Exodus 4

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

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

And the Lord said to him, What is this thing that is in your hand? and he said, A rod.

3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before 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 And Jehovah said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand and take it by the tail — and he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became 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 that they may believe that Jehovah, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

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 And Jehovah said moreover to him, Put now thy hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom, and took it out, and behold, his hand was leprous, 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 And he said, Put thy hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again, and took it out of his bosom, and behold, it was turned again as his flesh.

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 it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the other sign.

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 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also those two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour [it] on the dry [land]; and the water that thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry [land].

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 And Moses said to Jehovah, Ah Lord! I am not eloquent, neither heretofore nor since thou hast spoken to thy servant, for I am slow of speech and of a slow 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 Jehovah said to him, Who gave man a mouth? or who maketh dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? [have] not I, Jehovah?

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 And now go, and I will be with thy mouth, and will teach thee what thou shalt say.

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

13 And he said, Ah Lord! send, I pray thee, by the hand [of him whom] thou wilt send.

And Moses said, I pray you, Lord, appoint another able [person] whom you shall send.

14 Then the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also behold, he goeth out to meet thee; and when he seeth thee 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 And thou shalt speak unto 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.

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 And he shall speak for thee unto the people; and it shall come to pass that he shall be to thee for a mouth, and thou shalt be to him for God.

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 And thou shalt take this staff in thy hand, with which thou shalt do the signs.

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

18 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 brethren who are in Egypt, that I may see whether they are yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

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

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

20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them riding upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses 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 And Jehovah said to Moses, When thou goest to return to Egypt, see that thou do all the wonders before Pharaoh that I have put in thy hand. And I will harden his heart, that he shall 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 And thou shalt say to Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah: Israel is my son, my firstborn.

And you shall say to Pharao, These things says the Lord, Israel [is] my firstborn.

23 And I say to thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me. And if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill thy son, thy firstborn.

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 And it came to pass on the way, in the inn, that Jehovah came upon him, and sought to slay 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 Then Zipporah took a stone and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, A bloody husband indeed art thou to me!

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 And he let him go. Then she said, A bloody husband — because of the circumcision.

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

27 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.

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 all the words of Jehovah who had sent him, and all the signs that he had commanded him.

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

29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered all the elders of the children of Israel;

And Moses and Aaron went and gathered the elders of the children of Israel.

30 and Aaron spoke all the words that Jehovah had spoken to Moses, and did the signs before the eyes of the people.

And Aaron spoke all these words, which God spoke to Moses, and wrought the miracles before the people.

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

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.