Exodus 4

1 Then responded Moses, and said, And lo! they will not believe me, neither hearken to my voice, —for they will say, Yahweh, hath not appeared unto thee.

And Moses answered and said, If they believe me not, and do not listen to my voice (for they will say, God has not appeared to you), what shall I say to them?

2 And Yahweh said unto him—What is this in thy hand? And he said—A staff.

And the Lord said to him, What is this thing that is in your hand? and he said, A rod.

3 Then said he—Cast it to the earth. And he cast it to the earth, and it became a serpent, —and Moses fled from the face thereof.

And he said, Cast it on the ground: and he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from it.

4 And Yahweh said unto Moses, Put forth thy hand, and take it by its tail: So he put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a staff in his hand: —

And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch forth your hand, and take hold of its tail: so he stretched forth his hand and took hold of the tail,

5 that they may believe that Yahweh, God of their fathers, —God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob hath appeared unto thee.

and it became a rod in his hand, —that they may believe you, that the God of your fathers has appeared to you, the God of Abraam, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob.

6 Then said Yahweh unto him, yet again—Bring, I pray thee, thy hand, into thy bosom. So he brought his hand, into his bosom, —and then took it out, and lo! his hand, was leprous, —like snow,

And the Lord said again to him, Put your hand into your bosom; and he put his hand into his bosom, and brought his hand out of his bosom, and his hand became as snow.

7 And he said—Put back thy hand into thy bosom: So he put back his hand into his bosom, —and then took it out of his bosom, and lo it had come again like his own flesh:

And he said again, Put your hand into your bosom; and he put his hand into his bosom, and brought his hand out of his bosom, and it was again restored to the complexion of his [other] flesh.

8 thus shall it come to pass, if they will not believe thee, nor hearken to the voice of the first sign, then will they believe the voice of the next sign;

And if they will not believe you, nor listen to the voice of the first sign, they will believe you [because] of the voice of the second sign.

9 and it shall come to pass if they will not believe even these two signs nor hearken to thy voice, then shalt thou take of the water of the river, and pour it out on the dry land, —so shall the water which thou hast taken from the river, become, yea it shall become, blood, on the dry land.

And it shall come to pass if they will not believe you for these two signs, and will not listen to your voice, that you shall take of the water of the river and pour it upon the dry land, and the water which you shall take from the river shall be blood upon the dry land.

10 And Moses said unto Yahweh—Pardon, O My Lord! not a man of words, am I, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant, —for heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue, I am.

And Moses said to the Lord, I pray, Lord, I have not been sufficient in former times, neither from the time that you have begun to speak to your servant: I am weak in speech, and slow-tongued.

11 Then Yahweh said unto him—Who appointed a mouth for man, or who appointeth him to be dumb, or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh?

And the Lord said to Moses, Who has given a mouth to man, and who has made the very hard of hearing, and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? have not I, God?

12 Now, therefore go, —and, I, will be with thy mouth, so will I direct thee, what thou shalt speak.

And now go and I will open your mouth, and will instruct you in what you shall say.

13 And he said—Pardon, O My Lord! send, I pray thee by the hand of him whom thou wilt send—

And Moses said, I pray you, Lord, appoint another able [person] whom you shall send.

14 Then was kindled the anger of Yahweh against Moses, and he said—Is there not Aaron, thy brother, the Levite? I know that he, can speak. Moreover also lo! he himself is coming forth to meet thee, as surely as he seeth thee, so surely will he rejoice in his heart.

And the Lord was greatly angered against Moses, and said, Behold! is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he will surely speak to you; and, behold, he will come forth to meet you, and beholding you he will rejoice within himself.

15 Then shalt thou speak unto him, and shalt put the words in his mouth, —and, I, will be with thy mouth and with his mouth, so will I direct you what ye shall do.

And you shall speak to him; and you shall put my words into his mouth, and I will open your mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you in what you shall do.

16 And, he, shall speak for thee unto the people, —so shall it come to pass that he shall become thy mouth, and thou shalt become to him as God.

And he shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be for him in things pertaining to God.

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

And this rod that was turned into a serpent you shall take in your hand, wherewith you shall work miracles.

18 So Moses went and returned unto Jethro his father-in-law and said to him—Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren who are in Egypt, that I may see whether they are yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses: Go and prosper.

And Moses went and returned to Jothor his father-in-law, and says, I will go and return to my brethren in Egypt, and will see if they are yet living. And Jothor said to Moses, Go in health. And in those days after some time, the king of Egypt died.

19 Then said Yahweh unto Moses in Midian, Go, return to Egypt, —for all the men are dead who were seeking thy life.

And the Lord said to Moses in Madiam, Go, depart into Egypt, for all that sought your life are dead.

20 So Moses took his wife and his sons, and caused them to ride upon the ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt, —and Moses took the staff of God in his hand.

And Moses took his wife and his children, and mounted them on the beasts, and returned to Egypt; and Moses took the rod [which he had] from God in his hand.

21 And Yahweh said unto Moses, When thou goest to return to Egypt, see as touching all the wonders which I have put in thy hand, that thou do them before Pharaoh—but, I, will let his heart wax bold, and he will not suffer the people to go.

And the Lord said to Moses, When you go and return to Egypt, see—all the miracles I have charged you with, you shall work before Pharao: and I will harden his heart, and he shall certainly not send away the people.

22 Then shalt thou say unto Pharaoh, Thus, saith Yahweh—My son—my firstborn, is Israel;

And you shall say to Pharao, These things says the Lord, Israel [is] my firstborn.

23 Therefore I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me, But if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I, am going to slay, thy son, thy firstborn.

And I said to you, Send away my people, that they may serve me: now if you will not send them away, see, I will kill your firstborn son.

24 And it came to pass, on the way, in the resting-place for the night, that Yahweh fell upon him, and sought to kill him.

And it came to pass [that] the angel of the Lord met him by the way in the inn, and sought to kill him.

25 So Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it down at his feet, —and said—Surely, a bridegroom by rites of blood, art thou to me!

and Sepphora having taken a stone cut off the foreskin of her son, and fell at his feet and said, The blood of the circumcision of my son is staunched:

26 So he let him go, Then, it was that she said, A bridegroom by rites of blood—with regard to the rites of circumcision.

and he departed from him, because she said, The blood of the circumcision of my son is staunched.

27 And Yahweh said unto Aaron, Go thy way to meet Moses, towards the desert. So he went his way, and fell in with him in the mountain of God and kissed him.

And the Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses; and he went and met him in the mount of God, and they kissed each other.

28 And Moses told Aaron, all the words of Yahweh wherewith he had sent him, —and all the signs wherewith he had charged him.

And Moses reported to Aaron all the words of the Lord, which he sent, and all the things which he charged him.

29 So Moses and Aaron went their way, —and gathered together all the elders of the sons of Israel.

And Moses and Aaron went and gathered the elders of the children of Israel.

30 And Aaron spake all the words which Yahweh had spoken unto Moses, —and did the signs before the eyes of the people,

And Aaron spoke all these words, which God spoke to Moses, and wrought the miracles before the people.

31 And the people believed, —and when they heard that Yahweh had concerned himself for the sons of Israel, and that he had looked upon their humiliation, then bent they their heads and bowed themselves down.

and the people believed and rejoiced, because God visited the children of Israel, and because he saw their affliction: and the people bowed and worshipped.