Exodus 4

1 Moyses answeride, and seide, The comyns schulen not bileue to me, nether thei schulen here my vois; but thei schulen seie, The Lord apperide not to thee.

Moses answered and said: They will not believe me, nor hear my voice, but they will say: The Lord hath not appeared to thee.

2 Therfor the Lord seide to hym, What is this that thou holdist in thin hond? Moises answeride, A yerde.

Then he said to him: What is that thou holdest in thy hand? He answered: A rod.

3 And the Lord seide, Caste it forth into erthe; and he castide forth, and it was turned in to a serpent, so that Moises fledde.

And the Lord said: Cast it down upon the ground. He cast it down, and it was turned into a serpent: so that Moses fled from it.

4 And the Lord seide, Holde forth thin hond, and take the tail therof; he stretchide forth, and helde, and it was turned in to a yerde.

And the Lord said: Put out thy hand and take it by the tail. He put forth his hand, and took hold of it, and it was turned into a rod.

5 And the Lord seide, That thei bileue, that the Lord God of thi fadris apperide to thee, God of Abraham, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob.

That they may believe, saith he, that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to thee.

6 And the Lord seide eft, Putte thin hond in to thi bosum; and whanne he hadde put it in to the bosum, he brouyte forth it leprouse, at the licnesse of snow.

And the Lord said again: Put thy hand into thy bosom. And when he had put it into his bosom, he brought it forth leprous as snow.

7 The Lord seide, Withdrawe thin hond in to thi bosum; he withdrow, and brouyte forth eft, and it was lijc the tother fleisch.

And he said: Put back thy hand into thy bosom. He put it back, and brought it out again, and it was like the other flesh.

8 The Lord seide, If thei schulen not bileue to thee, nether schulen here the word of the formere signe, thei schulen bileue to the word of the signe suynge;

If they will not believe thee, saith he, nor hear the voice of the former sign, they will believe the word of the latter sign.

9 that if thei bileuen not sotheli to these twei signes, nether heren thi vois, take thou watir of the flood, and schedde out it on the drie lond, and what euer thing thou schalt drawe vp of the flood, it schal be turned in to blood.

But if they will not even believe these two signs, nor hear thy voice: take of the river water, and pour it out upon the dry land, and whatsoever thou drawest out of the river shall be turned into blood.

10 Moises seide, Lord, Y biseche, Y am `not eloquent fro yistirdai and the thridde dai ago; and sithen thou hast spokun to thi seruaunt, Y am of more lettid and slowere tunge.

Moses said: I beseech thee, Lord. I am not eloquent from yesterday and the day before: and since thou hast spoken to thy servant, I have more impediment and slowness of tongue.

11 The Lord seide to hym, Who made the mouth of man, ether who made a doumb man and `deef, seynge and blynd? whether not Y?

The Lord said to him: Who made man’s mouth? or who made the dumb and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? did not I?

12 Therfor go thou, and Y schal be in thi mouth, and Y schal teche thee what thou schalt speke.

Go therefore and I will be in thy mouth: and I will teach thee what thou shalt speak.

13 And he seide, Lord, Y biseche, sende thou whom thou schalt sende.

But he said: I beseech thee, Lord send whom thou wilt send.

14 And the Lord was wrooth ayens Moises, and seide, Y woot, that Aaron, thi brother, of the lynage of Leuy, is eloquent; lo! he schal go out in to thi comyng, and he schal se thee, and schal be glad in herte.

The Lord being angry at Moses, said Aaron the Levite is thy brother, I know that he is eloquent: behold he cometh forth to meet thee, and seeing thee shall be glad at heart.

15 Speke thou to hym, and putte thou my wordis in his mouth, and Y schal be in thi mouth, and in the mouth of hym; and Y schal schewe to you what ye owen to do.

Speak to him, and put my words in his mouth: and I will be in thy mouth, and in his mouth, and will shew you what you must do.

