1 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 ^wmountain of God. 2 ^xAnd ^ythe 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. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, ^zGod called to him ^aout of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; ^btake your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”