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, If they believe me not, and do not listen to my voice (for they will say, God has not appeared to you), what shall I say to them?

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

And the Lord said to him, What is this thing that is in your 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 it on the ground: and he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from 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 the Lord said to Moses, Stretch forth your hand, and take hold of its tail: so he stretched forth his hand and took hold of the tail,

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.”

and it became a rod in his hand, —that they may believe you, that the God of your fathers has appeared to you, the God of Abraam, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob.

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 the Lord said again to him, Put your hand into your bosom; and he put his hand into his bosom, and brought his hand out of his bosom, and his hand became 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 again, Put your hand into your bosom; and he put his hand into his bosom, and brought his hand out of his bosom, and it was again restored to the complexion of 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 if they will not believe you, nor listen to the voice of the first sign, they will believe you [because] of the voice of the second 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 you for these two signs, and will not listen to your voice, that you shall take of the water of the river and pour it upon the dry land, and the water which you shall take from the river shall be 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 the Lord, I pray, Lord, I have not been sufficient in former times, neither from the time that you have begun to speak to your servant: I am weak in speech, and slow-tongued.

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 the Lord said to Moses, Who has given a mouth to man, and who has made the very hard of hearing, and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? have not I, God?

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

And now go and I will open your mouth, and will instruct you in what you shall say.

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

And Moses said, I pray you, Lord, appoint another able [person] whom you shall 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 Lord was greatly angered against Moses, and said, Behold! is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he will surely speak to you; and, behold, he will come forth to meet you, and beholding you he will rejoice within himself.

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 you shall speak to him; and you shall put my words into his mouth, and I will open your mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you in what you 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 speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be for him in things pertaining to God.

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

And this rod that was turned into a serpent you shall take in your hand, wherewith you shall work miracles.

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 Jothor his father-in-law, and says, I will go and return to my brethren in Egypt, and will see if they are yet living. And Jothor said to Moses, Go in health. And in those days after some time, the king of Egypt died.

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 the Lord said to Moses in Madiam, Go, depart into Egypt, for all that sought your life are dead.

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 children, and mounted them on the beasts, and returned to Egypt; and Moses took the rod [which he had] from 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 the Lord said to Moses, When you go and return to Egypt, see—all the miracles I have charged you with, you shall work before Pharao: and I will harden his heart, and he shall certainly not send away the people.

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

And you shall say to Pharao, These things says the Lord, Israel [is] 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 said to you, Send away my people, that they may serve me: now if you will not send them away, see, I will kill your firstborn son.

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

And it came to pass [that] the angel of the Lord met him by the way in the inn, 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.

and Sepphora having taken a stone cut off the foreskin of her son, and fell at his feet and said, The blood of the circumcision of my son is staunched:

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

and he departed from him, because she said, The blood of the circumcision of my son is staunched.

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 the Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses; and he went and met him in the mount of God, and they kissed each other.

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 reported to Aaron all the words of the Lord, which he sent, and all the things which he charged him.

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

And Moses and Aaron went and gathered the elders of the children 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 these words, which God spoke to Moses, and wrought the miracles before 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 rejoiced, because God visited the children of Israel, and because he saw their affliction: and the people bowed and worshipped.