Exodus 4

1 And Moses answereth and saith, 'And, if they do not give credence to me, nor hearken to my voice, and say, Jehovah hath not appeared unto 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 And Jehovah saith unto him, 'What [is] this in thy hand?' and he saith, 'A rod;'

And the LORD said unto him, What [is] that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

3 and He saith, 'Cast it to the earth;' and he casteth it to the earth, and it becometh a serpent — and Moses fleeth from its presence.

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 Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Put forth thy hand, and lay hold on the tail of it;' and he putteth forth his hand, and layeth hold on it, and it becometh a rod in his hand —

And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:

5 ' — so that they believe that Jehovah, God of their fathers, hath appeared unto thee, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob.'

That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

6 And Jehovah saith to him again, 'Put in, I pray thee, thy hand into thy bosom;' and he putteth in his hand into his bosom, and he bringeth it out, and lo, his hand [is] leprous as snow;

And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand [was] leprous as snow.

7 and He saith, 'Put back thy hand unto thy bosom;' and he putteth back his hand unto his bosom, and he bringeth it out from his bosom, and lo, it hath turned back as his flesh —

And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his [other] flesh.

8 ' — and it hath come to pass, if they do not give credence to thee, and hearken not to the voice of the first sign, that they have given credence to the voice of the latter sign.

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 'And it hath come to pass, if they do not give credence even to these two signs, nor hearken to thy voice, that thou hast taken of the waters of the River, and hast poured on the dry land, and the waters which thou takest from the River have been, yea, they have become — blood on the dry land.'

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither 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 takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry [land].

10 And Moses saith unto Jehovah, 'O, my Lord, I [am] not a man of words, either yesterday, or before, or since Thy speaking unto Thy servant, for I [am] slow of mouth, and slow of tongue.'

And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I [am] not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I [am] slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

11 And Jehovah saith unto him, 'Who appointed a mouth for man? or who appointeth the dumb, or deaf, or open, or blind? is it not I, Jehovah?

And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

12 and now, go, and I — I am with thy mouth, and have directed thee that which thou speakest;'

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

13 and he saith, 'O, my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand Thou dost send.'

And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand [of him whom] thou wilt send.

14 And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Moses, and He saith, 'Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I have known that he speaketh well, and also, lo, he is coming out to meet thee; when he hath seen thee, then he hath rejoiced in his heart,

And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, [Is] not Aaron the Levite thy brother? 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 and thou hast spoken unto him, and hast set the words in his mouth, and I — I am with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and have directed you that which ye do;

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

16 and he, he hath spoken for thee unto the people, and it hath come to pass, he — he is to thee for a mouth, and thou — thou art to him for God;

And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, [even] he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

17 and this rod thou dost take in thy hand, with which thou doest the signs.'

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

18 And Moses goeth and turneth back unto Jethro his father-in-law, and saith to him, 'Let me go, I pray thee, and I turn back unto my brethren who [are] in Egypt, and I see whether they are yet alive.' And Jethro saith to Moses, 'Go in peace.'

And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which [are] in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

19 And Jehovah saith unto Moses in Midian, 'Go, turn back to Egypt, for all the men have died who seek thy life;'

And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.

20 and Moses taketh his wife, and his sons, and causeth them to ride on the ass, and turneth back to the land of Egypt, and Moses taketh the rod of God in his hand.

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 rod of God in his hand.

21 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'In thy going to turn back to Egypt, see — all the wonders which I have put in thy hand — that thou hast done them before Pharaoh, and I — I strengthen his heart, and he doth not send the people away;

And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

22 and thou hast said unto Pharaoh, Thus said Jehovah, My son, My first-born [is] Israel,

And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel [is] my son, [even] my firstborn:

23 and I say unto thee, Send away My son, and he doth serve Me; and — thou dost refuse to send him away — lo, I am slaying thy son, thy first-born.'

And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, [even] thy firstborn.

24 And it cometh to pass in the way, in a lodging place, that Jehovah meeteth him, and seeketh to put him to death;

And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.

25 and Zipporah taketh a flint, and cutteth off the foreskin of her son, and causeth [it] to touch his feet, and saith, 'Surely a bridegroom of blood [art] thou to me;'

Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast [it] at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband [art] thou to me.

26 and He desisteth from him: then she said, 'A bridegroom of blood,' in reference to the circumcision.

So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband [thou art], because of the circumcision.

27 And Jehovah saith unto Aaron, 'Go to meet Moses into the wilderness;' and he goeth, and meeteth him in the mount of God, and kisseth him,

And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.

28 and Moses declareth to Aaron all the words of Jehovah with which He hath sent him, and all the signs with which He hath charged him.

And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.

29 And Moses goeth — Aaron also — and they gather all the elders of the sons of Israel,

And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:

30 and Aaron speaketh all the words which Jehovah hath spoken unto Moses, and doth the signs before the eyes of the people;

And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.

31 and the people believe when they hear that Jehovah hath looked after the sons of Israel, and that He hath seen their affliction; and they bow and do obeisance.

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.