Exodus 4
4
1 Moses answered, “But, behold, they will not believe me, nor listen to my voice; for they will say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”
2 The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
He said, “A rod.”
3 He said, “Throw it on the ground.”
He threw it on the ground, and it became a snake; and Moses ran away from it.
4 The LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand, and take it by the tail.”
He stretched out his hand, and took hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand.
5“This is so 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.” 6The 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, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow.
7 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, behold, it had turned again as his other flesh.
8“It will happen, if they will not believe you or listen to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. 9It will happen, if they will not believe even these two signs or 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 Moses said to the LORD, “O Lord,#4:10 The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai”. 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 said to him, “Who made man’s mouth? Or who makes one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Isn’t it I, the LORD? 12Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak.”
13Moses said, “Oh, Lord, please send someone else.”
14 The LORD’s anger burned against Moses, and he said, “What about Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Also, behold, he is coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15You 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. 16He will be your spokesman to the people. It will happen that he will be to you a mouth, and you will be to him as God. 17You shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.”
18 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 The LORD said to Moses in Midian, “Go, return into Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead.”
20 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 rod in his hand. 21The 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. 22You shall tell Pharaoh, ‘The LORD says, Israel is my son, my firstborn, 23and I have said to you, “Let my son go, that he may serve me;” and you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”
24 On the way at a lodging place, the LORD met Moses and wanted to kill him. 25Then 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 So he let him alone. Then she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.
27 The LORD said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.”
He went, and met him on God’s mountain, and kissed him. 28Moses told Aaron all the LORD’s words with which he had sent him, and all the signs with which he had instructed him. 29Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. 30Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31The people believed, and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.
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Exodus 4
4
Miraculous Signs for Moses
1Moses answered, “What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear#Ex 3:18; 6:30 to you’?”
2The Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
3“Throw it on the ground,” he said. So Moses threw it on the ground, it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4The Lord told Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail.” So he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand. 5“This will take place,” he continued, “so that they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”#Ex 3:6,15; 4:17,20; 19:9
6In addition the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was diseased, resembling snow.#4:6 A reference to whiteness or flakiness of the skin#Lv 13:3–4; Nm 12:10; 2Kg 5:27 7“Put your hand back inside your cloak,” he said. So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, it had again become like the rest of his skin.#Nm 12:13–14; Dt 32:39; 2Kg 5:14 8“If they will not believe you and will not respond to the evidence of the first sign, they may believe the evidence of the second sign. 9And if they don’t believe even these two signs or listen to what you say, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”#Ex 7:19
10But Moses replied to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent — either in the past or recently or since you have been speaking to your servant — because my mouth and my tongue are sluggish.”#4:10 Lit heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue#Ex 6:12; Jr 1:6
11The Lord said to him, “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?#Ps 94:9 12Now go! I will help you speak#4:12 Lit will be with your mouth and I will teach you what to say.”#Is 50:4; Jr 1:9; Mt 10:19–20; Mk 13:11; Lk 12:11–12; 21:14–15
13Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”#4:13 Lit send by the hand of whom you will send
14Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses, and he said, “Isn’t Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, he is on his way now to meet you. He will rejoice when he sees you. 15You will speak with him and tell him what to say.#Ex 7:1–2; Nm 23:5,12,16 I will help both you and him to speak#4:15 Lit will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16He will speak to the people for you. He will serve as a mouth for you, and you will serve as God to him. 17And take this staff in your hand that you will perform the signs with.”#Ex 4:2; 7:15
Moses’s Return to Egypt
18Then Moses went back to his father-in-law, Jethro, and said to him, “Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt and see if they are still living.”
Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”
19Now in Midian the Lord told Moses, “Return to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.”#Ex 2:15,23; Mt 2:20 20So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took God’s staff#Ex 17:9; Nm 20:8–9 in his hand.
21The Lord instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, make sure you do before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart#4:21 Or will make him stubborn#Ex 7:13; 9:12,35; 14:8; Dt 2:30; Jos 11:20; Is 63:17; Jn 12:40; Rm 9:18 so that he won’t let the people go. 22And you will say to Pharaoh: This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son.#Is 63:16; 64:8; Jr 31:9; Hs 11:1; Rm 9:4 23I told you: Let my son go so that he may worship me, but you refused to let him go. Look, I am about to kill your firstborn son!” #Ex 11:5; 12:29
24On the trip, at an overnight campsite, it happened that the Lord confronted him and intended to put him to death. 25So Zipporah took a flint, cut off her son’s foreskin, threw it at Moses’s feet, and said, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me!” #Gn 17:14; Jos 5:2–3 26So he let him alone. At that time she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood,” referring to the circumcision.
Reunion of Moses and Aaron
27Now the Lord had said to Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him.#Ex 3:1; 4:14 28Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and about all the signs he had commanded him to do. 29Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites. 30Aaron repeated everything the Lord had said to Moses and performed the signs before the people. 31The people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had paid attention#Ex 2:25; 3:7,18; 4:8–9 to them and that he had seen their misery,#Gn 24:26; 1Ch 29:20 they knelt low and worshiped.
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