Exodus 4

Moses Given Powers

1Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or 1listen 2to what I say? For they may say, ‘3The Lord has not appeared to you.’” 2The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “4A staff.” 3Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and 5it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4But the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail”--so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his 6hand-- 5“that 7they may believe that 8the 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 furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand into your bosom.” So he put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was 9leprous like snow. 7Then He said, “Put your hand into your bosom again.” So he put his hand into his bosom again, and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, 10it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8“If they will not believe you or 11heed the 12witness of the first sign, they may believe the 13witness of the last sign. 9But if they will not believe even these two signs or heed what you say, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take from the Nile 14will become blood on the dry ground.”

10Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, 15I have never been 16eloquent, neither 17recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am 18slow of speech and 19slow of tongue.” 11The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or 20who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12Now then go, and 21I, even I, will be with your mouth, and 22teach you what you are to say.” 13But he said, “Please, Lord, now 23send the message by whomever You will.”

Aaron to Be Moses’ Mouthpiece

14Then the anger of the Lord burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that 24he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, 25he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15You are to speak to him and 26put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do. 16Moreover, 27he shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him. 17You shall take in your hand 28this staff, 29with which you shall perform the signs.”

18Then Moses departed and returned to 30Jethro 31his father-in-law and said to him, “Please, let me go, that I may return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19Now the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go 32back to Egypt, for 33all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20So Moses took his wife and his 34sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the 35staff of God in his hand.

21The Lord said to Moses, “When you go 36back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all 37the wonders which I have put in your 38power; but 39I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 22Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, “40Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23So I said to you, ‘41Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, 42I will kill your son, your firstborn.”’”

24Now it came about at the lodging place on the way that the Lord met him and 43sought to put him to death. 25Then Zipporah took 44a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and 45threw it at Moses’ feet, and she said, “You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me.” 26So He let him alone. At that time she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood”--46because of the circumcision.

2747Now the Lord said to Aaron, “Go to meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the 48mountain of God and kissed him. 2849Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which He had sent him, and 50all the signs that He had commanded him to do. 29Then Moses and Aaron went and 51assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel; 30and 52Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. He then performed the 53signs in the sight of the people. 31So 54the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord 5556was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then 57they bowed low and worshiped.