Exodus 4

1 Moses answered and said: They will not believe me, nor hear my voice, but they will say: The Lord hath not appeared to thee.

“But what if they don't believe me or listen to what I say?” Moses asked. “They could say, ‘The Lord didn't appear to you.’”

2 Then he said to him: What is that thou holdest in thy hand? He answered: A rod.

The Lord asked him, “What are you holding in your hand?” “A walking stick,” Moses replied.

3 And the Lord said: Cast it down upon the ground. He cast it down, and it was turned into a serpent: so that Moses fled from it.

“Throw it on the ground,” he told Moses. So Moses did. It turned into a snake and Moses ran away from it.

4 And the Lord said: Put out thy hand and take it by the tail. He put forth his hand, and took hold of it, and it was turned into a rod.

“Reach out and grab hold of it by its tail,” the Lord told Moses. Moses did so and it turned back into a walking stick in his hand.

5 That they may believe, saith he, that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to thee.

“You are to do this so that they will believe that I the Lord did appear to you, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

6 And the Lord said again: Put thy hand into thy bosom. And when he had put it into his bosom, he brought it forth leprous as snow.

Then the Lord told him, “Put your hand inside your clothes close to your chest.” So Moses did as he was told. When he took his hand out, it was white like snow with a skin disease.

7 And he said: Put back thy hand into thy bosom. He put it back, and brought it out again, and it was like the other flesh.

“Now put your hand back inside your clothes,” the Lord said. Moses did so. When he took it out again, his hand had returned to normal.

8 If they will not believe thee, saith he, nor hear the voice of the former sign, they will believe the word of the latter sign.

“If they don't believe you and they're not convinced by the first sign, they'll believe because of the second sign,” the Lord explained.

9 But if they will not even believe these two signs, nor hear thy voice: take of the river water, and pour it out upon the dry land, and whatsoever thou drawest out of the river shall be turned into blood.

“But if they still don't believe you or listen to you because of these two signs, then you are to take some water from the Nile and pout it out on the ground. The Nile water will turn into blood on the ground.”

10 Moses said: I beseech thee, Lord. I am not eloquent from yesterday and the day before: and since thou hast spoken to thy servant, I have more impediment and slowness of tongue.

Then Moses said to the Lord, “Pleased excuse me, but I'm not someone who is good with words—not in the past, and not from the time you have been speaking with me, your servant. My speech is slow and I don't say things well.”

11 The Lord said to him: Who made man’s mouth? or who made the dumb and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? did not I?

“Who gave people mouths?” the Lord asked him. “Who makes people deaf or dumb, able to see or blind? It's I, the Lord, who does that.

12 Go therefore and I will be in thy mouth: and I will teach thee what thou shalt speak.

Now go, and I myself will be your mouth, and I will tell you what you are to say.”

13 But he said: I beseech thee, Lord send whom thou wilt send.

“Please, Lord, send someone else!” Moses responded.

14 The Lord being angry at Moses, said Aaron the Levite is thy brother, I know that he is eloquent: behold he cometh forth to meet thee, and seeing thee shall be glad at heart.

The Lord got angry with Moses, and told him, “There's your brother Aaron, the Levite. I know he speaks well. He's on his way to meet you, and he'll be very happy to see you.

15 Speak to him, and put my words in his mouth: and I will be in thy mouth, and in his mouth, and will shew you what you must do.

Speak to him and tell him what to say. I will be your mouth and his mouth, and I will tell you what you are to do.

16 He shall speak in thy stead to the people, and shall be thy mouth: but thou shalt be to him in those things that pertain to God.

Aaron will speak on your behalf to the people, as if he was your mouth, and you will be in the place of God to him.

17 And take this rod in thy hand, wherewith thou shalt do the signs.

Make sure to take your walking stick with you so you can use it to do the signs.”

18 Moses went his way, and returned to Jethro his father in law and said to him: I will go and return to my brethren into Egypt, that I may see if they be yet alive. And Jethro said to him: Go in peace.

Then Moses returned to Jethro his father-in-law and told him, “Please allow me to go back to my own people in Egypt so I can see if any of them are still alive.” “Go with my blessing,” Jethro replied.

19 And the Lord said to Moses, in Madian: Go, and return into Egypt: for they are all dead that sought thy life.

While Moses was in Midian, the Lord told him, “Go back to Egypt because all those who wanted to kill you have died.”

20 Moses therefore took his wife, and his sons, and set them upon an ass: and returned into Egypt, carrying the rod of God in his hand.

Moses put his wife and sons on a donkey and went back to Egypt, carrying the walking stick that God had used to perform miracles.

21 And the Lord said to him as he was returning into Egypt: See that thou do all the wonders before Pharao, which I have put in thy hand: I shall harden his heart, and he will not let the people go.

The Lord told Moses, “When you get back to Egypt, make sure to go to Pharaoh and carry out the miracles I've given you to do. I will make him stubborn and he will not let the people go.

22 And thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Israel is my son, my firstborn.

This is what you are to tell Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says. Israel is my firstborn son.

23 I have said to thee: Let my son go, that he may serve me, and thou wouldst not let him go: behold I will kill thy son, thy firstborn.

I ordered you to let my son go so he can worship me. But you refused to release him, so I will now kill your firstborn son.”

24 And when he was in his journey, in the inn, the Lord met him, and would have killed him.

But while they were on their way the Lord came to the place where they were staying, wanting to kill Moses.

25 Immediately Sephora took a very sharp stone, and circumcised the fore skin of her son, and touched his feet and said: A bloody spouse art thou to me.

However, Zipporah used a flint knife to cut off her son's foreskin. She touched his feet with it, and said to him, “You are a blood-husband to me.”

26 And he let him go after she had said A bloody spouse art thou to me, because of the circumcision.

(Calling him a blood-husband referred to circumcision.) After this the Lord left Moses alone.

27 And the Lord said to Aaron: Go into the desert to meet Moses. And he went forth to meet him in the mountain of God, and kissed him.

The Lord had told Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the desert.” So Aaron went and met Moses at the mountain of God and greeted him with a kiss.

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

Then Moses explained to Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say and all the miracles he had ordered him to do.

29 And they came together, and they assembled all the ancients of the children of Israel.

Moses and Aaron traveled to Egypt. There they had all the Israelite elders gather together.

30 And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had said to Moses: and he wrought the signs before the people,

Aaron shared with them everything the Lord had told Moses, and Moses carried out the miracles so they could see them.

31 And the people believed. And they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel: and that he had looked upon their affliction: and falling down they adored.

The Israelites were convinced. When they heard that the Lord had come to them, and that he had been touched by their suffering, they bowed their heads and worshiped.