Exodus 4

1 Then Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”

And Moses answered and said, But behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken to my voice, for they will say, Jehovah has not appeared to thee.

2 And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.

And Jehovah said to him, What is that in thy hand? And he said, A rod.

3 “Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it.

And he said, Cast in on the ground. And he cast it on the ground. And it became a serpent, and Moses fled from before it.

4 “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand.

And Jehovah said to Moses, Put forth thy hand, and take it by the tail (and he put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand),

5 “This is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”

that they may believe that Jehovah, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to thee.

6 Furthermore, the LORD said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, white as snow.

And Jehovah said furthermore to him, Put now thy hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom. And when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as snow.

7 “Put your hand back inside your cloak,” said the LORD. So Moses put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his skin.

And he said, Put thy hand into thy bosom again. (And he put his hand into his bosom again, and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.)

8 And the LORD said, “If they refuse to believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe that of the second.

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, nor hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

9 But if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. Then the water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe even these two signs, nor hearken to thy voice, that thou shall take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land. And the water which thou take out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

10 “Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”

And Moses said to Jehovah, Oh, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou have spoken to thy servant, for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

11 And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

And Jehovah said to him, Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes a man dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, Jehovah?

12 Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.”

Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shall speak.

13 But Moses replied, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”

And he said, Oh, Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou will send.

14 Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.

And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is there not Aaron thy brother the Levite? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he comes forth to meet thee, and when he sees thee, he will be glad in his heart.

15 You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do.

And thou shall speak to him, and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do,

16 He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and it will be as if you were God to him.

and he shall be thy spokesman to the people. And it shall come to pass, that he shall be to thee a mouth, and thou shall be to him as God.

17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.”

And thou shall take this rod in thy hand, with which thou shall do the signs.

18 Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me return to my brothers in Egypt to see if they are still alive.” “Go in peace,” Jethro replied.

And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

19 Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who sought to kill you are dead.”

And Jehovah said to Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt, for all the men are dead who sought thy life.

20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.

And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

21 The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.

And Jehovah said to Moses, When thou go back into Egypt, see that thou do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in thy hand, but I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.

22 Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the LORD says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son,

And thou shall say to Pharaoh, Thus says Jehovah, Israel is my son, my firstborn,

23 and I told you to let My son go so that he may worship Me. But since you have refused to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son!’”

and I have said to thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me, and thou have refused to let him go. Behold, I will slay thy son, thy firstborn.

24 Now at a lodging place along the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him.

And it came to pass on the way at the lodging-place, that Jehovah met him, and sought to kill him.

25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched it to Moses’ feet. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said.

Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet. And she said, Surely a bridegroom of blood thou are to me.

26 So the LORD let him alone. (When she said, “bridegroom of blood,” she was referring to the circumcision.)

So he let him alone. Then she said, A bridegroom of blood thou are, because of the circumcision.

27 Meanwhile, the LORD had said to Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him.

And Jehovah said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him on the mountain of God, and kissed him.

28 And Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and all the signs He had commanded him to perform.

And Moses told Aaron all the words of Jehovah with which he had sent him, and all the signs with which he had ordered him.

29 Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites,

And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the sons of Israel.

30 and Aaron relayed everything the LORD had said to Moses. And Moses performed the signs before the people,

And Aaron spoke all the words which Jehovah had spoken to Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.

31 and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.

And the people believed. And when they heard that Jehovah had visited the sons of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.