16 He schal speke for thee to the puple, and he schal be thi mouth; forsothe thou schalt be to him in these thingis, that perteynen to God.

He shall speak in thy stead to the people, and shall be thy mouth: but thou shalt be to him in those things that pertain to God.

17 Also take thou this yerde in thin hond, in which thou schalt do myraclis.

And take this rod in thy hand, wherewith thou shalt do the signs.

18 Moises yede, and turnede ayen to Jetro, his wyues fadir, and seide to hym, Y schal go, and turne ayen to my britheren in to Egipt, that Y se, whether thei lyuen yit. To whom Jetro seide, Go thou in pees.

Moses went his way, and returned to Jethro his father in law and said to him: I will go and return to my brethren into Egypt, that I may see if they be yet alive. And Jethro said to him: Go in peace.

19 Therfor the Lord seide to Moyses in Madian, Go thou, and turne ayen into Egipt; for alle thei ben deed that souyten thi lijf.

And the Lord said to Moses, in Madian: Go, and return into Egypt: for they are all dead that sought thy life.

20 Moises took his wijf, and hise sones, and puttide hem on an asse, and he turnede ayen in to Egipt, and bar the yerde of God in his hond.

Moses therefore took his wife, and his sons, and set them upon an ass: and returned into Egypt, carrying the rod of God in his hand.

21 And the Lord seide to hym turnynge ayen in to Egipt, Se, that thou do alle wondris, whiche Y haue put in thin hond, bifore Farao; Y schal make hard his herte, and he schal not delyuere the puple; and thou schalt seie to hym,

And the Lord said to him as he was returning into Egypt: See that thou do all the wonders before Pharao, which I have put in thy hand: I shall harden his heart, and he will not let the people go.

22 The Lord seith these thingis, My firste gendrid sone is Israel;

And thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Israel is my son, my firstborn.

23 Y seide to thee, delyuere thou my sone, that he serue me, and thou noldist delyuere hym; lo! Y schal sle thi firste gendrid sone.

I have said to thee: Let my son go, that he may serve me, and thou wouldst not let him go: behold I will kill thy son, thy firstborn.

24 And whanne Moises was in the weie, in an yn, the Lord cam to him, and wolde sle hym.

And when he was in his journey, in the inn, the Lord met him, and would have killed him.

25 Sefora took anoon a moost scharp stoon, and circumcidide the yerde of hir sone; and sche towchide `the feet of Moises, and seide, Thou art an hosebonde of bloodis to me.

Immediately Sephora took a very sharp stone, and circumcised the fore skin of her son, and touched his feet and said: A bloody spouse art thou to me.

26 And he lefte hym, aftir that sche hadde seid, Thou art an hosebonde of bloodis to me for circumcisioun.

And he let him go after she had said A bloody spouse art thou to me, because of the circumcision.

27 Forsothe the Lord seide to Aaron, Go thou in to the comyng of Moises in to deseert; which yede ayens Moises in to the hil of God, and kisside him.

And the Lord said to Aaron: Go into the desert to meet Moses. And he went forth to meet him in the mountain of God, and kissed him.

28 And Moises telde to Aaron alle the wordis of the Lord, for whiche he hadde sent Moises; and `he telde the myraclis, whiche the Lord hadde comaundid.

And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord, by which he had sent him, and the signs that he had commanded.

29 And thei camen togidere, and gaderiden alle the eldere men of the sones of Israel.

And they came together, and they assembled all the ancients of the children of Israel.

30 And Aaron spak alle the wordis, whiche the Lord hadde seid to Moises, and he dide the signes bifore the puple;

And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had said to Moses: and he wrought the signs before the people,

31 and the puple bileuede; and thei herden, that the Lord hadde visitid the sones of Israel, and that he hadde biholde the turment of hem; and thei worschipiden lowe.

And the people believed. And they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel: and that he had looked upon their affliction: and falling down they adored.