Exodus 4
4
Signs for Moses to Do
1Moses answered, “What if the elders of Israel won’t believe me? What if they won’t listen to me? Suppose they say, ‘The Lord didn’t appear to you.’ Then what should I do?”
2The Lord said to him, “What do you have in your hand?”
“A walking stick,” he said.
3The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”
So Moses threw it on the ground. It turned into a snake. He ran away from it. 4Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach your hand out. Take the snake by the tail.” So he reached out and grabbed the snake. It turned back into a walking stick in his hand. 5The Lord said, “When they see this sign, they will believe that I appeared to you. I am the Lord, the God of their fathers. I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. And I am the God of Jacob.”
6Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your coat.” So Moses put his hand inside his coat. When he took it out, the skin had become as white as snow. His hand was covered with a skin disease.
7“Now put it back into your coat,” the Lord said. So Moses put his hand back into his coat. When he took it out, the skin was healthy again. His hand was like the rest of his skin.
8Then the Lord said, “Suppose they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign. Then maybe they will believe the second one. 9But suppose they do not believe either sign. Suppose they will not listen to you. Then get some water from the Nile River. Pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will turn into blood on the ground.”
10Moses spoke to the Lord. He said, “Lord, I’ve never been a good speaker. And I haven’t gotten any better since you spoke to me. I don’t speak very well at all.”
11The Lord said to him, “Who makes human beings able to talk? Who makes them unable to hear or speak? Who makes them able to see? Who makes them blind? It is I, the Lord. 12Now go. I will help you speak. I will teach you what to say.”
13But Moses said, “Lord, please send someone else to do it.”
14Then the Lord became very angry with Moses. He said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you. He will be glad to see you. 15Speak to him. Tell him what to say. I will help both of you speak. I will teach you what to do. 16He will speak to the people for you. He will be like your mouth. And you will be like God to him. 17But take this walking stick in your hand. You will be able to do signs with it.”
Moses Returns to Egypt
18Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro. He said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt. I want to see if any of them are still alive.”
Jethro said, “Go. I hope everything goes well with you.”
19The Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt. All those who wanted to kill you are dead.” 20So Moses got his wife and sons. He put them on a donkey. Together they started back to Egypt. And he took the walking stick in his hand. It was the stick God would use in a powerful way.
21The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “When you return to Egypt, do all the amazing things I have given you the power to do. Do them in the sight of Pharaoh. But I will make him stubborn. He will not let the people go. 22Then say to Pharaoh, ‘The Lord says, “Israel is like an oldest son to me. 23I told you, ‘Let my son go. Then he will be able to worship me.’ But you refused to let him go. So I will kill your oldest son.” ’ ”
24On the way to Egypt, Moses stopped for the night. There the Lord met him and was about to kill him. 25But Zipporah got a knife made out of flint. She circumcised her son with it. Then she touched Moses’ feet with the skin she had cut off. “Surely, you are a husband who has forced me to spill my son’s blood,” she said. 26So the Lord didn’t kill Moses. When she said “husband who has forced me to spill my son’s blood,” she was talking about circumcision.
27The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the desert to see Moses.” So Aaron greeted Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say. Moses also told him about all the signs the Lord had commanded him to do.
29Moses and Aaron gathered all the elders of Israel together. 30Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs in the sight of the people. 31And they believed. They heard that the Lord was concerned about them. He had seen their suffering. So they bowed down and worshiped him.
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Exodus 4: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Exodus 4
4
1“But what if they don't believe me or listen to what I say?” Moses asked. “They could say, ‘The Lord didn't appear to you.’”
2The Lord asked him, “What are you holding in your hand?”
“A walking stick,” Moses replied.
3“Throw it on the ground,” he told Moses. So Moses did. It turned into a snake and Moses ran away from it.
4“Reach out and grab hold of it by its tail,” the Lord told Moses. Moses did so and it turned back into a walking stick in his hand.
5“You are to do this#4:5. “You are to do this”: supplied for clarity. so that they will believe that I the Lord did appear to you, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
6Then the Lord told him, “Put your hand inside your clothes close to your chest.” So Moses did as he was told. When he took his hand out, it was white like snow with a skin disease.
7“Now put your hand back inside your clothes,” the Lord said. Moses did so. When he took it out again, his hand had returned to normal.#4:7. “Normal”: literally, “like his flesh.”
8“If they don't believe you and they're not convinced by the first sign, they'll believe because of the second sign,” the Lord explained. 9“But if they still don't believe you or listen to you because of these two signs, then you are to take some water from the Nile and pour it out on the ground. The Nile water will turn into blood on the ground.”
10Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please excuse me, but I'm not someone who is good with words—not in the past, and not from the time you have been speaking with me, your servant. My speech is slow and I don't say things well.”#4:10. “My speech is slow and I don't say things well”: literally, “I am heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue.”
11“Who gave people mouths?” the Lord asked him. “Who makes people deaf or dumb, able to see or blind? It's I, the Lord, who does that. 12Now go, and I myself will be your mouth, and I will tell you what you are to say.”
13“Please, Lord, send someone else!” Moses responded.
14The Lord got angry with Moses, and told him, “There's your brother Aaron, the Levite. I know he speaks well. He's on his way to meet you, and he'll be very happy to see you. 15Speak to him and tell him what to say. I will be your mouth and his mouth, and I will tell you what you are to do. 16Aaron will speak on your behalf to the people, as if he was your mouth, and you will be in the place of God to him. 17Make sure to take your walking stick with you so you can use it to do the signs.”
18Then Moses returned to Jethro his father-in-law and told him, “Please allow me to go back to my own people in Egypt so I can see if any of them are still alive.”
“Go with my blessing,” Jethro replied.
19While Moses was in Midian, the Lord told him, “Go back to Egypt because all those who wanted to kill you have died.”
20Moses put his wife and sons on a donkey and went back to Egypt, carrying the walking stick that God had used to perform miracles.#4:20. “The walking stick that God had used to perform miracles:” literally, “the walking stick of God.” This interpretation refers back to the miracles recorded in verses 3 and 4.
21The Lord told Moses, “When you get back to Egypt, make sure to go to Pharaoh and carry out the miracles I've given you to do. I will make him stubborn#4:21. “Stubborn”: literally, “harden his heart,” similarly translated throughout the book. The same experience is described as being God's action, Pharaoh's own action, and also in the passive with no agent identified. and he will not let the people go. 22This is what you are to tell Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says. Israel is my firstborn son. 23I ordered you to let my son go so he can worship me. But you refused to release him, so I will now kill your firstborn son.’”
24But while they were on their way the Lord came to the place where they were staying, wanting to kill Moses. 25However, Zipporah used a flint knife to cut off her son's foreskin. She touched his feet with it, and said to him, “You are a blood-husband to me.” 26(Calling him a blood-husband referred to circumcision.)#4:26. The term used here is not well understood. It may mean something like, “Through this blood I have spilled you are now related through marriage to me.” Some interpreters believe the word means “someone who is circumcised.” After this the Lord left Moses alone.
27The Lord had told Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the desert.” So Aaron went and met Moses at the mountain of God and greeted him with a kiss. 28Then Moses explained to Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say and all the miracles he had ordered him to do. 29Moses and Aaron traveled to Egypt. There they had all the Israelite elders gather together. 30Aaron shared with them everything the Lord had told Moses, and Moses carried out the miracles so they could see them. 31The Israelites were convinced. When they heard that the Lord had come to them, and that he had been touched by their suffering, they bowed their heads and worshiped.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com