² On that mountain, Moses saw the angel of the Lord in a burning bush.

Moses saw a bush that was burning without being destroyed. ³ So he decided to go closer to the bush and see how a bush could continue burning without being burned up.

⁴ The Lord saw Moses was coming to look at the bush. So he called to him from the bush. He said, “Moses, Moses!”

Moses said, “Yes, Lord.”

⁵ Then God said, “Don’t come any closer. Take off your sandals. You are standing on holy ground. ⁶ I am the God of your ancestors. I am 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 Then the Lord said, “I have seen the troubles my people have suffered in Egypt, and I have heard their cries when the Egyptians hurt them. I know about their pain. ⁸ Now I will go down and save my people from the Egyptians. I will take them from that land and lead them to a good land where they can be free from these troubles.^[a] It is a land filled with many good things.^[b] Many different people live in that land: the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ⁹ I have heard the cries of the Israelites, and I have seen the way the Egyptians have made life hard for them. ¹⁰ So now I am sending you to Pharaoh. Go! Lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

¹¹ But Moses said to God, “I am not a great man! How can I be the one to go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹² God said, “You can do it because I will be with you. This will be the proof that I am sending you: After you lead the people out of Egypt, you will come and worship me on this mountain.”

¹³ Then Moses said to God, “But if I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me,’ then the people will ask, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?”

¹⁴ Then God said to Moses, “Tell them, ‘I Am Who I Am.’^[c] When you go to the Israelites, tell them, ‘I Am’ sent me to you.” ¹⁵ And God said, “Tell the Israelites that you were sent by Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. This will always be my name. It is how I want the people to remember me from now on.

¹⁶ “Now go and call together the elders of the people. Tell them that Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—appeared to you. Give them this message from me: ‘I have been watching over you and have seen what people in Egypt have done to you. ¹⁷ And I have decided that I will take you away from the troubles you are suffering in Egypt. I will lead you to the land that now belongs to others—the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. I will lead you to a land filled with many good things.’

¹⁸ “The elders will listen to you. And then you and the elders will go to the Pharaoh. You will tell him, ‘Yahweh^[d] is the God of the Hebrews.^[e] He came to us and told us to travel three days into the desert. There we must offer sacrifices to Yahweh our God.’

¹⁹ “But I know that the Pharaoh will not let you go. Only a great power will force him to let you go, ²⁰ so I will use my great power against Egypt. I will cause amazing things to happen in that land. After I do this, he will let you go. ²¹ And I will cause the Egyptians to be kind to the Israelites. They will give many gifts to your people when they leave Egypt.

²² “All the Hebrew women will ask their Egyptian neighbors and the Egyptian women living in their houses for gifts. And those Egyptian women will give them gifts of silver, gold, and fine clothing. Then you will put those gifts on your children. In this way you will take away the wealth of the Egyptians.”

Proof for Moses

4 Then Moses said to God, “But the Israelites will not believe me when I tell them that you sent me. They will say, ‘The Lord^[a] did not appear to you.’”

² But the Lord said to Moses, “What is that you have in your hand?”

Moses answered, “It is my walking stick.”

³ Then God said, “Throw your walking stick on the ground.”

So Moses threw his walking stick on the ground, and it became a snake. Moses ran from it, ⁴ but the Lord said to him, “Reach out and grab the snake by its tail.”

When Moses reached out and caught the snake’s tail, the snake became a walking stick again. ⁵ Then God said, “Use your stick in this way, and the people will believe that you saw the Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will give you another proof. Put your hand under your robe.”

So Moses opened his robe and put his hand inside. Then he brought his hand out of the robe and it was changed. His hand was covered with spots that were white like snow.

⁷ Then God said, “Now put your hand into your robe again.” So Moses put his hand into his robe again. Then he brought his hand out, and his hand was changed. Now his hand was good again, as it was before.

⁸ Then God said, “If the people don’t believe you when you use your walking stick, then they will believe you when you show them this sign. ⁹ If they still refuse to believe after you show them both of these signs, then take some water from the Nile River. Pour the water on the ground, and as soon as it touches the ground, it will become blood.”

¹⁰ Then Moses said to the Lord, “But, Lord, I am telling you, I am not a good speaker. I have never been able to speak well. And that hasn’t changed since you started talking to me. I am still not a good speaker. You know that I speak slowly and don’t use the best words.”^[b]

¹¹ Then the Lord said to him, “Who made a person’s mouth? And who can make someone deaf or not able to speak? Who can make a person blind? Who can make a person able to see? I am the one. I am the Lord. ¹² So go. I will be with you when you speak. I will give you the words to say.”

¹³ But Moses said, “My Lord, I beg you to send someone else, not me.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord became angry with Moses and said, “All right! I’ll give you someone to help you. Aaron the Levite is your brother, isn’t he? He is a good speaker. In fact, Aaron is already coming to meet you, and he will be happy to see you. ¹⁵ I will tell you what to say. Then you will tell Aaron, and I will help him say it well. I will tell both of you what to do. ¹⁶ So Aaron will speak for you. Like God, you will speak to him, and he will tell the people what you say. ¹⁷ So go and carry your walking stick with you. Use it and the other miracles to show the people that I am with you.”