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.

Moses answered, "But, look, they will not believe me, nor listen to my voice; for they will say, 'God has not appeared to you.'"

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

The LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A staff."

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.

He said, "Throw it on the ground." He threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; 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.

The LORD said to Moses, "Put forth your hand, and take it by the tail." He put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a staff 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.

"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."

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.

The LORD said furthermore to him, "Now put your hand inside your cloak." He put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, look, his hand was leprous, as white as snow.

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.

He said, "Put your hand inside your cloak again." He put his hand inside his cloak again, and when he took it out of his cloak, look, it had turned again 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.

"It will happen, if they will neither believe you nor listen to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

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.

It will happen, if they will not believe even these two signs, neither listen to your voice, that you shall take of the water of the river, and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take out of the river will become blood on the dry 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.

Moses said to the LORD, "Please, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before now, nor since you have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow 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?

The LORD said to him, "Who made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Is it not I, God?

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

Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak."

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

He said, "Oh, Lord, please send someone else."

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 anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, "What about Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Also, look, he comes forth to meet you. When he sees you, 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.

You shall speak to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with your mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall 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.

He will be your spokesman to the people; and it will happen, that he will be to you a mouth, and you will be to him as God.

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

You shall take this staff in your hand, with which you shall 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.

Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, "Please let me go and return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive." Jethro 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.

The LORD said to Moses in Midian, "Go, return into Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead."

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 took his wife and his sons, and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. Moses took God's staff 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.

The LORD said to Moses, "When you go back into Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your hand, but I will harden his heart 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.

You shall tell Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD, Israel is my son, my firstborn,

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.

and I have said to you, "Let my son go, that he may serve me;" and you have refused to let him go. Look, I will kill your son, your firstborn.'"

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

It happened on the way at a lodging place, that the LORD met him and wanted to kill 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 took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet; and she said, "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me."

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

So he let him alone. Then she said, "You are a bridegroom of blood," 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.

The LORD said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." He went, and met him on God's mountain, 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.

Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD with which he had sent him, and all the signs with which he had instructed him.

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

Moses and Aaron went and gathered together 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,

Aaron spoke all the words which God had spoken to Moses, and did the signs 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.

The people believed, and when they heard that God had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.