Exodus 4
4
1Moses answered and said: They will not believe me, nor hear my voice. But they will say: The Lord hath not appeared to thee.
2Then he said to him: What is that thou holdest in thy hand? He answered: A rod.
3And the Lord said: Cast it down upon the ground. He cast it down, and it was turned into a serpent: so that Moses fled from it.
4And the Lord said: Put out thy hand and take it by the tail. He put forth his hand, and took hold of it; and it was turned into a rod.
5That they may believe, saith he, that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to thee.
6And the Lord said again: Put thy hand into thy bosom. And when he had put it into his bosom, he brought it forth leprous as snow.
7And he said: Put back thy hand into thy bosom. He put it back, and brought it out again, and it was like the other flesh.
8If they will not believe thee, saith he, nor hear the voice of the former sign, they will believe the word of the latter sign.
9But if they will not even believe these two signs, nor hear thy voice: take of the river water, and pour it out upon the dry land, and whatsoever thou drawest out of the river shall be turned into blood.
10Moses said: I beseech thee, Lord, I am not eloquent from yesterday and the day before; and since thou hast spoken to thy servant, I have more impediment and slowness of tongue.
11The Lord said to him: Who made man's mouth? Or who made the dumb and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? Did not I?
12Go therefore, and I will be in thy mouth: and I will teach thee what thou shalt speak.
13But he said: I beseech thee, Lord, send whom thou wilt send.
14The Lord being angry at Moses, said: Aaron the Levite is thy brother. I know that he is eloquent: behold, he cometh forth to meet thee, and seeing thee shall be glad at heart.
15Speak to him, and put my words in his mouth: and I will be in thy mouth, and in his mouth, and will shew you what you must do.
16He shall speak in thy stead to the people, and shall be thy mouth: but thou shalt be to him in those things that pertain to God.
17And take this rod in thy hand, wherewith thou shalt do the signs.
18Moses went his way, and returned to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him: I will go and return to my brethren into Egypt, that I may see if they be yet alive. And Jethro said to him: Go in peace.
19And the Lord said to Moses, in Madian: Go, and return into Egypt; for they are all dead that sought thy life.
20Moses therefore took his wife, and his sons, and set them upon an ass: and returned into Egypt, carrying the rod of God in his hand.
21And the Lord said to him as he was returning into Egypt: See that thou do all the wonders before Pharao, which I have put in thy hand. I shall harden his heart, and he will not let the people go.
22And thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Israel is my son, my firstborn.
23I have said to thee: Let my son go, that he may serve me, and thou wouldst not let him go: behold I will kill thy son, thy firstborn.
24And when he was in his journey, in the inn, the Lord met him, and would have killed him.
25Immediately Sephora took a very sharp stone, and circumcised the foreskin of her son, and touched his feet, and said: A bloody spouse art thou to me.
26And he let him go after she had said: A bloody spouse art thou to me; because of the circumcision.
27And the Lord said to Aaron: Go into the desert to meet Moses. And he went forth to meet him in the mountain of God, and kissed him.
28And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord, by which he had sent him, and the signs that he had commanded.
29And they came together: and they assembled all the ancients of the children of Israel.
30And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had said to Moses: and he wrought the signs before the people.
31And the people believed. And they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel: and that he had looked upon their affliction. And falling down they adored.
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Exodus 4: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
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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