Exodus 4

1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, Yhwh hath not appeared unto 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 Yhwh said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

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

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.

“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 And Yhwh said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became 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 That they may believe that Yhwh God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto 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 Yhwh said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.

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 And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again 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 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 latter sign.

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 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry 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 And Moses said unto Yhwh, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow 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 And Yhwh said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I Yhwh?

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

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

13 And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.

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

14 And the anger of Yhwh 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 cometh forth to meet 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 And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.

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 unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of 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 And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.

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

18 And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro 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 And Yhwh said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.

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 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took 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 Yhwh said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

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 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith Yhwh, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

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

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

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 it came to pass by the way in the inn, that Yhwh met him, and sought to kill him.

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

25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to 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 let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

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

27 And Yhwh said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met 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 And Moses told Aaron all the words of Yhwh who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.

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

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

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

30 And Aaron spake all the words which Yhwh had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs 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 believed: and when they heard that Yhwh had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads 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.