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.

And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice; for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.

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

And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thy hand? and he said, A staff.

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 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.

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 unto Moses, Put forth thy hand, and grasp it by the tail; and he put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a staff in his hand.

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.

In order that they may believe that there hath appeared unto thee the Everlasting One, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

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 farthermore unto him, Do put thy hand into thy bosom: and he put his hand into his bosom; and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, white 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 thy hand again into thy bosom: and he put his hand again into his bosom; and when he pulled it out of his bosom, behold, it was turned again as his 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;

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.

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.

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, and will not 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 shalt take out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

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.

And Moses said unto the Lord, Pardon, O Lord, I am not a man of words, neither yesterday, nor the day before, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; for I am heavy of speech, and heavy 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?

And the Lord said unto him, Who hath given a mouth to man? or who maketh him dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? is it not I the Lord?

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

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

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

And he said, Pardon, O Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wouldst 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.

And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is there not Aaron, thy brother, the Levite? 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.

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.

And thou shalt speak unto him, and put the words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and I will teach you what ye shall 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.

And he shall speak for thee unto the people; and he shall be, yea he shall be to thee as a mouth, and thou shalt be to him as a God.

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

And this staff shalt thou take 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.

And Moses went and returned to Jether his father-in-law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren that are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive; and Jithro said to Moses, 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 unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt; for all the men are dead who 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.

And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt; and Moses took the staff 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 unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, regard well all the wonders which I have put in thy hand, and do them before Pharaoh; but I will 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 unto Pharaoh, Thus hath said the Lord, My son, my first-born, is Israel.

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.

And I said unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me; and thou refusest to let him go; so, behold, I will slay thy son, thy first-born.

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

And as he was on the journey in the inn, the Lord met him, and sought to kill 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.

Then took Zipporah a sharp instrument, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody relative 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 then he withdrew from him; when she said, A bloody relative, but only in respect 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 to meet Moses, into the wilderness; and he went and met him by the mount 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 wherewith he had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.

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

And Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders 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 spoken unto Moses; and he did the signs before the eyes of 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 when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.