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.’”

Moses answered, “But what if they do not believe me or listen to me but say instead, 'Yahweh has not appeared to you'?”

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

Yahweh said to him, “What is that in your hand?” Moses said, “A staff.”

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.

Yahweh said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake. Moses ran back 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.

Yahweh said to Moses, “Reach out and take it by the tail.” So he reached out and took hold of the snake. It became a staff in his hand again.

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.”

“This is so they may believe that Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

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.

Yahweh also said to him, “Now put your hand inside your robe.” So Moses put his hand inside his robe. When he brought it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white 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.

Yahweh said, “Put your hand inside your robe again.” So Moses put his hand inside his robe, and when he brought it out, he saw that it was made healthy again, like the rest of his 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.

Yahweh said, “If they do not believe you—if they do not pay attention to the first sign of my power or believe in it, then they will believe 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.”

If they do not believe even these two signs of my power, or listen to you, then take some water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water that you take will become blood on 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.”

Then Moses said to Yahweh, “Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you spoke to your servant. I am slow of speech and slow of 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?

Yahweh said to him, “Who is it who made man's mouth? Who makes a man mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh?

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

So now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what to say.”

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

But Moses said, “Lord, please send anyone else, anyone whom you wish to 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.

Then Yahweh became angry with Moses. He said, “What about Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Moreover, he is coming to meet you, and when he sees you, 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.

You will speak to him and put the words to say into his mouth. I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will show you both what to 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.

He will speak to the people for you. He will be your mouth, and you will be to him like me, God.

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

You will take in your hand this staff. With it you will 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.

So Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me go so I may return to my relatives who are in Egypt and see if they are still alive.” 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.”

Yahweh said to Moses in Midian, “Go, return to Egypt, for all the men who were trying to take 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.

Moses took his wife and his sons and put them on a donkey. He returned to the land of Egypt, and he took the staff 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.

Yahweh said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put in your power. 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,

You must say to Pharaoh, 'This is what Yahweh says: 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 say to you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But since you have refused to let him go, I will certainly kill your son, your firstborn.'”

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

Now on the way, when they stopped for the night, Yahweh met Moses and tried 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 knife and cut off the foreskin of her son, and touched it to his feet. Then she said, “Surely you are a bridegroom to me by blood.”

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

So Yahweh let him alone. She said, “You are a bridegroom of blood” 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.

Yahweh said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” Aaron went, met him at 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.

Moses told Aaron all the words of Yahweh that he had sent him to say and about all the signs of Yahweh's power that he had commanded him to do.

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

Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the Israelites.

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

Aaron spoke all the words that Yahweh had spoken to Moses. He also displayed the signs of Yahweh's power 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.

The people believed. When they heard that Yahweh had observed the Israelites and that he had seen their oppression, then they bowed their heads and worshiped him.