Exodus 4

1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice; for they will say, Jehovah hath not appeared unto thee.2 And Jehovah said unto him, What is that in thy hand? And he said, A rod.3 And he said, Cast in on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.4 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Put forth thy hand, and take it by the tail: (and he put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand:)5 That they may believe that Jehovah, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.6 And Jehovah said furthermore unto him, Put now thy hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow.7 And he said, Put thy hand into thy bosom again. (And he put his hand into his bosom again; and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.)8 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 shall come to pass, if they will not believe even 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 said unto Jehovah, Oh, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.11 And Jehovah said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? Or who maketh a man dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, Jehovah?12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt speak.13 And he said, Oh, Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.14 And the anger of Jehovah 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 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 will teach you what ye shall do.16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and it shall come to pass, that he shall be to thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God.17 And thou shalt take in thy hand this rod, wherewith thou shalt do the signs.18 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 that are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.19 And Jehovah said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt; for all the men are dead that sought thy life.20 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 said unto Moses, When thou goest back into Egypt, see that thou do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in thy hand: but I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah, Israel is my son, my first-born:23 and I have said unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me; and thou hast refused to let him go: behold, I will slay thy son, thy first-born.24 And it came to pass on the way at the lodging-place, that Jehovah met him, and sought to kill him.25 Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet; and she said, Surely a bridegroom of blood art thou to me.26 So he let him alone. Then she said, A bridegroom of blood art thou, because of the circumcision.

27 And Jehovah said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mountain of God, and kissed him.28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of Jehovah wherewith he had sent him, and all the signs wherewith he had charged him.29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:30 and Aaron spake all the words which Jehovah had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.31 And the people believed: and when they heard that Jehovah had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

Exodus 4

The Source of Sufficiency

1 s Moses answered again,t “And ift they do not believe me or pay attention to me,t but say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’?”2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”ts3 The Lordt said, “Throw it to the ground.” So he threw it to the ground, and it became a snake,s and Moses ran from it.4 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and grab it by the tail” – so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hands –

5 “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 The Lord also said to him, “Put your hand into your robe.”t So he put his hand into his robe, and when he brought it out – there was his hand,t leprous like snow!s7 He said, “Put your hand back into your robe.” So he put his hand back into his robe, and when he brought it out from his robe – there it was,t restoredt like the rest of his skin!t8 “Ift they do not believe you or pay attention tot the former sign, then they mayt believe the latter sign.t

9 And ift they do not believe even these two signs or listen to you,t then taket some water from the Nile and pour it out on the dry ground. The water you take out of the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”s

10 Then Moses said to the Lord,s “Ot my Lord,t I am not an eloquent man,t neither in the pastt nor since you have spoken to your servant, for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”t
11 The Lord said to him, “Who gavets a mouth to man, or who makes a person mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?s

12 So now go, and I will be with your mouths and will teach yous what you must say.”t

13 But Moses said,t “Ot my Lord, please send anyone else whom you wish to send!”t

14 Then the Lord became angry withts Moses, and he said, “What aboutt your brother Aaron the Levite?s I know that he can speak very well.ts Moreover, he is comingt to meet you, and when he sees you he will be glad in his heart.s
15 “So you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And as for me, I will be with your moutht and with his mouth,t and I will teach you botht what you must do.t16 Het will speak for you to the people, and it will be as ift het were your moutht and as if you were his God.ts

17 You will also take in your hand this staff, with which you will do the signs.”s

The Return of Moses

18 s So Moses went backt to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Let me go, so that I may returnt to my relativest in Egypt and seet if they are still alive.” Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”19 The Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go backt to Egypt, because all the men who were seeking your life are dead.”s20 Then Moses tookt his wife and sonss and put them on a donkey and headed backt to the land of Egypt, and Moses took the staff of God in his hand.21 The Lord saidt to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt,t see that yout do before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put under your control.t But I will hardent his hearts andt he will not let the people go.22 You must sayt to Pharaoh, ‘Thus sayst the Lord, “Israel is my son, my firstborn,s

23 and I said to you, ‘Let my son go that he may servet me,’ but since you have refused to let him go,t I will surely killt your son, your firstborn!”’”
24 Now on the way, at a place where they stopped for the night,t the Lord met Moses and sought to kill him.s25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off the foreskin of her son and touched it to Moses’ feet,t and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of bloods to me.”

26 So the Lordt let him alone. (At that timet she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” referring tot the circumcision.)
27 The Lord saidt to Aaron, “Go to the wilderness to meet Moses. So he went and met him at the mountain of Godt and greeted him with a kiss.t28 Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who hadt sent him and all the signs that he had commanded him.29 Then Moses and Aaron went and brought together all the Israelite elders.s30 Aaron spoket all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people,

31 and the people believed. When they heardst that the Lord had attended tot the Israelites and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed down close to the ground.t