Exodus 4

1 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.

Then Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”

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

And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.

3 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.

“Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it.

4 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.

“Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand.

5 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.

“This is so 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 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.

Furthermore, the LORD said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, white as snow.

7 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.

“Put your hand back inside your cloak,” said the LORD. So Moses put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his skin.

8 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.

And the LORD said, “If they refuse to believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe that of the second.

9 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.

But if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. Then the water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”

10 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.

“Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”

11 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?

And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

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

Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.”

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

But Moses replied, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”

14 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.

Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.

15 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.

You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do.

16 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.

He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and it will be as if you were God to him.

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

But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.”

18 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.

Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me return to my brothers in Egypt to see if they are still alive.” “Go in peace,” Jethro replied.

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

Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who sought to kill you are dead.”

20 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.

So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.

21 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.

The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.

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

Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the LORD says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son,

23 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.

and I told you to let My son go so that he may worship Me. But since you have refused to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son!’”

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

Now at a lodging place along the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him.

25 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.

But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched it to Moses’ feet. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said.

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

So the LORD let him alone. (When she said, “bridegroom of blood,” she was referring to the circumcision.)

27 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.

Meanwhile, the LORD had said to Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him.

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

And Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and all the signs He had commanded him to perform.

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

Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites,

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

and Aaron relayed everything the LORD had said to Moses. And Moses performed the signs before the people,

31 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.

and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.