Exodus 4

1 And Moses answered and said, If they believe me not, and do not listen to my voice (for they will say, God has not appeared to you), what shall I say to them?

And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, YHWH hath not appeared unto thee.

2 And the Lord said to him, What is this thing that is in your hand? and he said, A rod.

And YHWH said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

3 And he said, Cast it on the ground: and he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from it.

And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

4 And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch forth your hand, and take hold of its tail: so he stretched forth his hand and took hold of the tail,

And YHWH said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:

5 and it became a rod in his hand, —that they may believe you, that the God of your fathers has appeared to you, the God of Abraam, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob.

That they may believe that YHWH Elohim of their fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

6 And the Lord said again to him, Put your hand into your bosom; and he put his hand into his bosom, and brought his hand out of his bosom, and his hand became as snow.

And YHWH said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.

7 And he said again, Put your hand into your bosom; and he put his hand into his bosom, and brought his hand out of his bosom, and it was again restored to the complexion of his [other] flesh.

And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.

8 And if they will not believe you, nor listen to the voice of the first sign, they will believe you [because] of the voice of the second sign.

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

9 And it shall come to pass if they will not believe you for these two signs, and will not listen to your voice, that you shall take of the water of the river and pour it upon the dry land, and the water which you shall take from the river shall be blood upon the dry land.

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

10 And Moses said to the Lord, I pray, Lord, I have not been sufficient in former times, neither from the time that you have begun to speak to your servant: I am weak in speech, and slow-tongued.

And Moses said unto YHWH, O YHWH, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

11 And the Lord said to Moses, Who has given a mouth to man, and who has made the very hard of hearing, and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? have not I, God?

And YHWH said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I YHWH?

12 And now go and I will open your mouth, and will instruct you in what you shall say.

Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

13 And Moses said, I pray you, Lord, appoint another able [person] whom you shall send.

And he said, O YHWH, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.

14 And the Lord was greatly angered against Moses, and said, Behold! is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he will surely speak to you; and, behold, he will come forth to meet you, and beholding you he will rejoice within himself.

And the anger of YHWH was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.

15 And you shall speak to him; and you shall put my words into his mouth, and I will open your mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you in what you shall do.

And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.

16 And he shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be for him in things pertaining to God.

And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of Elohim.

17 And this rod that was turned into a serpent you shall take in your hand, wherewith you shall work miracles.

And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.

18 And Moses went and returned to Jothor his father-in-law, and says, I will go and return to my brethren in Egypt, and will see if they are yet living. And Jothor said to Moses, Go in health. And in those days after some time, the king of Egypt died.

And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

19 And the Lord said to Moses in Madiam, Go, depart into Egypt, for all that sought your life are dead.

And YHWH said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.

20 And Moses took his wife and his children, and mounted them on the beasts, and returned to Egypt; and Moses took the rod [which he had] from God in his hand.

And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of Elohim in his hand.

21 And the Lord said to Moses, When you go and return to Egypt, see—all the miracles I have charged you with, you shall work before Pharao: and I will harden his heart, and he shall certainly not send away the people.

And YHWH said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

22 And you shall say to Pharao, These things says the Lord, Israel [is] my firstborn.

And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith YHWH, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

23 And I said to you, Send away my people, that they may serve me: now if you will not send them away, see, I will kill your firstborn son.

And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

24 And it came to pass [that] the angel of the Lord met him by the way in the inn, and sought to kill him.

And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that YHWH met him, and sought to kill him.

25 and Sepphora having taken a stone cut off the foreskin of her son, and fell at his feet and said, The blood of the circumcision of my son is staunched:

Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.

26 and he departed from him, because she said, The blood of the circumcision of my son is staunched.

So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

27 And the Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses; and he went and met him in the mount of God, and they kissed each other.

And YHWH said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of Elohim, and kissed him.

28 And Moses reported to Aaron all the words of the Lord, which he sent, and all the things which he charged him.

And Moses told Aaron all the words of YHWH who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.

29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered the elders of the children of Israel.

And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:

30 And Aaron spoke all these words, which God spoke to Moses, and wrought the miracles before the people.

And Aaron spake all the words which YHWH had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.

31 and the people believed and rejoiced, because God visited the children of Israel, and because he saw their affliction: and the people bowed and worshipped.

And the people believed: and when they heard that YHWH had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.