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.

Then Moses answered, and said, But lo, they will not beleeue me, nor hearken vnto my voyce: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared vnto thee.

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

And the Lord said vnto him, What is that in thine hande? And he answered, A rod.

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.

Then said he, Cast it on the ground. So he cast it on the grounde, and it was turned into a serpent: and Moses fled 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.

Againe the Lord saide vnto Moses, Put foorth thine hand, and take it by the tayle. Then he put foorth his hande and caught it, and it was turned into a rod 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.

Do this that they may beleeue, that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Izhak, and the God of Iaakob hath appeared vnto thee.

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.

And the Lord saide furthermore vnto him, Thrust nowe thine hand into thy bosome. And he thrust his hand into his bosome, and when he tooke it out againe, behold, his hand was leprous as snowe.

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.

Moreouer he said, Put thine hand into thy bosome againe. So he put his hande into his bosome againe, and pluckt it out of his bosome, and behold, it was turned againe as his other flesh.

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.

So shall it be, if they wil not beleeue thee, neither obey the voyce of ye first signe, yet shall they beleeue for the voyce of the seconde signe.

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 will not yet beleeue these two signes, neither obey vnto thy voyce, then shalt thou take of the water of the riuer, and powre it vpon the drie lande: so the water which thou shalt take out of the riuer, shalbe turned to blood vpon the drie land.

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.

But Moses said vnto the Lord, Oh my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither at any time haue bene, nor yet since thou hast spoken vnto thy seruant: but I am slowe of speach and slowe of tongue.

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?

Then the Lord said vnto him, Who hath giuen the mouth to man? or who hath made the domme, or the deafe, or him that seeth, or the blinde? haue not I the Lord?

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

Therefore goe nowe, and I will be with thy mouth, and will teach thee what thou shalt say.

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

But he saide, Oh my Lord, sende, I pray thee, by the hande of him, whome thou shouldest sende.

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.

Then the Lord was verie angrie with Moses, and said, Doe not I know Aaron thy brother the Leuite, that he himselfe shall speake? for loe, he commeth also foorth to meete thee, and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.

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.

Therefore thou shalt speake vnto him, and put the wordes in his mouth, and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye ought to doe.

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.

And he shall be thy spokesman vnto the people: and he shall be, euen he shall be as thy mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God.

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

Moreouer thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do miracles.

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.

Therefore Moses went and returned to Iethro his father in lawe, and said vnto him, I pray thee, let me goe, and returne to my brethren, which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet aliue. Then Iethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

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

(For the Lord had said vnto Moses in Midian, Goe, returne to Egypt: for they are all dead which went about to kill thee)

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.

Then Moses tooke his wife, and his sonnes, and put them on an asse, and returned towarde the lande of Egypt, and Moses tooke the rod of God in his hand.

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.

And the Lord saide vnto Moses, When thou art entred and come into Egypt againe, see that thou doe all the wonders before Pharaoh, which I haue put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, and he shall not let the people goe.

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

Then thou shalt say to Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my sonne, euen my first borne.

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.

Wherefore I say to thee, Let my sonne go, that he may serue me: if thou refuse to let him goe, beholde, I will slay thy sonne, euen thy first borne.

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

And as he was by the waye in the ynne, the Lord met him, and would haue killed him.

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.

Then Zipporah tooke a sharpe knife, and cut away the foreskinne of her sonne, and cast it at his feete, and said, Thou art indeede a bloody husband vnto me.

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

So he departed from him. Then she saide, O bloodie husband (because of the circumcision)

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.

Then the Lord saide vnto Aaron, Goe meete Moses in the wildernesse. And he went and mette him in the Mount of God, and kissed him.

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 tolde Aaron all the wordes of the Lord, who had sent him, and all the signes wherewith he had charged him.

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

So went Moses and Aaron, and gathered all the Elders of the children of Israel.

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

And Aaron told all the wordes, which the Lord had spoken vnto Moses, and he did the miracles in the sight of the people,

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.

And the people beleeued, and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and had looked vpon their tribulation, they bowed downe, and worshipped.