Exodus 4
1 Moses/I replied, “But what if [the Israeli people] (do not believe me/are not convinced) or not do what I tell them? What if they say, ‘Yahweh did not appear to you!’”
Tedae Moses loh a doo tih, “Kai he n'tangnah uh pawt koinih kai ol he hnatun pawt vetih, 'Nang taengah BOEIPA a phoe moenih,’ a ti uh ni,” a ti nah.
2 Yahweh said to him/me, “[Look at] that thing you are holding in your hand. What is it?” He/I replied, “A (walking stick/shepherd’s stick).”
Te dongah amah te BOEIPA loh, “Na kut dongkah te balae?” a ti nah hatah, “Conghol,” a ti nah.
3 He said, “Throw it down on the ground!” So, he/I threw it on the ground, and it became a snake! And he/I ran/jumped away from it.
Te phoeiah, “Te te diklai la voei lah,” a ti nah tih diklai la a voeih. Te vaengah rhul la a poeh pah dongah Moses khaw a taeng lamloh rhaelrham.
4 But Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Reach down and pick it up by its tail!” So he/I reached down and caught it, and [when he/I picked it up], it became a stick in his/my hand [again.]
Tedae BOEIPA loh Moses te, “Na kut yueng lamtah a mai ah tu,” a ti nah. A kut a yueng tangloeng tih a tuuk vaengah tah a kut dongah conghol la poeh.
5 Yahweh said, “[Do the same thing in front of the Israeli people], in order that they may believe that [I], Yahweh God, the one Abraham and Isaac and Jacob worshiped, truly appeared to you.”
Te dongah a napa rhoek kah Pathen BOEIPA, Abraham Pathen, Isaak Pathen, Jakob Pathen tah nang taengah phoe tila a tangnah uh bitni.
6 Yahweh spoke to Moses/me again, saying “Put your hand inside your robe [MTY]!” He/I did that. And when he/I took it out again, [surprisingly], his/my hand was white. It had a skin disease [that made it] as white as snow.
Te phoeiah BOEIPA loh anih te, “Na kut te na rhang ah puei bal dae,” a ti nah. A kut te a rhang ah a puei tangloeng tih a yueh vaengah tah a kut te vuelsong bangla a pahuk pah.
7 Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your robe [MTY]!” So he/I did that, and when he/I took it out again, surprisingly, it was normal again, just like the rest of his/my body!
Te phoeiah, “Na kut te na rhang ah koep puei lah,” a ti nah. A kut te a rhang ah a puei tangloeng tih a rhang lamloh a yueh vaengah tah a saa thim la tarha a om pah.
8 God said, “[You can do that in front of the Israeli people, too]. If they do not pay attention to what you say because of [seeing] the first miracle, they will (believe [you/be convinced) when you perform] the second miracle.
Nang te n'tangnah uh pawt akhaw ana om ngawn saeh. Lamhma kah miknoek ol te a yaak pawt atah a pabae kah miknoek ol te tangnah uh saeh.
9 If they do not believe you or do what you say, even [after you perform] those two miracles, get some water from the Nile [River] and pour it on the ground. [When you do that], the water from the river that you pour on the ground will become blood [MTY] (OR, [red like] blood).”
Tedae miknoek rhoi dongkah he khaw tangnah uh pawt tih na ol te a yaak uh pawt akhaw ana om saeh. Sokko lamkah tui te lo lamtah laiphuei te bueih pah. Sokko lamkah na loh tui te poehlip vetih laikoeng dongah thii la poeh ni,” a ti nah.
10 Moses/I replied, “O Yahweh! I am not an eloquent [speaker]! I was not an eloquent speaker before, and I have not become one since you started talking to me! I am not a good speaker [MTY], and I speak very slowly.”
