The Burning Bush

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the (A)mountain of God. (B)And (C)the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, (D)God called to him (E)out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; (F)take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, (G)“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 (H)he was afraid to look at God.

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God Calls Moses

Meanwhile, Moses continued tending the sheep that belonged to his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the sheep to the western[a] desert and came to Horeb,[b] God’s mountain, where[c] the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flaming fire from the center of a bush. As Moses[d] continued to watch, amazingly the bush kept on burning, but was not consumed. Then Moses told himself,[e] “I’ll go over and see this remarkable[f] sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?”

When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from the center of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

He said, “Here I am.”

“Do not come any closer,” God[g] said. “Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 3:1 Or the back part of the
  2. Exodus 3:1 I.e. Mt. Sinai, and so throughout the book
  3. Exodus 3:1 The Heb. lacks where
  4. Exodus 3:2 Lit. He
  5. Exodus 3:3 The Heb. lacks to himself
  6. Exodus 3:3 Or great
  7. Exodus 3:5 Lit. he