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
1“They will never believe me or listen to me!” Moses protested. “They will say, ‘The Lord didn’t appear to you.’ ”
2Then the Lord asked him, “What’s that in your hand?”
He answered, “A shepherd’s staff.”
3The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”
When Moses threw it on the ground, it became a snake, and he ran away from it.
4Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out and grab the snake by its tail.” He reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a staff as he held it. 5⌞The Lord explained,⌟ “This is to convince the people that the Lord God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, appeared to you.”
6The Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your shirt.” So Moses did this, and when he took his hand out, it had a skin disease. It looked as ⌞flaky as⌟ snow. 7“Now put your hand back inside your shirt,” the Lord said. Moses put it back, and when he took it out this time, it was healthy again like the rest of his body.
8 ⌞Then the Lord said,⌟ “If they won’t believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. 9But if they won’t believe these two miraculous signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile River and pour it on the ground. The water you take from the Nile will turn into blood on the ground.”
10Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I’m not a good speaker. I’ve never been a good speaker, and I’m not now, even though you’ve spoken to me. I speak slowly, and I become tongue-tied easily.”
11The Lord asked him, “Who gave humans their mouths? Who makes humans unable to talk or hear? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? It is I, the Lord! 12Now go, and I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
13But Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”
14Then the Lord became angry with Moses and asked, “What about your brother Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He’s already on his way to meet you, and he will be very glad to see you. 15You will speak to him and tell him what to say. I will help both of you speak, and I will teach you both what to do. 16Aaron will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and you will be like God. 17Take that shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to do the miraculous signs.”
Moses Returns to Egypt
18Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro. Moses said to him, “Please let me go back to my own people in Egypt. I would like to see if they’re still alive.”
Jethro said to Moses, “You may go.”
19Now, the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, because all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.”
20So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and started out for Egypt. He also brought with him the staff God had told him to take.
21The Lord said to Moses, “When you get back to Egypt, see that you show Pharaoh all the amazing things that I have given you the power to do. But I will make him stubborn so that he will not let the people go. 22Then tell Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. 23I told you to let my son go so that he may worship me. But you refused to let him go. So now I’m going to kill your firstborn son.’ ”
24Along the way they stopped for the night. The Lord met Moses and tried to kill him. 25Then Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched Moses’ feet ⌞with it⌟. She said, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26So the Lord let him alone. It was because of the circumcision that she said at that time, “You are a bridegroom of blood!”
Moses and Aaron Tell the People What the LORD Said
27Meanwhile, the Lord had told Aaron to meet Moses in the desert.
When Aaron met Moses at the mountain of God, he kissed him. 28Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say and all the miraculous signs the Lord had commanded him to do.
29Then Moses and Aaron went ⌞to Egypt⌟ and assembled all the leaders of the people of Israel. 30Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also did the miraculous signs for the people, 31and the people believed them. When they heard that the Lord was concerned about the people of Israel and that he had seen their misery, they knelt, bowing with their faces touching the ground.
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