Exodus 4
4
CHAPTER 4
1Moses answered, and said, The commons shall not believe to me, neither they shall hear my voice; but they shall say, The Lord appeared not to thee.
2Therefore the Lord said to him, What is that that thou holdest in thine hand? Moses answered, A rod, that is, a shepherd’s staff.
3And the Lord said, Cast it forth into the earth; and he cast it forth, and it was turned into a serpent, so that Moses fled.
4And the Lord said, Hold forth thine hand, and take the tail thereof; he stretched forth his hand, and held it, and it was turned again into a rod.
5And the Lord said, That they believe, that the Lord God of thy fathers appeared to thee, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob.
6And the Lord said again to Moses, Put thine hand into thy bosom; and when he had put it into his bosom, he brought forth it leprous, at the likeness of snow.
7The Lord said, Again draw thine hand into thy bosom; Moses again drew in his hand, and brought it forth again, and it was like to the tother flesh.
8The Lord said, If they shall not believe to thee, neither shall hear the word of the former sign, either miracle, they shall believe to the word of the sign pursuing [or that followeth];
9that if they believe not to these two signs, neither hear thy voice, take thou water of the flood, and shedded out it [or pour it out] [up] on the dry land, and whatever thing thou shalt draw up of the flood, it shall be turned into blood.
10Moses said, Lord, I beseech, I am not eloquent, that is, a fair speaker, from yesterday and the third day ago; and since thou hast spoken to thy servant, I am of more hindered, and of slower tongue.
11The Lord said to him, Who made the mouth of [a] man, or who made a dumb man, and deaf, seeing, and blind? whether not I?
12Therefore go thou, and I shall be in thy mouth, and I shall teach thee what thou shalt speak.
13And Moses said, Lord, I beseech thee, send whom thou shalt.
14And the Lord was wroth against Moses, and said, I know, that Aaron, thy brother, of the lineage of Levi, is eloquent, that is, a fair speaker; lo! he shall go out into thy coming, and he shall see thee, and he shall be glad in heart.
15Speak thou to him, and put thou my words in his mouth, and I shall be in thy mouth, and in his mouth; and I shall show to you what ye ought to do.
16He shall speak for thee to the people, and he shall be thy mouth; forsooth thou shalt be to him in these things, that pertain to God.
17Also take thou this rod in thine hand, in which thou shalt do miracles.
18Moses went, and turned again to Jethro, his wife’s father, and said to him, I shall go, and turn again to my brethren into Egypt, that I see, whether they live yet. To whom Jethro said, Go thou in peace.
19Therefore the Lord said to Moses in Midian, Go thou, and turn again into Egypt; for all they be dead that sought thy life.
20Moses took his wife, and his sons, and set them on an ass, and he turned again into Egypt, and he bare the rod of God in his hand.
21And the Lord said to him turning again into Egypt, See, that thou do all the wonders, which I have put in thine hand, before Pharaoh; I shall make hard his heart, and he shall not deliver the people;
22and thou shalt say to him, The Lord saith these things, My first begotten son is Israel;
23I said to thee, Deliver thou my son, that he serve me, and thou wouldest not deliver him; lo! I shall slay thy first begotten son.
24And when Moses was in the way, in an inn, the Lord came to him, and would slay him.
25Zipporah took anon a most sharp stone, and circumcised the rod of her son; and she touched Moses’ feet, and said, Thou art an husband of bloods to me.
26And he let go him, after that she had said, Thou art an husband of bloods to me, for [the] circumcision.
27Forsooth the Lord said to Aaron, Go thou into the coming of Moses into desert; which went against Moses into the hill of God, and kissed him.
28And Moses told to Aaron all the words of the Lord, for which he had sent Moses; and he told him about the miracles, which the Lord had commanded.
29And they came together, and gathered all the elder men of the sons of Israel.
30And Aaron spake all the words, which the Lord had said to Moses, and he did the signs before the people;
31and the people believed; and they heard, that the Lord had visited the sons of Israel, and that he had beheld the torment of them; and they worshipped lowly, or meekly, the Lord.
