Exodus 4

1 Responding, Moses said, “They will not believe me, and they will not listen to my voice, but they will say: ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’”

And Moses answers and says, “And if they do not give credence to me, nor listen to my voice, and say, YHWH has not appeared to you?”

2 Therefore, he said to him, “What is that you hold in your hand?” He answered, “A staff.”

And YHWH says to him, “What [is] this in your hand?” And he says, “A rod”;

3 And the Lord said, “Cast it down upon the ground.” He cast it down, and it was turned into a snake, so that Moses fled away.

and He says, “Cast it to the earth”; and he casts it to the earth, and it becomes a serpent—and Moses flees from its presence.

4 And the Lord said, “Reach out your hand, and take hold of its tail.” He reached out his hand and took hold, and it was turned into a staff.

And YHWH says to Moses, “Put forth your hand, and lay hold on the tail of it”; and he puts forth his hand, and lays hold on it, and it becomes a rod in his hand—

5 “So may they believe,” he said, “that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

“so that they believe that YHWH, God of their fathers, has appeared to you, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob.”

6 And the Lord said again, “Put your hand into your bosom.” And when he had put it into his bosom, he brought it out leprous, resembling snow.

And YHWH says to him again, “Now put your hand into your bosom”; and he puts his hand into his bosom, and he brings it out, and behold, his hand [is] leprous as snow;

7 “Put your hand back,” he said, “into your bosom.” He put it back and brought it out again, and it was like the rest of his flesh.

and He says, “Put your hand back into your bosom”; and he puts his hand back into his bosom, and he brings it out from his bosom, and behold, it has turned back as his flesh—

8 “If they will not believe you,” he said, “and will not listen to the sermon of the first sign, then they will believe the word of the subsequent sign.

“and it has come to pass, if they do not give credence to you, and do not listen to the voice of the first sign, that they have given credence to the voice of the latter sign.

9 But if they will not believe even these two signs, and they will not listen to your voice: take from the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land, and whatever you will have drawn from the river will be turned into blood.”

And it has come to pass, if they do not give credence even to these two signs, nor listen to your voice, that you have taken of the waters of the River, and have poured [it] on the dry land, and the waters which you take from the River have been, indeed, they have become blood on the dry land.”

10 Moses said: “I beg you, O Lord, I was not eloquent yesterday or the day before. And from the time that you have spoken to your servant, I have a greater impediment and slowness of tongue.”

And Moses says to YHWH, “O my Lord, I [am] not a man of words, either yesterday, or before, or since Your speaking to Your servant, for I [am] slow of mouth, and slow of tongue.”

11 The Lord said to him: “Who made the mouth of man? And who has formed the mute and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? Was it not I?

And YHWH says to him, “Who appointed a mouth for man? Or who appoints the mute, or deaf, or open, or blind? Is it not I, YHWH?

12 Go on, therefore, and I will be in your mouth. And I will teach you what you shall say.”

And now, go, and I am with your mouth, and have directed you that which you speak”;

13 But he said, “I beg you, O Lord, send whomever else you would send.”

and he says, “O my Lord, please send by the hand [of another that] You send.”

14 The Lord, being angry at Moses, said: “Aaron the Levite is your brother. I know that he is eloquent. Behold, he is going out to meet you, and seeing you, he will rejoice in heart.

And the anger of YHWH burns against Moses, and He says, “Is Aaron the Levite not your brother? I have known that he speaks well, and also, behold, he is coming out to meet you; when he has seen you, then he has rejoiced in his heart,

15 Speak to him, and put my words in his mouth. And I will be in your mouth and in his mouth, and I will reveal to you what you must do.

and you have spoken to him, and have set the words in his mouth, and I am with your mouth, and with his mouth, and have directed you that which you do;

16 He will speak for you to the people, and he will be your mouth. But you will be with him in those things that pertain to God.

and he, he has spoken to the people for you, and it has come to pass, he is to you for a mouth, and you are to him for God;

17 Also, take this staff into your hand; with it you will accomplish the signs.”

and you take this rod in your hand, with which you do the signs.”

18 Moses went forth, and he returned to Jethro, his father in law, and he said to him, “I shall go and return to my brothers in Egypt, so that I may see if they are still alive.” And Jethro said to him, “Go in peace.”

And Moses goes and turns back to his father-in-law Jethro, and says to him, “Please let me go, and I return to my brothers who [are] in Egypt, and I see whether they are yet alive.” And Jethro says to Moses, “Go in peace.”

19 And so the Lord said to Moses in Midian: “Go, and return to Egypt. For all those who sought your life have died.”

And YHWH says to Moses in Midian, “Go, return to Egypt, for all the men who seek your life have died”;

20 Therefore, Moses took his wife and his sons, and he placed them upon a donkey, and he returned into Egypt, carrying the staff of God in his hand.

and Moses takes his wife, and his sons, and causes them to ride on the donkey, and turns back to the land of Egypt, and Moses takes the rod of God in his hand.

21 And the Lord said to him, as he was returning to Egypt: “See that you accomplish, in the sight of Pharaoh, all the wonders that I have placed in your hand. I will harden his heart, and he will not release the people.

And YHWH says to Moses, “In your going to return to Egypt, see—all the wonders which I have put in your hand—that you have done them before Pharaoh, and I strengthen his heart, and he does not send the people away;

22 And you shall say to him: ‘Thus says the Lord: Israel is my firstborn son.

and you have said to Pharaoh, Thus said YHWH: My son, My firstborn [is] Israel,

23 I have said to you: Release my son, so that he may serve me. And you were not willing to release him. Behold, I will put to death your firstborn son.’”

and I say to you, send My son away, and he serves Me; and [if] you refuse to send him away, behold, I am slaying your son, your firstborn.”

24 And while he was on the journey, at an inn, the Lord met him, and he was willing to kill him.

And it comes to pass in the way, in a lodging place, that YHWH meets him, and seeks to put him to death;

25 For this reason, Zipporah took a very sharp stone, and she circumcised the foreskin of her son, and she touched his feet, and she said, “You are a bloody spouse to me.”

and Zipporah takes a flint, and cuts off the foreskin of her son, and causes [it] to touch his feet, and says, “You [are] surely a bridegroom of blood to me”;

26 And he released him, after she had said, “You are a bloody spouse,” because of the circumcision.

and He desists from him. Then she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” in reference to the circumcision.

27 Then the Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the desert to meet Moses.” And he went directly to meet him on the mountain of God, and he kissed him.

And YHWH says to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses”; and he goes, and meets him on the mountain of God, and kisses him,

28 And Moses explained to Aaron all the words of the Lord, by which he had sent him, and the signs which he had commanded.

and Moses declares to Aaron all the words of YHWH with which He has sent him, and all the signs with which He has charged him.

29 And they arrived at the same time, and they gathered together all the elders of the sons of Israel.

And Moses goes—Aaron also—and they gather all the elderly of the sons of Israel,

30 And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had said to Moses. And he accomplished the signs in the sight of the people,

and Aaron speaks all the words which YHWH has spoken to Moses, and does the signs before the eyes of the people;

31 and the people believed. And they heard that the Lord had visited the sons of Israel, and that he had looked with favor upon their affliction. And falling prostrate, they worshiped.

and the people believe when they hear that YHWH has looked after the sons of Israel, and that He has seen their affliction; and they bow and pay respect.