< 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.
2 And Yahweh said unto him—What is this in thy hand? And he said—A staff.
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.
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: —
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.
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,
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:
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;
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.
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.
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?
12 Now, therefore go, —and, I, will be with thy mouth, so will I direct thee, what thou shalt speak.
13 And he said—Pardon, O My Lord! send, I pray thee by the hand of him whom thou wilt 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.
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.
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.
17 And this staff, take thou in thy hand, —wherewith thou shalt do the signs.
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.
19 Then said Yahweh unto Moses in Midian, Go, return to Egypt, —for all the men are dead who were seeking thy life.
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.
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.
22 Then shalt thou say unto Pharaoh, Thus, saith Yahweh—My son—my firstborn, is Israel;
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
28 And Moses told Aaron, all the words of Yahweh wherewith he had sent him, —and all the signs wherewith he had charged him.
29 So Moses and Aaron went their way, —and gathered together all the elders of the sons 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,
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.