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Wycliffe’s Bible with Modern Spelling ©2017
Wycliffe’s Apocrypha ©2013, 2015
Wycliffe’s Bible © 2012, 2015
Wycliffe’s New Testament ©2001, 2011
Wycliffe’s Old Testament ©2001, 2010
Exodus 4
4
The Lord Gives Great Power to Moses
1Moses asked the Lord, “Suppose everyone refuses to listen to my message, and no one believes that you really appeared to me?”
2The Lord answered, “What's that in your hand?”
“A walking stick,” Moses replied.
3“Throw it down!” the Lord commanded. So Moses threw the stick on the ground. It immediately turned into a snake, and Moses jumped back.
4“Pick it up by the tail!” the Lord told him. And when Moses did this, the snake turned back into a walking stick.
5“Do this,” the Lord said, “and the Israelites will believe that you have seen me, the God who was worshiped by their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
6Next, the Lord commanded Moses, “Put your hand inside your shirt.” Moses obeyed, and when he took it out, his hand had turned white as snow—like someone with leprosy.#4.6 leprosy: The word translated “leprosy” was used for many different kinds of skin diseases.
7“Put your hand back inside your shirt,” the Lord told him. Moses did so, and when he took it out again, it was as healthy as the rest of his body.
8-9Then the Lord said, “If no one believes either of these miracles, take some water from the Nile River and pour it on the ground. The water will immediately turn into blood.”
10Moses replied, “I have never been a good speaker. I wasn't one before you spoke to me, and I'm not one now. I am slow at speaking, and I can never think of what to say.”
11But the Lord answered, “Who makes people able to speak or makes them deaf or unable to speak? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Don't you know that I am the one who does these things? 12Now go! When you speak, I will be with you and give you the words to say.”
13Moses begged, “Lord, please send someone else to do it.”
14The Lord became angry with Moses and said:
What about your brother Aaron, the Levite? I know he is a good speaker. He is already on his way here to visit you, and he will be happy to see you again. 15-16Aaron will speak to the people for you, and you will be like me, telling Aaron what to say. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will tell each of you what to do. 17Now take this walking stick and use it to perform miracles.
Moses Returns to Egypt
18Moses went to his father-in-law Jethro and asked, “Please let me return to Egypt to see if any of my people are still alive.”
“All right,” Jethro replied. “I hope all goes well.”
19But even before this, the Lord had told Moses, “Leave the land of Midian and return to Egypt. Everyone who wanted to kill you is now dead.” 20So Moses put his wife and sons on donkeys and headed for Egypt, holding the walking stick that had the power of God.
21On the way the Lord said to Moses:
When you get to Egypt, go to the king and work the miracles I have shown you. But I will make him so stubborn that he will refuse to let my people go. 22Then tell him that I have said, “Israel is my first-born son, 23#Ex 12.29. and I commanded you to release him, so he could worship me. But you refused, and now I will kill your first-born son.”
Zipporah's Son Is Circumcised
24One night while Moses was in camp, the Lord was about to kill him. 25But Zipporah#4.25 Zipporah: The wife of Moses (see 2.16-21). circumcised her son with a flint knife. She touched his#4.25 his: Either Moses or the boy. legs with the skin she had cut off and said, “My dear son, this blood will protect you.”#4.25 My dear son … you: Or “My dear husband, you are a man of blood” (meaning Moses). 26So the Lord did not harm Moses. Then Zipporah said, “Yes, my dear, you are safe because of this circumcision.”#4.26 you are … circumcision: Or “you are a man of blood.”
Aaron Is Sent To Meet Moses
27The Lord sent Aaron to meet Moses in the desert. So Aaron met Moses at Mount Sinai#4.27 Mount Sinai: Hebrew “the mountain of God.” and greeted him with a kiss. 28Moses told Aaron what God had sent him to say; he also told him about the miracles God had given him the power to perform.
29Later they brought together the leaders of Israel, 30and Aaron told them what the Lord had sent Moses to say. Then Moses worked the miracles for the people, 31and everyone believed. They bowed down and worshiped the Lord because they knew that he had seen their suffering and was going to help them.
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© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.