Te vaengah Moses loh BOEIPA te, “Aw ka Boeipa, hlaem ah khaw, hlaemvai ah khaw na sal taengah na thui vaeng lamlong mah kai he olka dongah ka hlang voel moenih. Te dongah ka ka tonga tih ka ol khol,” a ti nah.
11 Then Yahweh said to him/me, “[You seem to forget] who it is that makes people able to speak [RHQ]! Who is it that enables people to be unable to speak or unable to hear, or able to see or not to see? It is I, Yahweh [RHQ]!
Tedae BOEIPA loh amah te, “Hlang ham ka aka khueh pah te unim? Olmueh neh hnapang, miktueng neh mikdael aka khueh te unim? BOEIPA kamah moenih a?
12 So start going [to Egypt], and I will help you to speak [MTY], and I will tell you what you should say.”
Te dongah cet laeh lamtah nang kah hmuilai dongah kamah ka om vetih na thui ham te kan thuinuet bitni,” a ti nah.
13 But he/I replied, “O, Yahweh, I ask you, please send someone else [instead]!”
Tedae, “Aw ka Boeipa, na tueih akhaw kuttoem mah tueih laeh,” a ti nah.
14 Then Yahweh became very angry with Moses/me. He said, “[What about] your [older] brother Aaron, who is [also] a descendant of Levi? I know that he is a very good/eloquent speaker. He is actually on his way here [right now], and he will be very happy to see you.
Te vaengah BOEIPA kah thintoek te Moses taengah sai tih, “Na manuca Aron te Levi moenih a? Ka ming ta, thui ham koi te anih loh a thui ta. Te dongah anih khaw nang doe ham ha lo coeng. Te vaengah nang m'hmuh vetih a lungbuei ah a kohoe bitni.
15 You can talk to him and tell him what to say [MTY], and I will help both of you [SYN] to know what to say [MTY]. And I will tell you both what you should do.
Anih te voek tangloeng lamtah olka he a hmuilai ah khueh pah. Kai he nang kah hmuilai dongah khaw anih kah hmuilai dongah khaw ka om vetih na saii ham te nang kan thuinuet bitni.
16 He will speak for you to the [Israeli] people. He will be (your spokesman/as though he was your mouth) [MET], and you will be to him as though you are [his] god.
Te phoeiah anih te pilnam taengah nang yueng la cal saeh lamtah nang kah hmuilai la om rhoe om saeh. Nang ngawn tah anih taengah Pathen bangla na om ni.
17 [Be sure] to take with you the walking/shepherd’s stick [that is in your hand], because you will perform miracles with it.”
Tedae he conghol he na kut dongah pom lamtah te nen te miknoek saii,” a ti nah.
18 Moses/I returned to his/my father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me go back to Egypt, to see my fellow Israelis there. I want to know if they are still alive.” Jethro said to Moses/me, “Go, and may [God give you inner] peace.”
Te daengah Moses te cet tih a masae Jether taengla mael. Te phoeiah a masae taengah, “Ka cet pawn saeh lamtah Egypt kah ka manuca rhoek taengah ka mael mai eh. Amih kah hingnah khaw ka hmuh pueng khaming,” a ti nah. Te vaengah Jethro loh Moses te, “Sading la cet ne,” a ti nah.
19 Yahweh said to Moses/me [before he/I left] Midian, “You can [safely] return to Egypt, because the men who were wanting to kill you [MTY] are [now] dead.”
Te vaengah BOEIPA loh Midian kah Moses te, “Cet lamtah Egypt la mael laeh, nang kah hinglu aka mae hlang khaw boeih duek uh coeng,” a ti nah.
20 So Moses/I took his/my wife and sons and put them on donkeys, and they/we returned to Egypt. And Moses/I took in his/my hand the stick that God [told him/me to take along].
Te dongah Moses loh a yuu neh a ca rhoek te a loh tih laak dongah a ngol sak. Tedae Egypt kho la a mael vaengah Moses loh Pathen kah conghol ni a kut dongah a pom.
