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, "But, look, they will not believe me, nor listen to my voice; for they will say, 'God has not appeared to you.'"

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

The LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" 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.

He said, "Throw it on the ground." He threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses ran away 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.

The LORD said to Moses, "Put forth your hand, and take it by the tail." 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.

"That they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you."

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.

The LORD said furthermore to him, "Now put your hand inside your cloak." He put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, look, his hand was leprous, as 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.

He said, "Put your hand inside your cloak again." He put his hand inside his cloak again, and when he took it out of his cloak, look, it had 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;

"It will happen, if they will neither believe you nor listen 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.

It will happen, if they will not believe even these two signs, neither listen to your voice, that you shall take of the water of the river, and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take out of the river will become blood on 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.

Moses said to the LORD, "Please, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before now, nor since you have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow 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 makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Is it not I, God?

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 your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak."

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

He said, "Oh, Lord, please send someone else."

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 anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, "What about Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Also, look, he comes forth to meet you. When he sees you, 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.

You shall speak to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with your mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what you 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.

He will be your spokesman to the people; and it will happen, that he will be to you a mouth, and you will be to him as God.

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

You shall take this staff in your hand, with which you shall 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 and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, "Please let me go and return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive." Jethro 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.

The LORD said to Moses in Midian, "Go, return into Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead."

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 took his wife and his sons, and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. Moses took God's staff 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,

The LORD said to Moses, "When you go back into Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your hand, 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;

You shall tell Pharaoh, 'Thus says 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.

and I have said to you, "Let my son go, that he may serve me;" and you have refused to let him go. Look, I will kill your son, your firstborn.'"

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

It happened on the way at a lodging place, that the LORD met him and wanted 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 Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet; and she said, "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me."

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

So he let him alone. Then she said, "You are a bridegroom of blood," 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.

The LORD said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." He went, and met him on God's mountain, 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.

Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD with which he had sent him, and all the signs with which he had instructed him.

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

Moses and Aaron went and gathered together 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;

Aaron spoke all the words which God had spoken to Moses, and did the signs in the sight 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.

The people believed, and when they heard that God had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.