 Ehyeh means I am or I will be
19 Literally unless a mighty hand compels him