21 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “When you return to Egypt, be sure to perform all the miracles that I have given you power [to do], while the king is watching. But I will make him stubborn [IDM], with the result that he will not let the Israeli people leave [Egypt].
Te vaengah BOEIPA loh Moses te, “Na caeh vaengah Egypt la mael. Na kut dongah kopoekrhai cungkuem kam paek te tueng. Te te Pharaoh mikhmuh ah saii pah. Tedae kai loh a lungbuei ka moem vetih pilnam te hlah mahpawh.
22 Then say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh says: “The Israeli [people] [MTY] are [as dear to] me as firstborn sons [MET].
Tedae Pharaoh te thui pah. BOEIPA loh he ni a thui. Israel tah ka capa neh ka caming ni.
23 I told you to let my people [MTY] leave [Egypt], in order that they may worship me [in the desert]. If you refuse to let them go, I warn you, I will kill your firstborn son!”’”
Te dongah namah taengah khaw ka thui coeng. Ka ca te tueih lamtah kai ham thothueng saeh. Tedae anih hlah ham na aal atah kai loh na capa khuikah na caming te ka ngawn ne,” a ti.
24 [One night], as they were camping on the way [to Egypt], Yahweh appeared to Moses/me. He wanted/threatened to kill Moses/me [for disobeying his command that boys/sons be circumcised].
Longpuei kah rhaehim ah a om vaengah anih te BOEIPA neh hum uh tih ngawn la cai.
25 Then [his/my wife] Zipporah took a flint knife and circumcised her son. Then she touched the boy’s feet (OR, genitals) with the piece of skin [she had cut off], and she said, “The blood [which flowed when I circumcised you] will protect you [from being harmed by Yahweh] [MET].”
Te vaengah Zipporah loh hmailung a loh tih a capa kah hmuicue te a hlueng pah. Te phoeiah a kho ah a net tih, “Nang tah kai ham thii dongkah yulokung ni,” a ti nah.
26 She said to him, “You are safe now [MET] because you have been circumcised.” So Yahweh did not harm her son.
Te daengah BOEIPA te Moses taeng lamloh nong. Te vaengah hmuicuerhetnah te ni thii dongkah yulokung la a thui.
27 Yahweh said to Aaron, “Go into the desert to meet/see Moses!” So he went [there from Egypt] and met him/me at [Sinai], the mountain dedicated to God, and [greeted him/me by] kissing him/me [on the cheek].
Te phoeiah BOEIPA loh Aron taengah, “Khosoek la cet lamtah Moses te doe laeh,” a ti nah. A caeh tangloeng vaengah tah amah neh Pathen kah tlang ah hum uh tih a mok.
28 Moses/I told Aaron everything that Yahweh had said to him/me when he told him/me to return to Egypt. He/I also told Aaron about all the miracles that Yahweh told him/me to perform.
Te phoeiah Moses loh amah tueih tih miknoek cungkuem neh amah a uen bangla BOEIPA ol boeih boeih te Aaron hma te a thui pah.
29 [So Aaron and Moses/I] returned [to Egypt]. There they/we gathered together all the Israeli elders/leaders.
Moses neh Aaron te cet tih Israel ca a ham boeih te a coi rhoi.
30 Aaron told them everything that Yahweh had told Moses/me, and Aaron performed [all] the miracles as the people watched.
Te phoeiah BOEIPA loh Moses taengkah a thui ol boeih te Aaron loh a thui pah tih pilnam mikhmuh ah miknoek khaw a tueng sak.
31 They believed [that what they/we were saying was true]. When they heard that Yahweh had seen how the Israeli people were being cruelly oppressed and that he was going to help them, they bowed down and worshiped [Yahweh].
Pilnam loh a tangnah vaengah tah BOEIPA loh Israel ca a hip tih, amih kah phacipphabaem a hmuh pah te khaw a yaak uh dongah buluk uh tih a bawk uh.
